Catholic Church Ceremony - Essay Example

Name Course Tutor Date Intercultural communication on catholic religion Introduction The Catholic Church believes that Jesus established the church in the year 33. The church believes that Jesus appointed Apostle Paul as the first pope. In the Catholic Church scope of tradition, several canons have been availed to the Church throughout the centuries. For instance, there is veneration of Mary, confession, praying to the rosary, Eucharist, confession, baptism, apocrypha and many more (Stewart 25). First Communion First Communion is one the holiest and most significant event in Catholic Church. It symbolizes that an individual has received the sacrament of the Eucharist, the body and the blood of Christ. The catholic children usually receive the first communion when they are about seven because at that age they can reason. Other people can receive the first communion at any age after fulfilling the Catholic requirements (Stewart 45). For a person to receive the first Communion, he/she must be free of any sin and should be in state of grace. Traditionally, children make their fist confession a week before receiving the First Communion. During confession, the child confesses all the sins and then receives the penance. The penance is generally numerous prayers to be recited right away after the confessional. After the child is forgiven of sin, she's all set to make his/her First Communion. The child should also be baptized since any person who is not baptized cannot receive the Holy Communion. After baptism, the child starts studying for First Communion. Normally the religious studies can take about two years before receiving the First Communion. During the First Communion day and anytime a person is receiving the Holy Communion, in respect to the body and blood of Jesus, one should not eat food at least an hour before receiving the sacrament; water and medicines are exempted. After the First Communion, Catholic children should attend church all Sundays and they are supposed to receive communion regularly, even weekly. If one misses a Sunday mass with no appropriate reason, he/she should confess before receiving the Holy Communion again. The first communion is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is used to represent an individual’s first reception of the sacrament of the Eucharist. Catholics perceive this occasion to be very vital since it is the one of the key focuses of the Catholic Church. Catholics believe that Christ is essentially present in the Eucharist. Traditions that include First Communion consist of large family gatherings and parties in celebration of the event and the people normally wear special clothing. Clothing are normally white and this is used to symbolize purity, girls usually wear fancy dresses and a veil connected to a headdress in addition to either a long or short white gloves. In some communities, girls wear dresses from their sisters of mothers or at times their school uniform as well as the veiled headdress and gloves. In several Latin America nations, boys dress in military style dress uniforms with gold braid aiguillettes. In Switzerland, girls as well as boys wear plain white robes with brown wooden crosses around their necks. In Scotland, boys normally dress kilts and other traditional Scotland wear (Michaelann 97-103). During the celebration of the first communion, gifts of a religious nature are normally given, for instance rosaries as well as prayer books. Money, religious statues and even icons are also given. Various families have ceremonial proficient photographs taken as well as candid snapshots in celebration of the event. Catholic Church admits children to First communion when they are seven years or even younger. First communion is sued to develop children in a Christian way. The First Communion leads directly to successive Communions, to a mounting understanding of the Church's liturgy, and to commitment constantly renewed in this developing understanding. Parents choose if their children are to take the first communion. The catholic parish priest is the one who ensures that baptized children in that parish make their First Communion. Apart from the celebration, the First communion signifies that the children have studies and understood transubstantiation which is the transformation of the ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The child is supposed to differentiate between Eucharistic bread and usual food. First Communion is very important and Holy day in Catholic Church since children receive the body and the blood of Jesus for the first time. By receiving the Holy Communion constantly, Catholics become one in Christ and believe they will have eternal life with Christ (Stewart 52-54). Baptism Catholics believe that Baptism is the way into the Church as well as into God’s life. Baptism is carried out in the name of trinity and baptism results into rebirth, illumination, and offers the followers an everlasting sacramental seal that unites them with the Christ and the Church. Baptism cleanses original sins, even though the effects remain. Every catholic should be baptized and in an emergency situation, anyone can baptize as long as the correct word are used, water is used and there is intention of baptizing. Whereas complete immersion in the water is the biblical baptism form, in early Catholic Church water was a valid option. Baptism of the infants is an old tradition and is illustrated in the Bible, where entire family was baptized. The Catholic Church performs all the baptisms using water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and the baptismal is considered legitimate as long as the minister has intentions of performing the baptism according to the church. When people who were not Catholics become Catholics, they are baptized again (Stewart 78-83). According to Catholic Church, when one is baptized, all the sins are forgiven. Once a person is baptized, a Sacrament of baptism is given to express the God’s gift by which the person is made holy and becomes a God’s child as well as the temple of the Holy Spirit. The role of Godparents The role of a Godparent in catholic baptism rooted in the role of the sponsor in catechumenate which originated in the early Catholic Church. Until the Middle Ages, baptism was admitted instantly. The sponsor was responsible for attesting a person’s integrity, regularly an adult seeking to be admitted in the church in addition to assisting the person during the catechumenate in preparation for baptism and living in a Christian way. In regard to children, the sponsors would make Profession of Faith in the child’s name and agree to take the responsibility of advising and guiding the child in faith matters, particularly if the parents failed in this area. Around year 800, such sponsors were known as "patrinus," or "godfather." Traditionally, the child’s sponsor during the baptism is known as a godmother or godfather (Saunders 1). According to the Code of Canon Law, the person being baptized should have a sponsor whose purpose is to help the person in Christian initiation or jointly with the child’s parents, present the child during the baptism and who will assist the baptized child to lead a Christian life in accord with baptism, and to follow faithfully the requirements connected to baptism. To be the Godparent, one should be selected by the person being baptized or for the child by their parents or the guardian or if the guardian or the parents are not there by the priest or minister of the baptism sacrament. The Godparent should be more than sixteen years, should be a Catholic who has received the Holy Eucharist sacrament as well as confirmation and should be living in accordance with the faith and the role she or he is undertaking. Furthermore, the Godparents cannot be impended by some canonical penalty. Preferably, the Godparent during the baptism should also be the Godparent during confirmation. However, the child’ father or the mother cannot be Godparents. Normally, a person is supposed to have one Godparent, a male or a female but can have a maximum of two Godparents, one male and one female (Saunders 2). A Catholic Godparent should be practicing the faith by always attending the Mass and should have a valid marriage in line with Catholic requirements. A God father should also be a Catholic and a strong Catholic believer. Godparents have a special duty in the life of the person being baptized and hence the parents and the guardian should choose a Godparent who is an honest witness of the faith and who will help the child in living in a Christian manner (Saunders 2). Reconciliation and Penance Penance is the Sacramental forgiving of the eternal effects of sins for which a person is truly contrite. It is normally implemented by Jesus Christ who paid people’s wages with His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension through a confirmed catholic priest. It is conducted by Catholic priests using the appropriate form. Through the penance sacrament, Jesus forgives sins and also provides the grace to remain steadfast. Penance requires one to examine his/her conscience in order to determine what she/he needs to confess. After this, contrition follows where the person willfully regrets for his/her sins. Contrition entails regretting for having offended God. Confession of the sins to God through the priest follows. Suring confession, one kneels and makes the Sign of the Cross and utters the following words, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. I accuse myself of the following sins”. One names the sins and asks for forgiveness from God, penance and forgiveness from the priest. After confession, penance follows which involves the priest offering the penance to a person to help the person in paying for the temporal effects of the sins. After this, a person makes an act of contrition expressing the sorrow for sinning against God. God forgives the sins after the priest prays for the person to god for forgiveness. The person is then supposed to carry out the penance by avoiding the doing such sins. Afterward, the person is supposed to imitate the Christ by forging other as he/she was forgiven (Michaelann 67-73). This is often referred to as confession. This is where when Catholic followers who have been baptized sin, they are reassured of forgiveness and are consequently reconciled to God and His church by confessing the sins to the Priest or the Bishop. Therefore, in Catholic religion reconciliation is a constant process after the baptism as people develop and improve in obeying Christ. However, the church believes that only God is in a position to forgive sins and as a result the church is has the authority to be the instrument of the forgiveness. Catholic Church considers reconciliation as a mode of forgiveness in communities since ideal repentance, being truly sorry after sinning against Holy God, is sufficient to keep someone from eternal damnation. One should confess major sins beforehand in order to partake of the Eucharist creditably. This tradition dates back in early church which was a collective body and any major sin scandalized the whole community. In early church a person was offered a single chance to be forgiven if one sinned after being baptized and it was a public confession. Private confession in the present Catholic Church began in Ireland within the 4th century for pastoral purposes (Kung, 45-56). Experience During writing, I make use of comprehensive research articles, books as well as internet sources to ensure that I have a wide range of information. I always ensure that I reference every work that I get from the other sources. This is to make sure that the writing is not plagiarized. Finally, at all times carry I out an all-inclusive research. Works Cited Bible Society of Slovenia. Good New Bible. Gorica: Bible Society of Slovenia, 2004. Kung, Hans. Catholic Church: A Short History. London: Paw Prints, 2008 Michaelann, Martin. Catholic Traditions. London: Chapman and Hall, 2001. Saunders, Rev. William. "The Role of Godparents." Arlington Catholic Herald, 2003. Stewart, Cynthia. The Catholic Church: A Brief Popular History. New York: Allen & Unwin, 2005. Read More