|
Catholic Church Holy Rituals
Category: Blogging
Current mood:
 cheerful
Rituals of The Catholic Church By:Constantine Adams 6/12/2019
Overall, the Catholic believers consist of 1 billion members worldwide. There are also a total of at least 30 branches of Roman Catholic denominations in the world today.(www.bible.ca) All have their own individual way of conducting certain rituals, but ultimately; they all keep within the same original traditions of the Faith and Church. Now, with each ritual comes the blessings and responsibilities that come along with it. Each ritual has its own significance and specific importance to the individuals who are receiving the blessing, and the congregation as a whole. (https://www.bible.ca/catholic-church-hierarchy-organization.htm) The spiritual journey of a Catholic believer starts out with what the Church calls “The Sacraments of Initiation.” The first step in the process is called the “Rite of Initiation.” Usually believers are immediately baptized right after their very own birth, and the Confirmation and Eucharist are preformed much later. It is explained that through the sacraments, a believer is then freed from the power of darkness. Along with The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they too die, are buried, and through Him; triumph and rise again. (McBrien pg.805-806) Through this initiation method, the believer then receives the Spirit of Adoption. This then transforms them into God’s Children, and as God’s people; they together celebrate the memorial of the Lord’s death and resurrection. Another important point to note, is that through the motions of baptism, believers are then officially incorporated into Christ. (McBrien pg.806) By then being thoroughly transformed into God’s people, they then receive full forgiveness of all of their faults and sins. This realization signifies the believers being thus; further raised from their old natural human condition and being molded into the new dignity of Christ’s adopted children. The result is the transformation into a new creation brought about by the Holy Water and the Holy Spirit. After all of this is completed, they take upon the title and honor of being able to be called Christ’s Children!(McBrien pg.806) The Holy Rite of Baptism goes as follows. First, it is usually celebrated during the Easter Vigil, but if that is not possible during that certain time; then the whole Ceremony would then have to be done in a rather celebratory way as if the parties involved were in fact celebrating with the Spirit of Easter. The process then commences with instruction from the celebrant, then it is followed with a litany. (McBrien pg.815) The Holy Baptizing Water is then thoroughly prayed over and lucifer is then renunciated in the Mighty Name Of Jesus Christ! Next, the anointing with the oil of catechumens, and the profession of Faith. The pouring of the Holy Water is then preformed followed closely by the invocation of the Holy Trinity regarding the name of the person who is officially being Baptized. The individual is then called out by name and is Baptized by The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. This is also known as the Trinitarian Formula. Anointing, the clothing with the white garment, and the presentation of the lighted candle then come next to conclude the Divine process.(McBrien pg.815) The next step that a Catholic believer must follow through with, is the ritual of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is very important because it deals with one of the three situations concerning Christ’s Holy Body and Blood. It symbolizes Christ’s sacrifice using the Consecration of the Mass, Holy Communion, and the Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharist is also considered the most important of all seven Sacraments to the Catholic people.(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.105) Catholics firmly believe that during the ritual, the bread and wine are not only the body and blood of Jesus Christ; but are actually the soul and divinity of the Messiah. “Real Presence” is the term used during this very sacred time, because it symbolizes the Catholic believers as being able to really sense Christ’s presence in the room with them.(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.105) M. Basil Pennington’s book “The Eucharist: Wine of Faith, Bread of Wine,” states that “The creed makes us aware of our dependence: God is the Maker, we are the made; God is the Savior, we are the saved. It makes us aware, too, of how much we are loved: “for us and our salvation.” It makes us aware of what has been promised to us, and so we can confidently pray.”(Pennington pg.35) The term “Eucharist” is a derivative from the Greek pronunciation “Eucharistein,” which translates in modern day English as “Thanks Giving.” In this particular instance, the Catholic folks are taking this specific time to give thanks to Jesus for providing them with the bread from Heaven. This bread from Heaven is the Holy Eucharist, and is necessary to feed, uplift, and nourish their souls!(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.105) Jesus Christ also gave thanks at The Last Supper as stated in (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24; Mark 14:23; Matthew 26:27). In the time of Christ, meals shared with people symbolized concepts like peace, trust, and communality.(McBrien pg.820) This next quotation straight out of Richard P. McBrien’s book “Catholicism,” further sums up the true ancient essence of preforming the Eucharist. “But Jesus identified the bread and wine with his own body and blood. And sensing his own impending death, he speaks of himself as a sacrifice. Just as the unleavened bread is broken, so will his body be broken. And just as the wine is poured out, so will his blood. All four texts agree that Jesus’ death is an atonement and establishes a new Covenant. The Jews, in fact, regarded every death of an innocent person as an atoning death, and Jesus saw his own death in this light.” (McBrien pg.821) The concept of Conformation is another big step that a Catholic believer must take in according to the fulfillment of the overall rite of passage . This serves as a sort of “coming of age” moment for a Catholic believer as they become more fully and thoroughly molded into the Body of Jesus Christ. The whole and primary objective of the art of Conformation, is to further strengthen, grow, and mature the soul of the believer. It is rather properly explained in Brighenti and Trigilio’s book “Catholicism for Dummies,” where it states “It builds on what was begun in Baptism and what was nourished in Holy Eucharist. It completes the process of initiation into the Christian community, and it matures the soul for the work ahead.”(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.109) Brighenti and Trigilio also state that “The Byzantine Church confirms (chrismates) at Baptism and gives Holy Eucharist as well, thus initiating the new Christian all at the same time.”(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.109) When a Catholic believer is just a baby, the Church holds a great ceremony where the child’s parents and new God Parents all unite before a Bishop to dedicate the young one to the safety and glory of Jesus Christ. The soul of the child is then dedicated to the fellowship of God. Yet, at Confirmation, the same vow to The Savior is then being renewed by the child at an older age. This way, it shows the child as taking the responsibility, honor, and initiative in means of upholding this Holy creed and vow for themselves; without the influence or meddling of their parents or God Parents.(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.109) Still, it is required that a new Catholic believer must commence in the completion of CCD or (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) before this whole process can be followed through with. “Confraternity of Christian Doctrine” are just a set of prerequisite religious educational classes that are used to prepare the new believer for their spiritual journey that is at hand. It is known in the Catholic community that the Holy Spirit is first bestowed upon a new believer the very first moment that they are baptized in the Holy Water. In the midst of the ceremony, the Holy Trinity is set upon them, thus symbolizing The Father, Son, and The Holy Ghost. Now, at Confirmation, all three entities once again are set on the new believer at the same time as a reflection of Pentecost.(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.109) (Acts 2:1-4) thus, references “The Feast of Pentecost” where the Holy Spirit descended out of Heaven to earth where it’s power was bestowed upon the 12 apostles and Jesus Christ’s mother, the Virgin Mary. The occasion took place for 50 days after Easter and exactly 10 days after Jesus Christ commenced in His Ascension.(Brighenti and Trigilio pg.109) The 12 apostles were then given certain special gifts from Christ and the Holy Spirit at this time. These gifts or “fruits of the Spirit,” were charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency, and chastity. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.110) These gifts are then further strengthened by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit also granted the apostles the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and the fear of the Lord. These final seven gifts are known as supernatural graces that are bestowed generously upon the soul of the believer. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.110) There are a total of four major steps when completing the Sacrament of Conformation. First off, the Confirmation ceremony takes place within the Mass itself, or can take place outside of it. In either instance, the Bishop will traditionally come dressed in his red vestments to symbolize the red tongues of fire that were seen hovering over the heads of the apostles at Pentecost. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.110) Next, the believer that is going to be Confirmed steps forth accompanied by their sponsor. Canonical requirements concerning God Parents in the Baptism Ceremony also apply to the concept concerning the ceremony for Conformation. When looking at Baptism, the child’s parents pick out their God Parents, but for Confirmation; the child picks out their own sponsor for the ceremony. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) The child can choose their original God Parents again, or they can select someone new that they would like to also include in their rite of passage. The only requirement is that the sponsor has to be a believer themselves, and they have to be older than the age of 16. One sponsor is chosen for Confirmation, while usually two are chosen at Baptism. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) Thirdly, the new Catholic believer is then presented with the option of whether or not they want to choose a new extra name to add on to their original official name. When a child is Baptized, the parents named them. The child at that point had no say so in the ordeal, but at Confirmation; an additional name can be chosen by the individual believer for themselves! (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) This can be exciting for the believer if they choose to add this new name in between their original first and middle name, or they can just bypass this whole scenario and keep their original name the way it was. The only stipulation is that if the new believer were to choose a new name, they would have to only choose a Christian name from the Bible. It could be a Saint or a hero in the Holy Bible. Yet, one cannot choose a villain from the Bible as their name, like Goliath or Pharaoh for example. Also secular names are not proper to choose from for such an occasion. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) Lastly, the new believer that is now being Confirmed either kneels or stands in front of the Bishop who is overseeing them. The believer’s sponsor then places a hand on their shoulder. The new believers Confirmation name is then spoken by the Bishop who then places Chrism Oil onto the new believer’s forehead. (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) The Bishop then addresses the new believer by their new name and says to them “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.” After the new believer will then respond with “Amen.” The Bishop will then answer them with “peace be with you.” The new believer would then respond with “And with your spirit.” (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) Usually, the process of Conforming new Catholics is the Bishop’s responsibility amongst his own specific diocese. Although, just normal priests can be given the right to Confirm grown-ups who are converting to Catholicism from another religion. This happens when the people involved are brought into the full Communion with the Roman Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil and they’ve attended the “Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults” or (RCIA) program at the Church. Non-believers who are trying to convert to the Faith are obligated to take these classes.” (Brighenti and Trigilio pg.111) In a sit down interview with Reverent Benjamin D. Hoang, he explained to me the various occupations, programs, and duties of the people within Saint Anthony Claret Church. He told me that every Church is different, and each one has it’s own customs. Their Church in particular possesses a Parish Manager, Official Church Secretary, Financial Council, Pastoral Council, Catechists{or those of which who teach Catechism}, an RCIA Program that is geared to teach classes to new comers of the Faith, and to teach them what it really means to be Catholic, a house keeper, security, maintenance crew, youth ministry, Religious Education Program, which is also geared towards children, marriage preparation, and Confirmation. “The RCIA Programs are very important,” says Reverent Hoang. “We emphasize these, because it is essential to the new comers of the Faith to properly learn about what it is to uphold the title if being a Catholic, and how to properly conduct themselves in society after they have walked that route and transformed their lives.” Ultimately, people are all looking for something more in life, they are reaching out for something from deeper within their hearts, souls, and spirits. People want to get closer to God, to get closer to the Messiah…Jesus Christ. Catholicism provides people with a clear route, and a rite of passage to achieve this. The Holy Sacraments of Catholicism are beautiful it the way that it provides people with a sort of Divine blue print that follows them from birth, to adolescence, to adulthood, to marriage, and then to their very last breathe. Catholicism’s Sacraments are truly a celebration of Christ’s gift of life. It is an enduring and heartfelt process that pushes believers physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s a growth process that is well worth it, for it teaches Catholics that one can triumph over the hard times in life, and that with a focused sense of determination and discipline; one can resist the temptations of satan to become a better person. Yet, I think that the main point and purpose of the Catholic rite of passage is to show that every moment of life can be celebrated as a miracle; and all things are possible through Jesus Christ! Work Cited Page Brighenti, Kenneth and Trigilio, John. “Catholicism For Dummies.” Indiana: Wiley Publishing, 2003. McBrien , P. Richard. “Catholicism.” New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994. Pennington, M. Basil. “The Eucharist: Wine Of Faith, Bread Of Life.” Missouri: Liguori/ Triumph Publications, 2000.
0 Comments
|
