wat do catholics believe?

Question

well im currently an athiest trying to find religion..
im going to this catholic summer camp and i dont want to seem completely lost..
i know nothing about christianity watsoever exept that there was a guy named jesus...
in a couple paragraphs can somebody PLEASE explain to me being catholic...the foundation and basics of teh religion

Answer 1

in virgin mary rather than jesus

Answer 2

Catholic belief is actually quite well summed up by a statement of belief formula called the "Apostles Creed" that was probably composed in the 4th century, but perhaps earlier:

"I believe in God, the Father almighty.

"I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again, ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

"I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the ressurection of the body, and life everlasting."

Catholics believe in what could be called a "tactile" version of Christianity. It emphasizes symbols and signs, most noticeably in the sacraments - baptism, communion, confirmation (which is a bar-mitzvah like rite of age of reason), marriage, reconciliation (or confession), the sacrament of the sick (or last rites, the anointing with oil), and ordination (being ordained a priest, deacon, or bishop.)

Catholics emphasize that belief is something not solely for the individual practitioner, but also for the community at work together. Catholics believe the community of faith should work together for the faith outside the church, and pray together in faith inside the church doors. Prayer in the church is focused on the Mass (hailing from Jesus' saying, "When two or three gather in my name, I am with you.") The Mass is the culmination of our shared prayer.

Private prayer in the Catholic church is perhaps more richly diverse than other western churches, as it is a good deal older. As with others, prayer includes the Lord's Prayer, the perfect prayer, around which the Catechism is structured.

But there is also the Liturgy of the Hours, the prayer of the church, which can be prayed communally or privately. This is prayers that follow a liturgical course similar to the Mass, and which vary during the day - prayers in the morning, prayers in the evening, compline, etc. There is the Rosary and its contemplation of the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. There is the Magnificat (Mary's "My souls magnifies the Lord" from Luke, the canticle of Zechariah, the Canticle of Simeon... and many Novenas and chaplets.

There are many different paths and journeys possible for a Catholic - there are scholastic paths, mystical paths, evangelical paths... there's almost as much diversity inside the Catholic church as there is outside of it...

Answer 3

Catholics believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so therefore are Christians. Catholic priests cannot marry, as Protestant ministers can. Nuns teach school, and work in hospitals--they cannot marry either (and consider themselves married to God).

The difference between being a Protestant Christian and a Catholic Christian is that the Catholics honor the Pope, and pray to saints. When Martin Luther came along, he felt that this was breaking the Commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

Answer 4

Us Catholics have the same beliefs as Christian people do. Christians believe in Jesus Christ and God and that's it. Catholics believe in Jesus Christ, God, Saints and Virgins(yes, Virgens! Virgin Mary is not the only Virgin there is). We believe in God, and His Son Jesus Christ very strongly, and that DOESN'T mean that we don't give as much credit of Sanctity to God and Jesus because we also believe in Saints and Virgins, first comes God, then Jesus, then Saints and Virgins. If you have any questions at all just e-mail me, I'll be glad to help you, and I will NOT force you to turn Catholic, I promise!!! Just click on my profile and sent me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible, good luck choosing a religion, we all need to believe and have faith on something or someone!!!

Answer 5

You can find this on the Internet it is a long Story. But Catholic means Universal. Still Catholics believe the Pope is the super power on Earth.
Protestants have Reverends. Christians have Jesus.

Answer 6

IIt might not be practical to give a Catholicism 101 session here, but I have provided you with the Nicean Creed should give you a glimpse into Catholic Beliefs:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty
Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,
begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us (men)1 and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom will have no end
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceeds from the Father (and the Son)
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

This forum is much too small to give an inkling of the depth of substance in the Catholic Church.

A summary of Catholic beliefs is contained in the Nicene Creed (from the year 325):

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

For a complete description of what Catholics believe, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 8

Catholics believe in God and Jesus is his son. They believe Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day (Easter) he arose from the dead and on the 40th day he ascended into heaven. We believe Jesus was born from Mary through the Immaculate Conception meaning God allowed her to become pregnant while still being a virgin. They believe in praying to certain saints who are kinda like the elfs with Santa Claus. They're not God but they have an inside track. In the bible Jesus told the apostle Peter, (his name means Rock)...upon this rock I will build my church. Peter was the first "Pope" and Catholicism is traced back to then. The pope is the head of the church and it's people. Priests and nuns are people who have given their lives to God, meaning their not supposed to marry and have children. In the bible Jesus told the apostle's to leave everything and follow him. These men and women believe that's what they are doing. But just remember these people are just people, they make mistakes just like all people do. So you don't follow them blindly. Catholicism is a religion, just one of the many faiths that help you lead a good life and have salvation after you're dead. Your faith should be in God.

Answer 9

Not trying to be rude or anything, but it will be loong and boring to explain you everything in here... and I may get wrong or misunderstood here hehe

But it would be better if you find a catecism booklet (catholic kids read it before their first communion, it's easy), or do some research on internet... it is clearly explained. If you have any doubt, feel free to e-mail me, I'll be glad to answer you. Anyway, in the Catholic camp, people will help you out as well.

Hope it helped :)

Answer 10

In one God the father almighty, and his son jesus christ, only son of the father. We beleive in the holy spirit.

Webelive that the Catholic church was founded by Jesus with the apostles.

Pope: Jesus sais you are Peter on this rock I build my church. He also told, Peter to feed his lambs.

Confession: I think it was Luke, Jesus tells the apostle, go out and forgive mans sins

Mary: We beleive in asking mary and the saints, to pray for us, the same way people ask their mom to pray for them. Who better than the mother of God

Communion: we believe that that is the body, and blood of jesus, he told his 12 "this IS my body... this IS my blood"

These are the most, common misconceptions, if you really are curious, Id love to chat... As a Note, Im open minded, and I came into the church at 17, so I wasnt raised in it, Im 25 male, you can ask anything... IM me if you like

Answer 11

Thank you all you Catholics who have already given great answers! I think you all took words right out of my mouth.

Also, doggy d, try hooking up with the Militia Immaculata. It was founded by St. Maximillian Kolbe, and it's especially devoted to Mary, hence the name "Army of the Immaculate". Their youth website is below.