Catholics believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. From the beginning of Christianity, the Catholic Church defined the canon of Scripture — the books you find in every Christian Bible — and defined what it meant to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
In the early Church, the Gospel was preached by those who had known Christ, or who had known his Apostles. The Apostles handed on their preaching and writing to all generations through bishops, who continue to preach the truth revealed in the Gospel.
This living transmission of the Word of God is called tradition, which is distinct from Scripture, but closely tied to it. Tradition infuses the entire life of the Church, and along with Scripture, comprises the deposit of the Word of God. We call this the Eucharist — a name that comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving.
The idea of confessing our sins to another person is also in the Bible. Mary is honored as first among the saints because she is the mother of God and the mother of the Church. As with the saints, we ask Mary to pray for us to her son and to the Father and the Holy Spirit.
We cooperate through a variety of roles and functions. We have our special times of celebration, as well as the mundane activities of day to day life. What is different about this family-like bond, however, is that it is not based on race or blood but on a spiritual bond of faith. How we began Catholics believe in a God who is love, a God who has created us out of love, and who envelops each moment of our existence.
Catholics believe this loving presence of God has been communicated to the world in an extraordinarily tangible way through the person of Jesus Christ, a man who walked the earth 2, years ago in Palestine and whose whole life was animated by the Spirit of God. During his short life for he only lived to about 33 years of age Jesus preached a bold message of love, of freedom from fear, a promise of life.
People experienced him as a person of extraordinary love, bringing healing, hope and forgiveness of sins to those who knew him. So great was his impact among the people of his day, that the religious and political authorities felt threatened. So much so, that Jesus was put to death by crucifixion.
Jesus' followers were devastated by his death. In the sacrament of Baptism, oil is a sign of being anointed by the Holy Spirit, our spiritual source of strength, protection, and healing. White Garment — For special occasions in our lives, we wear particular types of clothing, partly to reflect our own personal style.
The garment is white, reflecting the purity of being cleansed of sin. Light — In the celebration of Baptism, a candle is lit from the Paschal Easter candle and given to each newly baptized person.
The assembly is another important symbol in the sacrament of Baptism …It means the congregation or the Christian community. Baptism can only happen as part of the community of believers. The people in the pews are as important to the celebration as the parents and Godparents.
This is why we at Sacred Heart now celebrate Baptisms during regular Mass. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.
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