CATHOLICISM

1

• CATHOLICISM

2
Why Catholicism

• You asked!!!
• Up front, can be complicated and touchy- maybe
  you, family members, or close friends are
  Catholic.
• I want to share with you the Catholic beliefs
  (many similar to our, but also very different).
• Information taken from books, websites, etc.
  including http//www.ancient-future.net/basics.ht
  ml
• HERE WE GO

3
Note the differences

• In your head or on a piece of paper I want you to
  note the differences in Catholicism and what we
  believe and we look at them in the end.

4
Authority Bible, etc.

• Catholics have various sources of authority The
  Bible, Tradition, the Creeds, the Bishops, and
  the Pope, among others. Ultimately, Christ is our
  authority, but this authority has been passed
  from Christ to His Apostles. The Bible and
  Tradition come from the same Apostolic Deposit,
  and we do not pit them against each other. Thus
  the Church understands that the Bible must be
  interpreted, and the Church does so using the
  Tradition of the Apostles.

5
The Church One Holy, Catholic

• The Catholic Church is the Church that Jesus
  Christ established. Thus the Church subsists in
  the Catholic Church. However, other Christians
  are also in communion with the Catholic Church by
  virtue of their sacraments.

6
Creation

• Catholics believe that creation is good, that God
  uses it for His purposes, but that it is marred
  by Original Sin, the result of the sin of the
  first human beings.
• God is the creator of the universe.

7
God

• Catholics believe in the Nicene Creed, and
  therefore believe in one God who exists as three
  persons ("person" in this usage means "an
  individual reality," not a human being).
  Essentially Catholics believe the Father, the
  Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God, one in
  substance and will, but distinct in some way, but
  not divided.

8
Jesus Christ

• Catholics believe Jesus is fully God and fully
  Man, with a human will and a divine will. He is
  the King of Cosmos, the Word of God, and the
  awaited Messiah of Israel. He was born of a
  Virgin, Mary, suffered, was crucified, truly
  died, and rose again bodily, all for our sins. He
  ascended into heaven and is still alive
  interceding on our behalf before the Father. He
  will come again to judge the living and the dead.
  Jesus was a great Teacher, and His Teachings are
  the very Teachings of God.

9
Morality

• The Catholic Church bases its moral Teachings on
  the message of Jesus. The Catholic Church teaches
  that we are to strive for holiness and
  perfection, since Jesus told us to be perfect as
  the Father is perfect (Matthew 548). However,
  this is only accomplished with the help of God's
  grace. Catholics believe that we are called to
  turn from evil, and towards the good.

10
Morality

• This means turning away from actions and thoughts
  that are contrary to God's will. Most sins can be
  traced to the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy,
  Lust, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth).

11
Sacraments

• The sacraments are divinely instituted signs that
  give the grace that they signify. Catholics and
  Orthodox accept seven sacraments Baptism, Holy
  Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Holy
  Orders, Matrimony, and Anointing of the Sick.

12
Sacraments

• Baptism- which the Roman Catholic Church teaches
  removes original sin while infusing it with
  sanctifying grace.
• Holy Eucharist-considered the reception and
  consumption of the actual body and blood of
  Christ.
• Reconciliation/ Penance- which one confesses
  his/her sins to a priest
• Confirmation- a formal acceptance into the church
  along with special anointing of the Holy Spirit.

13
Sacraments

• Holy Orders- the process by which men are
  ordained to clergy.
• Matrimony- which provides special grace to a
  couple.
• Anointing the sick- performed by a priest using
  oil, anoints the sick person's forehead and hands
  with oil associated not only with bodily healing
  but with forgiveness of sins. When performed on a
  dying person it is called Extreme Unction (last
  rights, final anointing).

14
Sacraments

• Baptism- Infant Baptism
• Only infant baptism, this is enough!!!
• Their statements and articles.

15
Sin

• Sin is the deliberate, freely chosen,
  transgression of divine law. There are two types
  of sin mortal sin and venial sin. Sin that
  expels all charity from the soul is mortal, while
  sin that merely weakens charity is venial. For a
  sin to be mortal, the offense must be serious
  (have grave matter), and the act done freely,
  with deliberation. After committing a mortal sin,
  one must receive the sacrament of reconciliation
  before receiving communion.

16
Virgin Mary

• Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, fully God and
  fully man, thus she is called theotokos
  (God-Bearer) and "mother of God." Catholics, like
  Protestants, believe that Mary was a virgin when
  she gave birth to Jesus. However, Catholics and
  Orthodox believe that Mary remained a Virgin her
  entire life. Catholics believe that Mary was
  conceived without original sin in order to be a
  sinless bearer of God incarnate Jesus Christ.
  This is known as the immaculate conception.

17
Virgin Mary

• This sinlessness was accomplished only on account
  of God's grace, and not on Mary's merits. The
  Orthodox too believe that Mary was sinless when
  bearing Jesus, but the moment at which she became
  sinless is debated. Catholics and Orthodox both
  believe that after Mary completed the course of
  her earthly life, she was assumed into heaven,
  similar to the way the great saint Elijah was.
  Mary is the Mother of us and the mother of the
  Church, and just as Christ is the new Adam, Mary
  is the new Eve, who obeyed God where Eve
  disobeyed.

18
Salvation and Grace

• Catholics believe we are saved only by God's
  grace working in us. Thus we are justified,
  transformed from the state of unrighteousness
  into a state of holiness and the sonship of God,
  on account of Christ. Justification is the
  merciful and freely given act of God which takes
  away our sins and makes us just and holy in our
  whole being. This justification is given to us in
  the sacrament of baptism.

19
Salvation and Grace

• Justification is the beginning of our free
  response to God, that is our faith in Christ and
  our cooperation with the grace of the Holy
  Spirit. Thus Catholics believe in salvation by
  grace alone, solely on account of the work of
  Christ. However, neither Catholics nor Orthodox
  accept the reformation concept of forensic
  justification or "justification by faith alone."

20
Salvation and Grace

• From an actual article off the catholic website
  http//www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID1
  05
• As Catholics, were vaguely familiar with "saved"
  language. We dont usually ask someone, "Are you
  saved?" and when someone asks us this question,
  we often stutter and fumble for an answer. So how
  should we answer "Are you saved?" Constantly. We
  are constantly being saved by the incarnation,
  death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why?
  Because salvation is dynamic, ongoing. Its a
  past, present, and future reality. Let me
  explain.

21
Salvation and Grace

• Salvation is a past reality We have been saved
  by the death of Jesus Christ. While we were still
  sinners, Jesus death canceled the bond that
  stood against us (Col. 214). In other words, the
  guilt of original sin has been wiped away. God
  pardoned our sins. But being pardoned isnt the
  same as being holy. Being pardoned gives us back
  our freedom to choose the road to holiness, to
  walk the narrow path. Right now, today, we are
  being saved. Grace is wooing us down the narrow
  path. We are becoming holy. Salvation is an
  ongoing event.

22
Salvation and Grace

• We can easily verify salvation as an ongoing
  eventjust look at the world around us. If
  salvation was a past event, then Mother Theresa
  and Pope John Paul II would be a dime a dozen.
  Instead, they shine like stars in the darkness.
  The world is a cultural and spiritual
  battlegrounda collision between the culture of
  life and the culture of death

23
Salvation and Grace

• Another article from http//www.bringyou.to/apolog
  etics/a54.htm
• For the normal Catholic, therefore, the question
  of one's salvation is not a major concern or
  emphasis rather it is to love God by following
  His will by means of a sacramental life, preceded
  and followed by prayer, penance, love of
  neighbor, in one's state of life. There is a
  trust that God will bring one to heaven because
  of what He has started in the soul.

24
Salvation and Grace

• Looking at oneself there is reason to be fearful
  but looking at God there is reason to hope. And
  this hope is the infused virtue of Hope by which
  one trusts that God will help you get where He
  desires you to end up, i.e., with Him. The normal
  Catholic, therefore, does not have an anxiety
  about salvation, yet has a realistic humility
  about the terms of it.

25
Salvation and Grace

• He therefore does not need absolute certainty of
  mind that he will be saved, and sees such a need
  as an insecurity and distrust in the Goodness and
  Power of God to help the well-meaning. One must
  constantly turn to God, and when one does
  assurance (though not absolute knowledge)
  results. This assurance or trust comes from a
  practical sensing that God is actually helping
  one to conquer one's sinful tendencies.

26
Differences

• "Sola Scriptura" The Bible is the sole
  authority for Christian beliefs and practices.
  The Catholic Church stresses a balance between
  Biblical support and the tradition of the Church
  itself.
• "Sola Gratia" One is saved through grace alone,
  given to the believer by God directly.  The
  Catholic Church stresses the importance of church
  sacraments as a channel for God's grace.
• "Sola Fide" Salvation is by the individual's
  faith alone in trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and
  Savior. Again, the Catholic Church stresses the
  importance of church sacraments.
• http//www.religioustolerance.org/chr_capr.htm
• Differences you found.

27
What can we learn
28
(No Transcript)