Catholicism 101
Welcome to Catholicism 101!
We’re here to help you become a better Catholic. Here is some basic information about the Catholic Faith to get you started:
Catholicism 101:
- The Ten Commandments
- The Seven Sacraments
- How do I become Catholic?
- Making a Good Confession
Are you a practicing Catholic?
Remember, “practice makes perfect!”
To consider yourself a practicing Catholic, try out the “Precepts of the Church” for size! (cf. CCC # 2041-43)
Precepts of the Church:
1. Attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation
2. Confession at least once a year
3. Receive Holy Communion during the Easter Season
4. Observe the days of fasting and abstinence
5. Provide for the needs of the Church
6. Marry according to Church regulation
If you attend Sunday Mass half the time, you’re a “50% practicing Catholic.” And if 50% of Catholics are “50% practicing Catholics”, then the presence of Jesus Christ in the world has been diminished by 75%!
On the other hand, if only 10% of Catholics received Holy Communion daily and confessed their sins monthly, the presence of Jesus Christ would change the world.
The Ten Commandments
What is the Purpose of the 10 Commandments?
The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor. – CCC 2067
What Does Each Command & Forbid?
1. I AM THE LORD THY GOD: THOU SHALT NOT HAVE STRANGE GODS BEFORE ME.
2. THOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD THY GOD IN VAIN.
3. KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY.
4. HONOR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.
5. THOU SHALT NOT KILL.
6. THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY.
7. THOU SHALT NOT STEAL.
8. THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR.
9. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S WIFE.
10. THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR’S GOODS.
The Seven Sacraments
Baptism
Penance/Reconciliation
The Eucharist
Confirmation
Matrimony
Holy Orders
Anointing of the Sick
Sacrament. From the Latin sacramentum, a word which denoted the oath of loyalty sworn by soldiers to their earthly lord, the emperor. It was applied by Tertullian around 200 AD to the Christian mysteries, by which man adhered to God. It thus acquired, as a technical term, the same implication as the Greek word mysterion, mystery, which is used to this day for the sacraments in Eastern Christianity.
Many times in Scripture God’s action, presence, or the working out of His plan in history is said to be a mystery. The “mystery” is known to Him alone and those to whom He reveals it (Eph. 1:9, 3:3, 3:9). Only by faith in Divine Revelation can the spiritual truth behind actions and events be discerned. The Incarnation is such a mystery, since only by faith do we believe that the man Jesus Christ whom we see, read about, or have preached to us, is God. Further, Jesus is a mystery concealing not just His divinity but His Father. As he told Philip, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Thus, we can say that Christ is a sacrament of His Father. The Church is a mystery, since it is the mystical Christ, Head and members. Vatican II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. Finally, the seven sacraments are mysteries which unfold in our souls and in our lives the working of Christ and His grace.
In each of the sacraments we can see that there is an outward sign of the mystery taking place, a sign in matter/deed and in word (Eph. 5:26), and that the sign bears a relationship to the spiritual grace or reality conferred by the Holy Spirit’s action. In Baptism, for example, the individual is baptized in water, since water cleans, effecting an interior cleansing and renewal by God’s gift of Himself (John 3:5, Acts 2:38). It also symbolizes dying and rising with Christ (Rom. 6:3-4), especially when performed by immersion. While the action of baptism is performed the word which Christ commanded is spoken (Mt. 28:19), completing the sign. Catholic teaching speaks of these two elements of the sign as matter (water) and form (“I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit”).
Finally, one needs to remember that the New Testament is not a how-to manual of the sacraments and liturgy. Scripture witnesses to them, the early Christians didn’t need more. Baptism is the most frequently spoken of, because it was a necessary part of evangelization. Once people were baptized the Church’s pastors (bishops, priests and deacons) who received their instructions from the apostles, carried out the sacraments as they had been taught (2 Thes. 2:15). This is what is meant by Tradition, the communication of the apostolic teaching in the preaching, teaching and ritual practices of those who were appointed to lead the Church after the apostles.
Used with permission from EWTN
Becoming Catholic
Becoming a Catholic is one of the most profound and joyous experiences of life. Some are blessed enough to receive this great gift while they are still infants, and over the course of time they grow into a recognition of the enormous grace that has been bestowed upon them, of the dignity and wonder of their identity as Catholics.
Others come into the Catholic fold while they are older children or adults. In these cases it is necessary for people to have a grasp of the joyful process by which one becomes a Catholic.
A person is brought into full communion with the Catholic Church through reception of the three sacraments of Christian initiation—baptism, confirmation, and the holy Eucharist—but the process by which one becomes a Catholic can take different forms.
A person who is baptized in the Catholic Church becomes a Catholic at that moment. One’s initiation is deepened by confirmation and the Eucharist, but one becomes a Catholic at baptism. This true both for children who are baptized Catholic (and receive the other two sacraments later) and for adults who are baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist at the same time.
Those who have been validly baptized outside the Catholic Church become Catholics by making a profession of the Catholic faith and being formally received into the Church. This is normally followed immediately by confirmation and the Eucharist.
Before a person is ready to be received into the Catholic Church, whether by baptism or by profession of faith, preparation is necessary. The amount and the form of this preparation depends on the individual’s circumstance. The most basic division in the kind of preparation needed is between those who are unbaptized and those who have already become Christian through baptism in different denominations.
For adults and children who have reached the age of reason (age seven), entrance into the Church is governed by the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), sometimes called the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA).
Preparation for the Unbaptized
Preparation for reception into the Church begins with the inquiry stage, in which the unbaptized person begins to learn about the Catholic faith and begins to decide whether to embrace it.
The first formal step on the road to becoming a Catholic takes place with the rite of reception into the order of catechumens, in which the unbaptized express their desire and intention to become Christians. “Catechumen” is a term the early Christians used to those preparing to be baptized and become Christians.
The period of catechumenate lasts for a variable period of time—sometimes even years—depending on how much the catechumen has learned and how ready the catechumen feels to take the step of becoming a Christian. However, the catechumenate often lasts for something less than a year.
The purpose of the catechumenate is to provide the candidates with a thorough background in Christian teaching. “A thoroughly comprehensive catechesis on the truths of Catholic doctrine and moral life, aided by approved catechetical texts, is to be provided during the period of the catechumenate” (U.S. Conference of Bishops, National Statues for the Catechumenate, Nov. 11, 1986). The catechumenate is also intended to give the candidates the opportunity to reflect upon and firm up their desire to become Catholics, and to give them the chance to show that they are ready to take this serious step (cf. Luke 14:27-33; 2 Pet. 2:20-22).
The second formal step is taken with the rite of election, in which the catechumens’ names are written in a book of those who will receive the sacraments of initiation. At the rite of election, the catechumen again expresses the desire and intention to become a Christian, and the Church judges that the catechumen is ready to take this step. Normally, the rite of election occurs on the first Sunday of Lent, the forty day period of preparation for Easter.
After the rite of election, the candidates undergo a period of more intense reflection, purification, and enlightenment, in which they deepen their committment to repentance and conversion to the Christian faith. During this period the candidates, now known as the elect, participate in several further rituals.
The three chief rituals, known as “scrutinies,” are normally celebrated at Mass on the third, fourth, and fifth Sundays of Lent. The scrutinies are rites for self-searching and repentance. They are meant to bring out the qualities of the candidate’s soul, to heal those qualities which are weak or sinful, and to strengthen those which are positive and good.
Normally during this period, the candidates are also formally presented with the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, both of which they will recite on the night they are initiated.
The initiation itself usually occurs on Easter Vigil, the evening before Easter Day. That evening a special Mass is celebrated at which the candidates are baptized, then given confirmation, and finally receive the holy Eucharist. At this point the candidates become Catholics and are received into full communion with the Church.
Ordinarily the bishop oversees the Easter Vigil service and confers confirmation upon the candidates, but often—due to large distances or numbers of candidates—a local parish priest will perform the rites.
The final state of Christian initiation is known as mystagogy, in which the new Christians are strengthened in the faith by further instruction and become more deeply rooted in the local Catholic community. The period of mystagogy normally lasts throughout the Easter season (the fifty days between Eastern and Pentecost Sunday).
For the first year of their life as Christians, those who have been received are known as “neophytes” or “new Christians.”
Preparation for Christians
The means by which those who have already been validly baptized become part of the Church differs considerably from that of the unbaptized.
Because they have already been baptized, they are already Christians and are not catechumens. Because they have already become Christians, the Church is very concerned that they not be confused with those who are still in the process of becoming Christians. In its National Statues for the Catechumenate (hereafter, NSC), the U.S. Conference of Bishops stated: “The term ‘catechumen’ should be strictly reserved for the unbaptized who have been admitted to the order of catechumens . . . and never used of those baptized Christians who are received into the full communion of the Catholic Church” (NSC 2).
“Those who have already been baptized in another Church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated. Their doctrinal and spiritual preparation for reception into full Catholic communion should be determined according to the individual case, that is, it should depend on the extent to which the baptized person has led a Christian life within a community of faith and been appropriately catechized to deepen his or her inner adherence to the Church” (NSC30).
For those who were baptized but who have never been instructed in the Christian faith or lived as Christians, it is appropriate for them to receive much of the same instruction in the faith as catechumens, but they are still not catechumens and are not to be referred to as such (NSC 3). As a result, they are not to participate in the rites intended for catechumens, such as the scrutinies. Even “[t]he rites of presentation of the creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the book of the Gospels are not proper except for those who have received no Christian instruction and formation” (NSC 31).
For those who have been instructed in the Christian faith and have lived as Christians the situation is different. The U.S. Conference of Bishops states: “Those baptized persons who have lived as Christians and need only instruction in the Catholic tradition and a degree of probation within the Catholic community should not be asked to undergo a full program parallel to the catechumenate” (NSC 31). For this reason they should not share in the same, full RCIA programs that catechumens do.
The timing of their reception into the Church is also different. The U.S. Conference of Bishops states: “It is preferable that reception into full communion not take place at the Easter Vigil lest there be any confusion of such baptized Christians with the candidates for baptism, possible misunderstanding of or even reflection upon the sacrament of baptism celebrated in another Church or ecclesial community . . . ” (NSC 33).
Rather than being received on Easter Vigil, “[t]he reception of candidates into the communion of the Catholic Church should ordinarily take place at the Sunday Eucharist of the parish community, in such a way that it is understood that they are indeed Christian believers who have already shared in the sacramental life of the Church and are now welcomed into the Catholic Eucharistic community . . . ” (NSC32).
It is therefore important for Christians coming into the Catholic Church to coordinate carefully with their local pastor and/or bishop concerning the amount of Catholic instruction they need and the exact timing of their reception into the Church.
The sacrament of baptism removes all sins committed prior to it, but since Christians have already received this sacrament, it is necessary for them to confess mortal sins they have committed since baptism before receiving confirmation and the Eucharist. In some cases, this can be difficult due to a large number of years between the Christian’s baptism and reception into the Catholic Church. In such cases, the candidate should confess the mortal sins he can remember by kind and, to the extent possible, indicate how often such sins were committed (as always with the sacrament of reconciliation, the absolution covers any mortal sins that could not be remembered, so long as the recipient intended to repent of all mortal sins).
Christians coming into the Church should be encouraged to receive reconciliation frequently while waiting to be received: “The celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation with candidates for reception into full communion is to be carried out at a time prior to and distinct from the celebration of the rite of reception. As part of the formation of such candidates, they should be encouraged in the frequent celebration of this sacrament” (NSC 36).
The Christian fully enters the Church by profession of faith and formal reception. For the profession of faith, the candidate says: “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.” The bishop or priest then formally receives the Christian into the Church by saying, “[Name], the Lord receives you into the Catholic Church. His loving kindness has led you here, so that in the unity of the Holy Spirit you may have full communion with us in the faith that you have professed in the presence of this his family.”
The bishop or priest then normally administers the sacraments of confirmation and celebrates the holy Eucharist, giving the new Catholic the Eucharist for the first time.
Reception in Special Cases
In some situations, there may be a doubt concerning whether a person’s baptism was valid. All baptisms are assumed valid, regardless of denomination, unless after serious investiation there is reason to doubt that the candidate was baptized with water and the Trinitarian formula (“. . . in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”) or that the minister or recipient of baptism did not intend it to be an actual baptism.
If there is reason to doubt whether a person’s baptism was valid (or whether the person was baptized at all), then the candidate will be given a conditional baptism (one with the form, “. . . if you are not already baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”).
“If conditional baptism . . . seems necessary, this must be celebrated privately rather than at a public liturgical assembly of the community and with only those limited rites which the diocesan bishop determines. The reception into full communion should take place later at the Sunday Eucharist of the community” (NSC 37).
Another special case is that of those who have been baptized as Catholics but who not been brought up in the faith or not received the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist. “Although baptized adult Catholics who have never received catechetical instruction or been admitted to the sacraments of confirmation and Eucharist are not catechumens, some elements of the usual catechumenal formation are appropriate to their preparation for the sacraments, in accord with the norms of the ritual, ‘Preparation of Uncatechized Adults for Confirmation and Eucharist’” (NSC 25).
A final case is that of Catholics who received confirmation and the Eucharist but who left the Church by a formal act, such as joining another church or denomination. Normally individuals in this situation can come back to the Church and become Catholics again by going to confession and being reconciled. Unless there are complicating circumstances, most priests have the faculty to receive people back into the Church in this manner.
Waiting for Reception
It can be a time of anxious longing while one waits to feel the warm embrace of the Church and to be immersed into Catholic society. This time of waiting and reflection is necessary, since becoming a Catholic is a momentous event of great importance, but waiting can be quite painful as one looks forward with anticipation to the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, and to the joys of Catholic life—the strength and security that being a faithful Catholic bestows on one’s life. Yet even before being received, those waiting to be incorporated already have a very real and very special relationship with the Church.
In the case of those who are already Christians, their baptism itself forms a certain sacramental relationship with the Church (cf. Vatican II, Unitatis Redintegratio 3; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1271). They are also joined to the Church by their very intention to enter it, as are the unbaptized who inted to do so: “Catechumens who, moved by the Holy Spirit, desire with an explicit intention to be incorporated into the Church are by that very intention joined to her. With love and solicitude mother Church already embraces them as her own” (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium14:3; CCC 1249).
Thus even before one is fully incorporated into the Church, one can already enjoy the status of being recognized by the Church as one of her own, precious children.
This article appeared in the September 1995 issue of This Rock magazine.
Provided Courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network
A copy of the National Statutes for the Catechumenate by the U.S. National Conference of Catholic Bishops is found in Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1988), pp. 391-396.
Making a Good Confession
A Guide to the Sacrament of Penance
from the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference of Bishops
Discover God’s Love Anew
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, has asked “for renewed pastoral courage in ensuring that the day-to-day teaching of Christian communities persuasively and effectively presents the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation” (Novo Millennio Ineunte, 37). A renewed appreciation for this wonderful sacrament which leads many to return to the life of grace will bring about a new springtime, a new era of growth and life for the Church.
In response to the Pope’s invitation, this statement will speak of our need for reconciliation and explain how we receive it. While we hope that all Catholics properly understand the nature and importance of the sacrament of Penance, this statement is directed in a special way to those who do not understand it or who have drifted away from its use.
We invite every Catholic to celebrate the sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation or, as we have traditionally said, “go to Confession,” on a regular basis. There can be no better way to make progress on our spiritual journey than by returning in humble repentance and love to God, whose forgiveness reestablishes us as his children and restores us to peace with his Church and our neighbors.
With every prayerful best wish, we remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
The Bishops of Pennsylvania
February 2002
What is Confession?
What is sin?
Why is Confession necessary?
What is the source of forgiveness for our sins?
How is the Church able to forgive sins?
Why do we continue to need forgiveness if we are already saved?
Why do I need to go to a priest for Confession?
What is the role of the priest in forgiving sins?
What do I need to do to be forgiven?
What happens in Confession?
How do I prepare for Confession?
How do I go to Confession?
Why do I receive a penance?
How often should I go to Confession?
As we complete these thoughts on the sacrament of Penance, we might well reflect that the deepest spiritual joy each of us can sense is the freedom from whatever would separate us from God, a loving and merciful Father who receives each of us with all the forgiveness and love lavished on the prodigal son. Renewed, refreshed and reconciled in this sacrament once more, we who have sinned become a “new creation.” Once more we are made new. It is this newness of spirit and soul that we hope all of us experience time and again in the sacrament of Penance.
Examination of Conscience
As you prepare to make a good confession, you want to ask God’s forgiveness for any way in which you have offended him but particularly for any serious sin. If you are not certain what you should bring to the priest in confession, do not be afraid to ask him for help. The priest is there to assist you and to share with you God’s love and mercy.
Many people find the Ten Commandments to be a good frame of reference for an examination of conscience. The Commandments are listed here as a reminder that you might find helpful.
- I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
- You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
- Remember to keep holy the LORD’S Day.
- Honor your father and your mother.
- You shall not kill.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.
- You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.
Act of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
Glossary of Terms
Original Sin is the sin committed by Adam and Eve, the first human beings. This sin was a willful act of disobedience, a rejection of God’s command that was so devastating that it ruptured the relationship which our first parents enjoyed with God. As a result of this sin, paradise was lost to them and to their descendants until our Redeemer, Jesus Christ came to conquer sin and death and restore us to our inheritance of the Kingdom of God. Original sin taints all human beings and is washed away through the sacred waters of baptism. However, while original sin is removed, its effects remain. One of these effects is concupiscence, that disordered desire within us which produces an inclination to sin (1264, 1426, 2515).
Mortal Sin is defined by the Catechism of the Catholic Church as “a grave infraction of the law of God that destroys the divine life in the soul of the sinner (sanctifying grace), constituting a turning away from God. For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: grave matter, full knowledge of the evil of the act, and full consent of the will” (1855, 1857). The Catechism emphasizes that “to choose deliberately – that is both knowing it and willing it – something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal (happiness) is impossible. Unrepented, mortal sins brings eternal death” (1874). This “eternal death” we call Hell, where those who have died unrepentant of mortal sin suffer the eternal separation from God and loss of eternal happiness, i.e., seeing God face-to-face.
Venial Sin, according to the Catechism, “does not destroy the divine life in the soul, as does mortal sin, though it diminishes and wounds it” (1855). Venial sin is a failure to observe necessary moderation, in lesser matters of the moral law, or in grave matters acting without full knowledge or complete consent” (1862). We must realize, however, that while venial sins do not have the grave effects of mortal sin, “deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin” (1863). It should be the goal of every Christian to strive, through steadfast prayer, acts of penance and works of charity, for a life free of sin.
© 2002 Pennsylvania Catholic Conference
Used with permission.
Provided Courtesy of:
Eternal Word Television Network
Preces Radio