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Joanne Thompson
wrote:
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Hi guys,
Some background information on me:
Am a 19-year-old female who lives in the USA and have be born and raised Catholic.
- Why are Catholics allowed to go to Mass on Saturday evenings, if
Sunday is the Sabbath?, and
- If you have time, what are the main differences between Southern Baptists and
Catholics?
My boyfriend and I are very serious. I am Catholic and he is
a very religious Baptist. I am unsure about how this will affect
our relationship in the future but I am sure knowing more about his
faith will be a great first step!
Thank-you, thank-you, and thank-you!!!
Joanne
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Why can you go to Sunday Mass on Saturday and
how do Southern Baptists and Catholics differ? }
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Mary Ann replied:
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Joanne,
Sunday is not the Sabbath in the Jewish sense of 7th Day. Sunday is the
Lord's Day, the first day of the New Creation, the everlasting Day of the
Resurrection. From the earliest times, the Church assembled and celebrated
on Sunday, knowing that Christ, the Lord, is Lord of the Sabbath and had
made a new Sabbath by His Resurrection.
The main differences between Southern Baptists and Catholicism would take
a book. You should ask your boyfriend to investigate your faith. If he
is a very religious Southern Baptism, he has very anti-Catholic beliefs
about the Church. This differences are very strong and would
affect your relationship greatly. Charity can conquer all but you must
not give up your faith. Instead, you must learn your faith.
The Catholic Church began with Christ and Peter. This Church
has passed on the teaching of Christ through an infallible teaching authority,
and continues the deeds of Christ in the sacraments, culminating in the
union with the living Christ in the Holy Eucharist.
Contrary to Baptists,
we believe in infant Baptism, and we believe that the unbaptized and non-Christians can be saved, if through no fault of their own they do not know the Gospel,
and if they sincerely follow the law of God engraved in their hearts at
creation.
The Baptist Church began as a reaction to or offshoot of Lutheranism.
Here is the online Catholic Encyclopedia's summary of their beliefs:
Baptists
(Greek, baptizein, to baptize).
A Protestant denomination which exists chiefly in English speaking countries
and owes its name to its characteristic doctrine and practice regarding
baptism.
Distinctive principles
The Baptists consider the Scriptures to be the sufficient and exclusive
rule of faith and practice. In the interpretation of them, every individual
enjoys unrestricted freedom. No non-Scriptural scheme of doctrines and
duty is recognized as authoritative.
General creeds are mere declarations of prevalent doctrinal views, to
which no assent beyond one's personal conviction need be given. The two
principal Baptist confessions of faith are the Confession of 1688, or Philadelphia
Confession, and the New Hampshire Confession. The Philadelphia Confession
is the Westminster (Presbyterian) Confession (1646) revised in a Baptist
sense.
It first appeared in 1677, was reprinted in 1688, approved by the English
Baptist Assembly of 1689, and adopted by the Baptist Association at Philadelphia
in 1742, a circumstance which accounts for its usual name. It is generally
accepted by the Baptists of England and the Southern States of the Union,
whereas the Northern States are more attached to the New Hampshire Confession.
The latter was adopted by the New Hampshire State Convention in 1833. Its
slight doctrinal difference from the Philadelphia Confession consists in
a milder presentation of the Calvinistic system.
Baptists hold that those only are members of the Church of Christ who
have been baptized upon making a personal profession of faith.
They agree in the rejection of infant baptism as contrary to the Scriptures, and in the acceptance of immersion as the sole valid mode of baptism. All
children who die before the age of responsibility will nevertheless be
saved. Baptism and the Eucharist, the only two sacraments, or ordinances
as they call them, which Baptists generally admit, are not productive of
grace, but are mere symbols. Baptism does not bestow, but symbolizes, regeneration,
which has already taken place.
In the Eucharist Jesus Christ is not really present; the Lord's Supper
merely sets forth the death of Christ as the sustaining power of the
believer's life. It was instituted for the followers of Christ alone;
hence Baptists, in theory, commonly admit to it only their own church
members and exclude outsiders (closed communion). Open communion, however,
has been practiced extensively in England and is gaining ground today
among American Baptists.
In church polity, the Baptists are congregational; i.e. each church enjoys
absolute autonomy. Its officers are the elders or bishops and the deacons.
The elder exercises the different pastoral functions and the deacon
is his assistant in both spiritual and temporal concerns. These officers
are chosen by common suffrage and ordained by councils consisting of
ministers and representatives of neighboring churches. A church may,
in case of need, appeal for help to another church; it may, in difficulty,
consult other churches; but never, even in such cases, can members of
one congregation acquire authority over another congregation. Much less
can a secular power interfere in spiritual affairs; a state church is
an absurdity. |
Mary Ann
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Mike replied:
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Hi Joanne,
Thanks for the questions.
You said:
- Why are Catholics allowed to go to Mass on Saturday evenings, if
Sunday is the Sabbath?
I found this
answer on the New Advent web site and think it answers most,
if not, all of your question:
In ancient Judaism the sabbath was from sundown on Friday to sundown
on Saturday.
- If Sunday is the Christian sabbath, should we celebrate
it from sundown on Saturday to sundown on Sunday?
- Is this why attending
an anticipatory Mass on Saturday evening fulfills our Sunday obligation?
The Sunday obligation applies to the modern Sunday, reckoned from midnight
to midnight. This was established by canon 1246 of the 1917 Code of Canon
Law.
The ancient Jews reckoned days from sundown to sundown, meaning that
for them the first part of the day was evening. This is why Genesis 1
says things like,
"And there was evening, and there was morning — the
first day."
(Genesis 1:5)
The same custom was observed by the ancient
Phoenicians, Athenians, Arabs, Germans, and Gauls. Today Jews and other
groups who keep the sabbath, such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, continue
to celebrate it from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. This way of
reckoning time was not the only one in the ancient world. For example,
the Romans reckoned days from midnight to midnight — the system we use
today.
The option of attending an anticipatory Mass on Saturday evening has
nothing to do with the fact the sabbath began at sundown. This provision
was originally introduced for Catholics who had to miss Sunday Mass for
a good reason (for example, because they had to work). The 1983 Code
of Canon Law simply states:
"The precept of participating in the
Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere
at a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the
preceding day."
Sunday is often spoken of as "the Christian sabbath," but
this is not a technical description. Sunday is not a strict replacement
for the sabbath (which has been abolished), but a day the Church instituted
to fulfill a parallel function.
Thus Ignatius of Antioch, the earliest
Church Father to address this question, states that Christian converts
"have
given up keeping the sabbath and now order their lives by the Lord's
Day instead, the day when life first dawned for us, thanks to him [Christ]
and his death."
(Letter to the Magnesians 9 [A.D. 107]).
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You said:
- What are the main differences between Southern Baptists and
Catholics?
Here is a link to one of the most read web postings on our web site. It deals
directly with your question:
What are the major differences between Baptists and Catholics and how do I become a Catholic?
I would echo my colleague, Mary Ann's opinion as well. What we have found
out on our team is that many in the Church are unaware, even of the
basics of the Faith.
You have been blessed to have been born and baptized a Catholic
as the Early Church Fathers and the very first Christians were from 33 A.D. onward.
It is the only Church Jesus founded on St. Peter and his successors. Jesus
is the Rock, but it was His Divine Choice to have a human succession of Prime
Ministers that would distribute graces and safeguard the teachings of the
Church in the successor of St. Peter. (Matthew 16:13-19)
While Mary Ann may be right in saying he could be very anti-Catholic,
he also may be ignorant of the Faith.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, there are not 100 people in America that
hate the Catholic Church, but millions upon millions who hate what
they think is the Catholic Church.
Your boyfriend may be one of them, through no fault of his own.
I would study theCatechism of the Catholic Churchyourself and
if he is interested, suggest that he study with you or get a cheap Catechism on Amazon himself.
If he takes the Lordship of Our Blessed Jesus and Christianity seriously,
he should be
open to studying with you.
Hope this helps,
Mike
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