Topic: How are Catholics different from Christians?

Source of this posting: moderator response

Date originally posted: August 26, 2003

Moderator who originally posted this source:  Kathy Martyn

Question:  How is Catholic different from Christian? Are any of the Catholic beliefs different from Christian beliefs? How is Christian communion different from Catholic Eucharist? Why can Christians not participate if we are supposed to be a family in Christ Jesus? Do Catholics REALLY worship the virgin Mary and view Jesus as a helpless infant (I read that on a website)? I am being very sincere about my questions.Kenya

Answer:

The fundamental difference that sets Catholics apart from other Christian faith traditions is rooted in your second question - "How is Christian communion different from Catholic Eucharist?" Catholics truly believe that through the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine are transfomed into the real body and blood of Jesus Christ (transubstantiation). The bread and wine are not mere symbols, but the true presence of Jesus Christ.

Why should other Christians not participate in the Catholic Eucharist? Simply because they do not believe it is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Why would anyone want to participate in something they do not believe.

As for worshiping Mary, Catholics do not worship Mary. Worship is an act reserved for God alone.
To give the best insight I can into your question, the following is from our FAQ library, Fr. Phillip Leach, February 2002.. "To be a Christian means, among other things, accepting Jesus into your life. Mary literally accepted Jesus into her life for when she said "Yes!" to the archangel's invitation and the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, Jesus made His home in her womb. So, for Catholics Mary is the First Christian, the first human being to accept Jesus Christ into her life.

As the First Christian, she is, so the speak, the Prototype of what being a Christian means. In that role, we Catholics feel that Mary has something like a "first among equals" role as exemplar for us.

So, we Catholics feel very comfortable going to her in prayer for guidance and help since she walked this road of living the Christian life before anybody else. When we pray to her, we are, in a sense, asking for her wisdom and insight about how to live our Christian lives more perfectly; since she's already done it, we look to her for example, direction and guidance.

Another way that we Catholics think of our practice of praying to Mary is the following. We are perfectly comfortable as Christians asking other Christians for prayer support when we are confronted by special needs, crises, or stressful circumstances. Calling up a Christian friend and saying, "Please pray for me, I'm going through a really tough time" makes complete sense to us.

Christians also believe that death is not the end of life. Death is a 'door' through which we pass, as we move from one room in our Father's Mansion, the room of this life, to another room in the Lord's House, which is the room of eternal life. The dead in Christ are surely alive!

Mary, as the First Christian, is, then, alive in Christ -- sharing the glory of heaven with her Son and all those to whom God has given eternal life.

So, when we Catholics pray to Mary, we are simply saying that since she is alive in Christ in the glory of heaven, we can go to her, asking for her prayerful support -- in much the same way that we would ask a Christian in our Church community to support us with his or her prayers.

The fact that Mary is alive in life-beyond-death in no way minimizes her ability to pray. In fact, we Catholics would say that since Mary is with her Son, her prayers have a special kind of efficacy and power.

Another way that Catholics talk about praying to Mary builds on the idea of a special bond between a parent and a child, and particularly on the bond between a Mother and her Son. In many human relationships, a mother has a special role in the life of her children. Mary, being such a magnificent mother, and Jesus, being the Perfect Son, surely had a marvelous and ultimately close relationship. When we Catholics pray to Mary, we are simply assuming that the closeness between this Mother and her divine Son continues in life-beyond-death, and we are asking this special and wonderful Mother to speak to her beloved and divine Son on our behalf.

A last word about the way Catholics see our prayer to Mary: When we pray to Mary, we Catholics are, essentially, saying, "Blessed Mary, you are living in the very Presence of God, would you please take my request, my prayer, and put it before God Who chose you to be the Mother of His Son?" We are acknowledging that, as the Bible says, all generations call her "blessed" precisely because God offered her a unique role as the Mother of Jesus and because she accepted God's invitation. That intimacy which Mary had with God continues in the glory of heaven. When we Catholics pray to her, we are simply saying, "Please ask God to hear our prayers now...and at the hour of our death!"

Does a Catholic HAVE to pray to Mary? No, we don't HAVE to pray to Mary. But, praying to Mary is one of the greatest gifts the Catholic Church has to offer us -- so why in the world wouldn't we accept this magnificent gift?!? While we don't have to pray to Mary, most Catholics WANT to pray to her because she is special to God, special to God's Son, and she, therefore, very special to us! We never 'worship' Mary -- "worship" is what we give to God alone. But we do have a very deep love and a very high regard for this blessed woman."

Do we believe Jesus was a helpless infant? Yes, for a short period of time. Catholics believe in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Namely, that he had two natures, human and divine. His human nature made Him completely human in all aspects except one - freedom from sin. So, yes, like us, he was a helpless infant.

Good questions. Thank you for asking.