by teenyuck 17 Replies latest jw friends
Hi teenyuck,
I'm a roman catholic.
It's like blue has said - the 2.5% is an amount that the church has figured would be quite enough to maintain and grow the church / buildings etc. - but no one is required to give money, particularly single mothers, widows etc.
If your husband was baptised a catholic, and he attends church, he has joined the church - or rather, returned.
Just a question, have you read the marriage vows taken in a catholic church ?
paduan
imanaliento, bluesapahire, Skimmer & A Paduan,
Thank you all for the information and feedback. That clairified alot. I am not interested in joining, just renewing our vows. I will try to go to church with my husband on Sunday's, when I feel like it. He is OK with that. I think the parish is looking for a monetary commitment, which I am not comfortable with. The other parish, closer to our home, is not asking that. I am going to push that he/we join that.
BTW, I was not married by a clergy or in a house of worship for my first marriage. It was in the county court house and done by a judge. My marriage to my husband was done by a retired judge.
I believe the waiting period, which I misunderstood before we were married, is just for the marriage classes. My husband agreed that trying to convert me at this point is useless. I just cannot do it.
I am sure my husband was baptized. He did return. He never went to mass since the day I met him. He went to Xmas and Easter, however, he did not seem interested. Until about 5 years ago. Oh well. He could have wanted to become a JW!
I have not seen or read the vows, however, I will look into that before I agree to it. If they are like the ones I took with my first husband, then I promised to obey, etc. Again, I am not up for that debate. It is not worth the hassle. I will check the website and see what it shows.
If all goes positive and we move forward with this, I will have to decide whether or not to invite my mother. It would have to be stealth. I would have to lure her to my home (300 miles away) and see what she would do when confronted by me. That would be interesting.
Thanks again for all the feedback. I appreciate the info from someone who understands my side.
Dear teenyuck,
I am French speaking. Please forgive my bad English.
Me and my wife were Jehovah's Witnesses from 1956 till 1997 (yes, 41 years !). I was an elder and my wife was regular pioneer.
We left the organization mainly for doctrinal reasons. In 1998, we joined the Catholic church.We married in 1956 in the JW Kingdom Hall, but in 1999, we renewed our vows in our catholic community and the priest gave us the Lord's benediction. It was a beautiful celebration, with more than 150 peopleD.
Here, in Belgium, people intending to marry in the church have to pay a certain amount. But it is very reasonable and covers costs for heating, electricity ...etc. As Paduan mentions, those who have financial problems are not paying.
Warm greetings
Jacques
Thank you Motema! That is great to hear. Congratulations on your long lasting marriage.
BTW, your English is much better than my French. I can still count to 5 though! Two years of high school French, down the drain. I thought I could sound like Catherine Deneuve.
When I first joined the Catholic Church here in 1989 I was encouraged to pledge (whatever I wanted to). I responded that I was a full time volunteer in a local ministry and had no money coming in to be able to give financial assistance. The ministry provides my lodging, food, and clothing. No one has checked back on me since. When there are work days at the Church, I go and help out. I also lector, am a Secular Franciscan and particpate in church activities. Moreover, I represent the Church at the Soup Kitchen where I have labored since 1989. But I've never heard of anyone being forced to contribute.
teenyuck,
Just a thought here, but the CC would need to investigate your specific case. Particularly of concern is validity of your former and/or current marriage. If a valid marriage has not been contracted, then there's nothing to renew except sinful union only, and a priest can be no part of that or else it's scandal. Just letting you know that it may be a process, but there's a wisdom to it although not immediately apparent. Being patient and understanding may be the toughest test for you, but hang in there.
On another note, I'm floored to see the words "JW" and "Catholic" in the same breath on this forum. Might be because I'm a newbie, but this is the last place I'd expect to see charitable answers from people here that would otherwise have zero interest in supporting anything Catholic. I've got to ask what Mass must seem like to you when you do go? (don't have to answer that, just curious).
Finally, this might interest you: http://www.saintjoe.com/products/8001.html It's a 3-tape set of Mary Kochan's "My Journey From the Watchtower" where she chronicles her jump from JW to Catholic. If you ever wondered why anyone would join the CC, much less a JW, this series is very riveting and informative. Just fyi.
Good luck, and "may the peace of the Lord be with you always..."
-alan
Hi Alan, Thanks for the info on being patient. That will be in the back of my mind....
On going to the Mass on Sunday or holidays: It is very strange. The parish I have gone to here has lots of standing, praying, singing and sitting...all to repeat it again. The priest gives a talk on something (I honestly have not paid attention...I am looking at the people and trying to figure out why they know when to get up and when to sit down, when to kneel.) and the last part is the wine and cracker thing. There are very few people who don't get up to take it. (I believe that is communion?) I sit and try to look straight ahead.
I am not in favor of the "Peace be with you" at the end of the mass. I don't like turning and shaking strange people's hands. Even tho I think I understand the idea behind it. I just don't enjoy that. It seems forced.
Because of my JW upbringing, I am really curious at what goes on in a church. They seem very friendly. No pressure to join or give money. They do send around a basket and you are free to not put anything in. No one that I have seen seems to look askance at someone who does not give. The doors are always open and no one is turned away.
There is a room for little children and the parents. They can hear the mass, yet let the kids run wild. That seems like a good idea.
One of my main concerns about going to a church is the way women are second class citizens and birth control. There are lots more, however, the no birth control issue bothers me.
I really don't have much negative to say about the Catholics; except for the abusive priests and the two things I mentioned above. Overall, in our day and age, they give more to many more people than JWs ever will. Their charitable works are very positive. Mother Teresa comes to mind.
Edited to add: The guys passing the money baskets remind me soooo much of Ministerial Servants. They seem to really think that passing a basket is Very important. I look at them as the priest wanna be's, who wanted sex more; they are all middle aged and married.
Edited by - teenyuck on 22 November 2002 9:41:34
teenyuck,
Since your curious about what goes on in a church. I thought, I would give you this very good link to Catholic Answers. I think, you'll find all the info you need to satisfy your curiosity about the mass and most questions you may have about what Catholics really believe.
