Pagan Vs. CATHOLIC

VESTIGES OF ANIMISTIC PAST:

• Folk religiosity
• Pseudo-catholicism
• Split-level Christianity
• Neo-paganism
• Nominal Christians

OBJECTIVES:

• Examine our prayer life
• Purify our Catholic faith of paganism
• Deepen our loving relationship with God

IN ADORATION & THANKSGIVING

Pagan:
Fulfilling external rituals is most important.

Catholic:
Glorifying God is the essence.

Pagan:
Adoring God to receive his blessings.

Catholic:
Adoring God because He deserves it even if nothing is received in return.

Pagan:
Important to do many things for God

Catholic:
God must increase, I must decrease.

IN SUPPLICATIONS

Pagan
I must do the right prayers/novenas/sacrifices to make God hear me.

Catholic:
I must have confidence, love & humility when I ask God for something.

Pagan:
Trying to make a bargain with God

Catholic:
God has the final say; whatever he gives is what is best for me.

Pagan:
I deserve to get God's gift because I'm good, I attend Mass, I pray.

Catholic:
All that God gives me is pure gift and I can never deserve them with all that I may do.

Pagan:
I ask mostly for material and temporal goods.

Catholic:
I ask for spiritual goods and if there are any temporal goods, only those that would assist me in becoming holy.

Pagan:
I ask God to remove the cause of my suffering.

Catholic:
I ask God the graces to bear my sufferings & to carry my crosses well.

IN CONTRITION

Pagan:
Jesus came to judge me.

Catholic:
Jesus came to save me.

Pagan:
I'm more afraid of suffering than sin.

Catholic:
I'm more afraid of sin than suffering.

Pagan:
I detest sin because of how it would affect me; I fear the penalty (servile fear).

Catholic:
I detest sin because of how it affects God; I fear hurting the Father who loves me (filial fear).

Pagan:
Commandments are burdensome; I must submit to them or suffer the consequences.

Catholic:
Commandments make me feel I'm a friend of God; they allow me to share his life, love & power; they are signs of my union with God.

Pagan:
When I sin, I regret sinning.

Catholic:
When I sin, I repent that I have done wrong to God/others.

Pagan:
After confession I live my life as before.

Catholic:
After Confessing I make changes in my life.

Pagan:
I can take it easy with my weaknesses because I can always go to Confession.

Catholic:
Each Confession is an ever-growing & unique encounter with God's mercy; it makes me more and more Christlike.