RCIA Class December 1, 2014 December 6, 2014 - Rite of Acceptance at the 8:30 am Mass There are more than 20 liturgical rites of the Catholic Church. 1054 - the Great Schism between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches The Orthodox Churches don t recognize the authority of the pope. All their Sacraments are valid but they don't recognize the papal authority. Roman and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches do. The Anglican Church split under King Henry VIII. It is not in communion with the Roman Church. However, the recently erected Anglican Ordinariate allows easy conversion to Catholicism for Anglicans/Episcopalians. In addition, Anglican/ Episcopalian may be ordained as Catholic priests, even if they are married. Chapter 11 The four marks of the Church The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and Apostolic CCC 811-962 these traits identify the Church before the world Reality and Challenge: These four marks indicate essential features of the Church and her mission on earth. Each mark is so joined with the others that they form one coherent and interrelated idea of what Christ s Church must be. The Church is One Oneness reflects the unity of the Trinity The Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Son and unites all the members of the Church as the People of God One Lord One Faith One Baptism One Body under the leadership of the Holy Father The unity that Christ bestows is something that the Church can never lose (Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio) The Catholic Church has always been committed to the restoration of unity among all Christians. Ecumenical is the attempt to reconcile all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ
Ecumenism includes efforts to pray together, joint study of the Scripture, and of one another s traditions, common action for social justice, and dialogue in which the leaders and theologians of the different churches and communities discuss in depth their doctrinal and theological positions for greater mutual understanding, and to work for unity in truth. In dialogue, the obligation to respect the truth is absolute. These dialogues are sponsored on the Catholic side by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, A Vatican office The Holy Spirit also uses other churches and ecclesial communities as a means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. The differences depend upon the how the communities differ from the Churches interpretation of revealed truth. church bodies of Christians with valid episcopal leadership ecclesial communities bodies of Christians that do not have an apostolic hierarchy The Church is Holy Holy dedicated or set apart for God (religious purposes) The Church has her origin in the Holy Trinity and that is the source of her holiness The Holy Spirit works within the church to keep her members faithful to the Gospel Through baptism and confirmation, Catholics become a people consecrated (set apart for God) by the Holy Spirit to the praise of God through Christ Christians grow in holiness by working to live in conformity to the Gospel and to become more like Jesus especially in love - Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us Sources of holiness for the Church: sacraments, the Ten commandments, the virtue of charity, prayer Ordinary Magisterium - The teaching office of the Episcopal College - all the bishops of the world in union with the pope.
Extraordinary Magisterium - Outside of the usual teaching office of the Church. For example, an ecumenical council or a papal declaration of infallibility. In 325, there was a heresy (Arianism) that denied the divinity of Christ. The Council of Nicea was called to clarify the Church's teaching to combat that heresy. There have been 21 ecumenical councils in the history of the Church. The last one was Vatican II ending in 1965. ** If the bishops teach one thing and the pope disagrees, the pope has preference. A papal teaching can be infallible - a declaration of faith or an issue of morality but he has to make the declaration as the bishop of Rome - excathedra (from the Chair), and present it as an infallible teaching. Those that have been declared doctrine and dogma must be believed and adhered to by Catholics. They are permanent and unchanging. Disciplines are the law of the Church and must be followed but they are not unchanging. Councils issue decrees and constitutions (and many other types of documents). The Second Vatican Council issued 16 documents including constitutions and decrees. Motu Proprio - By His Own Hand - is a document issued by the pope on his own initiative and personally signed by him. It may be addressed to the whole Church, to part of it, or to some individuals. Encyclical - the name typically given to a letter written by a pope to a particular audience. Canonized: Officially entered into the Canon of Saints (list) The Church is Catholic Catholic universal The Church is led by the Spirit of Christ to bring the Gospel to all peoples The local communities of the Church are linked together through their communion with the Roman Church and her bishop the Pope Church also refers to those communities which have their own ecclesiastical disciples, liturgical rites and theological and spiritual heritages (Latin Church, Eastern Churches, Armenian Catholics, Melkite-Greek, Syrian, Maronite, Byzantine Ruthenian, Ukrainian, Romanian Byzantine, Chaldean, Syro-Malabar) The Church is also catholic because of her relationship to all people she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter
The Church has a special relationship with the Jewish people The Church deplores all hatreds, persecutions, displays of anti-semitism leveled at any time or from any source against the Jews Dialogue is a form of evangelization. The Church is Apostolic The Church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles who were chosen by Christ at whose head he placed Peter The Church is faithful to the teaching of the apostles The apostles were succeeded by the bishops the apostles acted together as a body and in their leadership, the bishops succeeded the apostles and the college of bishops has at their head, the pope The role of the bishop is to teach and shepherd he possesses the fullness of the priesthood and is the principal celebrant of the sacraments The teaching office of the college of bishops is called the Magisterium when all the bishops throughout the world, together with the Pope, proclaim a doctrine that has been divinely revealed, it must be accepted with the obedience of faith by the whole People of God At times, the bishops gather in an Ecumenical Council with the Pope and they teach and proclaim a doctrine that must be accepted with faith because it is divinely revealed (First Vatican Council 1969-1870) dogma of papal infallibility, for example The entire Church as a body is infallible because the Holy Spirit ensures that she will not err in matters of faith and morals Laity Every member of the Church participates in Christ s role as priest, prophet and king - Upon our baptism, we become priest, prophet and king. Common priesthood intercessor, mediator, offers sacrifice of our own suffering in service to another (versus the ministerial priesthood ordained priests who have certain other abilities) Prophets to proclaim the word of God, to preach and witness
Royal priesthood to serve, not to be served: service and governance to the Church and to others Women and men performing roles that entail varying degrees of pastoral leadership and administration in parishes, church agencies, and organizations, and at diocesan and national levels, ministering in ways that are distinguished from, yet complementary to, the roles of ordained ministers. Many of them also express a deep sense of vocation that is part of their personal identity and that motivates what they are doing. Many have sought academic credentials and diocesan certification in order to prepare for their ministry. Consecrated Life Men and women who have chosen to live as a radical witness to Christ by imitating him as closely as possible. Vocation (the calling we have in this life the place we have in God s kingdom the fulfillment of which will lead to eternal happiness) married, single (waiting to marry), consecrated single, ordained or religious orders Evangelization 1. Interpersonal dialogue (friends, relatives, and neighbors account for four out of five of those who become Catholic) 2. Parish programs 3. Diocesan direction 4. Begin with the human situation of the person start with the four basic fears failure, rejection, pain, death 5. Build on faith experiences 6. Evangelize yourself through daily spiritual renewal Chapter 12 Mary: The Church s First and Most Perfect Member Mary occupies a place in the Church which is the highest after Christ and also closest to us the first and greatest of all the disciples of Christ Mary gave to the world the Life that renews all things and who was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role No sin would touch her so that she would be a fitting and worthy vessel of the Son of God In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed this dogma infallible: the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception In 1950, Pope Pius XII proclaimed this dogma infallible: the doctrine of the Assumption
Dogma religious belief Doctrine ideas taught as truth The Holy Spirit made possible the conception of Jesus in Mary s womb the Gospels clearly present the virginal conception of Jesus as a divine work Council of Ephesus DS 251 In the early Church, some denied Mary s perpetual virginity pointing to the Gospel s mention of Jesus brothers and sisters. Theologians pointed out that the Greek word for brother used in the New Testament can refer also to cousin. In the Assumption, Mary experiences immediately what we all will experience, eventually, a bodily resurrection like Christ s own. Mary as the Mother of the Church From Christ s conception until his death, Mary was united to her Son in his work of salvation. Jesus entrusted his beloved disciple to Mary, telling him to see her as his own mother. Mary was with the disciples praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit. She continues to pray before God for the Church and all humanity. Our Relationship with Mary and the Saints: Catholics do not worship Mary or the Saints Worship is reserved for God - Latria Mary - Blessed Virgin Mary receives - Hyperdulia Saints receive Dulia - veneration By means of a prevenient grace (applied in advance), the Blessed Virgin is the only person in the history of humanity who was not born with Original Sin. St. John the Baptist was conceived with Original Sin but was sanctified by Mary's voice while he was still in the womb so he was born without sin. Mary did not have concupiscence (the tendency to sin). When one's will is so in tune with God's will, you have no desire to sin. The Church teaches that Mary remained consecrated to God both before Jesus' birth and after. She remained a perpetual virgin. The two doctrine about her are: 1) that she was conceived without Original Sin 2) because she was free of any sin or stain of corruption, she is assumed body and soul into Heaven at the end of her life In obedience to his mother, Jesus does his first public miracle. At her urging, he manifested his glory in a public way. What more powerful ally could we have than his mother?
We consecrate our actions to Christ through his Mother because it will get there a lot faster than if we apply directly without her help. Mortal sin that which kills the relationship between man and God. Venial sin doesn't separate us from God but weakens our relationship with him. When we commit a sin, we create a rift between ourselves and God. The way to repair venial sins is the Eucharist. The way to repair mortal sin is Sacrament of Reconciliation. When we commit a sin we incur temporal punishment. We do penance given by the priest to alleviate some of the temporal punishment. We can either work out the rest of the temporal punishment on earth by doing penance on earth or we can work it out in purgatory. Nothing that is not pure or perfect can enter Heaven. If we make it to purgatory, we know we are getting to heaven. Advent the beginning of the Liturgical Year. The last Sunday of the Liturgical Year is the feast of Christ the King. We ended Ordinary Time and start Advent. The colors change with the cycle of the Season. The color for Advent is violet. Advent (Ad - venire to come toward) means to come toward Christ remind ourselves that we are to constantly be prepared for the coming of Christ. We prepare to celebrate the first coming of Christ during Advent, but we also prepare for the second coming of Christ. Gaudete the first word of the opening prayer of the third Sunday is Gaudete. Gaudete means Joy. That s why we call the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday. Everything in the Liturgy is meant to key our body and soul into the Liturgy. Encyclical a letter the pope writes when he has a message he wants to get across. Apostolic Exhortation a summary exhortation of a synod (a meeting of bishops on a specific topic) Liturgical Traditions and the Catholicity of the Church Roman The overwhelming majority of Latin Catholics and of Catholics in general. Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Mass celebrated in accordance with the Missale Romanum of 1970, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, currently in its third edition (2002). The vernacular editions of this Missal, as well as the rites of the other sacraments, are translated from the Latin typical editions revised after the
Second Vatican Council. Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Mass celebrated in accordance with the Missale Romanum of 1962, promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. The other sacraments are celebrated according to the Roman Ritual in force at the time of the Second Vatican Council. The Extraordinary Form is most notable for being almost entirely in Latin. In addition to institutes which have the faculty to celebrate the Extraordinary Form routinely, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, any Latin Rite priest may now offer the Mass and other sacraments in accordance with norms of Summorum Pontificum. Anglican Use. Since the 1980s the Holy See has granted some former Anglican and Episcopal clergy converting with their parishes the faculty of celebrating the sacramental rites according to Anglican forms, doctrinally corrected. Mozarabic The Rite of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) known from at least the 6th century, but probably with roots to the original evangelization. Beginning in the 11th century it was generally replaced by the Roman Rite, although it has remained the Rite of the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and six parishes which sought permission to adhere to it. Its celebration today is generally semi private. Ambrosian The Rite of the Archdiocese of Milan, Italy, thought to be of early origin and probably consolidated, but not originated, by St. Ambrose. Pope Paul VI was from this Roman Rite. It continues to be celebrated in Milan, though not by all parishes. Bragan Rite of the Archdiocese of Braga, the Primatial See of Portugal, it derives from the 12th century or earlier. It continues to be of occasional use. Dominican Rite of the Order of Friars Preacher (OP), founded by St. Dominic in 1215. Carmelite Rite of the Order of Carmel, whose modern foundation was by St. Berthold c.1154. Carthusian Rite of the Carthusian Order founded by St. Bruno in 1084.