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Hi, Mae —
Hope my answers help.
Sorry
if they are longer then you wanted.
- What are the important
holidays and traditions of
your religion?
- How has religion
shaped your life?
- What are the challenges,
if any, to practicing your
religion?
- How do you look
at others who are outside of
your faith?
- Do you have to take
classes to belong to your religion?
- Does your religion
acknowledge marriages preformed
outside of the church? For
example in a courthouse by
a justice of the peace.
- How do you think
a Christian Church is different
from a Catholic Church?
- What goes on during
a typical Sunday worship service?
- Which values does
your religion hold the highest?
- Is there anything
your religion doesn’t
believe in?
- What are
the important holidays and traditions
of your religion?
_____________________________
Within the Church's liturgical
calendar there are obligated holidays
and
non-obligated holidays.
Obligated Holidays are called
Holy Days of Obligation. The Church
celebrates six of them on an annual
basis and one on a weekly basis.
The six annual Holy Days of Obligation
are:
Mary, Mother of God (Friday, January
1, 2010)
Ascension (Thursday, May 13, 2010)
Assumption of Mary (Sunday, August
15, 2010)
All Saints Day (Monday, November
1, 2010)
Immaculate Conception (Wednesday,
December 8, 2010)
Christmas (Saturday, December
25, 2010)
There are certain years where
these six days may be move or
abrogated.
Although not considered a Holy
Day of Obligation by members in
the Church,
the faithful are obligated to
obey the first commandment by
going to Sunday Mass on a weekly
basis.
First Commandment:
"You shall worship the Lord
your God and him only shall you
serve."
We call them obligations because
the Precepts of the Catholic Church
tell us that celebrating those
feast days is a part of the
minimum level of commitment
to the Catholic faith.
For almost every other day of
the year, the Church celebrates
other non-obligatory holidays.
There are several types of celebrations
that fall into the following categories:
- Solemnities
- Feasts
- Memorials, and
- Optional Feasts.
(Optional Feasts are not universally
celebrated.)
Almost every day throughout the
Church's year, we celebrate one
of these non-obligatory holidays.
These are days which the Church
has set aside as having a special
meaning.
Some are events in the life of
Christ. Some are days dedicated
to a particular saint.
For short: Catholics are "party
animals" : ) We love to celebrate!!!
RE: traditions/Traditions:
Throughout the world in the Church
various cultures have varying
sets of traditions, customs and
disciplines they practice usually
due to a certain aspect of devotion
or honor within the Church.
It's important to remember that
the Catholic Church distinguishes
between two types of tradition.
1. traditions that are passed
down due to customs, practices
or disciplines within the Church.
These are non-doctrinal and not
a matter of faith or morals.
(They can and do change over time.)
2. Traditions: Oral and Written
[the Holy Bible] which have been
passed down by Jesus through the
Apostles and the Church that are
official Teachings of the Catholic
Church.
(They cannot change over time but
can be clarified for the faithful.)
These are doctrinal and deal
with issue of faith or morals.
Understanding the Written Biblical
Teachings of the Church correctly
requires a prime minister to interpret
difficult passages. Jesus guides
the Pope in this area so the faithful
can understand how to interpret
Biblical text correctly.
These two types of traditions
are differentiated by the terms:
- a small "t" tradition
and
- a capital "T" Tradition.
[ top ]
- How
has religion shaped your life?
_____________________________
Through regular prayer and frequent
reception of the Sacraments of
the Church,
it has help me discern my calling
or the:
"What is my purpose in this
life?" question.
I am more thoughtful of other
people and try to help others
when I can.
I think it has made me a better
person ... over time. : )
Only through prayer and a maturing
over time, does a religious person
like me go from a religious zealot
(telling others what "they
have to do or need to believe.")
to a more balanced person who
is more interested in listening
to others first and finding out
where their spiritual journey
is all about. This transition
requires a daily prayer life preferably
with the Rosary.
The sad thing is, for many people,
a tragedy or medical illness has
to happen in their life before
they consider religion as an important
aspect of their life.
When death faces the individual
and a realization that their own
body is NOT their own body (otherwise
they could prevent their own death),
faith kicks in.
This was true for me.
[ top ]
- What
are the challenges, if any, to
practicing your religion?
_____________________________
Any church on the face of the
earth will always consist of fallible
members who are drawn or tempted
to sin.
The problem arises when our own
members don't know what a sin
is, and isn't.
Catechesis or religious instruction
of the faith in the Church has
been very poor and, in places,
seminary training of priests has
been poor.
The end result, at times, is a
few more "family fights" within
the Church then we would want.
It can be difficult when a parishioner
wants to respect and support his/her
pastor, but the pastor is teaching
something that is contrary to
the teachings of the Church.
It can also be difficult when
a parishioner wants to welcome
other parishioners but the other
parishioners are only Catholics "in
name only".
These parishioners don't believe
in what the Church teaches nor
follow what the Church wants them
to follow, yet they still insist
on being called catholic.
I call them "Judas Catholic's".
Showing up for Sunday Mass is
an option to satisfy their conscience,
rather than a weekly obligation.
They are also called "cafeteria
catholics" in that they pick
and choose what they want to believe.
The word heretic comes from a
word that means "to pick
and choose".
Dealing with these types of Catholics
is a define challenge.
Why?
Because their actions and beliefs
scandalize the faith of the Church in
public.
They don't represent the TRUE
faithful Catholic.
For me personally, the challenge
is striving to stay holy or in
a state of grace.
This means:
"beating the heck out of
the devil" more than "he
beats the heck out of me".
Some weeks, he wins, other weeks
I win.
A prayer life is key to winning
this invisible, spiritual but
real battle.
[ top ]
- How
do you look at others who are
outside of your faith?
_____________________________
As people who God has a specific
plan and purpose for in life.
Your life is not just some mistake.
Everyone has a special calling
in life. That calling can have
it's most beneficial effect on
everyone in the world if lived
out as a faithful practicing Catholic.
Nevertheless, we have to respect
everyone's free will to choose
what they think is spiritually
best for them.
As Catholics who answer questions
on the web about the faith, we
can't convert people.
We CAN give good reasons for people
to be a Catholic and clarify teachings
and misperceptions about the Church
but ONLY the individual can decide
whether what we are saying makes
sense or not.
These web pages may give some
addition insights:
[ top ]
- Do
you have to take classes to belong
to your religion?
_____________________________
The only possible obligated classes
members have to take occur during
preparation to receive the Sacraments
of the Church and in the teenage
years known as CCD:
(Confraternity of Christian Doctrine)
— An association established
at Rome in 1562 for the purpose
of giving religions instruction.
Historically in the United States,
religious instruction, at the
parish level, has been very poor.
Good Catholic parents have to
take the initiative and have private
time to instruct their children
in the Catholic Faith, share with
them its importance to them
and their children's salvation.
[ top ]
- Does
your religion acknowledge marriages
preformed outside of the Church?
For example, in a courthouse by
a Justice of the Peace.
_____________________________
It depends on the religious affiliation
of the bride and the groom getting
married and any additional marital
history involved.
Baptized Catholics have to marry
in the Church for it to be valid.
A Catholic wedding ceremony involves
the celebration of a sacrament,
an act of Christ through and in
the couple, and this sacrament
conforms the couple to the Body
of Christ in a special way.
Since the sacrament requires a
clerical witness, and since it
is an expression of the Body of
Christ, the Church desires it
to be celebrated in the presence
of the Eucharist, preferably with
a Mass, and in the presence of
the assembly of the faithful.
[ top ]
- How
do you think a Christian Church
is different from a Catholic Church?
Your question implies a misunderstanding.
I would rather answer:
How do you think a non-Catholic
Christian church is different
from a Catholic Christian Church?
_____________________________
The ONLY Christian Church Jesus
founded on St. Peter and his successors
is the Catholic Church. The Bible
tells us in Acts, that they were
first known as Christians in Antioch.
Through Oral Tradition we know
that in the same town of Antioch,
less then 80 years after Our Lord's
Ascension into Heaven, they were
first know as Catholic.
Wherever the bishop shall appear,
there let the multitude [of
the people] also be; even as, wherever
Jesus Christ is, there is the
Catholic Church.
It is not lawful without the
bishop either to baptize or
to celebrate a love-feast;
but whatsoever he shall approve
of, that is also pleasing to
God, so that everything that
is done may be secure and valid.
St. Ignatius of Antioch in
107AD
One of the main differences between
non-Catholic Christians and Catholic
Christians is non-Catholic Christians
only believe what is in the Bible,
or so they say.
Catholic Christians believe in
BOTH the Written Word, the Bible,
AND the Oral Word passed down
through the centuries. This
Oral Word can be found in many
places in the Scriptures.
If non-Catholic Christians were
TRULY Biblical Christians, they
would become Catholic. The
Bible was written by Catholics
and their ancestors, for Catholics,
for use in the Catholic Church.
The primary difference between
non-Catholic Christian churches
and the Catholic Christian Church
is that the Catholic Church was
founded by God-Incarnated HIMSELF:
Jesus Christ. Jesus is True God
and True Man:
consubstantial (of one substance
with the Father).
Any sinfulness or bad behavior
among members in the Church clergy
does not effect the Truths that
the Church officially teaches.
Why? Because Jesus promised to
protect the Church's official
Teachings and we know that Jesus,
who is God incarnated cannot deceive
nor be deceived.
All other churches that call themselves
Christian, were founded by MEN
who did not like what the Catholic
Christian Church taught. For that
reason, they created their OWN
man-made church "picking
and choosing" what they liked
and didn't like about the Church
Christ founded.
No
other world religion can claim
and prove that God is the founder
of their religion. ONLY Roman
Catholics can claim and historically
prove that God is the founder
of their Divine Faith.
[ top ]
- What
goes on during a typical Sunday
worship service?
_____________________________
My knee-jerk reaction answer:
Something literally out of this
world!
(I will explain later.)
Our Sunday prayer, like any pray
is four-fold. It is a prayer of:
- adoration of God
- praise and
- thanksgiving, and
- intercession and petition.
It is manifested in what we call
the Liturgy, a word that means: "the
work of the people".
That which is offered up by the
people to God to God.
It consist of two parts.
The Liturgy of the Word:
This consists of readings from
the Old Testament, a New Testament
Epistle and a reading from the
Gospel.
Following the readings, the worshipers
receive, hopefully, enlightening
reflections and commentaries from
the pastor or priest on the readings
that will assist them in their
daily lives for that week to be
holier, better people according
to God's plan.
After the priest is done with
his homily, petitions are mentioned
by either the priest or a helper
to the priest. These petitions
could vary from:
- the health and well being
of people in the parish
- more vocations to the priesthood
and/or religious life
- for people in crisis areas
around the world
- as well as other petitions.
NOTE: During the Liturgy of the
Eucharist prayers are always offered
for:
- the local bishop and
- the [Pope | Holy Father]
A monetary collection is also
taken up to support the work of
the local parish Church.
Following the Liturgy of the Word
is the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
In the Liturgy of the Eucharist,
in a manner we can only understand
by faith,
we enter into the Passover sacrifice
of Our Lord Jesus on the Cross.
This is done by the priest re-enacting
the last words of Our Lord at
the Last Supper, before his cruel
death, where he stated:
"DO THIS in memory of
ME." It is also a re-entering
into Christ's death on the
Cross.
The Catechism states:
When "his hour" came,
Jesus prayed to the Father.
His prayer, the longest transmitted
by the Gospel, embraces the
whole economy of creation
and salvation, as well as his
death and Resurrection.
The prayer of the Hour of Jesus
always remains his own, just
as his Passover "once
for all" remains ever
present in the liturgy of his
Church. CCC 2746
But Christ is NOT being re-sacrificed
though. Why? Because a human person
did NOT die on Calvary, but a
DIVINE person, Christ, the Lord.
Because, by definition, a Divine
Person is a Eternal Person who
is OUTSIDE of time, the parishioners
at Church enter into His ONE sacrifice
that happened back in 33AD in
a manner that can only be humanly
accepted by faith. By their attendance
at Mass, they receive many graces.
The Old Testament Passover is
a prefigurement of the New Testament
Passover of Christ's death and
resurrection. In what way?
When Catholics go to Mass they
celebrate the New Passover. In
the Old Testament, the lamb had
to be slain; in the New Testament,
Jesus is the New Testament lamb,
but the people of Old Testament,
had to eat the lamb AS WELL. This
wasn't optional.
That's exactly what Catholics
do when they receive the Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our
Lord Himself in the Blessed Eucharist.
We call this Holy Communion.
It looks, tastes and smells like
ordinary bread, but it's not.
The substance changes, though
the appearances of leaven bread
(taste, touch, smell, and looks)
remains the same. Every one who
is in a state of grace, should
receive Holy Communion. If they
are not in a state of grace, they
should not receive Holy Communion
until they go to Confession, a
sacrament of the Church.
So as I said initially, we receive "Something
literally out of this world!"
The priest finally blesses the
people and sends them into the
world to talk about the Gospel
or Good News of Jesus and His
Church.
[ top ]
- Which
values does your religion hold
the highest?
_____________________________
- Life -
from conception of the fertilized
egg in a mother's womb to natural
death, no matter what the case.
Whether a woman has an unplanned
pregnancy or is brutally raped.
The Church would say, the woman
needs love, support, and care,
not an abortion or being yelled
at by a boy friend or family member. The
Church is probably the largest
care provider to younger and older
woman who have had an unplanned
pregnancy. They have services
to care for the mother, father
and baby and can work with all
parties involved to ensure new
families have housing, jobs, needed
educational skills, etc.
You just don't hear about it,
because the news media and abortion
industry strives to silence this.
In America alone, I think there
are around 1,300 crisis
pregnancy centers for women
who have had an unplanned pregnancy.
http://www.pregnancycenters.org
- Traditional
Marriage between ONE
man and ONE woman.
This is the cornerstone to any
stable civilization. When Traditional
marriage is seen as an option
to other partner lifestyles that
CAN'T bring forth new life;
e.g. homosexual; then populations
in those countries decrease.
A homosexual lifestyle within
a country ends up destroying societal
growth in that country. Fruitful
Christian family life is replaced
with an unfruitful, selfish, homosexual
lifestyle.
This unfruitful lifestyle's motto
is:
"If it feels good, do
it, even if it hurts others,
including society."
A man's body was meant for a woman's
body and visa-versa; just talk
to any medical doctor who is not "politically
correct."
God made man and woman to bring
forth new life (children) into
the world.
Why is this important?
Because a man and a man cannot
bring forth new life; a woman
and a woman cannot bring forth
new life.
After 2040, the world's population
will sharply DECLINE. WHY?
Because Traditional Marriage around
the world is only considered as
an optional lifestyle, not as
THE normal lifestyle it is.
- Women and some men, some who
have been hurt by abortion,
have put their personal career
first, before absolution, forgiveness
and a future family.
- Others have bought into this
immoral lifestyle that their
own bodies were not designed
for.
If fewer people are having fewer
children this translates to:
- fewer workers
- less productivity and
- a weaker economy
You are seeing this around the
globe on every continent, in every
country.
Source: EWTN: The
Demographic Bomb — http://www.demographicwinter.com
This is why Christian marriage
has ALWAYS been given a special
privilege in every culture.
All Christians, both Catholic
and non-Catholic Christians believe
we should respect the free will
of people to choose whatever faith
they believe is true and best
for their salvation.
In the work I do in answering
people's questions on the Church,
I remind them:
We don't do this to convert people. We
do this to clarify misperceptions
about the teachings of the Church.
Only THEY can decide/choose whether "what
we are saying" is true or whether
we are a bunch of nut cases.
This is unlike our Muslim brothers
who many times demand or force
you accept their faith. Period.
This is also why Christians are
persecuted throughout the world
today, mainly in Muslim/Islamic
countries.
[ top ]
- Is
there anything your religion doesn’t
believe in?
_____________________________
We only believe in the teachings
of Christ and the Church he founded
on St. Peter and His successors.
New and previous cultural trends
and practices are discerned to
be true and trustworthy based
on what Christ's Church, the Catholic
Church, teaches the faithful.
Why?
Because is it Christ speaking
through the Church to his believers.
That said, we DON'T believe in:
From the Catechism
2111 Superstition is the deviation
of religious feeling and of
the practices this feeling
imposes. It can even affect
the worship we offer the true
God, e.g., when one attributes
an importance in some way magical
to certain practices otherwise
lawful or necessary. To attribute
the efficacy of prayers or
of sacramental signs to their
mere external performance,
apart from the interior dispositions
that they demand, is to fall
into superstition.
2115 God can reveal the future
to his prophets or to other
saints. Still, a sound Christian
attitude consists in putting
oneself confidently into the
hands of Providence for whatever
concerns the future, and giving
up all unhealthy curiosity
about it. Improvidence, however,
can constitute a lack of responsibility.
2116 All forms of divination
are to be rejected: recourse
to Satan or demons, conjuring
up the dead or other practices
falsely supposed to "unveil" the
future. Consulting horoscopes,
astrology, palm reading, interpretation
of omens and lots, the phenomena
of clairvoyance, and recourse
to mediums all conceal a desire
for power over time, history,
and, in the last analysis,
other human beings, as well
as a wish to conciliate hidden
powers. They contradict the
honor, respect, and loving
fear that we owe to God alone.
2117 All practices of magic
or sorcery, by which one attempts
to tame occult powers, so as
to place them at one's service
and have a supernatural power
over others - even if this
were for the sake of restoring
their health - are gravely
contrary to the virtue of religion.
These practices are even more
to be condemned when accompanied
by the intention of harming
someone, or when they have
recourse to the intervention
of demons. Wearing charms is
also reprehensible. Spiritism
often implies divination or
magical practices; the Church
for her part warns the faithful
against it. Recourse to so-called
traditional cures does not
justify either the invocation
of evil powers or the exploitation
of another's credulity.
[ top ]
Hope this helps Mae,
Mike
AskACatholic.com Web Administrator
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