...substance, or merely in theory as a symbol of what Jesus was saying? Over the centuries, this topic has been debated by many of the great theologians of the times. Tertullian, Luther, Martyr and Aquintas, to name a few, have weighed in on the subject. Christian denominations, such as Catholicism and the Lutheran faith, have strong views on what happens with the celebration of the Eucharist. The Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples begun the process that we now know as the Eucharist, Holy Communion, and Holy Mass is one of the several sacraments. The Eucharist is the reenactment, so to speak, of the Last Supper, and is practiced in the Christian faith as an offering, or sacrifice. This happens differently depending on which faith one practices. The Catholic Church believes that once the bread and wine have been blessed, they cease to be bread and wine and actually become the body and blood of Christ. The Council of Trent, in the Middle Ages, gathered together theologians to put to rest the theory and description of transubstantiation. They ended up with eleven canons in regards to the Eucharist itself. Chapter four of their decree on transubstantiation is as follows, ”And because that Christ, our...
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...Saturday/Sunday worship is a significant practice within the Christian community. Even though the aspects and structure of the worship service varies between each domination they all expresses and acknowledge the beliefs and values of Christianity and is a time for communal worship. Saturday/Sunday worship was founded within the Jewish practice in honouring the Sabbath and was originally practiced on Saturday. However, as Christianity expanded into the Hellenic work and become immersed in Roman society it changed to Sunday, as some wished to distanced themselves from the Jewish community. LINK Christian worship services have a common structure. This includes introduction rites, Liturgy of the Word and Eucharist, Eucharistic Pray, Holy Communion and Post-communion. However, each denomination will have worship services which vary. Catholics have mass performed by an ordained male priest, Orthodox have Divine Liturgy performed by an ordained male priest and protestants have mass that may be performed by either an ordained male or female priest. However, the common aspect of their services is that they provide adherents with the opportunity to connect with god, to reflect personally and on ethical direction, but also to feel a sense of community. During the worship services the belief of the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ is expressed. Through the Liturgy of the Word, which are biblical reading from the Psalms, The New Testament and Gospels the life, healing and miracles...
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...Both churches had a heavy emphasis on the Holy Trinity. However, more people in the Lutheran Church were less inclined to make the sign of the cross. In addition, the Lutheran Church also seemed to have a bigger emphasis on the Bible in relation to the individual person. During the sermon at the Lutheran church, the pastor stated that everything in the Bible is true, it just must be found within the right context for one’s life, and that a person must search for the answers. While the Catholic Church did not focus as much on individuals, it did focus more on social justice. One thing that was very interesting, as a non-Catholic, was that I could follow along in the Catholic church just as well as I can in my Lutheran church back home. The responses only differ roughly a word or two, and...
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...High School Department I. Introduction A. The Eucharist and Canossa School Sta. Rosa The Eucharist is one of the most important and vital aspects of faith. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims it, the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life (cf. CCC 1324). Thus, it is just proper that a Catholic school provides regular opportunities for students to develop a loving devotion to the Holy Eucharist especially in the Celebration of the Holy Mass. The celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the campus reflects vividly Canossa School Sta. Rosa’s vision and mission that aims at the education and formation of S.M.A.R.T. Canossian with the Heart. Responding to this call of placing the Eucharist at the center of its students’ life, Canossa, with its aim to make Jesus known and loved, faithfully reminds its students to attend regularly the Sunday Mass and occasionally invites them to celebrate the Holy Eucharist inside the campus during first Fridays and during special feasts and solemnities. B. The Importance of Active Participation during the Eucharistic Celebration The Second Vatican Council states clearly that the “Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that fully conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy. Such participation by the Christian people as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a redeemed people” (1 Pet. 2:9; cf. 2:4- 5)...
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... Christ instituted his Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. The Church is an Invisible and Visible Communion The Church is at the same time both invisible and visible. As an invisible reality, the Church is the communion of each human being with the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit, and with the others, who equally share in the: 1. Divine Nature 2. Passion Of Christ 3. Same Faith 4. Same Spirit The Church on earth is also a visible reality, a visible communion of faithful who converge in the: 1. Teaching of the apostles 2. Sacraments 3. Hierarchical order The Church and the Sacraments Each individual is introduced into the ecclesial communion by faith and by Baptism. Baptism is the incorporation into a body – the Church – that the risen Lord builds up and keeps alive through the Eucharist. Thus this body can truly be called the body of Christ. The Eucharist – the root and center of the community – is the creative force and source of communion among the members of the Church; it unites each one of them with Christ himself. By the sacrament of… Confirmation – the Holy Spirit sends to each in the Church the gift of the Holy Spirit. Penance – the priests reconcile sinner with God and the Church. Anointing of the Sick – the church continues Christ’s healing mission for those who are seriously ill and...
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...The Holy Mass is the holiest event and most precious treasure of the Roman Catholic Church – because the Holy Mass is the Action of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ offers Himself for us in the Holy Mass as He offered and sacrificed Himself for us on the Cross. The Eucharistic Sacrifice is the ‘Source and Summit of All Christian Life’. The Holy Mass is the memorial of the same Sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary 2,000 years ago – and now renewed in an unbloody and sacramental manner on our altars today. On the Cross at Calvary, Jesus Christ offered His Body and Blood for us – and now under the appearances of bread and wine on the altar of our Church. The Most Holy Eucharist is a Mystery of Faith where we celebrate the Liturgy of the Word and of the Eucharist, and where ordinary bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ during the Consecration in the Mass. At every celebration of the Holy Mass, Jesus Christ is REALLY PRESENT – as God and as Man sacrificing Himself for us on the altar as He sacrificed Himself on the Cross. This Sacrament of Love stands central in the life of the People of God, so that Christ becomes in truth the Life of Souls as we repay in worship “love For Love” to Him. Because of the Real Presence of Jesus and His Supreme Sacrifice, the Holy Mass becomes our highest form of prayer. And we are all exhorted to participate actively with sound faith and utmost devotion as we gather as one community to publicly celebrate our faith...
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...The Christian church that has been an influential spiritual vigor in Western civilization’s history and alongside with Protestantism and Eastern Orthodoxy, one of the three main aspects of Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church follows its past to Jesus Christ and his Apostles. In excess of centuries, Catholicism has built up an extremely refined theology and an intricate clerical composition regulated by the papacy, which is the oldest enduring definitive dominion in the world. In retrospect, the explanation of Roman Catholicism is directly linked as a relation of Christianity. In its individual analysis of history, Roman Catholicism was created in the actual rise of Christianity (Fairchild, 2011). An indispensable element of the characterization of any of the other domains of the Christian countries and groups in addition to its association to Roman Catholicism, how did Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy happen to divide? Was the split among Rome and the Church of England predestined? On the contrary, these questions could be vital to the explanation of Roman Catholicism itself. Such a description that remains rigorously to the authoritative Roman Catholic examination a general consensus in which the Roman Catholic Church has preserved a steady continuity from the time of the Apostles, all the while other religious groups, from the earliest Coptic to the modern church are a divergence from it. Now, the belief of faith that is shared by Christian churches is embedded...
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...Reformed Apologetics Ministries Monday, March 17, 2014 Historical Examination of Roman Catholic Eucharist Theology Rome claims her view is historical. We will now examine if the early church writers taught transubstantiation of the bread and wine as well as the Mass being seen as an expiatory and propitiatory sacrifice. Rome has erroneously claimed her modern view has always been held by the historic church. At the Council of Trent Rome taught her belief was affirmed by “all our forefathers” (Thirteenth Session, Chapter 1, The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, trans. H. J. Schroeder, [TAN Books and Publishers, 1978], p. 73), that is, church fathers. Trent also claimed, “because that Christ, our Redeemer, declared that which He offered under the species of bread to be truly His own body, therefore has it ever been a firm belief in the Church of God” (Thirteen Session, Chapter 4, The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, trans. H. J. Schroeder, [TAN Books and Publishers, 1978], p. 75). We will therefore test Rome’s claims historically. Rome’s idea ahistorical & based on Aristotelian concepts adopted late by the church. Rome’s doctrine of transubstantiation is dependent on the pagan Aristotle’s philosophical idea of accidents and substance. Modern Rome’s specific view as espoused by the Fourth Lateran Council and the Council of Trent, as well as other papal documents, that the substance of the elements change into the body and blood of Christ, while the appearance...
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...Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist Members: Cababahay, Pete Calungsud, Russell Eroja, Aerol Go, Bill Silva, Jan Jason Belarmino, Maria Melissa Ferolino Jyle Patrize 9 - Purple Ms. Rovelyn Mina CL Teacher Signs and Symbols used in the Eucharist Wheat - Wheat is a cereal grain, its seeds are ground into flour and used as the main ingredient for bread, and Jesus is the Bread of Life. Sometimes wheat is represented by a single head of grain, other times by a shock or sheaf of wheat, a bunch of cut stalks bound together in a bundle. A Loaf of Bread - Bread is the staple food of physical life, and Eucharistic bread is the staple food of the spiritual life. At the Last Supper, Jesus took a loaf of unleavened bread and said, “Take and eat, this is my body” (Mt 26:26; Mk 14:22; Lk 22:19). The consecrated bread is Jesus himself, the Real Presence of Christ. A basket of loaves - When Jesus fed the five thousand, he began with a basket of five loaves (Mt 14:17; Mk 6:38; Lk 9:13; Jn 6:9), and when he fed the four thousand he began with a basket of seven (Mt 15:34; Mk 8:6). A Host - A host is a Communion wafer, a round piece of unleavened bread used for consecration and distribution at Mass. The term comes from the Latin word hostia, a sacrificial lamb. Jesus is “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (Jn 1:29,36)...
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...baptized, and say, while pouring the water: I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. There are three kinds of Baptism: Baptism of water, of desire, and of blood. Baptism of water is that which is given by pouring water on the head of the person to be baptized, and saying at the same time: I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Baptism of desire is an ardent wish to receive Baptism, and to do all that God has ordained for our salvation. Baptism of blood is the shedding of one´s blood for the faith of Christ, such as in the cases of martyrdom. Baptism of desire or of blood is sufficient to produce the effects of the Baptism of water, if it is impossible to receive the Baptism of water. Biblical references: Acts 2:38-39; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; John 3:5; Matt 19:14; Luke 18:15-16; Col 2:11-12; Rom 6:13; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33; 1 Cor 1:16; Mark 16:16; Rom 5:18-19; Mark 10:14; Jos 24:15; Matt 8:5ff; Matt 15:21ff Confirmation is a Sacrament through which we receive the Holy Ghost to make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. The bishop is the ordinary minister of Confirmation. The bishop extends his hands over those who are to be confirmed, prays that they may receive the Holy Ghost, and anoints the forehead of each with holy chrism in the form of a cross. Holy chrism is a mixture of...
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...Towards the Enlightenment ~ Identify and discuss those reforms instituted by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent that were put in place in response to the Protestant challenge. What changes did the Church refuse to make? Why? The Council of Trent was called as a response to the 'heresy' of Martin Luther, John Calvin and other Protestant reformers. It would also address the current problems within the Catholic church: corruption, despicable behavior, unreasonable financial demands, poor spiritual behavior, and the lack of concern for their parishioners. The council was to try and sway protestant reformers back to pure catholicism and the Holy Roman Catholic Church (HRCC). The pope of that time, Pope Paul III did not want change to his lifestyle, but wanted the protestant reformers dealt with. He did not attend the council meetings himself, but had representation there to voice his opinions and maintain his influence. He wanted to make sure the council would not become his superior, nor question his supreme authority. The Council would meet several times over a period of eighteen years, with three main sessions. Participants would change over the course of these meeting as well. Protestants were allowed to attend the second main session, but their demands were not addressed. The hope that the council would reunite Catholics and Protestants(reformers) was destroyed, the divide would only become deeper and everlasting. A major objection and high on the agenda...
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...Confirmation Expository Essay Confirmation gives a young Catholic many gifts. Growth is vital to human life; the body and mind must grow to stay alive. Catholics believe that the soul also needs to grow to maturity in the life of grace, just as the human body must grow through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Catholics believe that the Sacrament of Confirmation is the supernatural equivalent of the growth process on the natural level. It builds on what was begun in Baptism and what was nourished in Holy Eucharist. It also completes the process of initiation into the Christian community, and it matures the soul for the work ahead. Confirmation is a sacrament of initiation which completes baptism through sealing in Holy Spirit and granting the recipient the strengthening of faith, an increase of sanctifying grace, and a lasting character on the soul. Confirmation is one of the three sacraments of initiation and through it the Holy Spirit is given to those who have been already baptized, in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Christ. When Jesus calls upon us to follow him he does not mean that we should make our way to Heaven alone, but commands us to bring others with us along the same path. The only way we can do this successfully is through a special share in the anointing of Jesus through the priest. Confirmation strengthens the supernatural life we receive in Baptism. Confirmation transforms us into adults in the catholic faith...
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...From the outside, St. Francis Xavier looked like a normal Catholic church. It wasn’t just a free standing square, but you could tell that a lot went into the design, like most Catholic churches. However, once inside, I noticed that it is shaped like a fish. During Jesus’ time, Christians used the Greek word for “fish” as an acronym for Jesus Christ God’s Son, Savior. The crucifix that hangs above the altar looked like a “space Jesus” to me, but I’m sure that doesn’t really have a meaning. The people participating in this ritual believe that there is one God. He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: The Trinity. They believe that He is the creator of all things visible and invisible. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same divine being. They are far beyond what we can conceive as humans. Catholics believe that the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Holy Spirit is begotten by the Son. To start off the ritual, everyone stands and the procession begins. There are usually two or three servers; they enter first, one carrying the cross, then the one or two lectors and the priest and/or deacon follow. The priest begins with the sign of the cross that everyone does with him, then he says a greeting, and then the congregation states the act of penitence and the priest concludes it with a prayer of absolution. Next is the kyrie eleison, which is Greek for “Lord have mercy.” It is either said or sung, followed by the Gloria. The liturgy of the word is...
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...Elements of Religious Traditions Beth Maldonado REL/ 133 July 23, 2012 Astrid Fiano Elements of Religious Traditions Religion is the most volatile and controversial word in the world. When people say the word [religion] they are invoking a strong batch of feelings, beliefs, and traditions that people are so connected to it that they are willing to die for it. Religion is a complicated system of beliefs, ideas, doctrines, ethics all proselytized by a complex system of structures and organizations. However, complicated religion may be, there are strong structural similarities between the majority of religions and some that are universal. These similar structures within religions around the world indicate that religion has the same purpose for all those who follow it, regardless of the form of religion that they follow. To show the purpose of religion, this paper will compare and contrast the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church in particular what their religious tradition says, what their religious tradition practices and how their particular church is organized. A person may be tempted to consider various forms of monotheism to find similar structures within them but Christianity alone has many different forms of practice within it. However many forms of practices in Christianity the ultimate purpose of any religion is to provide an explanation for the unknown like death, space, and the ultimate unknown our origin. Religion tries to provide explanations to these unknowns...
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...individual from a life of sin to a life of service through God, and welcomes individuals to the faith. Its importance described by Thomas J. Needles as “It pictures the historical event in the life of Christ that brought to fruition the purpose of his reincarnation, namely, to give his life as ransom for many.” ("Baptism as a Symbol of Christ’s Saving Work.” Understanding Four Views on Baptism) Baptism is also found in The Bible under Acts 2; 37-41 “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the...
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