Catholic

          Today, the term "Catholic" is used to describe the Roman Catholic faith. Just like Baptist or Methodist, Catholic describes someone who is of the Roman Catholic faith. Originally, the term meant "according to the whole" or "in general" and is derived from the Greek phrase katholou. The word catholic today can also mean a wide variety of things (especially a person's tastes) and all-embracing. It is also used to refer to a universal or general interest, inviting, and having strong interests. It makes sense that the Roman Catholic faith is called catholic because it is the largest Christian group. All the other Christian denominations also use the term catholic to refer to the entire Christian group of people. One of the main uses of Catholic today is as one of the four marks of the Church. These marks are One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. These marks distinguish the true Pilgrim Church founded by Christ from all the other Christian denominations.
       The Church is Catholic in two main ways. First, the Church has a duty to fulfill its universal mission with the universal authority from Christ. Second, the Church is whole and complete. The Church universally heals all those who ask and seek repentance and removes then from their sins. The universal Church does not only consist of all the local Churches together in communion with each other, but each local Church contains the fullness of Christ. The Catholic Church not only includes those on Earth, but also those in Purgatory and in Heaven, meaning that the Church also exists outside of time. Since the Church is so widespread, it has many different cultures and traditions which add to its Catholicity.

Rites of the Catholic Church

There are many expressions and modes of worship that are distinctive to individual cultures within the Catholic Church due to the spreading of the followers of Christ throughout the world from the very beginning of the history of the Church. This has caused many different forms of worship to develop. Together, these forms of worship make up the Church's rich liturgical tradition. Each one of these rites is in communion with the others. The main source of communion, the Eucharist, is something all the rites of the Catholic Church share. Though each rite shares the same apostolic origin and Sacraments, they differ in external form, and each preserves its own linguistic, artistic, architectural, spiritual, and cultural heritage. A rite represents a tradition about how the sacraments are celebrated in each one. As the early Church grew and spread, it celebrated the sacraments in the best way for the individual cultures to understand them and receive them. These differences occur without ever changing their essential form and matter. The Pope is shepherd of the rites, but is also administered by either  a Patriarch, a Major Archbishop, or a Metropolitan, And, all of the rites come under the jurisdiction of the Pope through the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which is one of the offices of the Roman Curia.

Some of the more popular rites are the Roman Rite, Alexandrian Rite, the Antiochene Rite, the Armenian Rite, the Byzantine Rite, and the Chaldean Rite. And, from these rites, come a total of another 21 rites. The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church is the most widespread rite. It is used in the Diocese of Rome and includes the Latin Rite. It was founded by St. Peter in Rome around 42 A.D, and the successor of St. Peter, the Pope, is the head of the Roman Rite.  The Alexandrian Rite originated in Egypt and includes the Coptic Rite and the Ethiopian Rite. It has its liturgies in the languages of Coptic, Arabic, and Ge'ez. The Antiochene Rite is named for Antioch, which was in ancient Syria. The Church of Jerusalem influenced it as it developed. It includes the Malankar, the Maronite, and Syrian Rites. The liturgies are said in Syriac and Arabic within these rites. The Armenian Rite has origins that trace back to the early Fathers of the Church, and it uses the language of Armenian as for its liturgies. The Byzantine Rite originated in the ancient imperial see of Constantinople as is the most widely Eastern liturgical form. And, originating from this rite are the Albanian, Belarusion, Bulgarian, Greek, Greek-Melkite, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian, Romanian, Russian, Ruthenian, Slovak, and Unrainian Rites. The Chaldean Rite is most popular in India and the Middle East. Churches that are part of this rite are the Chaldean and Malabar Catholic Churches. The language used for the liturgies of this rite are Syriac, Arabic, and Malayalam.

I myself am of the Maronite Rite. The Masses that I attend at my Church are not very much different from those of the Roman Rite that I attend at my school. In fact, the only real difference between the Maronite Catholic Mass and the Roman Catholic Mass that I can really notice is the language the liturgies are in. Also, the way we offer peace to one another and the method in which we receive the Eucharist are a little different. When I receive the Eucharist at the Maronite Mass, the priest dips the bread in the wine and places it in our mouths. And, when he gives a blessing to those who do not receive the Eucharist, he taps the gold plate with the bread on the head of the person. But, overall, the masses of the two rites are very similar. 

Time Flies

          Have you ever heard the expression "Time flies"? My mom was telling me the other day about how she remembers when I was a little baby (because we were talking about Mr. Cole's new baby) and started telling many stories. After hearing multiple great and inspiring stories about myself when I was under two years old, she then said "Time sure flies". It seems as if though changes happen rather quickly and when we have some free time or are discussing a certain topic we realize how much has happened over the past few years or so. On Earth, we each have our duties assigned by God to fulfill and our own personal goals to accomplish. Assuming the average life expectancy is about 80 years, you spend about 1/4 of your life in school, 1/2 working as an employee, in your own company, etc, and a little less than 1/4 retired (hopefully) and spending time with your family and friends. Life seems so short, and changes always bring great excitement to people's lives. But what about after Earth? What happens when we die and go to Heaven? This may seem like a strange and brash thing to say, but wouldn't you get bored living in heaven for eternity? On Earth, there is always something going on each day and we are motivated to get up and work each day for specific reasons. In heaven, is there work? What is it like to not have a body? I think that the answer to those questions can be summed up in the question, "What is it like to be in communion with God"?
          Of course, no one (that currently resides on Earth) actually knows what it is like to be in perfect communion with God, but using the powerful tool of reasoning we can figure out what it may be like. Whenever you see a relative or any loved one, you become filled with joy and a great smile fills your face, especially if you haven't seen them in a long time. You have so much to talk about and you just don't know what to say first. There are always certain people in our lives whom when we are with them our spirits are always uplifted. I believe being in communion with God will be the same except much greater. God is our creator, and he created us out of his love. Just like when we are very happy (most of the time) when we are with our parents, it must be an extraordinary feeling to be with our ultimate creator who is Love. Even though Heaven is outside of time, I believe that "time will fly" in heaven anyways.
        

The Fourth Mark of the Church: Apostolic

          The Apolicity of the Church mainly refers to the Twelve Apostles who were chosen by Jesus Christ to spread the Good News and form a communion of those who believe in Christ, or the Church. These twelve men traveled across the world and spreading the Christian faith. The Church began small, but it quickly grew, and on the first day of preaching by the Apostles after the Holy Spirit endowed them with the courage and wisdom needed to evangelize all nations, they converted about 5000 people to the Faith. These twelve men represented the Twelve Tribes of Israel, but this time their goal was to form one cohesive Church (which happens to be the first Mark of the Church). Also, just like the twelve ministers who aided Solomon the Wise during his reign as King (who received his wisdom from God but later abused his power as King), the Twelve Apostles assisted Christ, who is a good and just king whose kingdom shall never perish (I was watching Lord of the Rings yesterday so I thought of Solomon the wizard and now I sound like I am talking from medieval times). In order that the Word of God and of Christ be spread and that the Church may grow, the Twelve Apostles appointed others to join them in spreading the message of Christ to all nations. Today, those people are called bishops, and the Pope receives his authority from St. Peter who has passed in down to each pope until the new pope, Pope Francis. St. Peter received his authority from Christ, who gave him the Keys of the Kingdom. This is called Apostolic Succession, and is a key factor to the Church being called Apostolic.
          The Church is also Apostolic mainly because it was founded on the Apostles in three main ways. First, The Church was built and forever remains on the foundation of the Apostles. Second, The Church defends, interprets, and teaches the Deposit of Faith. The Deposit of Faith consists of Sacred Scripture, the written Word of Christ, and Sacred Tradition, that which has not been written down but that the Church, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, defines to be true and we, the people, hold to be true. How are we certain this is true? Well, how do we know anything is true, such as that nitrogen has 7 electrons? The answer is faith, which can grow in many ways, the main ones being through prayer, mass, the Bible, and understanding through reasoning and the Church. Third, through Apostolic Succession,  the successors of the Apostles and the successor of St. Peter, the Pope, continue to carry out the mission of Christ that was given to the Apostles nearly 2000 years ago.

The Availability of Grace

The members of the Catholic Church primarily receive grace from the Seven Sacraments established by Jesus Christ. But, not all Christian denominations have the same sacraments as the Catholic Church. So, this brings up the question, can non-Catholics receive grace even though they do not partake in the Catholic Masses and sacraments?

The answer to this question is yes. God is present in all of us, and he is at work helping us seek and find the essential truth revealed by Jesus. Some non-Catholics may feel that the grace of God is working within them, and they may feel that they should turn to the Catholic Church in order to receive the full graces of the sacraments and find the Catholic truth. Although some non-Catholics may feel the graces of God working within them, they should not expect those graces to do all the work. One should not reject, but accept, these graces of God and cooperate with them to have a better understanding of how God wants you to live your life. Even those of us that are all ready Catholic should continue to work with the graces of God that we receive. We should always try to better understand the teachings of Jesus Christ so that we can find the real truth within his teachings.

Overall, those who are non-Catholic are all ready receiving graces. These graces are called preveening graces, which are present before one even receives those graces of the sacraments. God works in the lives of non-Catholics, showing you the path that he wishes for you to take all as long as you remain faithful to him. Catholics, along with non-Catholics, can also receive graces from many special blessings, such as the blessing of the throats, and the blessing received instead of the reception of the Holy Communion, the Body and Blood of Christ.

Pope Francis

           Many people had been leaving the Catholic Church for various reasons, the number one reason being inactivity of the bishops to the sex abuse crisis. The second reason being that many homosexuals feel unwelcome in the Church due to its stance on homosexuality. Now with Pope Francis, many people are returning to the Catholic Church.
          Pope Francis has made many changes to the Church, the main one being his humble nature and stance on how a Pope should be. Pope Benedict XVI enjoyed all the glamor and the large papal home and acted very sophisticated. Pope Francis is more of a people's person, and many more people can now relate to him and are returning to the Catholic Church. He is addressing the issue of the multiple scandals with priests abusing children and saying that the hypocrisy of what the priests say and what they do "is undermining the Church's credibility". On a Thursday Mass in Rome, Pope Francis washed the feet of two women. Many were upset by this because it is supposed to be a re-enactment of Jesus washing the feet of the twelve Apostles who were men. Others were happy and feel like the Church may have some major changes coming up. I feel like many people are leaving the Catholic Church because other Christian denominations are modern and keep up with the changing society while the Catholic Church sticks rigidly to tradition. Of course, there is only One Truth, but that truth can be taught in many different ways. Pope Francis is changing many things for the better and keeping up with the changes in modern society. The Church is now truly "a poor Church, for poor people". All of us are equal in God's eyes, and the Church showcases that now.

Who leads the Church on Earth? Protestant vs Catholic

          In one sentence, Catholics believe that Pope leads the Church on Earth, while Protestants believe it is Jesus alone who leads the Church on Earth. So what is the answer, and why does each group believe this?
         According to Catholicism, the Pope is the Vicar of Christ and is the Successor of St. Peter though Apostolic Succession. St. Peter was clearly the first head of the Church, and he appointed many people to be bishops after the death of Christ, and they all have the full authority of a bishop through Apostolic Succession. Likewise, the Pope takes the role of St. Peter and is the head of the Church on Earth. When in the chair of St. Peter and united to all the bishops of the faith, the Pope is able to exercise his authority and be infallible when it comes to universal teachings on faith and morals. Furthermore, the Pope is guided by the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ is the Supreme Authority over the Church. According to Protestantism, Christ alone is the head of the Church and no human can be infallible. Also, the authority of the Church comes from the Word of God, or in other words the Bible. This is why they do not believe in Sacred Tradition too. Protestants also believe that every person has the Holy Spirit within them and thus is able to interpret the Bible, while Catholics believe that the Church alone can interpret the Bible due to its infallibility. So who is right? To be frank, one who is Catholic will believe they are right, and one who is Protestant will believe they are right. Catholicism, with more understanding, makes much more sense and Apostolic Succession is clearly present in the Bible.