The few personal experiences I have had with my Catholic Church the good and bad. Faith and miracles happen when you pray a lot to Jesus may be due to someone being sick or having a premature baby that is at high risk just by praying and having faith can get you out that bad situation you are in, without god I’m no one. Superstition is something I personally believe in because it is something I was raised with it since I was a baby. My personal experiences with church are very good and bad I am catholic because that is what my parents taught me. I will start with the good ones first; I love going to church because of the feeling you get when you come out it is a very peaceful feeling that makes you feel relived like if you can breathe the fresh air it’s just a feeling I can’t explain unless you experience it then you will know. In addition, a couple months ago a good friend of mine invited me to a Friday night vigil. I will never forget that experience. The vigil took place from midnight to 8am. After a few hours, of kneeling and praying at the feet of a statue of Jesus, I started to feel a warm and calming sensation throughout my body. Something I’ve never experienced before. It felt like the warmth of the sun as it radiates to your skin. Only this was a stronger kind of warmth, and it radiated through every inch of my body. What I was feeling was God reaching out to me. At that moment I knew I believed in the Holy Trinity. I had experienced the Holy Spirit for the first
Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.
During the 16th century, Protestantism emerged as a new sect of Christianity. This process was not calm or peaceful in the slightest. Protestant leaders like Martin Luther and John Calvin fiercely attacked and denied traditional Catholic beliefs, causing much controversy and debate upon religion. Many regions of Europe as a whole were converted to Protestantism, and many more Protestants emerged in areas where Catholicism remained the state religion. The Catholic faith became less and less appealing to people as the abuses of the clergy were now publicly addressed by reformers and a new, personal approach to religion was offered in Protestantism. In addition, rulers favored Protestantism as a state religion because it meant that no power
The process by which Scripture has been preserved and compiled is one whose history is worth noting. The early church had many opportunities to share the Good News of Christ via word of mouth, but from the time of Christ’s resurrection until the mid-second century, there had not been a single culmination of writings considered to be essential for the purposes of
The Annual Catholic Appeal has done a lot for the community like helping out with the youth. They do different things like gives schools money to keep the school up and going. They also encourage leadership for the youth so they will be leaders and so they won’t be followers. They are helpful to the community in many ways. The Annual Catholic Appeal makes a big difference in the community by encouraging leadership, supporting young people, and providing money for catholic school students.
Historically religion has usually been a large part of civilizations, states, nations, and cultures. In Poland the case is no different; religion has been engraved in the culture and history of Polish people. Since the introduction of Catholicism In Poland has grown largely and more homogenously Catholic. It can be argued that this was manufactured at the end of the Second World War; through the holocaust and forced migrations by the Soviet Union. The significance of Poland’s strong ties to the Catholic Church is that the church plays a large role in the structure of polish society. The Catholic Church has served as a protector and promoter of polish culture during the times Poland vanished off the map, to the struggles for democracy. As Poland fought to rid them of Soviet influence and become a free democratic society with free elections that Catholic Church played a key role in helping the fall of communism in Poland. However from an alternative angle it can be said that art a music movements were also a key fundamental influence in the fall of communism in Poland. Although entirely opposite, both artistic expression and religion were two institutions of culture that both played significant roles in Poland’s rise to freedom. However it is clear from the work of many musicians, poets and
By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.
Over the past years of my life I have seen many changes, some for the good and others not as good. Change can be demanding and also crucial. The early believers would encounter this. One can see that significant change happened, when reading through the gospels and the book of acts it is obvious to the reader that the believers who followed Jesus would never be the same again.
By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not
The Middle Ages were a period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the 5th century. However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the Middle Ages is arbitrary. According to the Norton Anthology, "Medieval social theory held that society was made up of three 'estates': the nobility, composed of a small hereditary aristocracy,...,the church, whose duty was to look after the spiritual welfare of that body, and everyone else..."( Norton 76).
The Chinese Christian church in the United States often has ethnic characteristics, but different Chinese churches often have special concentration in the composition of the congregation, which reflects the tide of Chinese immigrants in different stages. For example, descendants of early immigrants from southern China usually have their fixed church. International students from the mainland of China have the church which they set up together. And other "informal immigrants" also formed Christian organizations. According to Aihui Lee, she divides American Chinese Christianity into four categories.
The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.
In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.
I've been attending church for as long as I can remember. The earliest time I remember going to church was when I was in pre-school, and I attended the same church until high school. Sundays were routine, we attended church, went out to eat after with other members of the church, and then went home to watch either football or baseball (sports being my second religion). Skipping church was never an option, nor did I really want to miss it. I had good friends at church, and was genuinely interested in the bible and the stories we read.
The four marks of our church are what we believe as Roman Catholics our church to be. We state these beliefs in the Nicene Creed and they are also shown in many other parts of our faith. Only the Roman Catholic Church reflects the fullness of these marks. It is through these marks that salvation can be achieved. These marks include One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostalic.
Since the day I was born my parents took my sister and me to church ever Sunday. I grew up in a loving Christian home and was encouraged at an age where I could fully understand, to purse a relationship with Jesus. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was in the second grade and was baptized in the fourth grade at age 10. Growing up I have always been super involved in Church. I have a heart for people and love serving. Since 3rd grade until now, my senior year of high school I have been on the leadership team with my youth group. I can not imagine my life without Jesus as the center. I have been pushed to step out of my comfort zone and because of that I have grown in several different ways. For example, I am an extrovert and enjoy getting new people, but never liked public speaking as I felt nervous and intimidated. By the many adult leaders, and pastors coming along side of me and encouraging me to step of on my comfort zone I now highly enjoy speaking and spreading the truth about The Lord in big groups of people. I am so thankful for the many God loving people that have come in my life and helped stretch me. Jesus is my entire life and I am nothing without him.