It is an amazing feeling to wake up and think back on yesterday as the day my boyfriend and I were confirmed in the Catholic church. Many people ask me what do Catholics believe in? What does being Catholic mean? In this article I will explain what Catholics believe and try my best to give readers a better understanding of what I call my faith.
1. We do not believe only Catholics go to Heaven.
Many denominations within the christian community claim that their denomination is the only Holy group that will be granted eternal life. We catholics, believe that no matter what denomination you are, if you worship God, accept Jesus and are a good person you will be recognized by jesus at the end of your life. Who are we as humans to judge who gets in and who is out?
2. We believe in Holy Trinity.
The Trinity means three-within one. Trinity consists of the Father (God), the son (Jesus) and the Holy spirit, which is what I like to think as the way God is here on Earth with us. I think of it as the wind, we can feel the Holy spirit although we may not be able to see it, it is almost a force, that is achieved through sacrament and prayer.
3. The Catholic church has sacraments.
1. Christening, which is a baptizing of young babies. It is where the parents give thanks to God by saying Lord you gave me this child and I am dedicating him/she to you. 2. Then the child will go through First Communion where he/she receives the Eucharist, which is the bread (body of christ) and the wine (blood of christ). 3. Lastly, when the child is old enough to decide for himself he will go through Confirmation which is the child’s decision to dedicate their life to God. I shouldn't say child anymore because this is done when the child is older in fact confirmation is a sign you are mature in the church and can make your own independent decisions about your faith and how you will practice it. You receive the 7 gifts of the Holy spirit, when these three sacraments are done. Knowledge, understanding, wisdom, piety, counsel, fortitude and fear of God. You are born with some of these gifts already bestowed on you. For example I have the gifts of Wisdom, counsel and fortitude. The other sacraments include confession, eucharist (both talked about below), anointing of the sick, holy orders and holy matrimony.
4. The Catholic Bible is different from the regular bible.
A lot of people do not know this but the catholic bible is actually different from the regular protestant bible. When Martin Luther separated from the Catholic church he took out seven books of the bible. I have always heard that it was the opposite and the Catholics did that, but nope Luther in fact did. So the catholic bible includes those seven missing books. Which actually contains my favorite book in the bible Wisdom.
5. We have deacons, priest, bishops and a pope.
Many people are confused on why the catholic faith has so many church titles. I am going to explain them to you. The deacons are ordained ministers of the church, I kind of see them as helping aides to the priests almost as a assistant pastor. The priest is a catholic pastor. The bishop is like a priest for the local catholic churches in your area. Then you have cardinals who are ordained bishops from all over the world who serve the largest areas who elect the pope and act like cabinet members for a president/pope. Then you have the pope. This is the highest title. The pope is the face of the catholic church. The cardinals have to vote 1/3 majority on the candidate in pure secrecy.
6. We catholics confess our sins to a priest.
Many people including some catholics do not agree with having to confess your sins to another human being, also known as confession. Why confess to another human who sins and not just to god himself? This is exactly how I thought before this realization. I personally will go to confession because it is not so much telling my sins to a priest to be sinless after, but to receive counsel on how to better myself from those sins. For example, after you say your sins the priest will give you your penance which is normally a chapter in the bible to read that relates to what sins you commit. Priests are specialists of the bible. So when you tell them your sins they will give you the words of God that will help you overcome them for the future. It is like looking up scriptures that will help you when you are stressed. Except the priest can give you a more detailed solution. Also knowing I am going to confession makes my conscience even stronger. It will make me think before I do something and ask myself is this a sin. It is quite easy to sit in a dark room by yourself and admit your sins to God which you cannot see. It requires a sense of humility to admit your sins before a physical person. Also, priests go to confession also. No one is sin free.
7. We give thanks to Mother Mary and Saints.
What is a saint? A saint is someone who has been recognized as a holy person in the church. They have to have caused a certain amount of unexplainable miracles I believe and a bunch of other criteria. When you go through confirmation you pick a saint who you relate to and that saint’s name becomes your religious name. Each saint holds a special talent, normally that relates to what miracles they were responsible for, that you can pray towards or give thanks to not in place of God but as extra. Almost as a guardian angel. We give thanks to Mary because without her Christ would not have died on the cross to set us free. Once again we DO NOT idolize anyone else than God. We simply give thanks where it is due. It is almost like covering all your bases. Giving thanks to everyone but idolizing and giving thanks to the one true God overall.
8. Catholics believe in purgatory.
Purgatory is almost like a waiting room when you die for people who aren't as holy as they could be to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Many Catholics believe that almost everyone goes to purgatory. No one who goes to purgatory will be sent to Hell. Purgatory is where you go to achieve your holiness to enter Heaven. You leave when you have achieved that. The catholic church prays for the souls of purgatory. It is the people who do not repent and deny God who are sent to hell. If you are a good person and accept christ but failed to be known by Jesus then you go to purgatory to work on yourself, because God wants everyone to have eternal life with his love.
