Catholicism

What is Catholicism?
- Catholicism is a denomination, hence a subset, of Christianity. All Catholics are
Christians, but not all Christians are Catholics. A Christian refers to a follower of Jesus
Christ who may be a Catholic, Protestant, Gnostic, Mormon, Evangelical, Anglican
or Orthodox, or follower of another branch of the religion.
- A Catholic refers to a Christian who follows the Catholic religion as transmitted
through the succession of Popes of Rome and the Vatican Empire across history. The
Pope is the leader of the Catholic church. The Catholic Church is the largest of the
Christian Churches - about 60% of Christians are Catholic.
Birth of Catholicism
-

Traces its history to the apostles, especially Apostle Peter. St. Peter is considered the
first pope.
About forty days after Jesus Resurrection, he ascended into heaven. His disciples
quickly became lonely and were influenced by the Holy Spirit to become missionaries of
the religion. They later formed the Catholic religion, separate but still a form of
Christianity. Its popularity quickly spread throughout Europe and northern Africa.
Top 10 nations with the most Catholics: Brazil, Mexico, USA, Philippines, Italy, France,
Spain, Poland, Colombia, Argentina and Germany respectively. Today, its growth is
fastest in Africa, South America and Asia.

Basic Knowledge:

Formed

1st - 5th centuries C.E.

Origin

Roman-Latin Empire

1,200,000,000 as of
2011 (1.2B or 1/6 of the
worlds population)

Followers

Deity

God (Trinity)

Sacred Texts

Bible

Headquarters

Rome

Places of Worship: (Difference of each)

-

Chapel
Basilica
Cathedral
Parish

The Bible:
-

Catholic Holy Book. It is made up of two parts, the new and the Old Testament. The Old
Testament overlaps the Jewish Torah, the first 5 books in the bible, and the New
Testament which contains Jesus teachings in the gospel. The gospels are the writings of
Mathew, Mark, Luke, John. They are called the Evangelist, which means bringer of
good news. They wrote stories about Jesus life (example of their stories)

Main beliefs of Roman Catholics:

-

There is one God. He is: the Father, which is God, the son who is Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is the son of God who died in the cross for their salvation.
The pope is the leader of the world wide church.
Mary is the mother of Jesus. (She is called the Virgin Mary, since Jesus is given to her
by the Holy Spirits)
They believe the bible and the Ten Commandments.
The catholic doctrine teaches that the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ.
The word Amen means believe in Hebrew. It expresses solidity, trustworthiness and
faithfulness to the words of God.

The Sacraments view: the seven sacraments

Sacraments of Initiation
1. Baptism- the first rites into the Church
2. Confirmation/ Christmation - when you confirm your faith
Sacraments of Healing
3. Eucharist- the first communion; the time when you first received your wine and bread
during mass
4. Confessions/ Penance- you confess your sins to the priest
5. Marriage/ Matrimony- you get married to someone
6. Holy orders- when you become a priest or a nun
7. Anointing the sick- the last rites; absolves all sins the person is sorry for but did not
previously confess in the Sacrament of Penance
Baptism- can begin when an infant is about 6 months old or when a person is entering the
religion. The priest anoints you to the fountain of holy water; this is the first step of becoming a
catholic.
Confirmation- you are allowed to choose a second name, only if the name is from the bible.
First, you stand or kneel before the Bishop. Then your godparent or a catholic with over the
age of 16 lays one hand on your shoulder and speaks your confirmation name. The bishop

then anoints you by using the holy oil or the Chrism to make a sign of cross on your
forehead while saying your confirmation name and Be sealed with the gift of the holy spirit
You shall respond amen
Bishop will says: Peace be with you
You: And with your spirit
Then the confirmation is over
Eucharist- this is where you receive the blood of Jesus Christ (the bread and the wine). This
can be reflected from the story of the Last Supper where Jesus where Jesus held the one last
supper with his apostles. He told them take his bread for it is my body, and this wine for it is my
blood. Catholics remember this communion in every mass.
For the first communion, girls are said to wear white gowns and veils and boys wear new
suits and ties for the occasion.
Transubstantiation is the belief that the elements in the Eucharist, the body, blood and soul
and divinity of Christ at consecration resulting in the real presence of Christ.
Marriage- a valid Catholic Sacrament of Matrimony requires a priest, bride and groom and two
witness of any religion.
Bride and groom are the real ministers of the sacrament since they will be the one to say I
Do to make them husband and wife.
The priest or the Deacon is just an official witness for the Church.
Both partners need to pledge that their marriage will have the following: Permanent and
faithful. Permanent means till death. You can only receive the Sacrament of Matrimony once
unless your spouse died and your children must become Catholics. All this is promise to the
priest before the wedding
(Search wedding vows)
Holy Orders- one of the primary functions of Deacons, Priest and Bishops is to administer the
sacred rights of the people to gods people.
Members of the Church: (saan yung nuns and monks?)

Pope
Cardinal
Archbishop
Bishop- they are said to have the fullest of priesthood. They can have the authority
to offer all seven sacraments.
Priest- they can only offer five sacraments which are: Baptism, Penance, Holy
Eucharist- Mass, matrimony and anointing the sick.

Deacons- can only offer Baptism and Matrimony. The wedding is without a nuptial
mass.

Anointing the sick- where the priest prays to heal someone who is sick and cleanse them of
any sins they havent confessed.
First the priest anoints the head saying Through his anointing may the Lord in his love and
mercy help you with the grace of the holy spirit.
Second in the palm of the person saying May the Lord who frees you from sins, saves you and
raise you up.
In special cases, if its an emergency, the priest can anoint any part of the body that is available
if the nurses and doctors are working on the head or the hand.
The Ten Commandments of God (from Judaism, Moses)
I.
I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
II.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
III.
Remember to keep holy the Lord's day
IV.
Honour your father and your mother.
V.
You shall not kill.
VI.
You shall not commit adultery.
VII.
You shall not steal.
VIII.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
IX.
You shall not covet your neighbours wife.
X.
You shall not covet you neighbours goods.
The Two Great Commandments (VIEW: THE_GREATEST_COMMANDMENT)
You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and
with your whole mind, and with your whole strength; you shall love your neighbor as
yourself.
To love God, our neighbour, and ourselves, we must keep the commandments of God
and of the Church, and perform the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.
Other beliefs and practices:

Forgiveness of sin is achieved through church ritual, sacraments are means of grace
and much emphasis is placed on the saints in the Catholic religion. The Catholic Church
also teaches that salvation depends on faith, works and sacrament.
Clergy selection- the Catholic Church appoints all male and almost all unmarried clergy
(what do they do?)
The beliefs that the church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of
Jesus and the Apostles from which the Scriptures were formed.

The church teaches that ending the life of a pre-embryo, embryo or fetus cannot be
allowed, except in very rare cases where a life saving operation on the woman results in
the unintended death of the embryo or fetus.
Catholics believe purgatory is a state of being after death in which souls are cleansed by
purifying punishments before they can enter heaven. (VIEW: PURGATORY)
o Whats Purgatory?
Judgement day
The day when Jesus came back for the Second Coming (whats
the second coming) and judges
Purgatory is a place for purification; those who can gain entrance
to heaven but must go through purification
o How to get through purgatory?
Before death: good works, monetary offering
After death: your relatives do the dirty work for you (all the above and
more)
o How can you be taken out of purgatory?
Our Father and Hail Mary prayers to be said while doing the rosary
Indulgences, monetary offerings to help the church
Prayers, pray on behalf of the dead for forgiveness
They are required to believe that when Mary herself was conceived without original sin.

The mass: every Sunday, the Catholics go to a church service called Mass (VIEW:
IMPORTANCE OF EUCHARIST)
Process (explain each)
1. Gathering Rites
2. Readings and Sermons
3. Communion
The Catholic Creed (VIEW: THE CREED)
- Apostles Creed- faithful summary of the Apostles teaching. It is an ancient baptismal
symbol of the church at Rome
- Nicene Creed- it explains our belief in Trinity.
The Chief Commandments or Laws, of the Church
I.
To assist at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation.
II.
To fast and abstain on the days appointed.
III.
To confess our sins at least once a year.
IV.
To receive Holy Communion during the Easter time.
V.
To contribute to the support of the Church.
VI.
To observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.

Catholic Year:
A. Advent (December 2-24) - the time leading up to Christmas. This is the time the
Catholics prepare for the birth of Jesus Christ
B. Christmas (December 25) it is believed that Jesus was born on this day. It is
celebrated by going to the mass. Christmas Eve is celebrated because that is the time
when Mary and Joseph found the manger to have Jesus.
C. Epiphany- 12 days after Christmas (January 6) arrival of the three wise men at
Bethlehem.
D. Lent (February/ March) - period before Jesus dies and period before Easter. During this
time, a person chooses something to give up before Easter. Older Catholics give up
meat on Fridays during lent. This is the time where we grieve for the death and
resurrection of Jesus.
a. Ash Wednesday the first day of the lent where we go and get ashes on our
forehead then we have to confess.
E. Palm Sunday- the last Sunday before Easter. Palm Sunday is the day where Jesus came
into Jerusalem and the people there covered the path with palm leaves.
F. Good Friday- the day that Jesus was crucified. (Nailed to a cross until you die)
G. Easter Sunday (Sunday in late March or early April) The date of resurrection of Jesus.
Celebrate by dressing up and having a special mass.
REFERENCES:
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/beliefs.php
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism.html
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Catholicism_vs_Christianity
http://prezi.com/hvdnkspapmv1/catholicism/
http://prezi.com/hf2kyu1lugsq/catholicism/