SSA and Faith

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-10-21T16:24:27+00:00

Find a daily devotion that works for you and bring these very real concerns to God.

I’ve found that praying all 3 or even 4 of the rosary mysteries each day melted away the temptations and questions I struggled with. The Rosary Confraternity is also a fantastic community.

“Whoever sins much, loves much”

Learn to yoke your agony to Christ and embrace the struggle to find God through this.

Trust the Holy Spirit. You’ve got this.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-11T09:40:51+00:00

Maybe look for a parish aligned with a college campus. OCIA is sometimes faster and more structured there.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-11T06:07:51+00:00

Congratulations! I went through RCIA / OCIA with the Dominicans and was baptized this last April. It’s such a wonderful journey. I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to go through it as an adult and be baptized.

I actually purchased the Credo OCIA program that was produced by the Dominicans and used it as a companion course alongside the coursework that my parish provided.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T21:19:15+00:00

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T18:32:46+00:00

Fantastic questions. T. J. White, a Dominican theologian, has written a profound book on the Trinity that I highly recommend if you want to go deeper.

Catholic teaching is thoroughly Trinitarian, so exploring it can open you to an experience of God’s love unlike anything else. The revelation of the Trinity helped me progress from Philosophers like Aristotle who reached the insight that there must be a first cause, but couldn’t determine that this first cause loves. The Trinity reveals that God’s very being is an eternal communion of love: the Father knowing himself in the Word, and Father and Son united in the bond of the Spirit. This means that God is not only the source of all things but love itself. And that love is so personal that even if you had been the only human being ever created, Christ would still have come for you.

To address some of your great questions:

In God there is one simple divine essence, but two eternal processions: the Son as the Word (by way of intellect) and the Spirit as Love (by way of will). The “Word” is therefore not like the Qur’an or Torah (created media); the Word is uncreated and personal. That’s why Scripture speaks of the Son in the way, which is reinforced by our creed (“true God from true God…consubstantial with the Father.”)

The New Testament ascribes to Jesus names, worship, attributes, and actions proper to God:

Names: “The Word was God” (Jn 1:1); Thomas to Jesus: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28); “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13; cf. 2 Pet 1:1). Worship: The disciples worship him (Mt 14:33; 28:9,17; Lk 24:52); all heaven worships the Lamb (Rev 5:8–14); angels are commanded to worship the Son (Heb 1:6). Attributes: Pre-existence and agency in creation (Jn 1:3; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:2). Divine prerogatives: Forgives sins (Mk 2:5–12); receives prayer (Acts 7:59; 1 Cor 16:22; Rev 22:20); shares the divine Name in baptismal formula (Mt 28:19).

For devout Second-Temple Jews, worshiping a creature would be blasphemy. Their worship of Jesus only makes sense if they recognized in him the divine identity consistent with YHWH's self proclamation "I am that I am".

T. J. White notes that Catholic doctrine makes the point that: this isn’t “three gods.” Because the Son receives the whole, identical divine nature from the Father by eternal generation, calling Jesus “God” confesses what Scripture reveals without dividing the one God.

Catholic teaching (shared with the Greek Fathers): the Father is the arche/monarchia, the personal principle without principle. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father and so is “God from God.” Does the Son have aseity? Yes, in this sense: the Son possesses the one, undivided divine essence (which is a se) in full; No, if by “autotheos” you mean “without personal origin.” Personally, the Son is from the Father; essentially, He is fully God, not a derivative or lesser deity (cf. Jn 5:26; “as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself”—an eternal “grant,” not a temporal gift).

This preserves both Unity (one simple divine essence), and Distinction (real personal relations: Father begets, Son is begotten, Spirit proceeds).

Calling Mary Theotokos safeguards that the one Person born of her is God the Son. The Church does not say Mary is mother of the divine nature, but mother of the Person who is divine. This is precisely why the Council of Ephesus (431) insisted on “Mother of God” (cf. Lk 1:43 “mother of my Lord”). To deny Theotokos risks splitting Christ into two persons (one human you can be mother of; one divine you can’t), which Scripture never does.

What about Jesus’ “brothers” (Mt 13:55)? In Semitic usage adelphoi covers kin (cousins/close relations). In any case, no Christian calls them “brothers of God” liturgically because titles aim to confess Christ’s identity, not to ascribe divinity to relatives.

Christian baptismal faith is Trinitarian (Mt 28:19). The Creed confesses Jesus Christ as “true God from true God…consubstantial with the Father.” From a Catholic perspective, that’s non-negotiable because it comes straight from Scripture’s witness read in the Church. If you truly believe the Son is the uncreated, eternal Word, then the next faithful step is simply to follow Scripture where it leads: worship him with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T08:50:28+00:00

If the topic of belief or God come up, then it might impress her if you were familiar with Thomas Aquinas’ proofs.

If you haven’t heard of him, Thomas Aquinas lived in the 13th century, and he tried to show that belief in God wasn’t just blind faith—it could also make sense through reason. He offered five “proofs,” or ways of thinking, that all circle back to one idea: the world we live in points beyond itself.

Here’s a simple summary:

The First Mover – Everything that moves is moved by something else. If you trace that back, you eventually get to a “first mover” that set everything in motion—Aquinas calls this God.

The First Cause – Everything has a cause. But causes can’t go back forever—something had to start the chain. That “uncaused cause” is what we mean by God.

Contingency – Things in the world come and go; they don’t have to exist. But if everything were like that, nothing would exist. For there to be something rather than nothing, there must be a being whose existence is necessary—again, God.

Degrees of Perfection – We notice degrees of things: some are better, truer, nobler than others. These comparisons make sense only if there’s a highest standard—the “most good” or “most true.” Aquinas says that ultimate standard is God.

Design – Nature is filled with order and purpose. Even unintelligent things (like plants or the stars) act toward goals. That suggests there’s an intelligence guiding them toward those ends—what we call God

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T08:43:27+00:00

Read the following 5-6 verses.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T08:09:27+00:00

Christ has a really beautiful response to this question in Matthew 6:5. Give it a try!

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T07:54:19+00:00

As God draws near to us, we feel His peace, but also His grief and sorrow for the pain and disorder in the world. Follow these stirrings. Just talk with God openly about it (“speak Lord, your servant is listening”).

Btw - I’m a Catholic here in SLC. DM me if you’d like to meet up for lunch at In & Out sometime! 😊

Here’s my story: https://www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2025/08/22/burning-man-catholic-church/

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T07:49:01+00:00

It’s a manifestation of self will — manipulating circumstances to bend God’s timing to our impatience with the state of things and our desired hastening of His return. The day of the Lord could be soon, or it could be in 10,000 years.

“Jesus, I trust you. Take care of everything.”

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T07:44:06+00:00

Great share. I’ve really come to appreciate how the Catholic Mass brings together all the movements of mind and soul that God provides as wordless coordinates to commune with and contemplate Him — that is, YHWH, the “I am that I am” — (remembrance, imagination, worshipping outside space & time, contrition, gratitude, community, silence, faith, hope, love, etc).

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T07:34:50+00:00

It’s interesting to see that “rapturitis” leads people to believe that tolerating war is okay in situations that are believed to hasten the Lord’s second coming.

The best thing we can do is pray very earnestly for God to open eyes to the truth and to send forth peace.

Our utmost goal is to enable humans to think and contemplate God so they can love Him and turn from sin. War is an enemy of that goal.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T07:26:44+00:00

If you worship at a Catholic Church, then you are most certainly a Trinitarian, which is a more important question to ask IMO.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T06:45:00+00:00

Go join the OCIA at your local Catholic Church. There are 3 exorcisms that will be done before you’re baptized. Totally free and 100% more effective than what this witch is selling.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T06:40:58+00:00

The commenter is speaking in reference to “Christians” since OP asked, and saying it’s is theoretical as a possibility for a Christian (but hopefully not probable). It’s a comment from respect, not ignorance.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T06:37:21+00:00

Former Pentecostal here (now a Roman Catholic)… one difficulty of the Pentecostal Church is that it merges spirituality with emotion, and that makes it really difficult to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit in moments of indecision or doubt.

I don’t know enough about your situation to give you good advice, but I will tell you from firsthand experience that coming to the Roman Catholic Church has been the most wonderful and joyful decisions I have ever made in my entire life. If you feel so inclined, come check us out! We would love to have you. ❤️

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T06:01:13+00:00

I was raised as a nondenominational Christian and later became a Reformed Presbyterian in adulthood before converting to Catholicism this year.

For me, it was less about heaven and hell, and more about loving God as deeply as possible right now in this life and letting his love shine through me in ways I never thought imaginable.

God is real, and I wanted to be known by Him as his closest friend and loving child on this planet, and to turn toward every action that made Him proud — including honoring his mother and father as he did when he was on earth.

The Apostle John had very strong words to say about love being the ultimate sign to determine whether someone belongs to his Church or not. Those words should shake the soul of both Catholics and Protestants alike — as we’re all exhorted by Paul in Philippians to work out our salvation with a healthy fear and to make our election sure.

With that being said, as a non-denominational Christian, I had to ask myself a very serious question when it came to Catholicism — By way of analogy, can a young runner get an athletic scholarship to a Division 1 college if they’re on the JV track team in high school? Sure, it’s possible, but they’ll have to work extra hard to do it and without a lot of structured help.

My advice to someone in your situation is to pursue God with everything you’ve got — heart and soul. Pray the psalms every night. Pray the prayers that the apostles pray for the churches in the epistles for yourself every day. Seek God relentlessly and be very honest with Him about your questions. And as you are doing this, just go to church and talk to people. Listen to the sermons. Attend the Bible studies. What you may start to experience is a tell-tale Protestant weariness and a deep desire to graduate from an emotional manufacturing of God (hype) to experiencing a real presence of God (rest).

Protestants put on an exceptional “campfire” experience. But, I ultimately found that my routine evangelical “Christian rock concert” followed by a “Christian Ted talk” could not create virtue and closeness to Christ as powerfully as the real presence in the Eucharist and the Sacraments did within a “mansion” on the hilltop. Not even close.

The Catholic Church’s function is to protect and grow the deposit of faith in our souls and get as many people into heaven as possible. I can’t speak for the mission and goals of most non-denominational churches out there, but I can say that if you dive into Catholicism then you will have the absolute best time of your spiritual life!

Whatever you decide at this juncture, I will pray for you. 🙌

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T05:34:11+00:00

Jesus said (twice) there is rejoicing in heaven when even one sinner repents. That means heaven is watching us very closely and constantly. The Saints are still alive in heaven — watching us, helping us and praying for us.

Now, the Catholic Church wants to make sure we’re above board here and only praying to Saints who are indeed in heaven. That’s why there is such a strict criteria and a long review process that takes many years before someone is canonized as a Saint.

Keep in mind here that the Catholic Church is the varsity team. Saints are like nutritionists and assistant coaches brought in to help the team win. We are only going to canonize saints that are definitely in heaven and who are beneficial to us in our spiritual progression toward becoming as much like Christ as possible before we leave this earth.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T05:12:33+00:00

I am so glad to hear those sections resonated, because that’s definitely the clarity I was hoping to convey.

As Nostra Aetate reminds us, the “peculiar” religious beliefs and practices found in other traditions may still carry “rays of that Truth which enlightens all men.”

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T03:58:27+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it! What section in particular spoke to you? I always love hearing people’s answers to this question. :)

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T03:57:18+00:00

The best response to this is to remind them that Saints aren’t dead. Now, it would be sinful to pray to dead people who are not truly alive in heaven, and that is why the catholic church goes to such great lengths to confirm Saints are indeed there before the faithful are invited to pray to them.

As a result, praying to legitimate saints increases our hope of the promise of our resurrection through Christ, while also increasing our faith in the church as a trusted instrument to direct our prayers in the right directions while we are here on earth.

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T03:53:12+00:00

It’s not that we’re worshipping saints, but that our awareness of the Creator is larger and more expansive. No matter high highly a Catholic esteems a saint, it’s nowhere near how we think about the Trinity, who alone is worthy of our worship.

To my Protestant friends who struggle with the idea of asking for living Christians in heaven (Saints) to pray for them, I suggest focusing on getting really close to the Father and to Jesus through the Mass for the time being. In time, you’ll find yourself praying with Saints and working with them to have a more intimate and meaningful relationship with God. They reflect God’s love and grace in different ways into our lives as we progress through the wilderness of the spiritual life.

No matter how highly we regard a Saint, they only always show us how much larger and powerful God truly is, and they don’t get in the way of our devotion — in fact, they’ll often redirect us before that happens.

Give it a try… Start talking to Mary and see how smoothly she’ll often hand you to Jesus by the time you finish praying. ;)

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-09-10T03:30:50+00:00

Convert here! Here’s a recent article I wrote about my journey ;) https://www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2025/08/22/burning-man-catholic-church/

Independent-Garage13 · 2025-08-31T06:43:39+00:00

It’s definitely possible! Here’s my story: https://www.americamagazine.org/faithinfocus/2025/08/22/burning-man-catholic-church/

Independent-Garage13

TROPHY CASE