Leadership structures
Due to the catholic church being one of the oldest established organisations throughout the western and eastern world, the hierarchy and leadership roles are very complicated. E.g
You could go from a priest to a pastor who leads and is in charge of a parish, and the ranking of bishop whose role is to watch over all of the priests within the dioceses. There are many other positions in the catholic church, with the highest rank being pope, which is seen as the successor of saint peter
How are members initiated into the Catholic church and what are the requirements of becoming a member?
To be initiated into the Catholic Church requires 3 stages of sacramentality. These three stages are
Baptism
Confirmation
Comunion
Baptism
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The most common and well known type of worship within the Catholic Church is the mass, this is held at any time and is usually run by a priest. The service involves a number of hymns, readings and prayers from various people and the priest. Holy Communion is also recieved during mass. Another way the Catholic church worships is just dedicating their entire lives to the Lord. There are many significant and beautiful places in which the Catholics gather to hold their masses and church meetings, usually these are held in churches but sometimes just a place that has been made sacred is peaceful enough to worship.
Give examples of some of the ritual actions that occur in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has a lot of ritual actions although they are not seen as “ritual” within the community. These include the counting of the rosary beads, making the sign of the cross, the receiving of the blood and bread of christ and many other things that are repeatedly processed during mass or just during daily life. The Seven Sacraments are the most important rituals in the Catholic Church. This involves the three sacraments of initiation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and
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Some common practises include bible study which has been practised for millenniums and the tradition of having a service every Sunday. The church is always practicing the three initiation sacraments, the Holy Communion is very common in every service because of the way it brings people with faith closer to the Christ. They teach that Jesus is the Son of God sent to die for the sins of the world and God is a triune God, consisting of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The official teaching has been the same for many years, just like the apostles passed on the Gospel message it is still a matter of word and mouth. There is the use of the bible and God’s word to pass on the teachings, but priests, church communities and the Pope are few of the many that pass on the teachings using word and mouth.
What is the Sacred writing of the catholic church and how are these sacred writings interpreted?
The primary religious writing of the Catholic Church is the bible. The church pursues from the word of God and what is written in the Holy Bible. There 3 guidelines that the Catholic church use to interpret Scripture. This involves being especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture” says Mark P.Shea, to read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church” and to be completely attentive to the
Secondly, I did not know that the Catholics had seven sacraments. According to James White (2000) “Lombard summarizes earlier teaching
During the first Vatican the catechism was used as a primary source of educating Catholics of Christian faith and doctrines of the church. The catechism consisted of teachings particularly of
Sacred texts and writings are very beneficial for Christian people since they are the word of God and can be deliberated as supportive indication of understanding the principle beliefs of Christianity which include the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the nature of god and the nature of trinity, revelation and salvation. This essay aim’s at assessing the significant role of the sacred text in providing authentic information in regards to sacred texts.
Rituals and ceremonies are the practical aspects of Christianity, which involve customary acts of special, deliberate and repeatable patterns of behaviour through the use of words, actions and symbols (Coleman, 2006). Rituals and ceremonies solidify the relationship between Christians and God as they present a practical, symbolic and comprehensible expression of their underlying beliefs (Morrissey, 2010). Baptism is the ritual of initiation into Christianity, which in essence, is initiation into a life of positive living modelled on Christ. Baptism is held within a congregation of the body of Christ where they vow to spiritually nurture the child or adult being baptised (RCA, 2012). The symbology of the water in baptism encompasses the cleansing of an individual, and it is a practical element of the ritual, which underpins a broader idea of initiating a living adherent into the religion. Another ritual present in all Christian denominations is prayer, which the baptised
Ever since its inception, Christianity has been epitomised by a range of religious practices that explore the sacred beliefs that have been upheld and spread around the world. These practices thus continue to bear a significant influence over the lives of adherents and how they seek to express their faith in Christianity. One such religious practice is that of baptism which functions as a significant milestone in the life of any
The Catholic Church is the oldest major religion in the Western world. Littered with peace, love, and humility, along with violence, turmoil, and controversy this institution has seen, heard, led, and had influence over the majority of everything and everybody that there was in the last two millennia. This has included ordinary people, Kings, Queens, Generals, Nobleman, Royalty, and everything in between, and has endured since the beginning of the modern era, Anno Domini. They great spiritual and monetary machine created a powerful reign over the entire world’s Catholics, and remains so to this day. For the purpose of background for my visit to a Catholic Church, being Presbyterian, I did historical research before I visited. I
While the Church is not truly the source of teachings and the like, it is an assembly or group journeying together to heaven. The Church is me, it is you, it is a collection every Catholic. All of us are members of the Church. The Church is taught authentically and authoritatively on faith and morality, whether it is personal morality and social morality. Also, the Church exercises its authority through many avenues, such as encyclicals, church laws, and Canon Law. In Canon Law, the Church creates dictates for good order in the society of the Church. "...this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith." (CCC 86) The only reason the Church is able to teach on these things is through the Magisterium, which has the gifts of indefectibility and infallibility, which prevent it from teaching incorrectly due to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and that it will forever be a beacon of guidance for all the members of the
Roman Catholics celebrate Holy Communion or Mass regularly. Roman Catholics believe that the Mass is a sacrifice. Each time it is celebrated Christ renews the sacrifice that he made for the sins of the world when he was crucified. This is why they frequently celebrate it. In some Churches, only people who have been confirmed are allowed to participate in the celebration of Holy Communion, whereas in the Roman Catholic Church there is no such restriction.
Within Yves Congar’s The Meaning of Tradition, he sets out to define the traditions of the Catholic Church. Congar begins his analysis of the role of Tradition in the Catholic Church by defining it; his definition states that Tradition is a gift from God that is passed down subsequent generations. According to Congar the Church’s tradition involves sharing Christ’s revelation, so that God’s revelation can be passed down throughout space and time. Congar devotes sections of his book to the role of magisterium in the Church. The magisterium has a pivotal role in analyzing the doctrines of the faith and providing the people of God with an explanation of its meaning. By doing this, the magisterium is exercising its role as the successors of Jesus’ apostles in guiding the faithful. The Magisterium is essential to ensuring that the faithful create a personal relationship with God. Congar, attributes the magisterium’s role in the Tradition of the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit. According to Congar argues that the Holy Spirit has inspired the Church throughout history. The Holy Spirit also works through the people, giving them the gifts necessary for understanding the word of God. Congar continues to ascribe the Church’s tradition to its familiar atmosphere that allows faith to grow in believers. Congar goes on to state that the Church’s tradition does not stem from Scripture alone, the uniting force of God’s word. Scripture needs to come from an inspired source, alone it can
The stages in which take place for a pre-catechumenate can be very powerful. This moment in time is crucial when embracing the faith of the Catholic Church. Pre-catechumenate is a time to challenge the mentality of what it means to be in the Church and why it is important to become a follower of Jesus Christ. The RCIA or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults brings forth the life of the Church into the lives who want to embrace it.
The roles of people in the church were redefined, as the Pope established himself clearly as a man of action, and not unreachable ‘God like’ figure. He did not submit to his power and instead worked together and worked for the people to make worshipping Christ more meaningful. The sacraments were developed to involve the congregation and improve the expression of Christian beliefs as the church was modernized and clericalism was removed.
This in short summarizes what the role of a pastor is to be which was illustrated by the head of the Christian church. Today, the role of pastor “in a modern-day “pastor” system is as much a departure from the New Testament pattern of church as is an ecclesiastical hierarchy. No one man can assume the
The most important part of growing up involves the lasting impacts your environment has made in shaping who you are. It also helps define what kind of person you will grow up to be one day. Each person’s social environment has an impact on the way they perceive themselves. Yet someone environment contributes tremendously in who they are. Growing up in a hard-working Catholic family, excluding the fact that we’ve moved around a little bit, my environment has helped me become stronger and more independent. Yet, I have learned that people, most of the time, not only get influenced by their environment, but they also become one with that environment. After consistently going to church on Sundays, I have developed important Christian values that have structured my identity now. I have also learned that life isn’t always good to you, but only you
Many Catholics attend mass on Saturday night instead of Sunday morning because of the work schedule. This was not always the case but has been accepted by Christians since around 1980. They also have rituals of respect during the service which includes kneeling, singing, bowing and responding to the priest or deacon.
Catholics go through a cycle of events in their spiritual lives known as the seven sacraments. Although all Catholics can not partake in each sacrament, the majority receive the Holy Eucharist and are baptized as children. The sacraments are the rites of passage in the Catholic faith. Some of the sacraments require proper preparation and knowledge of the one’s faith. The seven sacraments include Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick, and the Holy Orders. Faith ties the people of God together. We are united through our belief in faith. I see the sacraments as the acceptance of faith in God and of our faith. With all the diversity that exists among God’s people,