In speaking with my friends, I've come across some things that are misunderstood about the Catholic faith. I wanted to explain some things so that the next conversation about religion will require less explanations and then more dialogue can occur with respect rather than with frustration.

So let's start with the top 5 misunderstandings.

1. We do not worship Mary(or the saints). The Catholic Church venerates or honors Mary. She is the mother of God and we honor her as our spiritual mother since we are brothers and sisters in Jesus. That is why we give her flowers, to honor her and remember her importance. Honoring someone is not worship. When we honor our parents, we are not worshiping them. We do not worship her; anyone who worships Mary is committing a grave sin. For Scriptural reference to Mary being given as our mother, see John 19:25-27.

With this said, a distinction between worship and prayer must be made. True worship (as opposed to veneration or honor) belongs to God alone, and we should never worship any other creature as we worship God. Worship may take the form of prayer, as in the Mass and other liturgies of the Church, however not all prayer is worship. When we pray to the saints, we’re simply asking them to help us, by praying to God on our behalf, or thanking them for having already done so. This is called intercession. We simply ask those already in heaven to pray on our behalf. It is exactly like asking your friends or family to pray for you during a difficult time. You aren't worshiping those you ask to pray for you. You are simply asking for help and when we combine our voices our prayers become more powerful and easily heard. For Scriptural reference to the intercession of saints see 2 Mac 15:14; Rev 5:8; and Rev 8:3-4.

For more information on Catholic belief in relation to Mary, please check out this website.

2. Catholicism is not a denomination. It is the Universal Church established by Jesus. The establishment of the apostolic church was done by Jesus. (Matthew 28:16-20; Matthew 16:18-19). The first reference is to Jesus sending forth his apostles to "make disciples of all nations." This shows that Jesus designed the Church to be an apostolic church. The apostles were sent out to preach across the world and to pass on their mission to others.

The second reference is to Simon Peter becoming the head of the Church. Peter translates to 'rock' and so Peter is the rock upon which Jesus will build his church. It is very interesting to note that St. Peter's bones lie directly under the altar in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy.

Jesus meant for there to be only one church and he hand picked the men that he wanted to lead his church and watch over his flock. These men then picked disciples who continued the work and the passing down of discipleship is alive and well in the priesthood of the Catholic church.

3. The Catholic Church assembled the Bible. Here's the part where I have to go to some history books for my information. Most of what I will be writing here will come from this website.

"Melito, bishop of Sardis, an ancient city of Asia Minor (see Rev 3), c. 170 AD produced the first known Christian attempt at an Old Testament canon. His list maintains the Septuagint order of books but contains only the Old Testament protocanonicals minus the Book of Esther.

The Council of Laodicea, c. 360, produced a list of books similar to today's canon. This was one of the Church's earliest decisions on a canon.

Pope Damasus, 366-384, in his Decree, listed the books of today's canon.
The Council of Rome, 382, was the forum which prompted Pope Damasus' Decree.
Bishop Exuperius of Toulouse wrote to Pope Innocent I in 405 requesting a list of canonical books. Pope Innocent listed the present canon.
The Council of Hippo, a local north Africa council of bishops created the list of the Old and New Testament books in 393 which is the same as the Roman Catholic list today.
The Council of Carthage, a local north Africa council of bishops created the same list of canonical books in 397. This is the council which many Protestant and Evangelical Christians take as the authority for the New Testament canon of books. The Old Testament canon from the same council is identical to Roman Catholic canon today. Another Council of Carthage in 419 offered the same list of canonical books.
Since the Roman Catholic Church does not define truths unless errors abound on the matter, Roman Catholic Christians look to the Council of Florence, an ecumenical council in 1441 for the first definitive list of canonical books.
The final infallible definition of canonical books for Roman Catholic Christians came from the Council of Trent in 1556 in the face of the errors of the Reformers who rejected seven Old Testament books from the canon of scripture to that time."
The Catholic Bible includes 7 Old Testament books that Protestant Bibles do not include. We share the exact same New Testament. Maybe with different translations but we share the books. The Old Testament books that have been left out from Protestant Bibles deal with prophesies about Jesus, his mother Mary, and Eucharistic worship.

4. Reading the Bible is important for all Christians. The Catholic Church believes that all believers should read the Bible. However, the Bible cannot be interpreted solely by individuals. We are flawed and the enemy will attempt to make us believe that we don't need help understanding the writings from 2000+ years ago. Priests go through 6 years of formation and theology education to begin to grasp the importance and the context from which the Bible is written. More of this is covered in the next topic.

5. Our beliefs are centered around two things: Scripture and Tradition. Since the Church came into existence before the Bible was formed into what we know it today, Catholics fall back on the Church traditions that came into being during the teachings of Jesus Christ. Scripture is equally important to the traditions set forth by Jesus and by his apostles and their disciples.

One of the most beautiful things I've found about the Catholic Mass is that in about 3 years time of going to mass every Sunday and day of obligation you will have the entire Bible read to you through songs, prayers, and readings. Just about everything in a mass has a scriptural basis. From the opening to the closing you are surrounded by scripture and tradition. Both meld beautifully into one worship of the Lord. And no matter what Catholic Mass you attend, no matter where it is, you will be able to walk in and instantly be able to follow along.

I hope this has helped you to clear up any misconceptions or misunderstandings that you may have had about Catholicism. I pray that you have a wonderful day and that you always be blessed. God bless you and keep you.