Born again Catholics........?

Question

Do you still pray to Mary, the saints and confess to the priest?

Answer 1

Yes.

+ Born Again +

Catholics are spiritually born again (and again and again) through:
+ Belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior
+ Living the Gospel to the best of our ability
+ Daily rededicating ourselves to Jesus Christ
+ Receiving new life in Baptism
+ The forgiveness of sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation
+ The infusion of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands in Confirmation
+ Taking the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ into our bodies through the Eucharist (Holy Communion)
+ Even during the penitential season of Lent

These are a few ways that Catholics are spiritually born again. We usually just don't use those words.

+ Mary and the Other Saints +

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

Asking others to pray for you whether your loved ones on Earth or your loved ones in heaven is always optional.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9p5.htm#946

+ Reconciliation and Confession +

The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."

When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.

Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)

Oral confessing of sins is recommended over and over in both the Old and New Testaments:
+ James 5:16
+ Acts 19:18
+ Matthew 3:5-6
+ Mark 1:5
+ 1 Timothy 6:12
+ 1 John 1:9
+ Numbers 5:6-7
+ Nehemiah 9:2
+ Sirach 4:26

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

Remember all sacraments are encounters with God. This sacrament is a healing encounter between God and the penitent.

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

A born again Catholic is a Catholic who makes a committment to Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. His life reflects his faith and he also if faithful to the Bible.

Does a born again Catholic still pray to Mary and the saints? For a Catholic Mary and the saints are considered family members. Asking Mary to pray for us is like you asking your pastor or family members to pray for you. While Protestants may consider Mary and the saints to be dead and gone, Catholics practice what they preach in believing that people in heaven are very much alive. As a Protestant you may think that those in heaven cannot bring our prayers before the throne of God, but nooooooo,,,, Why that is exactly what they are doing in Revelations 5:8. The questions should be, "Why are Protestants fulfilling the example in scripture?"

Confess to the priest... Of course. James 5:16
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." You see the Bible teaches us to confess our sins to each other.
Does the priest have the authority to do this?? Of course. In the gospel of John chapter 20, we find that the risen Jesus is with the apostles and giving them charge to do the same work that Jesus did for the Father, or "as the Father has sent me, I also send you". Then Jeus says, "22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." This is Jesus performing some kind of rite to institute a system in the Church to forgive sins.

Its sad the Protestants have left so much of their Christian heritage behind when they rejected the authority of the Pope. Hopefully some day Protestants will wake up and realize that so much of what they criticize about Catholics is really in the Bible and practiced by Christians for 1,600 years before the Protestant revolution.

Answer 3

The term Born again Catholic is not an oxymoron, I have heard my priest use this term when I was baptized.Born Again Catholic just means some one who was baptized in the Catholic Church.
Yes I still do all of these. Although in confession we (All Catholics) do not confess our sins to the priest we confess our sins to Jesus Christ. I think AMDG explained it in the best way :)

I hope this helps to answer your question

Edit:
After reading over all the answers to your question & the links.
It is so sad that there are so many people who are quick to condemn Catholics. When the arguments they through at us are lies some one told them about our faith. If you want to know about Catholicism go ask a Catholic or buy the book Catholicism for dummies (This really is very good despite the name)

I hope this helps to answer your question


Edit:
WOW GREAT ANSWER WALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

Well, we don't pray TO Mary as someone who can do anything for us - other than join us in prayer to her Son Jesus Christ. We as for her intervention.

Same with the Saints.

Though the Saints and Mary do help us out, they can only do what God has allowed them to do. On their own, they have no power.

Yes, we still confess to a priest. But not only the priest, we pray for forgiveness before ever talking to him. Confessing to a priest allows us to tell someone we hurt (and isn't a sin hurting all of the Church?) what we have done, and how sorry we are to have done it?

Answer 5

The trinity isn't a Catholic element in any respect, it quite is a factor of almost each Christian denomonation. Being 'born returned' is a greater elementary term between protestants. And in basic terms a be conscious to the guy who pronounced the King James Bible, i'm uncertain the place you're getting your counsel from yet that version is transforming into much less and much less elementary, maximum church homes these days use the NIV, and as for swearing on it, no person ought to truthfully swear on a Bible because of the fact the Bible itself says to no longer swear on something, "permit your definite be definite and your no be no".

Answer 6

Have I asked friends to pray for me or my family? The answer is yes. Do I ask the Mother of our Lord Jesus to pray for me? The answer is yes. I do not worship Mary, but I do value and respect her. Saying she was just another mother or an ordinary human just seems wrong to me. She without sin, conceived without knowing man and carried the only perfect being in human form inside her womb. I think she deserves some respect for that. Worship -- No, because she is not God or the son of God.

The Saints I also ask to pray for me. They were devoted servants of God. Most gave their lives for God in ways I could not ever imagine doing. Again, I do not worship them because they are not God. I have heard Protestant friends of mine ask a dead loved one for help. How is this different than asking a saint who's life you respect intercede for you? I do not see a difference.

Yes, I receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession). It is not just a telling of sins to a priest so one can go out and commit them again. It is an act of humility to go before another human and confess sins, and to ask absolution. One promise that is made is that we will try to the best of our ability to never commit that sin again. We do believe that through Divine Right the Priest has been granted through Jesus the power to absolve sins. We are truly confessing to God our sins and asking him for forgiveness. For me it is true proof that I am only human and make mistakes, and even though I am only human and make mistakes God's love is there for me.
Peace be with you.

Wally has an awesome answer!
Peace.

Answer 7

Never heard of born again Catholics unless you are referring to through Baptism that we are "born again" (or "born from above") of "water and of the Spirit" (John 3:3-5). Read the entire chapter of John 3 which speaks of being "born again" and please note that it is all about Baptism. Despite what some Protestants believe, being "born again" doesn't mean "having an emotional high" or "making a decision for Christ," though these are fine and good, the latter being necessary after the age of reason; being "born again" very clearly refers to Baptism of water and of the Spirit. This regeneration of water and Spirit is necessary to enter the Kingdom of God:

John 3:3-5
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God

Answer 8

what are you talking about? I wouldn't consider myself a born-again if that would mean I'd be a Bible-fundy.

Answer 9

I don't think Catholics know what the term "Born Again" means.

Answer 10

Well yes; these things are a vital part of our Faith.