Penance is the
consequence to our sin that we must serve. Although Baptism washes away our
sins, it doesn’t make us perfect, only God can be perfect. We still and always
will commit sin even after Baptism because it is our human nature, which, due
to the efforts of Original Sins, still suffers from an inclination to sin, we
call this concupiscence. How we serve this penance is first by going to
confession. We receive confession through the sacrament of reconciliation. What
takes place here is that we would go to the Church during the designated time
for confession. We would then go the confession room and confession our sins to
the priest. All priest are different and I say that because lets say you ate being mean to a sibling, one priest may say '' okay
for these sins I want you to say the Lord's prayer for your penance." Another priest my say, " for these sins, I want you compliment your brother everyday for 6 years and pray 5 our fathers daily during this time period." This penance is a little harsh for something like this, you could then go to another priest for a reasonable penance.
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The mass in the early Church
We have:
- The Gathering on Sunday
- On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place.
- Reading of the Scriptures
- Here, the memoirs of the Apostles and the writings of the prophets are read. Memoirs meaning the Gospels.
- The Homily
- When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonished and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things, normally the priest.
- Prayers of the Faithful
- Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves and for others, wherever they may be.
- An Offertory
- Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren.
- Eucharistic Prayer
- He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks, in Greek we would call this Eucharistian, that we have been judged worthy of these gifts.
- Reception of the Eucharist
- Last but not least, we have the Reception of the Eucharist. This is when he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give those present the 'eucharisted' bread and wine and water
The Catechumenate
This is a process
that a person must take part in if they wish to become a part of the Church.
They are instructed in the teachings of the Faith and prepared for the
Sacraments of Initiation. These new member would customary be initiated at the
Easter Vigil, the night before the commemoration of Christ's Resurrection. This
isn't a Sacrament but it is essential if one wishes to take part on the
Sacraments.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Sacraments
The sacraments were
given to us for 3 reasons:
- To sanctify man
- To build up the Body of Christ
- To worship God
Through these
Sacraments helps us to grow in our faith and to grow closer to God. Why
sacraments though? God instituted Sacraments because this is his way of
dispensing his Grace to us. I will be talking about one sacrament in particular which is the sacrament of Baptism.
I want to talk about Baptism because our teacher just had a baby and went or will be reviving this Sacrament. We see Jesus get baptized by St. John at the beginning of his public ministry, this wasn't an efficacious or a sacramental Baptism. This merely symbolized the recipient's desire to live more variously. Sacramental Baptism is a voluntary act of a person indicating his or her repentance from sin. Baptism normally takes place at birth. A priest will take holy water and pour it over the head of the baby. The water symbolizes the Holy water washing away our sins.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
The Wealth of the Church
Does the Church miss-use its money?
Its good question, and in many ways it can appear that the answer is yes. It is easy to find evidence to support the gluttony of the Church. Simply speak of its massive buildings and the "lavish' lifestyle of the pope and bishops. Simply speak of the Church's "refusal" to spend money on the poor but rather to build bigger cathedrals and renovate the current ones.
There are countless arguments for the Church's misuse of money, however, I only have time to counter the ones mentioned above.
To answer these questions I did some research on the argument.
First, lets talk about the "lavish" lifestyle of the pope. Lets make it clear, the pope himself does not live in a mansion, but in an apartment no larger than ten rooms. The rooms of this apartment are dedicated to the necessities of being a religious man. He has a bedroom, a library, bathrooms, a study, and living rooms. There are no media rooms or indoor pools in this building. The white house on the other hand has all sorts of unnecessary additives including a pool. So why doesn't the president ever come under the same accusations? It is because, just like the pope, the president is elected into office and is allowed to use the public property which comes along with the position, most of it being a necessity for performing the position itself (excluding the pool of course).
Second lets talk about the Church spending "too much money" on Cathedrals and too little on the poor. First of all, let it be said that a Cathedral is a statement of our love for God and a home for his real body and blood. It is really acceptable for a wealthy community to have a small shack of a church where they worship? Doesn't that say something about where they prioritize God in their lives if they go home to a wealthy lifestyle? It there therefore necessary to spend a reasonable amount of money on our churches. But there is more to it than that. Many of the Churches that come under fire are the ancient ones like St. Peter's and Notre Dame. However, the truth is, that when these churches where built, a Cathedral was one of the best investments a medieval town could make. Along with the spiritual aspects, the build site of a cathedral would provide much needed jobs for up to a century. In addition, they became beacons of learning and knowledge in the dark age and would attract pilgrims that would in turn need food and lodging, therefore sustaining the towns income.
Take the Vatican for instance, St. Peter's is nearly a thousand years old. The Church does not nearly have enough funds to build a new one, and even if it did It would not allow the funds. The Vatican merely maintains what it has, which it does on a budget less than that of Harvard University. Furthermore, those that claim the Church does not help the poor should know that the Catholic Church is, among many things, the largest charity organization in the world.
Its good question, and in many ways it can appear that the answer is yes. It is easy to find evidence to support the gluttony of the Church. Simply speak of its massive buildings and the "lavish' lifestyle of the pope and bishops. Simply speak of the Church's "refusal" to spend money on the poor but rather to build bigger cathedrals and renovate the current ones.
There are countless arguments for the Church's misuse of money, however, I only have time to counter the ones mentioned above.
To answer these questions I did some research on the argument.
First, lets talk about the "lavish" lifestyle of the pope. Lets make it clear, the pope himself does not live in a mansion, but in an apartment no larger than ten rooms. The rooms of this apartment are dedicated to the necessities of being a religious man. He has a bedroom, a library, bathrooms, a study, and living rooms. There are no media rooms or indoor pools in this building. The white house on the other hand has all sorts of unnecessary additives including a pool. So why doesn't the president ever come under the same accusations? It is because, just like the pope, the president is elected into office and is allowed to use the public property which comes along with the position, most of it being a necessity for performing the position itself (excluding the pool of course).
Second lets talk about the Church spending "too much money" on Cathedrals and too little on the poor. First of all, let it be said that a Cathedral is a statement of our love for God and a home for his real body and blood. It is really acceptable for a wealthy community to have a small shack of a church where they worship? Doesn't that say something about where they prioritize God in their lives if they go home to a wealthy lifestyle? It there therefore necessary to spend a reasonable amount of money on our churches. But there is more to it than that. Many of the Churches that come under fire are the ancient ones like St. Peter's and Notre Dame. However, the truth is, that when these churches where built, a Cathedral was one of the best investments a medieval town could make. Along with the spiritual aspects, the build site of a cathedral would provide much needed jobs for up to a century. In addition, they became beacons of learning and knowledge in the dark age and would attract pilgrims that would in turn need food and lodging, therefore sustaining the towns income.
Take the Vatican for instance, St. Peter's is nearly a thousand years old. The Church does not nearly have enough funds to build a new one, and even if it did It would not allow the funds. The Vatican merely maintains what it has, which it does on a budget less than that of Harvard University. Furthermore, those that claim the Church does not help the poor should know that the Catholic Church is, among many things, the largest charity organization in the world.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
The Homeless Man
What should we take out of this interview?
Mr. Cole had a us watch a video (http://youtu.be/AusCA28efa0) today that contained an interview of a homeless person. This man was obviously distraught, he had been searching for a very long time to find a job with little success. He could never leave any way for a company to contact him because he had no phone number. He was forced to rely solely on the generosity of others to survive. This man was humiliated by his way of life. He disliked the disrespect that comes with begging and the label of being called a bum. He began to tear up when he talked about his inability to escape his situation
We can interpret this any way we like, but the fact is that this man is misunderstood. So many people walk by him accusing him of being lazy when in reality he is desperately searching for a job. He even says that he would take any kind of work offered to him, the only problem is that he never gets a job offer. A common stereotype would have us believe that men like him take all the money that they are given and go out and waste it on alcohol and drugs. In this case, we would be very wrong because this man uses his money for food and shelter, not much else.
Furthermore, something that I have come to realize is that there is no excuse for not helping people like that. Even if we worry that our charity will be poorly spent, there are ways around that. Giving out fast food and hotel gift cards are a great way to ensure that the money goes to a productive cause. Donating to the local shelters achieves the same end. But our assumptions should never be an excuse to let someone starve.
Mr. Cole had a us watch a video (http://youtu.be/AusCA28efa0) today that contained an interview of a homeless person. This man was obviously distraught, he had been searching for a very long time to find a job with little success. He could never leave any way for a company to contact him because he had no phone number. He was forced to rely solely on the generosity of others to survive. This man was humiliated by his way of life. He disliked the disrespect that comes with begging and the label of being called a bum. He began to tear up when he talked about his inability to escape his situation
We can interpret this any way we like, but the fact is that this man is misunderstood. So many people walk by him accusing him of being lazy when in reality he is desperately searching for a job. He even says that he would take any kind of work offered to him, the only problem is that he never gets a job offer. A common stereotype would have us believe that men like him take all the money that they are given and go out and waste it on alcohol and drugs. In this case, we would be very wrong because this man uses his money for food and shelter, not much else.
Furthermore, something that I have come to realize is that there is no excuse for not helping people like that. Even if we worry that our charity will be poorly spent, there are ways around that. Giving out fast food and hotel gift cards are a great way to ensure that the money goes to a productive cause. Donating to the local shelters achieves the same end. But our assumptions should never be an excuse to let someone starve.
All Are Welcome
What did I get out of Cardinal Dolan's article
Well, a lot. It was very well written and offered a point of very that is very applicable to the modern world. who does the Church accept? If the answer is everyone, than doesn't that mean the church accepts sin?
What follows was this article's answer to the above questions.
The Church accepts everyone. It loves and respects every single human being. HOWEVER, that does not mean that the church will accept and approve of the actions of every one of its members. Its not much more complicated than that. The church will and is made to love every human being. But Christ's Church, the very church of God, cannot condone sin without losing its very identity. Cardinal Dolan compared story from his childhood with this concept. He spoke of one of his friends who was allowed to have dinner with his family under the condition that he wash his hands, Just as any person is a friend of the church who may be a true productive part of it only if they conform to certain expectations set by the church. This does not mean that sinners are kicked out of the Church. If that were true, we would have an empty church. Rather, it means that if one is to truly take part in the Church in a meaningful way, this person must do everything in his or her power to abide to its rules and expectations, which are in turn, ultimately set by God.
Well, a lot. It was very well written and offered a point of very that is very applicable to the modern world. who does the Church accept? If the answer is everyone, than doesn't that mean the church accepts sin?
What follows was this article's answer to the above questions.
The Church accepts everyone. It loves and respects every single human being. HOWEVER, that does not mean that the church will accept and approve of the actions of every one of its members. Its not much more complicated than that. The church will and is made to love every human being. But Christ's Church, the very church of God, cannot condone sin without losing its very identity. Cardinal Dolan compared story from his childhood with this concept. He spoke of one of his friends who was allowed to have dinner with his family under the condition that he wash his hands, Just as any person is a friend of the church who may be a true productive part of it only if they conform to certain expectations set by the church. This does not mean that sinners are kicked out of the Church. If that were true, we would have an empty church. Rather, it means that if one is to truly take part in the Church in a meaningful way, this person must do everything in his or her power to abide to its rules and expectations, which are in turn, ultimately set by God.
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