Catholic Tradition Essay

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.

Having very traditional beliefs, the Catholic Church uses numerous different terms and practices that are not familiar with non-Catholics. Inside of the Discourse community, Catholics have set terms that are used widely to discuss different matters. For instances, the term “priest” is used to describe what others would typically call a “pastor.” In addition to the terms used, there are also rituals that are based on their traditional beliefs. The most drastic of them would be the Eucharist. This tradition is referred to by Catholics as “Holy Communion” and is referred to by protestants as “The Lord’s Supper.” Meg Kane described the differences by saying, “Catholics actually believe that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. It has much more meaning behind it than other communion services.” (Kane). Drastically differing from other religions, Catholics believe that their priest was granted the ability by God to turn the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Cardinal Sean O’Malley, serves as an Archbishop in Boston, he expresses his thoughts about a book published by the French hierarchy “God has become more accessible that we fail to grasp the true meaning of the Eucharist.” This is how Cardinal O’Malley starts his talk about the importance of the Eucharist as how it plays a major role in our formation as believers of the Catholic Church. Cardinal O’Malley also talks about the three gifts that Jesus gives us in the Eucharist. Lastly, Cardinal O’Malley explains how preparation is useful to fully understand the Eucharist. These are the steps that forms us as a community of faith reflecting on Jesus mission.

“One has to consult the sayings of the Fathers of the Church, as well as other ancient writers. This helps us understand the historical changes which have occurred over the years. Reading the Fathers can give meaning to many of the rubrics, many of which are not carried out properly because of lack of understanding of their meaning”.

In the second video, you will see how the different aspects of the Catholic Faith (e.g. confession, apostolic authority, the Eucharist) are truly based from the Bible. Before you watch the video, it would helpful for you to remember the meaning of these words:

Attending Catholic school is very important to me especially because I have a lot of very good friends at Sacred Heart School. For example, my best friend Lucianna is attending Sacred Heart again next year and I look forward to her company. My teachers and the staff at Sacred Heart are kind, dedicated, and very nice and I really like our principal Mr. Coyle. Mr. Coyle teaches us that school can be holy, educational, and fun all at the same time. Everyone at my school teaches us about our Catholic faith, like the importance of following the ten commandments, our church history such as Peter becoming a martyr for his faith, and learning a lot prayers such as the Apostles Creed and the Prayer of Saint Francis. At my Catholic school we go to church every month and we have religion class every day. I like learning about my faith and that by having religion class on a daily basis, practice makes permanent. We have special faith activities like our entire school says rosaries together and we have stations of the cross. We get to wear a uniform, which I think is really pretty, and I do not have to

His understanding of the Lord’s Supper pulled from both Luther’s understanding and Zwingli’s understanding. Calvin agreed with Luther that there was a ‘real’ presence in the Supper but at the same time Calvin also agreed with Zwingli that Christ’s body was seated at the right hand of God. Instead of there being the actual body in the bread or the bread only being a symbol of what Christ did in his life, death and resurrection, Calvin says that there is a spiritual presence. So Calvin agrees, too with Luther that a true mediation of grace occurs during the Supper. Calvin argues that the true definition of a sacrament is something which mediates grace. Calvin argues that the bread is not an empty symbol but is truly a sacrament because it does mediate grace to the participant. Calvin says this, “But just as God has placed all fullness of life in Jesus, in order to communicate it to us by his means, so he ordained his word as the instrument by which Jesus Christ, with all his graces, is dispensed to us. ” To Calvin the body is central to how Christians partake in the life death and resurrection of Christ. Calvin says there are 3 ways that make Christ present in the elements of the Supper: The Holy Spirit makes Christ present, when one partakes they are raised up to gaze upon Christ at the right hand of the Father and wherever the divine nature is there also is the human nature because of the hypostatic union. These things make the Supper a meal of spiritual food, nourishment for the spirit. Calvin says this as to why the Supper was instituted by God, “in order to sign and seal in our consciences the promises contained in his gospel concerning our being made partakers of his body and blood, and to give us certainty and assurance that therein lies our true spiritual

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown (1835), is a primary prototype of an allegory. There are populous references to Faith in the symbolic oriented composition, but there is an underlying connotation of Faith. Hawthorne introduces the reader to a newlywed couple, Young Goodman Brown and Faith, as the wife is aptly named. The significance of the wife’s name and the religious references to faith will be explicated accordingly.

In the name of the father, and the son, and the holy spirit. This phrase, I learned is commonly used within the Catholic faith. Catholocisim is one of the major world religions that has a huge presence in European and Latin American countries. Its members such as Pope Francis, has a powerful religious and political impact on many countries throughout the world who have a large Catholic presence. Throughout this experience, I learned a lot in terms of the Catholic faith. This paper will highlight some of the many things I learned about the Catholic faith, my experience, and how this religion is incorporated into the everyday lives of its members in terms of holidays and the message they are encouraged to live by.

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

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

While reading through these passages addressing partnerships in development work, I could not help but think of Catholic Social Teaching and its call for solidarity in development work because we all belong to one human family. In fact, Edward DeBerri and James Hug describe authentic human development as involving “a commitment of solidarity with all people” in Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret (DeBerri and Hug 20). Therefore, when development organizations partner together, they are standing in solidarity with each other searching for ways in which to improve the well-being of others. However, these partnerships do not always stem from an altruistic place in search of solidarity. Rather, sometimes these partnerships are created out of convenience

It wasn’t until Christ broke bread, that the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognized Jesus, it was the grace received through the Eucharistic Sacrament that enabled the eyes of faith to penetrate the mystery and see Christ there in their midst.

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.

The Communion Christians have always regarded the Holy Communion as being one very important element towards achieving discipleship since the very beginning. However, the question in every Christian’s mind is “what are we doing?” it is, therefore, important to discuss what the holy communion means about theology. The Holy Communion has several names given to it. Among them are: the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, Divine Liturgy, and the Mass. Inside the New Testament, there are also varying details given there concerning what entails the Holy Communion on accounts given by Christ himself.[1] The Holy Communion does not compare to Baptism which is another sacrament that is non-repeatable. It is repeatable to some certain degrees as it can be done on a daily basis such as those performed by the Catholic Church. In other instances, it can be conducted on a much infrequent celebration such as the ones that happen in Reformed Churches. Referring to Baptism, there are differences in the practice and its significance, and sometimes the understanding of what it means to be baptized. This has gone ahead to become e a hindrance to churches having a common celebration, but at the same time, there is some spiritual benefit that accrues to the people that partake in it. In the same way, the Eucharist possess the same characteristics. Nature of the Union of Christ and Church The Holy Communion is not just a matter of people ingathering in unity. The purpose of having the communion is so