The Roman Catholic Church - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... Roman Catholics are seen as Christians in their communion to the Pope. Over the world, there are over a billion members following the Catholic Church.
In the following essay, we will describe in Part I the organization of the Roman Catholic Church through, then in part II we will discuss about the role of this religion in one's life with the role of the Pope, the Saints and the Bible. Finally, in Part III, we will compare the Roman Catholic Church with Islam.
Roman Catholicism - as other Christian denominations, Judaism and Islam - is a monotheistic religion. The Catholic Church believes that God is one, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipresent. However, the Roman Catholic Church is also a Trinitarian religion, meaning that even though God is only one in nature, essence and being, He exists in three divine persons: the Son, the Father and the Holy Spirit. They are all identical in essence but differ in their relationship to one another which constitutes the Holy Trinity. Faith in God is the keystone, the most fundamental Catholic belief but also faith in the relationship of these three divine entities as being one.
Roman Catholics believe that the Son, the second divine person, has been incarnated as Jesus Christ. Born of the Virgin Mary, he is considered by Catholics to be truly divine and as the same time truly human, teaching how to live through his words and his acts and revealing God as love.
Even though Roman Catholicism is composed of numerous places of worship such as cathedrals, churches, chapels and oratories, there is no particular rule for Christians to worship in these places. They can worship in any place as God is omnipresent. However, within these places are held the Eucharistic liturgy - the Celebration of the Mystery of Christ, especially the Paschal Mystery of his death and resurrection - which is considered as the high point of its activity and the source of its life and strength. Within these places of worship, Catholics are particularly focused on the altar, the tabernacle, the place in which chrism and other holy oils are kept, the seat of the bishop or priest, and the baptismal font.
The Christian Roman Church recognizes and administers seven sacraments, considered as gifts from Christ to his Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. Not every person will receive every sacrament, but they are considered by the Roman Catholic Church as necessary to salvation, conferring each sacrament's special graces, forgiveness of sins, adoption as children of God, conformation to Christ, and membership of the Church.
There are numerous holidays and days of observance through the year for Roman Catholics. However, we will only insist on some major events in this essay. Christmas Eve and Christmas day celebrates the arrival of May and Joseph in Bethlehem and the birth of Jesus Christ. Ash Wednesday is an observance to begin the 40 day season of the Lent, a time of reflection and preparation for Holy Week and Easter, a time of intense devotion, it is observed by fasting, frequent worship and acts of charity. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion. Good Friday is a remembrance of the crucifixion of Christ. Finally, Sundays are considered as days of observance commemorating the rest of God after creating earth during six ...Download file to see next pagesRead More