The Catholic Faith

The main question asked is “What are the beliefs about God and the human condition that hold together and shape the worldwide Catholic Church?”; . Four main topics are defined in this chapter, them being The Bible and its authority, The tripersonal God, Human beings: created, sinful and redeemed, and Christ as fulfilment. Gerald O’Collins first explains when Catholics express their faith in God, the God they are talking about is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All three identify as the father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. It is also described how Christians including Catholics maintained monotheism that they inherited from Jewish monotheism, and distinguished between Father and Son and the Holy Spirit. The next subject covers how man and woman are created, sin and major Reformers. It states that “God created man and woman in the divine image and likeness”, as well as humans may not “take one step towards the justice of God sight”; , but must be “awakened and assisted by divine grace”. The last subject in the chapter is about the fulfillment of having Christ in a person’s life. This chapter by far have been the most engrossing and has the most information on Catholicism itself, giving you an insight into the

Sacramentality, mediation, and communion – three properties of Catholicism that are central to its understanding. Like Catholicism, these three properties are universal and can be found in the writings of Catholic authors dating back thousands of years ago. From the first written Scriptures found in the Bible to the modern day works of writers like Flannery O’Connor, these three properties can be found portrayed in works of both fiction and nonfiction. However, these properties are not always easy to find for the untrained mind or even to differentiate for those who do have a better understanding. Sacramentality is the notion that all of creation potentially bears the presence of God. Essentially, one experiences the invisible God through the visible world. Mediation goes hand in hand with sacramentality. It occurs when God is not only present in creation but also works through it. Instead of something symbolizing or reminding you of God, it actually speaks to you and brings you closer to Him. The last property of the Catholic Church is communion. Communion is God’s way of reaching us through the communities in which we live. All three of these properties have close ties to each other. Flannery O’Connor portrays all three – sacramentality, mediation, and communion – in her book Mystery and Manners.

The sacrament of Confirmation is the single most important sacrament a young adult Catholic can receive. It is the sacrament where you fully affirm your beliefs and initiate yourself into the Catholic church. It is necessary to have a role model that will help guide you throughout your spiritual life and that person for me is Saint Francis of Assisi. I am inspired by his incredible connection to animals and hope to one day become a veterinarian. I chose him as my Confirmation saint because of who he was before and after God became present in his life.

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.

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,

John Wesley wrote in his Sermon 16 that the means of grace are understood as “outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God… to be the ordinary channels whereby (God) might convey to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.” Means are what happen outside of oneself and the grace is what does the work inside of ourselves or another way to say this is to say the ways we receive and experience grace. When we speak of the sacraments we refer to them as outward signs of an inward and spiritual grace. The means of grace in the sacraments, means are the bread and cup of communion and the water of the baptism and the liturgy spoken. These act in an outward and physical way, but the real work is that of the invisible grace we receive.

Sacramentalism is a way of God connecting to you, and it’s a way of God using any natural force to make you aware or to guide. Sacramental is that spark of connection between God reaching out to and you reaching out to God. Once that connection has occurred, you will feel it. Sacramentalism is God’s external call; that can occur at any time.

There is an ample scope of debate as to whether Mormonism is Christianity or not. It is true that both are similar; however, Protestants and Catholics equally are against the acceptance of Mormons to be Christians. There are many doctrinal similarities between the Catholic Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). Both churches accept Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world and teach that salvation comes through faith in Christ, repentance and baptism. The differences between the two churches revolve around priesthood authority, continuing revelation, the nature of God, the purpose of mortality and eternal marriage as well as methods of baptism. Beyond its shared nature

The sacraments are religious rites regarded as outward sign of an inward, spiritual grace. They are not the automatic transmission of divine grace (Bible Dictionary, 2003: 1428). Wesley quoted the Bible: “By grace are ye saved”, we are saved not by our own strength or wisdom but by the poor of the Holy Ghost (Dunning, n.d).

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

Christianity and Hinduism each have their own form of practices and rituals. Christians have rituals that are called sacraments. There are seven sacraments throughout life that a Christian can devote themselves to. Baptism is the ritual cleansing with water, which is an ancient form of purification, which traditionally happens shortly after birth. Eucharist is the next sacrament which represents Lord’s Supper. The Eucharist represents the body and blood of Jesus. Confirmation is the blessing of believers after baptism in the

When considering the topic of Mystagogy and the Church’s understanding of the subject it is important to recognize the complete picture, the scope of what is covered. Looking quite literally at Mystagogy, and perhaps a common view held by most, it is very simply the final of four stages in the RCIA process of bringing believers into the Church. However, the context of this paper will focus at a more in depth look at the nature of Mystagogy and its essential relationship to the liturgical life of the Church. In doing this I will also show the relationship between Mystagogy and exegesis, the sacraments as mysteries and the vital place of narrationes in Mystagogy. Before an attempt to delve

Catholics incorporation their religion into everything since God created everything. The things one says, the things one do, and even one's thoughts are under God. Catholicism is not a once-in-a-while religion; it is everyday, 24-7 religion that a Catholic relates everything to. As every religion there are certain things that one must do in order to stay a Catholic. Everyday rituals include daily prayer, live a Christian life, and except the teaching of the church and of God. Being Catholic, one must go to mass every Sunday and holy day as part of the religion. Catholics must only eat one full meal during Ash Wednesday and sustain from meat on the Fridays during Lent which is part of the fasting and abstinence obligation of Catholicism. Lent lasts 40 days and 40 nights. They are to obey the laws of marriage in which the church carries as well as going to confession as much as needed.

The meaning of the word Catholic is universal. The church is catholic in two senses. The first is that Christ is present in her so she possesses the fullness of Christ and has received from him the fullness of the means of salvation. The second is Christ sent her on a mission to gather all people into the people of God. The church feels connected to all people because all are made in the image and likeness of God. Despite this, the perfect union with God and all people will not take place till the end of time. Churches are completely and fully Catholic when they are in communion with the Church of Rome, meaning they recognize the Pope’s authority as the visible foundation for the unity of all members of the church and church leaders. The Seven Sacraments are also a huge part of what makes the church Catholic as they touch the totality of a persons life and Catholic journey from Baptism in the beginning as a sacrament of initiation to Annointing of the Sick at the

There are going to be times in our lives when we disagree with what someone says or another person’s opinions on a particular matter. It’s unlikely that we will agree and be content with everything that happens in our lives as we do not live in a utopian world. It is also inevitable at one time or another that we will disagree with what the Church is teaching us especially when it comes to moral issues such as divorce, birth control, and abortion. This is called non-reception. When non-reception ensues in the Church, the teaching in question is ineffectively expressed or judged to be unbelievable by a large population of good, faithful Catholics (Kennedy).