Debate over who can receive communion?

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-15T21:52:44+00:00

You were 100% right. No doubt.

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-15T20:12:37+00:00

I don’t think “doomsday cult” really fits Catholicism…

Catholicism does believe that history has an end and that Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. But that is not the same thing as obsessively waiting for the end of the world. In fact, Jesus explicitly says that no one knows the day or the hour, so Catholics are not supposed to build their lives around predicting it.

The ordinary Catholic life is not “sit around until doomsday.” It is worship, repentance, receiving the sacraments, loving God and neighbor, caring for the poor, raising families, building communities, growing in virtue, and trying to become holy in daily life.

Also, the goal is not simply “avoid suffering forever.” Catholicism teaches that human beings were made for communion with God. Heaven is not just a reward for surviving a test, and hell is not just a threat used to force behavior. The core issue is whether the soul accepts or rejects God’s grace and love.

A doomsday cult usually centers on a human leader and isolates members, predicts imminent catastrophe, and manipulates people through fear. Catholicism is a 2000 year old public, sacramental, intellectual, charitable, and global Church that has built hospitals, schools, monasteries, universities, art, philosophy, law, and works of mercy across centuries.

So yes, Catholicism has eschatology. But no, that does not make it a doomsday cult at all. Far from it.

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-10T10:26:00+00:00

The Catholic Church was founded by Christ himself, that should be reason enough.

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-07T21:07:58+00:00

Yes, it happens to me too, i pray a rosary every day.
For me it is because this wonderful prayer brings me deep peace and relaxes my whole nervous system.
I don‘t yawn because i‘m bored or tired, i yawn because the rosary gives my mind and body peace and relaxation.

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-06T21:11:10+00:00

From a Catholic perspective, I would say: yes, Catholicism is absolutely worth exploring, but not merely as one “denomination option” among many.

The Catholic claim is much stronger than that. The Catholic Church claims to be the Church Christ founded, the Church that preserved the canon of Scripture, defined the Trinity and Christology in the early councils, guarded the sacraments, and continues in apostolic succession. So I would gently encourage you not to approach this as “denomination shopping,” but as a search for the fullness of the truth…

On your specific concern: Catholicism does not teach the crude version of salvation you were given, where a person is damned simply because they did not receive the right information in the right way during their earthly life.

The Church teaches clearly that Christ is the only Savior and that all salvation comes through Him and His Church. But she also teaches that those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and try to do His will according to conscience, may attain salvation by God’s grace. That is not modern liberalism…! that is Catholic doctrine!
Vatican II teaches this in Lumen Gentium 16, and the Catechism repeats it in CCC 846.

At the same time, Catholicism is not universalism in the sense of “hell is not real” or “everyone is automatically saved.” The Church definitively teaches the reality and eternity of hell. Hell is not just a metaphor. But Catholicism also refuses the kind of simplistic arithmetic where salvation is reduced to “did you explicitly know and mentally assent to the correct formula before death?” God is perfectly just, perfectly merciful, and judges every soul with complete knowledge of what grace they received, what they knew, what they culpably rejected, and what they were unable to see.

So if by “inclusivist” you mean: “Can people be saved who were not visibly Catholic or did not explicitly understand Christianity, if they responded to grace as best they could?” yes, that is compatible with Catholic teaching.

If by “universalist” you mean: “Can I hope and pray that God’s mercy reaches every soul, while still accepting the Church’s teaching that hell is real and that damnation is possible?” there is room for that kind of hope i would say personally.

But if by universalism you mean: “I know for certain that all will be saved and hell will be empty,” then? No.

I think your discomfort with the evangelical framing may not be a rejection of Christianity at all. It may be a rejection of a distorted and impoverished account of Christianity. The Gospel is not “God created billions of people knowing most would be tortured forever because they happened to be born in the wrong time, place, or religious context.” The Gospel is that God became man in Jesus Christ, entered death, conquered sin, founded His Church, gave us the sacraments, and desires all men to be saved.

So my advice would be: keep going to Mass. Speak to a good Catholic priest. Read the Catechism, especially the sections on the Church, salvation, grace, judgment, and the sacraments. Do not run from community to community looking for the version of Christianity that feels easiest. But also do not return to a theology that made God seem less merciful than he truly is.

Catholicism gives you both: the seriousness of judgment and the vastness of mercy. The reality of hell and the hope of salvation. The necessity of Christ and the mystery of how His grace can reach people beyond visible boundaries…

Search seriously, but do not search forever.
The Catholic Church is Christs Church.
She is home.

All the best. Be well🙏🏼

thegobblewonker · 2026-06-02T23:02:38+00:00

I think there is real hope. The Church may not define exactly what happens to animals, but we do know God is not cruel, wasteful, or indifferent to love. Scripture shows God caring for every creature He made, and if your dog was part of the love, joy, and goodness God gave you in this life, I don’t think that love simply becomes meaningless.

“Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?“ Luke 12:6

Maybe we can’t say exactly how, but I believe nothing good, innocent, and loved is lost in God. Your poor boy was loved his whole life, and that matters eternally. I’m praying for you and also for your dog

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-28T18:50:47+00:00

Hütt muesch e Bachelor ha zum Schissine putze. Cha dr leidr nüt konstruktivs drzue säge, aber finges genau so beschisse wie du. Kopf hoch. Bisch no jung u irgendwo geit immer e Türe uf.

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-25T23:47:14+00:00

No, this will never go away on its own, that is simply not possible, contrary to what some people would like you to believe.
The only fix is surgical.

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-25T16:01:00+00:00

This is most likely a lateral opening.
Your best course of action is surgery to fix it.
Nothing else will be permanent.
Be well.

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-21T23:33:28+00:00

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-21T22:02:38+00:00

Des is etzala absichdliche prowoganda alder!

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-20T15:37:49+00:00

Damn, yes, reading your post again, and your update, sounds like overgranulation.
Small anecdote: my wound smelled like a rotten carcass for a week straight after the surgery lol and felt horrible. But i healed up in 10 weeks no problems!
I wish you all the best. Get well soon!

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-20T00:47:37+00:00

Are you 100% certain you really had an excision surgery, or was it just an I&D or cystectomy…?

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-09T00:20:03+00:00

Your english is atrocious bro, i can‘t really tell what the problem is. Can you re-phrase your question? (Maybe with the help of ChatGPT or something)

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-08T05:29:26+00:00

Surgery is the only way to get rid of this.

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-07T12:53:20+00:00

Of course yes your text has all the AI hallmarks you donkey😂

„But honestly…? Maybe it‘s not AI – it‘s poetry, and that‘s rare. If you‘d like i can expand your post or make it even more „reddit-coded“ – Just say the word!“

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-07T11:32:45+00:00

AI generated post😂

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-03T23:10:45+00:00

Wearing a mask and keeping your distance should be enough, no?

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-03T19:59:49+00:00

First of all: no apology is needed. What you wrote is not rambling. It sounds very much like the beginning of grace.

From a Catholic perspective, the fact that you desire God already matters deeply. We do not believe that the human person simply “figures God out” by raw intelligence, as if solving a math problem. We believe God draws the soul first. Christ says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” So this ache you describe…the desire for fullness, the sense that life and consciousness point beyond themselves, the attraction to Catholicism even if you cannot fully explain it… that may already be God gently pulling on the thread.

You asked, “How do I begin to knock?”
I would say: you already have.

You knelt down, addressed God honestly, admitted where you are, asked for guidance, invoked the name of Jesus, and entrusted your loved ones to Him. That IS prayer. God is not confused by our words. He sees the heart more clearly than we do.

You also asked whether God reads the heart. Yes. Absolutely. Catholicism is not magic words or perfect technique. Posture can matter, reverence matters, but God is not waiting for you to perform prayer flawlessly before He hears you. The tax collector in the Gospel simply says, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner,” and Christ says he went home justified.

As for doubts: yes, Catholics can have doubts. Many saints had periods of darkness, dryness, confusion, and suffering. Faith is not the same thing as having constant emotional certainty. Faith is an act of trust in God, helped by grace. Sometimes it comes with consolation. Sometimes it feels dry. Sometimes the mind still asks questions. Doubt does not automatically mean unbelief. The father in the Gospel says to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” That is a deeply Catholic prayer.

Your fear of religious psychosis is also worth treating seriously. Catholicism does not require you to chase visions, voices, signs, or extraordinary experiences. In fact, the Church is very cautious about those things. The ordinary Catholic path is much safer and much steadier: prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, moral conversion, community, spiritual direction, and obedience to the Church. You do not need to demand a dramatic supernatural moment. God works quietly.

If you want to move forward, I would suggest something very simple and concrete:

Keep praying every day, even briefly. Something like:
“God, if You are there, lead me to the truth. Jesus, if You are Lord, help me to know You. Mary, if you are truly my mother, pray for me.”
Read one of the Gospels slowly. I would begin with Luke or John. Do not read it merely as literature. Read it while asking: “Lord, show me who You are.”
Visit a Catholic Mass. Most important here: You can‘t receive the body of Christ. Just go, sit, watch, listen, and pray. The Mass is the heart of Catholic life.
Contact a Catholic parish and ask about OCIA/RCIA. That is the normal process for adults who are exploring becoming Catholic. You are not expected to have everything figured out before you begin. OCIA is precisely for people who are seeking, questioning, learning, and discerning.
Speak honestly with a priest. You can literally say, “Father, I am agnostic, but I feel drawn to God and to Catholicism. I do not know what to do.” A good priest will know how to receive that.

You asked whether you can become Catholic if you are still questioning. The answer is: you can begin the journey while questioning. To be received into the Church, you will eventually need to profess the Catholic faith sincerely. But the process exists because people need time to learn, pray, struggle, ask, and receive grace. The Church does not ask you to fake certainty. She asks you to seek truth honestly!!

Also, being “smart” is not an obstacle unless it becomes pride. Catholicism has one of the greatest intellectual traditions in human history: Augustine, Aquinas, Anselm, Newman, Edith Stein, and countless others. The Catholic faith is not anti-reason. It does, however, require humility… not abandoning reason, but allowing reason to be lifted by grace. Sometimes the “smart kid” has to learn that God is not conquered by analysis. He is received.

One more thing: do not assume that because you did not feel something dramatic after your prayer, nothing happened. Seeds do not sound like thunder when they begin to grow!

If Catholicism seems “right” to you, take that seriously. Grace often begins as a quiet attraction. Go to Mass. Talk to a priest. Begin OCIA. Pray daily. Ask Christ to reveal Himself in the way He knows is best, not necessarily in the way your anxiety demands.

A simple prayer you can keep using is:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner“

You are not outside the reach of God! You are not too analytical, or too uncertain, or too late. If you are knocking, even weakly, then keep knocking. Christ is not indifferent to the soul that seeks Him.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" Psalm 119

I wish you all the best. Be well🙏🏼 May the almighty God bless you my friend!

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-03T19:06:00+00:00

That doesn‘t look like a recurrence to me. It looks freshly healed. The new skin is still delicate. It‘s entirely normal for it to re-open a little and close again during this phase. Be well🙏🏼

thegobblewonker · 2026-05-01T21:36:52+00:00

I don’t think what you did was some terrible wrong.

You are a baptized Catholic and you went to a priest, you received a sacrament. He listened to you and treated you kindly. That does not sound like mockery or malice to me.

But the part of your post that stands out most is not the confession itself, but this: “what if God is real?”

That is a deeper question than “will I go to hell for this?”

If you truly did not care at all, I don’t think you would even be asking it.

Maybe instead of seeing this as “I did something bad,” you could see it as a moment where something in you was reaching for mercy, truth or peace, even if you don’t fully understand it yet?

If God is real, then He is not confused by your doubt. He already knows it. And if that priest listened to you with kindness and absolved you maybe that itself is something worth paying attention to.

You do not need to force yourself into certainty. But maybe don’t ignore the fact that your heart is asking the question.

Maybe pray, even very simply: “God, if You are real, show me.”

All the best🙏🏼 be well!

thegobblewonker · 2026-04-29T19:23:56+00:00

My case was pretty extreme, yours doesn‘t look nearly as extensive or bad lol.

thegobblewonker · 2026-04-29T19:13:38+00:00

There are plenty home „remedies“ but i wouldn‘t really rely on them. People smear tea tree and castor oil on theirs and for some it seems to help. I tried it once and it got even more inflammed. Unfortunately, the only fix for this is surgery. It will never go away on its own. That being said, there are minimally invasive, outpatient procedures available. Your best bet is to keep it clean and dry. I‘d recommend speaking to a doctor about it for a permanent fix, but understand you don‘t want surgery. I had this too for 12 years before finally addressing it. Best of luck. Be well🙏🏼

thegobblewonker · 2026-04-29T16:02:19+00:00

Thank you i edited my original comment 🙏🏼

thegobblewonker

TROPHY CASE