RCIA 1: Who is God? How do we know God?

[@pjla-lbl]

Is anyone watching it in 2024?

[@heavenlykingdomrelaxation1324]

i am a baptist pastor. but not for long. i am gaga for Father Mike Schmitz and Jonnathen Roumey. i am coverting to the catholic church starting this fall in cincinnati ohio. i am autistic so i cant read and understand well. but i can learn from audio and video. i am buying audio books and watching videos. I love you Father Saunders! I adore and love all of you.

[@mulipolatuuumataafatiufeaa4964]

Sn outstanding presenter and an excellent Catholic communicator. He speaks simple words and terms that are easily understood terms. God bless

[@JPVanderbuilt]

Fr. Saunders is one of the best communicators of the Catholic faith that I have ever heard in the Catholic church. His homilies every Sunday are also outstanding.

[@bluefamily3937]

This is outstanding!! Thank you for making this available.

[@WandaKing-m6d]

Fr thank you for posting these classes. I went to my first mass last Sunday and will be going back to mass this Sunday. I haven’t spoke to the Priest yet because I don’t want to bother him especially when I know he must be really busy. I may call this week and try to set up a time to talk to him.

[@gleeberger8966]

I have noticed in society today that beauty is becoming lost. I'm an interior designer and I notice it in home furnishings out in the stores. Furniture for the home is not focused on beauty, but now it's focused on comfort. Art for walls in a home, lamps, accessories are now designed with distortion, not order and balance. No longer with balance, grace, and continuity. Everything is becoming distorted! Music as an example is now distorted noise. I think it's because God is a God of order. If you have not God, you have no order or balance or beauty, because these are gifts from God, and you must be inspired by God to have Godly gifts.

[@Kimmc1985]

Excellent lecture. Thank you.

[@daeftan]

This is a very well done lecture. Thank you.

[@haloman4311]

Father Saunders, I don't know if you remember me, but I used to go to your parish, with my Dad and mother Lisa Raffaele. My grandmother and great-grandmother also went there, Gina and Lily McCormick

[@randolphguerrero1960]

Amen! Clear, concise, measured, and well done. Excellent presentation. 🙂 I keep you in prayer Father. 🙏

[@mulipolatuuumataafatiufeaa4964]

Great videos. Thank you.

[@njohn6995]

Thank you father Saunders 🙏

[@philipnickerson210]

Thanks for posting these lessons.

[@mehjs2]

Incredible Thank you father!! loved it!

[@andrewjansen9702]

The more you think about love the more you ask yourself if God exists. That’s because God himself is Love

[@nenabunena]

Very very good lecture, don't remember my theology teachers being this indepth

[@RFJ7702-dm4bt]

Awesome ❤

[@waqxddgytdcvjj8678]

First day of rcia, I’ve got the wrong versions for all books😂

[@CuriousCattery]

😂 that would've happened to me too! Still to do RCIA but I was always that kid in school.

[@deborah9532]

Is there anyone who could possibly scan and give us a link to his handout materials?

[@maricelaruiz7197]

The book: Life in Christ, the author please! Excellent session Father 👍

[@annelagache4417]

I thought he was referring to the initials L (life in) C (Christ) also sounds like “Elsie”

[@Carl14565]

Based on the cover design it appears to be “Life in Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults” by Gerard Weber and James Killgallon and revised by Michael Place and Sammie Maletta

[@JonathanG-nh5eu]

I didn't know there's different types of levels of didn't know there was moral ❤sins. I didn't know the minor ssins veni I thought send is him.I did not know the difference until another catholic explained it to me

[@heavenlykingdomrelaxation1324]

pat robertson is on cbn broadcasting . he is dead now. i miss him

[@angelwings7930]

How is it determined that you’re ready to become Catholic after taking classes ? Or you automatically are ? What if you watch all these videos in the series ? Then what ? Your local church agrees that’s enough ?

[@cheryl71000]

Everyone's journey in faith is different, this is just the start giving a basic framework of what catholics believe. The first three months is a time of enquiry, asking questions, getting to know Jesus. The next stage is sacraments etc, how they help you through life. At Easter you, and only you decide whether you wish to become a Catholic and take the sacraments, becoming a Catholic. This is just the start, you have the basics, for your start in life with Christ.

[@catholicprodigal]

Hi, God bless you. You have to take these classes at a local Parish, usually most Parishes start these classes in the Fall, some may begin sooner. This inquiry period usually takes 5-6 months. When the Lenten season begins in the new year the next step in the phase begins which is initiation into the three initiative sacraments which is baptism, confirmation and Eucharist. There is usually candidates this is those who were baptized but not confirmed and catechumens, those who need all of the sacraments. The initiative phase depends on the life and disposition of the individual to continue, some cases may take longer than usual, depending on the circumstance. If all checks out, then the tradition is usually to receive the candidates and catechumens during the Easter vigil. Altogether the process can take 7-8 months or more. Hope this helps.

[@angelwings7930]

@@catholicprodigal Thank you. Locally I found out the classes run too late at night for me. I don’t take risks at night driving around unless it’s an emergency. The way it’s set up makes it impossible. I’m interested but late night classes, no. I’m an older person too.

[@catholicprodigal]

@@angelwings7930 oh no I'm sorry to hear that. I'm gonna pray something else opens up that is convenient for you. Maybe you can call the archdiocese of your region and see if they can help you and work with you. 🙏🏼

[@haileymontgomery3659]

They will make exceptions for you. You don’t have to take classes if you can’t make it to and from them. They will work with you. The point of the classes is just to make sure you know what you are getting in to. They don’t “make” you catholic and are not required if you cannot go.

[@timothyporras3720]

Amen

[@JonathanG-nh5eu]

Before I was Catholic friend of mine invited me to the Africa wedding. When we went to the? It's house for reception. There was beautiful. I did not know it was was a Sin 2 get drunk. My friend keep up bringing beer to my said. Some Catholic, I know what to send to get drunk , I also learn Through the holy spirit i'm on Blood pressure pills I cannot even have one beer or any alcohol My blood pressure will drop so low it will make me Dizzy impossibly pass out.And I think that's also a mortal scene

[@andrewjansen9702]

It makes sense. After all a good bit of science goes into carpentry and Jesus himself was a carpenter.

[@puppygirl8602]

I'm curious....why did he leave off the end of The Lord's Prayer? Is it different for Catholics than it is for Protestants?

[@somesweetdreamm]

Hi dear. Yeah it’s different:) What you’re thinking of is called the doxology, or the ending to the Protestant version of the Lord's prayer. Roman Catholic and modern Bible versions of the prayer do not have this ending. It’s a long, messy, and somewhat of an unnecessary story because it makes no essential difference to the prayer and it comes from a prayer of King David’s. Catholics do not say it because it simply is not considered a part of their Church tradition. The priest alone (Western rite) says it as an embolism in the modern Roman Rite. The Protestant tradition, on the other hand, demands the people to say it rather than a priest.

[@puppygirl8602]

@@somesweetdreamm ok cool. Thank you for your reply...this is a bit confusing for me. I was raised protestant (Southern Freewill Baptist & Mennonite ) but left ages ago. I am exploring this because it just feels right somehow, but it can be confusing. 😊

[@somesweetdreamm]

@@puppygirl8602 Haha I relate! I was also raised Baptist, converted to Anglicanism but am exploring Catholicism. God bless you in your endeavors! I hope it brings you closer to Him!

[@catholicprodigal]

We recite "for the Kingdom and the power and the Glory are yours now and forever at mass" it is typically a mass response otherwise we don't pray it with the Our Father.

[@rebeccaventer]

could I have the materials sent to me?

[@Thegreatestholynameofjesus]

How come others don’t receive the Holy Spirit I think god has plan

[@jamesryder9158]

15:41

[@Adrians_Edits]

(This is where the class begins thanks)

[@anbuchudarchristie8098]

What is the first catechism that Father mentioned?

[@TeddyBarboza]

Didache 80 A.D.

[@sefatullah2037]

Hello dear, I need help, I am a Muslim, I want to accept the religion of Jesus, how do I do it I am in an Islamic country, it will be difficult here. I want to accept the religion of Jesus. I want to go to your country

[@roberthayter157]

The Bible says that we need to repent and believe the gospel. Repent means to realise the things that are wrong in our lives and honestly decide to stop doing them. The problem is that to stop doing these things then we need the power of God to help. This is where "Believe the gospel" comes in. The gospel is the good news of what Jesus has done for us. He died for our sins on the cross. Three days later God raised him from the dead. This means Jesus is alive today. If we ask the living Jesus to come into our lives he will do so and give us the power to live God's way. A new Christian will seek to be baptised as a sign that they are part of God's church. This can be hard in a Muslim country, since those who get baptised can experience serious opposition. Also it may be that churches are hard to find. To help you on your journey download the Bible App. This has Bibles in many different languages. Start reading the Bible, especially the last 27 books (the New Testament) God will feed your soul.

[@Banjoliope]

Just trivia. Pat Robertson founded the 700 Club.

[@heavenlykingdomrelaxation1324]

the 700 club is pat robertson

[@angelwings7930]

What ? “Some of us have the gift of bilocation” ? Wouldn’t that be considered concerning and demonic ? Middle plateau etc. ? Psychic ability that’s not to be encouraged ?

[@ElizabethYsmayGray]

God bestows bilocation at his discernment to very few people who are doing important work on His behalf. Thus far, every one who has been given this gift has later been canonised.

[@DonVueltaMorales]

OK. So I liked this, generally, and committed myself to go through the series. However, when Fr. Saunders trashed Pollack (he did not throw paint against a wall) and Gehry (he does not throw toilet paper on the floor for inspiration), I realized how deep-seated are the aesthetic limitations of our Catholic, post-Vatican II clergy. Now you know why sentimental tchotchke randomly fill our churches. I'm thinking specifically of that Divine Mercy picture, which is not the Vilnius version but the Disney superhero version. And I'm sure this artistic ignorance and mis-education also explains the truly abominable music that one finds in most RC parish churches. I'm thinking of that non-St.Francis "Prayer of St. Francis" and that "On Eagle's Wings" atrocity--can barely be sung by a trained soloist, yet congregations clamor for it, grinding their way through the muddled nuances that can't logically be sung. But in the end, you can't take a bunch of middle aged priests and send them to re-education camps to receive a proper education in music and art history (Catholic and otherwise) and aesthetics.

[@JonathanG-nh5eu]

Is Capricorn church?Do they have missionaries gold house to house in witness of the faith The reason i'm asking the question The mormon. S And the joke is witness.Go door to door

[@christinacascadilla4473]

I have a question about “god loving us.” I’m not so sure. Look at the story of the slaughter of the innocents in the Gospel of Matthew. God comes to Joseph in a dream and warns him that Herod plans to kill all the newborns or all the kids under the age of 2. Gods tells Joseph to take Mary and the baby Jesus to Egypt where they will be safe. But he doesn’t bother to warn all those other families and their children get killed. So it doesn’t look like god is all loving. He let all those children die. Maybe he just loves some people.

[@kylel.2138]

21:17 The atheists position on the existence of god not that "there is no god". They don't argue (or shouldn't, otherwise they're not arguing atheism) against god. They argue that there is not sufficient evidence to believe that there is a god but they are open to the idea of it should such evidence be presented; they question the evidence presented to them in favour of god. If there was enough evidence presented to an atheist to prove that there is a god, the atheist would cease to be an atheist by virtue of logic. Since the claim was made by someone that a god exists, the burden of proof falls on the person making the claim. The key issue here is that the theist claims that god was always there, and the atheist claims that they don't know if he was and requires evidence. They don't ascertain that there is no god and they don't spend time disproving the existence of the god that they don't recognize (in the words of Ayn Rand, "You are never called upon to prove a negative.") - they say that there isn't sufficient evidence to suggest that we should recognize the existence of god. This makes atheists important to religion in the same way that criminal lawyers are important to the justice system one might say. Furthermore, agnostics aren't "cowards", how dare you. Agnostics state that nothing can truly be known of god given his supernatural nature. They don't "want" to be atheists or "sit on the fence", they tend to think that evidence that argues for or against god is ridiculous because he is supernatural and therefore exists (assuming he does) "above" us and nothing can be proved either way, and as such the agnostic just exists and doesn't really concern themselves with the argument at all. One's wants don't determine their beliefs either. You believe because you believe in much the same way that you can't help if you are attracted to members of the same sex or you like chocolate more than vanilla ice-cream. So to answer your question(s), why is it important to an atheist (or anyone for that matter) to look the evidence that's presented to them and question it on any matter (such as religion)? I'm not going to bother answering that ("the gift of the intellect"). Why is it important to an atheist what others believe or why is it so concerning? I can't speak for all atheists since everyone has different values and whatnot but it generally has something to do with the state of society. If there are a few people that spend time believing things that they can't prove are correct and making decisions in their life that reflect those beliefs, we tend to call those people insane and we throw them in jail when they commit heinous acts based on those beliefs like Charles Manson. Theists, regardless of religion or denomination, are therefore large groups of people who live under similar circumstances as insane people. It doesn't really bother most atheists that some people want to get together on the weekend and talk about what they think is morally good and so on and so forth, it's the fact that these people hold power in office, make decisions that impact the lives of everyone (including atheists), seeing statements like "In God we trust." on the money, etc. There is literally a person who sits in a large comfortable chair in D.C. who has the ability to push a big red button and essentially destroy the planet via nuclear holocaust at any point in time..do we really want that person believing deep down in his core values that there is an invisible man who lives in the sky and watches everything you do, and if you don't do what this person says than there is a place full of fire where he will burn for eternity? I hope not. Weekend get-togethers and friendly conversations on morality are all fine and dandy, but it's the principles that are important. "...this to me is the true horror of religion. It allows perfectly decent and sane people to believe by the billions, what only lunatics could believe on their own." - Sam Harris

[@shinysalamence7]

Wow, you sure spent a lot of time typing. You forgot to give a citation to George Carlin though, don't plagiarize

[@ThepPixel]

Im fairly sure he was joking when calling Agnostics cowards.

[@gomezjkv]

Greetings to you. The problem that I see in what you have very eloquently stated here is that a person will believe in God if they are presented with enough evidence. I see, in what is plainly described in the scriptures, people who interacted directly with God but still did not believe in Him or did what He told them. When God gave the people of Israel the Commandments He barely got to the tenth commandment when they cut Him off and told God that they did not want to hear from Him anymore; that whatever He wanted them to know He could tell Moses and they would then get it from Him. The promise that God gave His people was if they would obey all of His commands that He would bless them with wealth, food, protection and every material possession they would ever want. Still not an adequate motivator for His own people. In my opinion God does not want people to believe in Him because they have no choice, but rather He wants a person to seek after Him and develop a friendship with Him based on honesty and love. Christ’s sacrifice of Himself for all of humanity opens a door but one must take the step of walking through. God bless.

[@jordanvangundy975]

Aside from the fact that it’s an appeal to authority by just saying this smart person believes in God, I’d stay away from quoting Nazis (von Braun) about their faith in God.

[@donaldshong]

Wonder who created God.

[@mpkropf5062]

Read Genesis and it will explain God

[@morphosis7655]

Sorry but the slavery/sex outside marriage argument does not work at all. The first is horrendous beyond belief and causes all kinds of harm towards other humans the second is two people having sex outside of marriage( yes still a sin but not harming anyone apart from themselves). What is right for you and what is right for me does not work here.

[@TheManofsorrows]

Sounds boring

[@garfieldbraithwaite8590]

You lost me at Von Braun? What a fool