Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with catholic

If they did actually expect the Inquisition, what would they sing?

Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:33:17 -0800

Church Lyrics filter: Help me find old Catholic Church music with Latin lyrics (with English translations) about about smiting the Devil. I'm looking for lyrics that are ominous and very "Oh Lord, strike down Satan with your righteous smiteyness". Yeah see, this is why I'm asking for help.

Something that hundreds of years ago, a local church choir would have broken and brushed up on when they heard the Inquisitor was heading to town, and they wanted to greet him with appropriate music.

I need to find the contents of a Catholic Missal!

Brainy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 02:33:32 -0800

For a school project I chose to redesign a Catholic Missalettes. Only problem, can't find any to redesign! When I was younger, and went to a Catholic Church in central NJ, we used missalettes, little booklets that had the readings and such for the mass. They were definitely mass produced and almost definitely subscribed to.
They had a solid colored cover, with usually a stained-glass image inset within the color. The applicable dates were written below that.

I'm interested in re-doing one of those for a layout project for school, but I can't seem to find any examples of the content online. By content, I mean all the directions, section numbers, etc. I recall the ones of my youth to be rather specific.

I realize this is a long shot, but does anybody have any sources for the content of a missal? I'm running late on this project so I'm kind of willing to take any subset of Christianity.

Book about Catholicism?

teragram — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:45:01 -0800

Can you recommend a book about Catholicism? No, other than the Bible. I would like to learn more about Catholicism. Any book recommendations? Topics could include the Catholic church's positions on things, the history of the Catholic church, the organization of the church and its leadership, really anything is fair game. Thanks!

Trying to Find a Prayer Similar to the Prayer for Daily Neglect

CodeBaloo — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:20:29 -0800

Trying to find a Catholic night time prayer, very similar to the Prayer For Daily Neglect, that was included in a small booklet of Catholic prayers recently distributed via pew pockets, July or August in the Lubbock dioceses. It was also a three-part prayer, and was also for neglects, but worded differently than the "official" prayer. Basically, it contained to the effect of a "provide the good I saw but did not do", a "complete the good that I did incompletely", and another part. Any clues? Google came up empty for me.

What are some clever tech-related sponsorship levels?

pyjammy — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:12:02 -0800

Help me think of some clever sponsorship levels for our upcoming tech conference. I am on the planning committee for a fairly small (150ish attendees) national conference. The organization that puts on the conference is a group of Catholic IT professionals. This year, we're implementing sponsorship levels, like "Platinum", "Gold", and "Silver". But those are kind of boring.

Help us think of some technology-themed levels we can use.

We will have three levels of sponsorship, and the titles need to be obviously "good", "better", and "best".

Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations.

debbie_ann — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 15:54:45 -0800

Help me find a vibrant Protestant church in the Cleveland area. I'm between denominations. I love the idea of going to church, but I've yet to find one where I feel comfortable coming week after week. Maybe you know the denomination I'm looking for.

I presently go to children's weekday Mass at a wonderful little Catholic church. I love it for the following reasons
+ The sermons are wonderful. We always learn about a Saint or a story about Jesus, and then the Priest helps us understand how to apply the lessons to daily life.
+ We all sing together. 100 school children, their teachers and many grandparents sing a simple song every week. Last year it was "we are made for service".
+ There is a fantastic sense of community. I know everyone. Everyone knows me. When we pass the peace, we mean it.
+ We all pray together.
+ I leave feeling refreshed and inspired to be a good person, with very clear directions about where a good person should head this week

However, I am not Catholic for all of the reasons that Protestants usually state. I'd like to find a church where I can take communion. I've tried the following... and had the following problems.
- Going to my parents Presbyterian church. It's mainly blue-hairs. I feel lonely during coffee hour. Everyone who talks to me pretty much just asks how old I am now, and tells me how much I've grown.
- Going to a Unitarian service. It seems to be more of a theological class than a worship service. We didn't pray.
- Going to a born again nondenominational church. We sang and prayed for a half hour, which was AWESOME..... but then the sermon would invariably be a half-hour pro-life rampage and during coffee hour teenagers would pass around petitions to overturn Roe vs. Wade.
- Going to a Non-denominational Contemporary church. Very vibrant, but the service lasted for hours. I had to leave because I was faint with hunger....and my ears rang all day from the excessive volume.
- Not going to Church for years. It leaves me with an emptiness... a yearning.
- Going to a Lutheran church. I felt bored and couldn't sit still.
- Going to a different Presbyterian Church. Great sermon.... but we're given about 5 seconds to 'privately confess our sins' before being forgiven. I find myself both too hurried to reflect, and bored after the sermon. Also, just a handful of adults under 40.

The issue is rather pressing because I'd like my son to have Sunday school experiences. I'd like to find a church (in or near Cleveland) with the following qualities, where I can settle down . . .
+ Young people. I'm in my late 20's and would like to be part of a community that includes a substantial number of adults under 50. Other families with kids would be great. People in their 20's and 30's would be awesome!
+ Protestant denomination
+ a sense of community
+ reasonable amounts of singing
+ prayer
+ sermons that teach about Jesus, God, the Bible and how to be a good person
+ vibrant worship (as opposed to the soul-stifling sound of an entire congregation boredly reciting 'Alleluia' and 'it is right to give thanks and praise in unison)

"Liberal Catholic" doesn't have to be an oxymoron

pised — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 10:03:20 -0800

Looking for liberal Catholic parishes in Toronto. My partner and I don't live in Toronto, but we'll be getting married there in 2011 (the hall is booked) and would like to find a liberal priest to marry us. I'm from the GTA originally, but I don't have a home church there anymore because my family stopped going to church when I was about 12. My partner and I have started going again in the city where we live and we love how liberal our (university-based) church and our priest are, and we'd really like to find that with wherever we get married in Toronto. We live together and would like a priest who wouldn't look down on that so much; an accepting outlook on things in general would be most welcome. If you're Catholic and in Toronto and have an awesome liberal priest and/or church community, where do you go? We'd prefer downtown-ish or west GTA (to Mississauga at the most western limit).

To pre-empt some potential questions:
As much as we'd like to be married in our current city with our current priest, it's too difficult to work out logistically with travel for family and friends. We live about 2 hours away from Toronto, so can't go to church there every Sunday, but we do visit my parents often and can put in appearances whenever we are in town. We'd also probably do all the pre-marriage counselling stuff at the church we choose in Toronto. I'll answer any other questions as they come up.

Transitus in San Francisco?

jgirl — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:13:19 -0800

Where could I attend a Transitus service in San Francisco? Where could I attend a Transitus service in San Francisco? The St. Francis shrine is closed for renovation. Thanks in advance.

My first question!

24-hour crucifix emporium near London Bridge? Too much to ask?

Acheman — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 09:27:21 -0800

I live in London. My housemate will be baptised a Catholic on Saturday. I'd like to get him an appropriate gift, but am too much of a useless heathen to know where to start. My friend and housemate has been preparing to enter the Catholic church for some time. I've been trying to be supportive, and back when he was closer to being the clueless agnostic I still am we had some pretty serious conversations about it. Lately, however, it's been something he gets on with pretty much on his own. I think he may have been a bit disappointed by how hard I found it to 'get' the Pentecost - but that's another story.

Anyway, yesterday he let slip that he's going to be baptised on Saturday. I don't think he wants to make a fuss of it, but I'd like to get him a gift of some kind in recognition of the fact that it's something of a big deal. He already has a gazillion Bibles and theology books as well as books of Catholic poetry. Other housemate, who was raised Catholic, suggested a rosary, but I don't have the faintest clue how one would go about getting one. I work near London Bridge but I can also hop onto a Tube.

Married in a Catholic church? What was Pre-Cana like?

mittenbex — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:58:19 -0800

I'm wondering if others can share their experience with the Pre-Cana classes/process before getting marred in a Catholic church. I've looked online and found very vague descriptions and I'd really like to know what we're going to be involved in. Especially interested in the FOCCUS test they have you take (I haven't been able to find sample questions and I really want to know what sort of things they ask to see if you are 'compatible'. Please share as much as you can or are comfortable with.

Is Protestant considered a derogatory label?

snachodog — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:26:53 -0800

Is the name/label "Protestant" generally considered derogatory by non-Catholic/non-Eastern Rite Christians? My fiancée is Assemblies of God. I was raised Catholic and have always referred to n-C/n-ER Christians as Protestant, and this is the first time that I've heard that Protestant is deregatory.

What does "pea green pink Irish Catholic" mean?

MaudB — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 06:42:14 -0800

"Pea green pink Irish Catholic" - what, if anything, does this phrase mean and/or refer to? I'm editing the transcription of an interview with someone wherein he's talking about his relationship with his wife, an Irish Catholic. At one point he says, "she grew up in a very pea green pink Irish Catholic family, where everything is very dour and there isn’t a lot of adventure."

Has anyone ever heard that phrase, and if so, do you know what it means? I can't tell if it's a mistake in the transcript, or just something I don't know. Googling revealed nothing.

Graveside at a Catholic funeral?

Wittamer — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:09:35 -0800

Writing a funeral scene. Am familiar only with Jewish funerals. What happens, graveside, at a Catholic funeral? Prayers? How is the casket carried, and covered with dirt? Any specific rituals I should know about? If any knows particularly what happens at a Catholic funeral in France this would be even more helpful.

Teach me about Catholic social justice

naoko — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:25:46 -0800

I want to learn about the Catholic social justice movement. What are some good books or other sources? I work with people who come from this background/perspective, and I want to get inside their heads a bit. Me: lefty (and generally into social justice sorts of issues), atheist (grew up Protestant, knowledge of Catholicism in general is pretty basic), huge fan of Paul Farmer.

Marriage by an out-of-province minister?

pised — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:58:34 -0800

Can an Anglican minister from a different province marry two kinda-lapsed Catholics in Canada? My fiance and I are trying to figure out how we want to get married and by whom. We're debating between getting married in a Catholic church (we are both Catholics, fairly lapsed but still feel a connection to the church and definitely to Christianity) or seeing if our friend can marry us. We really like the idea of our friend marrying us to make the ceremony that much more personal. Our good friend is a non-practicing Anglican minister who lives across the country, which is also where his parish is. We're getting married in Ontario. All of us are Canadian.

Because we haven't decided where we want to get married, we don't want to ask our friend yet, especially if it's not even possible for him to marry us anyway. If he were to marry us, it would not be in an Anglican church, but outside or at another (non-religious) venue.

So:
1) Could our friend marry people in another province, outside of his parish?
2) Could he marry non-Anglicans?

Thanks!

A Community that canonized John XXIII?

parmanparman — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:45:36 -0800

Is there a Catholic community of more than one church or one leader where the Decision of the Second Vatican Council is followed to the exact letter of the new law rather than implemented in sorts or passed over in certain areas like the Roman Catholic Church?

What should I wear to a Catholic church on Easter Sunday?

LittleKnitting — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:39:51 -0800

What should I wear to a Catholic church on Easter Sunday? I'm traveling to the northeast next week with my SO. During a part of our trip, I will be meeting his entire family. They're Catholic and there's a good chance I may need to go to church with them on Sunday for Easter.

The problem is that I haven't been to a Catholic mass (let alone a Catholic Easter mass) in ages and I have absolutely no idea what to wear.

I figure, of course, I should avoid anything too revealing, casual, or overtly offensive. But, other than this, does anything go?

Can I wear a simple black dress? Is black even an acceptable color? Or am I obligated to wear something pastel or white? Could I do nice dark pants with a light colored blouse or sweater?

I'm trying to avoid a major faux pas here, so any guidance at all would be appreciated!

How to obtain my baptismal certificate?

smurdah — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:46:07 -0800

What's the easiest way to get a copy of my baptismal certificate if I only have a vague idea where I was baptized? This is embarrassing, but in my defense, I don't really remember it all that well. I'm getting married in four months and need to get a recently-issued copy of my baptismal certificate. I was baptized in or near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, around 23 years ago.

None of my living relatives remember in which parish. They don't even know if it was the Diocese of Pittsburgh or the Diocese of Greensburg. Neither diocese seems to have the records at the diocese level (that's what they tell me when I call, anyway -- wouldn't they keep backups?).

I know it's possible to get a conditional baptism ("I baptize you, if and only if you've never been baptized before") but even in that case, I'd still like to get a copy of my original certificate, just to have.

Do I need to just start contacting all the Catholic churches in the area (100+), or is there a better way to handle this search?

Thanks in advance!

First-Time Pallbearer

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:13:36 -0800

My wife's sister died, and I've been asked to be a pallbearer. What should I know? Of what customs, rituals, or traditions should I be aware? Any tips I should know? The family is Chinese, the service will be Catholic. (I am neither.)

Who were the members of the council of Laodicea?

bigmusic — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 10:30:33 -0800

I am looking for a list of people that participated (the people actually voting) in the Council of Laodicea. Any books or papers that detail their life would be beneficial as well.

Yes, they'll know I am Christian... how?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:28:45 -0800

Christian-faith-filter: What do evangelicals think of Catholics? What sorts of things would be good to emphasize, or, conversely, to avoid mentioning, as a Catholic who wants to be taken seriously as a Christian by a group of evangelically-oriented Protestants? So, I'm a lifelong, practicing Roman Catholic, and therefore, of course, a Christian. Without going into too many details, I'm facing a situation which will involve my speaking at length about the state of my personal Christian faith, which will be judged by an audience of mostly more evangelically-inclined (but not fanatical) Protestants. Since I know that evangelical Protestants' opinion of Catholics is pretty mixed, I was wondering if anyone could shed light on:

(1) what exactly my audience's preconceptions might be (that Catholics are too sensual? not Bible-oriented enough? too authoritarian? too community-oriented? or what?) and
(2) what aspects of my faith I should emphasize (or avoid discussing) in order to show that I do possess a nice, mature Christianity of the sort that warmer Protestants could approve (Should I talk more about the private emotional aspects of my belief? Should I say "Jesus" instead of "Christ"? Should I avoid discussing politics, or mentioning the Trinity? And so forth.)

Note that this will be a personal faith defense, not a theological disputation-- the goal is to have people come away agreeing that I'm a good Christian, not to have them come away agreeing that Catholicism is a Christian faith (which latter point I'm sure most of them accept already; I just want to avoid saying anything that might negate that impression). I know this question hardly draws on Metafilter's strongest demographic, but this is the only place I could think of that'd give me a straight answer. Thanks in advance for any and all insights!

Help me both a Good and Bad Father for Halloween

Rolandkorn — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 20:21:02 -0800

Dressing as a Preist (leaning more toward Irish Catholic one )for Halloween. Looking for ideas and wierd and funny things to say. So far i found this Things you dont want a Preist to say was hoping to query the hive mind for funnier things and ideas.

That catholic schoolboy sound

ChabonJabon — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:25:27 -0800

I'm looking for songs with the Catholic sound - like Enigma: Sadness. I'm looking for pop songs that sample that Latin singing that usually goes on in the Catholic Church. Sometimes it's sung by the choir boys, other times by the priest during communion. It sounds a bit like opera, but not as loud.

Do you know any popular and modern songs with that sound in any genre? YouTube links would be great!

Books on impact of miracles on Latin American politics?

Joakim Ziegler — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:59:21 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations on books on purported (modern) religious miracles in Latin America, and their impact on society and politics. For instance, the Virgin of Cuapa appeared to a man in Nicaragua during the civil war, and ordered him to "burn bad books", which was done, with "bad books" interpreted to mean Marxist literature.

In general, I'm interested in purported miracles leading to mass movements, political change, and societal impact. Additionally, if there are some really good books out there on the influence and impact of the Catholic Church on modern Latin American politics (big subject, I know), specifically as it relates to the Latin American right wing, and possibly the various "dirty wars", I'd also be interested.

Academic works are preferred, but more popular reporting works too. Prefereably books I can get on Amazon.

What to do with my veil?

Morrigan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:53:50 -0800

Can you suggest a use for a Holy Communion veil? I recently found my own communion veil (cheapish "tiara" type headband, lace fall) and I have no hope nor expectation that this would be useful to anyone in my family, in a Catholic way. Can you suggest any uses that would be meaningful to those I'd pass this on to?