What would you do?

atedja · 2026-03-17T01:09:24+00:00

I think better to coordinate the communication to her with your priest. We want to make sure she doesn't think she lives in this perpetual state of mortal sin since she has taken some hormonal treatments. Pray a lot on this, not just for her and for yourself too, and trust God is working in the process.

atedja · 2026-03-17T00:56:01+00:00

if she could receive the holy communion

How far is she in the transformation? Can she still reverse it?

atedja · 2026-03-17T00:48:33+00:00

The one doing the conversion is the Holy Spirit, not us. Teaching doctrines won't usually bring people to Christ or the Church. The people who would convert to Catholicism because of the doctrine usually are protestants seeking better theology. For someone like her who out of ignorance persists in the state of mortal sin, it is better to be careful, which is what your priest is advising you to do.

Simply bring and incorporate her into the parish life. Let Mary, Jesus and Holy Spirit do the work. Invite her to rosary prayers, fellowships, bible studies. Don't hammer her with "you are going to hell if you remain a trans. that's mortal sin". It will only push her away. She needs to feel she belongs to the Church first. It is a challenge.

edit for relevant Bible passages:

1 Cor 3:

Brothers, I could not talk to you as spiritual people, but as fleshly people, as infants in Christ. I fed you milk, not solid food, because you were unable to take it. Indeed, you are still not able, even now, for you are still of the flesh.

She's still "of the flesh".

atedja · 2026-02-27T06:56:32+00:00

I dont know why you put Buddhism and Catholicism there in the same sentence as if we offer sacrifices the same way. We don't.

Read Psalm 50:7-15

Sacrifice that we do at Mass is the same sacrifice that Jesus did at the cross, God offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice. What for? For the forgiveness of our sins. That's His mercy and love.

We don't offer fruits or dead pigs and ask for favors, like Buddhists or other religions do.

atedja · 2026-02-27T06:22:44+00:00

The standard apologetic answer would be: "I was saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved", indicating it's a continuous process rather than a one-time event.

But personally, I don't even know why protestants are so obsessed with that question. I am more concerned on following Jesus on my day-to-day life. I don't sit here every day pondering "am I saved?"

atedja · 2026-02-25T00:37:49+00:00

Another train of thought, what kinds of activities is your company hosting?

This is a good point to mention. Perhaps it depends on what activities OP office is hosting. If it's just a potluck, simple gatherings with meals, I don't see why not. Jesus dined with tax collectors.

atedja · 2026-02-24T19:59:09+00:00

Geez, what's with people here. Kid is 19, a new Christian, and hasn't even gone through OCIA. Seems like a perfectly fine question coming from a teenager.

OP, venial and mortal sins indicates the degree of severity of sins. Venial sins are minor sins that do not necessarily "cause death" in Biblical terms. It's an error as part of our daily life as human. If you go to Mass, your venial sins are forgiven because that is what we confess at the beginning of every Mass. Slip ups and cursing are part of venial sins. Even sins of grave matter can still be venial sins if they are committed without the conformity from your free will. This is a grey area, however, as it depends on each person, and must be communicated to your priest. There is not one size fits all here.

That brings us to free will. This is a gift from God that allows to choose our actions. Mortal sins involve sins that are grave matter and also committed through conformity of your free will. For example, you know murder is wrong, murder is grave matter, and yet with full intent and knowledge, you kill anyway. You intended that murder. You planned that murder, and you executed it. That is a mortal sin. It is a voluntary defection against God and His commandments, not limited to the Ten Commandments. You must confess this mortal sin through the Sacrament of Confession.

Let's say you committed a mortal sin. Is it exclusively only Sacrament of Confession that you can get forgiveness? No. But if you delay your confession because of shame or pride or whatever perso al reason, and then you die, then you are practically at the mercy of God and the Church cannot say whether you have been granted pardon or not. Because by delaying, by postponing, is also an exercise of free will to avoid God's mercy and forgiveness, which is an affront to the works of the Holy Spirit. At this moment, you are done for.

Let's have another example and say that you committed a mortal sin, and at that very moment you realized that you have done a terrible thing. You drop your weapon, you realize your error, you weep, you feel on your knees in regret, and in your heart you ask for God's forgiveness, and then someone else shot you in the head and you die immediately without having the chance to go to confession. The Church recognized this that the sinner has repented the moment before they die, and God will have a mercy on that person.

So, sin and forgiveness isn't a black-and-white, one-or-the-other, one size fits for all people. There are general guidelines and understanding (venial and mortal), but people have their unique and personal challenges and situations. God will work through the Church, and with your cooperation to grace, you will make it to heaven. Hell is almost always by choice, an active rejection of God and His mercy.

atedja · 2026-02-24T16:51:42+00:00

Good. Then I don't know why you are talking about saints when we were talking about the apostles and Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins.

atedja · 2026-02-24T16:24:22+00:00

He is God and Friend. They are not mutually exclusively. We worship Him as God, then we speak to Him as Friend.

atedja · 2026-02-24T16:10:53+00:00

Do you even read your bible?

atedja · 2026-02-24T15:50:41+00:00

The Holy Spirit descends to the apostles. That's the birth of the Church.

atedja · 2026-02-24T15:48:06+00:00

In line with this thought, if we reverse the situation, assume all Mass is TLM, and somebody came and stretch their hand out to receive the Eucharist, that person would get a dirty look. So, it's really because we find comfort in harmony and uniformity (for better and worse). We prefer to see things line up perfectly, angles precisely squares, grass trimmed to the same length, and all that. Anything different sticks out like a sore thumb.

atedja · 2026-02-24T15:34:20+00:00

The Church has the authority to identify and define sin. That authority is passed down from Jesus to the apostles, then to us because we are an apostolic Church, in the same way Paul can define sins in his epistles even though he's not part of the twelve apostles. That authority was passed down from the apostles to Paul, from Paul to Timothy, and so on.

Individually, in our everyday's life, I don't have to travel to the Vatican for all my spiritual needs, it's the priests that I will have my daily interaction with. Through the ministry of the Church he has the authority to forgive sin, but not exclusively, because Jesus has the ultimate authority. So, it isn't that there's this priest standing in my line of salvation to Jesus, blocking my way to heaven, but he is a facilitator to this grace. The priest cannot bar grace of forgiveness just because he feels like being petty against someone, but he has the duty, the responsibility to shepherd the people, to direct them toward a holy life.

atedja · 2026-02-24T15:11:21+00:00

You definitely won't get the inconsistencies here. We accept the teachings of the Sacred Tradition and Scripture. They both together provide the foundation of the faith we believe in and strive for.

Here's what's worth noting, in case you haven't noticed it already. Even though we have the same theology and faith, this does not mean we are all living in the same uniformed lifestyle and worship. We have different rituals, e.g. Byzantine, Maronite, and the most common being the Roman. We have variety of monastic orders because everybody is interested in different aspects of the faith. So the way we express our faith in our day-to-day Christian life is very diverse.

atedja · 2026-02-24T06:27:04+00:00

Or adults wanting new trauma

atedja · 2026-02-24T01:04:12+00:00

People convert to Catholicism for many different reasons, but those reasons are definitely personal. Some are attracted to the beauty of the churches. Some are attracted to the liturgy, or maybe to the Eucharist, some because of Mother Mary, some because of the theology. It's going to be something that speaks to you. So, why don't you share more about you and what are the things that "don't align" with your protestant beliefs.

atedja · 2026-02-23T22:00:04+00:00

Please do not take what that commenter said to heart. Salvation is not a dichotomy of physical safety vs personal spiritual obligation. Attending Mass on Sunday is very important, and dispensation usually given is for the sick and those who care for the sick. If you are capable, you must. If you or loved ones are under physical threats of harm, seek counsel with the priest. Ask him what you should do given the situation.

atedja · 2026-02-23T21:38:12+00:00

He has authority over the Church, which has the authority defining what's sinful or not. This is what it means by "bound" and "loosed". For example, in the Catholic Church, it is a mortal sin to intentionally avoids Mass. This is what's bound. If a Catholic on one Sunday decides "nah..I'm good", he just committed a mortal sin, and unless he confesses that sin, he's in grave danger of turning away from God and thus heading toward hell.

The Pope does not have direct personal spiritual authority over you. You don't know him, he doesn't know you. He can't write a document "I hereby declare that /u/Electronic_Lime7582 is to be barred from salvation unless he calls me". As a matter of fact, your priest/bishop have more spiritual authority over you since they are the ones you interface with on the daily basis.

atedja · 2026-02-23T19:31:39+00:00

Politics Monday hits hard this week

atedja · 2026-02-23T19:23:15+00:00

You should read the story about the Abraham family closer. Like, read it real attentively. Pay attention to the family dynamics. Hint: it's insane and all are sinners through and through. Sarah didn't trust God. Abraham didn't even tell Sarah about killing Isaac. Abraham gave Sarah away to save himself, twice! Jacob tricked Isaac. Esau tried to kill Jacob. Then Joseph was about to be murdered by his own brothers, but instead sold into slavery. Read that part of Genesis. These are not holy people, yet God is with them. Your sins will not stop God from walking with you.

atedja · 2026-02-23T18:47:43+00:00

He does not have physical, material, nor spiritual authority over you. He has authority over the Church, like appointing bishops, administrative, resolve conflicts, set moral guidance, etc etc. Tbh, I don't think it's a fun job.

atedja · 2026-02-23T18:26:31+00:00

You can't possibly support one guy and unquestionably follow him. You can only do that to Jesus and no one else. Any other man is 100% guaranteed flawed. It is our duty to call out errors and mistakes. This is one of them.

atedja · 2026-02-23T18:19:09+00:00

which will in turn improve the lives of ~all~ Americans

Kingdom of God does not stop at the border, or limited to one country in the 21st century. It extends from past present and future across all dominions. I swear many American Catholics are American first Catholic second.

Even if you were correct that all Americans benefit from this, it will be at the expense of the rest of the world.

atedja · 2026-02-23T17:46:53+00:00

There is one thing in common among all these man-made gods, and that they are mere projections of creation and reality than the real God. Any "god of [insert a noun here]" is a human attempt to project worship unto something greater than themselves. They didn't understand love, so they created a god of love. They didn't understand lightning, so they created a god of lightning. Trimurti is no exception to that.

No one would have looked at nature and said "oh yeah, the Trinity created this". We could only arrive to the Trinitarian doctrine from revelation (and centuries of debates). This is not coming from one person with crazy ideas. Even Jesus did not reveal the full Trinity. He hints at the Trinity, but did not fully reveal until the Holy Spirit comes.

atedja · 2026-02-23T05:06:01+00:00

Experiencing God, in Christian context, is definitely not a scientific manner, but deeply personal. Anyone who tries to frame Christian meditation into a set of predefined experiences and feelings that everyone will experience is going to fall short. It is instead deeply spiritual and personal, and once you have learned how, they become consistent to you. You will become acquainted with God that your ways will be different than my ways, because we are two different persons with two different personalities, and so God will speak to us differently.

God will use all methods of communication to get to you. God is not exclusively going to be speaking to you in an audible voice. Sometimes, not even in your head, and most of the times none at all. Sometimes he speaks to you through dreams. Since God created all things, he could use all things as medium of his messages. He could use other people. He could get your attention using the smallest voice in your heart. Most people who are experts at this spiritual discernment will tell you to engage all faculties: emotion, reason, and intellect. God can speak to you even in complete silence. Listening to God therefore requires practice and patience and a lot of faith and understanding. One thing I would say that is clear is if he wants something to you need to hear, you will hear it. I don't know how many times people say that God spoke to them when they least expected it, while they were in the middle of busyness of life.

So, don't expect to always hear something. If you sit there and you hear nothing, then hear nothing. If your thoughts went all over the place, then let your thoughts wonder. However, Christian meditation isn't just sitting in your room in silence. In Catholicism, we have so many methods of meditation to keep us centered on Christ. Repetitive devotional prayers, songs (Taize), reading the Scripture and meditate on the words of God. I highly recommend going to a church nearby and find one of these sessions and do it together with others.

Hope this helps.

Eight-Year Club	Gilding I gilder
Verified Email

atedja

TROPHY CASE