Why do I have to confess my sins to a priest?
During His public ministry, Jesus claimed as one of His powers as the Son of God the right and ability to forgive sins (see Matt 9:1-8; Luke 7:36-50; Jon 8:1-11). One of the very special charges that Jesus entrusted to His apostles was His authority to forgive sins. In John 20:21-23 we find the risen Lord Jesus speaking to the disciples thus: "As the Father sent Me, so I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." This power to pardon did not cease with the Apostles, because it is the very nature of the Church, as the representative of Christ, to continue His work until the end of the world.
It is difficult to imagine how the disciples were to determine which sins were to be forgiven and which were to be retained unless the person seeking forgiveness confessed his sins to the one charged with the power to forgive in the name of God. This understanding not only has Biblical roots, but can also be traced to some of the very earliest documents written by Church fathers during the apostolic period.
The process of acquiring this forgiveness in the Catholic Church is called the Sacrament of Reconciliation (or sometimes the Sacrament of Penance or "confession"). Recognizing that sin constitutes a break in our relationship with God, we must make a decision to be "reconciled" to Him as part of our lifelong conversion of the heart. When a person confesses his sins to a priest and receives absolution, through the promise of Matt 18:15-18, the repentant sinner encounters Christ Himself. Through the priest, Jesus Himself offers forgiveness to the penitent, as well as grace to strengthen the person against future temptations. In addition, the sinner is, through the priest, reconciled to the Church itself. What a great gift this sacrament is to the Church! When we receive it with a truly contrite heart, we can know for certain that we are forgiven. The Sacrament of Reconciliation — the sincere confession of sins — is an unparalleled source of peace of mind and heart.
Catechism: #1461-1467
Scripture: Matt 9:1-8, John 8:1-11, Matt 18:15-18, John 20:21-23, Luke 7:36-50
James 5:14-15
Is St. Peter really the first official pope? Did he know it?
Sacred Scripture testifies that St. Peter was the chief apostle and that Jesus entrusted the governing of His Church to Peter’s pastoral care. Scripture shows Jesus giving Simon a new name (Kepha (Aramaic) = Petros (Greek) = Rock (English)), the power to bind and loose, and the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matt 16:13-19). The conferral of a new name in Scripture was always considered to signify a new mission, while the keys of the kingdom and the power to bind and loose were understood as signs of delegated universal authority (Isaiah 22:22). At the Last Supper, Jesus specifically prayed that Simon Peter be the one who strengthened his brother apostles in the faith (Luke 22:31-32), and, after His Resurrection, Jesus gave Peter alone the task of feeding and caring for the sheep of His flock (John 21:15-19). Simon Peter was perfectly aware of his responsibilities: Acts 1:15-22 shows Peter calling the position of apostle an "office" and unilaterally deciding when and how the office should be filled. Peter’s authority to pronounce doctrine is never challenged in Scripture. Other instances of Peter’s primacy can be found in Acts 2:14-41 and 15:6-12.
From the writers of the second century comes confirmation that the universal understanding that the apostle Peter’s role was unique and was passed down in the form of episcopal primacy to the Bishops of Rome. Testimony from the very limits of the Church’s geographic outreach bears witness to this hierarchical structure of the Church: second-century writers Tertullian from North Africa, Irenaeus from Gaul (modern France), Ignatius from Antioch (Syria, in the Middle East), and Clement, St. Peter’s third successor in Rome itself all agree on the primacy of Peter’s successors. The extremely wide geographic distribution of this understanding so early in the Church’s life demonstrates the apostolic origin of what we know today as the papacy.
A stumbling block for some people is that the primacy of Peter and his successors as Bishop of Rome, while clear in the Acts of the Apostles and in very early Church writings, does not appear to resemble the modern Papacy. It must be kept in mind that the Church, like the mustard seed in Jesus’ parable, grew from a tiny beginning to the worldwide body that we know today. As with any organization, the specific elements of the Papacy grew and changed as the Church’s needs grew and changed. However, the crucial elements — leadership of the universal Church and primacy with respect to doctrine — were present and can be documented even when the Church was only decades old. That leadership has continued in an unbroken line to the present day.
Catechism: #880-882
Scripture: Matt 16:13-19, Acts 1:15-22, Luke 22:31-32, Acts 2:14-41
John 21:15-19, Acts 15:6-12
I don’t understand purgatory. It is supposed to be a place where we pay for our sins. But didn’t Jesus pay for our sins on the cross? Why must there be another payment for sins?
You are correct in saying that Christ paid for our sins and that He did so once and for all. There is nothing that a finite human being can do to pay for our offenses against God’s infinite goodness.
Sin is the deliberate choice to turn away from God. Sin creates, as it were, cancerous tumors on our soul. Picture, for example, the effects of these tumors on our spiritual eyes and ears. Sin dulls our spiritual vision and hearing, making it more difficult to hear God’s voice in our hearts or to see the way He is working in our lives. It hinders our ability to be aware of His presence or enjoy His company.
In Revelation, we are told that nothing unclean may enter heaven (Rev 21:27); purification is essential before we can see God or experience His presence. While in this life, we have an opportunity to act on the grace given by God to overcome sin and grow in holiness, by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, growing in spiritual life, making acts of reparation and other acts that lead to "death of self". But what happens if we do not fully cooperate with God’s grace in purifying our lives? For many of us, by the time we die sin usually still has a hold on us in one way or another. Completion of our purification must then occur after death, but before we enter heaven. Any remaining purification is a process of "purgation", or cleansing, that the Catholic Church calls purgatory.
The Catholic teaching on purgatory can be found in Scripture. St. Paul describes the process that follows death and individual judgment as a "fire that will test the sort of work each one has done" and states that, so long as the foundation on which one builds is Jesus Christ, if "any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire" (1 Cor 3:10-15).
So, you are correct: Christ did "pay for our sins". To say that Christ "paid for our sins" is like saying that Christ "paid for our surgery" — he made possible the means by which we are purified of our sins. In purgatory, we don’t "pay"; we take advantage of the fact that Christ paid for us, just as a cancer patient still has to undergo surgery even if a generous benefactor has paid for it. And, just as with surgery, purification can entail suffering as the last vestiges of our human selfishness and weakness are purged away by God’s overwhelming love, as by a flame.
Those in purgatory can be assisted by our prayers, just as those still on earth can be aided by prayer. In 2 Maccabees 12:46, an army captain is found offering prayers and sacrifice for the sins of his dead soldiers. If they are already in heaven, they have no need of prayers; if they are in hell, prayers would be of no avail, for their future is already determined. Praying for the dead was not only a practice of the Jews but has been a practice of the Church from her very beginning.
Catechism: #1030-1032
Scripture: 2 Maccabees 12:46, 1Cor. 3:10-15, Rev. 21:2
If I pray to the saints for intercession, how do I know I’m not being deceived by evil spirits? Communicating with those who have died seems like a distraction from focusing on God.
It is helpful to begin with the Catholic doctrine of the "Communion of Saints", in which we profess our belief when we say the Apostles’ Creed. Jesus told us, in a variety of ways, that we as His family were incorporated into Him as one organism (for example, see John 15:1-5), and He prayed that His followers would be one with Him in the same way that He and His Father were one (John 17:21). St. Paul expounded on this theme in many of his letters, most commonly describing Christians as the Body of Christ, with Jesus as its Head (see for example, Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-27; Col 3:15).
Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Jesus has two Bodies. Thus, those who die in the Lord, and are eternally with Him in heaven, continue to be very much alive and are part of His Body just as much as they were while on earth. The principal difference is that, unlike us, they are in God’s presence, are completely sinless, and are fully righteous; that is, they are saints.
All of us have asked our family and friends to pray for us, and in turn have been asked to pray for others. There are many examples of holy individuals interceding to God for us: Abraham for the sinless ones of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:23-28), Moses for the Israelites (several passages in Genesis), Job for his friends (Job 42:7-10). St. Paul encourages prayers for one another (1 Tim 2:1-3) in the very same passage that proclaims Christ as the sole mediator between God and humanity (1 Tim 2:5-6), and St. James notes that the fervent prayer of the righteous is especially powerful (James 5:16). When we fear that our own prayers are inadequate, asking the saints in heaven to intercede for us--to pray to God on our behalf--is an especially efficacious form of asking our friends and family to pray for us. It also strengthens our bond of community with each other as members of Christ’s Body.
Prayer to the saints, who have been found after thorough evaluation by the Church to be truly with God, cannot lead to deception. However, participation in occult practices, such as communicating with the dead through divination, Ouija boards, mediums, psychics, or voodoo rituals, are forbidden, sinful activities. Even "harmless" occult practices such as horoscopes, fortune-telling, palm-reading, Tarot cards, and the like are forbidden since they are not harmless but instead are serious encounters with the supernatural. Such practices create openings by which the Evil One can enter and begin to manipulate you. If you are concerned that this may be happening to you, it is advisable to speak to a priest about what to do. Otherwise, it is safe to say that if you earnestly seek God, He is not offended but is pleased by your desire to connect with your elder brothers and sisters in Christ who sought Him in earnest and have already arrived at their goal. God desires your salvation and will see to it that, if you seek Him in earnest, no evil will overtake you.
Catechism: #946-953, 2116-2117
Scripture: Gen 18:23-28, John 17:21, Col 3:15, Job 42:7-10, Rom 12:4-5
1 Tim 2:1-5, John 15:1-5, 1 Cor 12:12-27, James 5:16
Why do Catholics worship Mary? Why not just pray to Jesus?
Catholics worship God alone: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Catholics do not worship Mary; they do not treat her as a goddess, or as equal to God, or as worthy of adoration, honor, and praise that is due to God. Instead, they love and reverence the Blessed Virgin because God honored her above all creatures by choosing her to be the Mother of His only Son. Thus, Catholics honor her because God honored her. From the beginning, God’s angelic messenger saluted Mary in a unique way: "Hail, O highly favored one" (Luke 1:28). The greeting "Hail" is used only six times in Scripture, five of those addressing Jesus. Mary’s own canticle of praise to God — "my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior" — contrasts her own lowliness as a "handmaid" with the prophecy that "all generations will call me blessed" because He "has done great things for me" (Luke 1:46-48). Catholics have always faithfully followed this Scriptural instruction.
When Jesus hung on the cross, He gave the "disciple whom He loved" to His mother as her son, and gave His mother to the "beloved disciple" as his own mother (John 19:25-27). In a special way, the "beloved disciple" stands in, and for, each of us, and Jesus entrusts us to her care. Mary was also among the apostles and disciples in the upper room after Jesus’ resurrection, joined with them in prayer (Acts 1:13-14). Mary is the highest example of what God can do with a fully cooperative human soul, and her prayers for believers on earth and for her Son’s Church are as efficacious as is possible. She is called the Queen of Heaven and the Queen of Angels and Saints. We see a glimpse of this in Revelation, where a "woman clothed with the sun", crowned by twelve stars, with the moon at her feet, is first threatened by a dragon, then saved by God’s protection (Rev 12:1-17).
Catholics venerate, not adore, the saints, giving highest veneration to Mary as the Mother of God and the perfect example of Christian faith, hope, and love. There are many examples in Scripture of the veneration of holy men and women, including holy individuals who had not yet died, such as St. Paul. In our own time, holy people such as Mother Teresa are seen as worthy of veneration by millions. The difficulty that many people have in understanding Catholic veneration of Mary (and the saints) may have to do with their own experience of worship as principally prayer, especially prayer of praise. However, Catholics praise human examples of holiness as reflections of God’s great glory and deeds. Jesus, as the perfect Son, perfectly keeps the commandment to "honor your father and your mother"; and we, who are enjoined to follow and imitate Him, do likewise.
"Just praying to Jesus" is a form of denial that all Christians together, with Jesus as their head, form the Mystical Body of Christ. St. Paul, in his teaching on this doctrine in his first letter to the Corinthians, emphasizes that various parts of the body cannot claim that they do not need each other: "The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you’, and nor can the head say to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’" (1 Cor 12:20-21). We should not ignore our need to help each other or our need to seek help from those nearest God’s throne (Rev 7:15).
Catechism: #963-972
Scripture: Luke 1:28 , John 19:25-27, 1 Cor 12:20-21, Rev 12:1-1, Luke 1:46-48
Acts 1:13-14, Rev 7:15
What are Catholics doing just before the Gospel reading when they mark their foreheads, lips, & hearts with a cross?
While the priest or deacon announces the Gospel reading ("A reading from the holy Gospel according to . . ."), Catholics use the edge of their right thumb to make small crosses on their foreheads, lips, and chests at the level of the heart. This action symbolizes, and can be accompanied by, this little prayer: "May the Word of God that is written on this page be embedded in my mind, spoken by my lips, and cherished in my heart." (Adapted from Catholic Sourcebook, edited by Fr. Peter Kline, 1985).
This action and accompanying prayer is one of a numerous class of actions and objects that, with their accompanying prayers, are called sacramentals. Sacramentals, like sacraments, link objects and actions in the material world with the world of the spirit, thereby making everyday things holy and disposing those using them to see and treat everything in life as a visible manifestation of the invisible God.
Although sacramentals do not, of themselves, confer the grace of the Holy Spirit that is properly the action of the sacraments, yet they spring from the priesthood of all believers that is conferred at baptism. Abraham, our father in faith, was called by God to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:2-3). As Christians, Jesus called us to bless even those who curse us (Luke 6:28), and St. Paul repeated this call in his letter to the Romans (Rom 12:14), as did St. Peter (1 Pet 3:9). When the three crosses are made on the forehead, lips, and chest, the believer performs a self-blessing, and is connecting that action with the prayer of the universal Church.
Catechism: #1667-1672
Scripture: Gen 12:2-3, Rom 12:14, Luke 6:28, 1 Pet 3:9
I think sin is sin – it’s all abhorrent to God. Why do Catholics distinguish between mortal and venial sins?
The distinction between mortal and venial sins is found in Scripture. St. John said the following:
If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say you should pray. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly (1 John 5:16-17).
So, then, there is sin that is deadly (mortal), and sin that is not deadly (venial). Certainly it is all offensive to God, but it is not difficult to see that there is a difference between being unkind to a friend and taking someone’s life. Both are sins against love, but the second one is far more offensive than the first. It kills the life of grace — the share in God’s life — in us. Scripture provides various lists of sins that are considered particularly grave (Gal 5:19-21; Rom 1:28-32; Eph 5:3-5; Col 3:5-8).
Committing a mortal sin involves meeting three conditions: the act itself must be gravely wrong, you must have full knowledge that it is gravely wrong, and you must fully consent or intend to commit the act. Thus, a mortal sin is a knowing and deliberate choice to offend God. However, it is not excusable to claim ignorance of the wrongful nature of an act that is deemed so in natural law, although certain external pressures, pathological disorders, or extreme passion can diminish its culpability. Civil law makes similar distinctions among, for example, various kinds of murder and manslaughter.
Venial sin is a lesser offense against God, and in no way is comparable to the grievous offense of mortal sin. However, the Church teaches that deliberate and unrepentant venial sin, while it does not fully rupture our relationship with God, disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. Thus, venial sins are not "harmless" nor should they be accepted because they "keep us human".
Catechism: #1854-1864
Scripture: Rom 1:28-32, Col 3:5-8, Gal 5:19-21, 1 John 5:16-17, Eph 5:3-5
Why does the Church allow people to get annulments and then remarry? Isn’t this just "Catholic divorce"?
Jesus taught that marriage was permanent — indissoluble (see Matt 5:31-32, Matt 19:3-9, Luke 16:18). Paul elaborated on this teaching with respect to the marriage of believers and non-believers (1 Cor 7:10-16). The union of man and woman in marriage is raised to the level of a sacrament, Matrimony, in the Catholic Church. The question to be investigated concerns whether this union is a sacrament, in keeping with St. Paul’s description of the significance of the marital bond in Ephesians 5:21-32.
The validity of a sacramental marriage requires definite conditions of mind, heart, and intention at the time the marriage vow is made. In order for marriage to be a sacrament, each person must enter into it freely and without reservation. They must be legally free in that they are under no obligation by any previous vow, as well as interiorly free in that they are themselves making the choice. They must be without reservations or conditions on the marriage, such as "unless we fall out of love", or "as long as we have no children", or "as long as I am not attracted to someone else".
There are circumstances that can prevent a valid sacramental marriage from taking place. For example, one of the partners may not, in fact, be free to marry because of a previous marriage or religious vows, or one of the partners was threatened. Or, perhaps, one of the partners made a mental reservation that only later becomes apparent, such as a refusal to have children. Thus, when the Church looks at a marriage to determine whether or not a valid sacramental marriage did in fact take place, it examines the point at which the vows were made. Evidence is collected from both parties as well as from witnesses who know the couple and the circumstances of the marriage. Everything is put through a rigorous process of questioning by appointed, trained officials in the appropriate diocese to determine whether, in fact, a valid sacramental bond was ever made. If a determination is made that the conditions for a sacramental bond never existed at the point the vows were taken, a decree of nullity is issued and both parties are free to marry, fully blessed by the Church.
It is important to emphasize that a decree of nullity affects neither the legal status of a marriage in civil law nor the legitimacy of any children born to the union.
Catechism: #1625-1629
Scripture: Matt 5:31-32, Luke 16:18, Matt 19:3-9, 1 Cor 7:10-16
Why does a Catholic have to pay hundreds of dollars to get an annulment?
The fee is not to "buy" an annulment. Its purpose is to cover expenses involved in the process. Costs will vary from diocese to diocese, but are intended to pay for all the administrative costs incurred. Gathering evidence in an annulment proceeding is a lengthy and costly project, and may include long-distance telephone, bulk mailing, mileage, and office-supply costs. Some dioceses with many annulment cases require higher fees to prevent the entire annulment process from becoming prohibitively costly to the diocese. Conversely, some dioceses refuse no one the services of the tribunal simply because the person cannot pay administrative costs.
By comparison, few individuals can expect to obtain a civil divorce free of cost, although there can be special provisions for those unable to afford legal fees or court costs.
NOTE: There are no specific Catechism or Scripture citations on this topic. The general norms for the annulment process are handled in detail in the Code of Canon Law (Canons 1671-1691).
What is the difference between artificial birth control and Natural Family Planning? Morally, aren’t they really the same thing?
The Church teaches that, as human beings, our sexual nature is something powerful and special: through the sexual act, we share in God’s life-giving power, generating a new human person infused by God with an immortal soul destined to be with Him eternally. Thus we become co-creators with God; because of this, the sexual act is sacred. The Church further teaches that there are two ends to the sexual act within the context of marriage: the procreative and the unitive. While the sexual act is intended always to be a unifying force between husband and wife — "the two become one flesh" — it must also always be open to the possibility of life should it be God’s will to create a new person. For this reason, any artificial means used to frustrate the life-giving character of the sexual act is immoral.
Barrier forms of contraception such as the condom or the diaphragm are intended to prevent fertilization and thus conception. In the Old Testament, we hear of God’s abhorrence of contraception in the story of Onan (Gen 38:8-10). Other forms of contraception,including contraceptive pills, are sometimes or always actually abortifacients; that is, when they do not prevent conception they prevent implantation of new life in the uterus. Norplant and the IUD are additional examples of abortifacient contraceptives. Induced abortion after implantation, whether by medication or by surgical removal, is on the face of it an immoral act, because it involves the taking of an innocent human life.
The Church’s teaching of family planning is based on two pillars: first, that the procreative aspect of the sexual act must never be separated from the unitive aspect; and second, that Catholic married couples should open their hearts generously to the possibility of new life and should limit the number of their children for serious rather than for frivolous or selfish reasons. Natural Family Planning (NFP) responds to the Church’s teaching using the following principles: 1) as a means of family planning, it is not wrong not to engage in the sexual act, and 2) it is not wrong to build upon the natural, God-given cycles of female fertility and infertility as a means of family planning. The techniques of NFP are designed to help couples recognize the periods of fertility and infertility in the wife’s reproductive cycle; the couple then abstains from sexual intercourse during the wife’s fertile period. Both the ovulation (Creighton or Billings) and the sympto-thermal methods are extremely (about 97-99 percent) effective when practiced faithfully. (These methods should not be confused with the less-effective rhythm/calendar methods used before the above-recommended methods were developed.) NFP is not an unnatural way to frustrate the purpose of the sexual act, and is therefore not morally wrong. However, it is possible to practice NFP with a contraceptive mentality, which uses the method for the same reasons that one would turn to artificial contraceptives or to abortion.
Couples who use artificial birth control, including Catholic couples, experience high divorce rates, around 50 percent of all marriages. Those who use NFP, by contrast, experience divorce rates of about three percent. This stunning difference is very likely the result of many factors, including the awe with which these couples treat their power of co-creation; the genuine respect for and tenderness about each other’s needs that periodic abstinence encourages; an increase in virtues of self-control that spill over into other areas of married life; and an improvement in communication and intimacy between partners.
Catechism: #2366-2372
Scripture: Gen 1:28, Gen 38:8-10, Psalm 139:13-16 , Jer 1:5, 1 Cor 6:18-20
What’s wrong with capital punishment?
The Church recognizes the value and dignity of all human life, even that of grave sinners. At the same time, it teaches that legitimate public authority,
has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment, then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people’s safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party (CCC #2266).
The Catechism continues (#2267):
Assuming that the guilty party’s identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.
Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering the one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm--without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself--the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity are very rare, if not practically non-existent.
The development of modern penal systems has made the establishment of non-lethal means sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety from even the most vicious criminals, and consequently there should be only rare recourse to capital punishment.
A justification offered by many people for capital punishment is their need to see punishment meted out in like measure to the crime. However, Jesus emphatically restated God’s original reservation of vengeance to Himself by prohibiting not only killing but anger (Matt 5:22), hatred (Matt 5:43-44), and vengeance (Matt 5:38-39). The State cannot act on motives of private anger or vengeance, but solely to protect public safety and, if possible, achieve correction for the offender.
Catechism: #2266-2267
Scripture: Gen 1:28, Matt 5:22, Matt 5:43-44, Matt 5:38-39
Why do Catholics kneel down when they come into church? Why do they bow before the altar?
There are several actions that Catholics do in a Catholic church to show reverence to the Blessed Sacrament and to the altar upon which bread and wine are consecrated during the Mass.
In general, kneeling is a posture that always denotes reverence, humility, and prayer (a concept evident both in the Old and New Testaments). It helps a person to become present for worship, and to quiet the body and mind before God. Bowing has a similar meaning of humility, obeisance, and reverence.
When Catholics enter and leave a church, they usually touch the right knee to the floor (genuflection), which reverently acknowledges the presence of the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the church’s tabernacle (a small, usually beautifully ornate container with an opening facing out toward the church). This genuflection is done facing the tabernacle (usually most easily identified by the nearby presence of a sanctuary lamp, a lit candle usually within a red glass cylinder). Bowing while genuflecting is often done; for infirm individuals who cannot genuflect, bowing is substituted.
On those occasions when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration in a monstrance (a gold vessel on a pedestal that holds a large host vertically in a glass case, around which are arrayed gold rays), genuflection when arriving and leaving is done on bothknees, accompanied by a deep bow to show profound adoration.
Genuflection or kneeling is occasionally part of the reading of the Gospel or the recitation of the Creed during Mass, to emphasize a crucial element. For example, during the reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday, it is customary to kneel at the point when Jesus dies. General kneeling, which is part of the physical rite of every Mass and many other liturgies of the Church, arises from the same concept of using posture as a sign of reverence and prayer.
Finally, when moving around in church (for example, in helping to decorate it or prepare for Mass or other liturgy, it is appropriate to bow when passing the altar, because it is the altar of sacrifice, where the once-and-for-all death of Jesus is re-presented during each Mass. The altar is itself a symbol of Jesus, whose body became the altar on which the ultimate sacrifice for our sins was made, as well as the Table of the Lord.
Bowing before the altar is also linked to the early period of the history of the Church, when the tombs of martyrs were nearby or even used as altars for the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Even now, each altar may contain a stone with the relic of one or more martyrs. This stone simultaneously symbolizes a link among the Paschal mystery, its continuation in the lives and deaths of martyrs, and the re-enactment of the Paschal mystery at each Mass, as well as Christ Himself, the Cornerstone of the Church.
Catechism: #1181-1182, 1383
Scripture: Esther 3:2-5, Psalm 22:29, Psalm 95:6, Eph 3:14
How can the Catholic Church, and especially one human being, the Pope, be infallible?
God "desires that all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4).
Jesus established the Catholic Church so that His saving truth could be brought to the world to every generation until He returns again. This is why St. Paul calls the Church "the pillar and bulwark of truth" (1 Tim 3:15). Jesus ensured that the Church would be a living, infallible witness of the truth in promising the Apostles that He would be with them always until the end of time (Matt 28:20) and by giving them the Holy Spirit as the One Who would come and "guide them into all truth" (John 16:13).
As the successor of Peter, the Pope is infallible, both alone and in council with all the bishops, only when he speaks as pastor of the universal Church to formally define doctrine with respect to faith or morals. (In practice, some definitions of doctrine have come from universal councils whose pronouncements have then received approval from the Pope. This does not negate the principle.)
The specific elements of infallibility are that the Pope must be speaking as the supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful on a matter of faith or morals. Thus, for example, a Pope’s statements with respect to matters of scientific theory are those of any fallible individual. The ordinary teaching of the bishops in communion with the Pope as Bishop of Rome, called the Magisterium, even when not pronounced in a definitive manner, is to be adhered to by the faithful with religious assent as an extension of the assent of faith required of doctrinal pronouncements.
Infallibility is a glorious gift of the Holy Spirit to give certainty in a world adrift, a world not even sure that objective truth can exist. Through the constantly watchful action of the Holy Spirit, the saving truths of the Faith are preserved, explained, and observed.
Catechism: #888-892, 2035
Scripture: Matt 16:16-19, Matt 28:20, John 16:13, 1 Tim 2:4, 1 Tim 3:15
Why do Catholics follow tradition? Didn’t Jesus condemn tradition in Mark 7:13?
Most individuals who ask this question have been raised in the sola Scriptura ("Scripture alone") tradition of most Protestant and Evangelical denominations. However, nowhere in sacred Scripture is it stated or implied that it alone is the only source of faith. The text usually cited to support sola Scriptura, St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy (an early bishop who had been ordained by St. Paul), simply reminds Timothy that "all Scripture is inspired by God and useful for refuting error, for guiding people’s lives and teaching them to be upright" (2 Tim 3:15). This verse is found within the context of Timothy (and, by extension, all the Church’s ministers) becoming fitted for his mission. The previous verse notes that Timothy should keep to what he has been taught and knows to be true, including remembering the holy scriptures he has known since childhood (in the context, this naturally refers only to the Old Testament).
On the contrary, St. Paul teaches that Christians must believe not only what he wrote but also what he preached: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess 2:15). Sacred Tradition is that teaching which the Apostles received from Christ and which they, in turn, handed on to their successors. Part of that teaching was committed to writing, which we call the New Testament, and part of that teaching was passed down orally. (In fact, for the first few hundred years of Christianity, there was no agreed-upon New Testament, although many early writings were viewed as Scripture or with great respect. The canon of books of the New Testament, which was fixed by the Church late in the fourth century, did not exist at all at the time that St. Paul was writing; most if not all the Gospels, for example, were written near the end of St. Paul’s life or after his death. Thus, the passing down of oral tradition was the principal if not only means to transmit the Faith.)
Sacred Tradition includes the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, Who assists in defining and developing the initial teaching of Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus said: "I still have many things to say to you, but they would be too much for you to bear now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will lead you into all truth" (John 16:12-13). This clearly indicates that the Church’s understanding of doctrine and morals would develop over time, guided by the Holy Spirit Who would ensure that this developing understanding would not fall into error.
Jesus does not condemn sacred Tradition, but rather the corrupt tradition of men. In the text cited, Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees for nullifying the Fourth Commandment (to honor parents) by their dishonest application of the commandment; He begins His condemnation as follows: "You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions" (Mark 7:8). The specific practice He condemned was some Pharisees’ avoidance of supporting aged parents by declaring that their entire financial resources were dedicated to God. The sacred Tradition handed down from the Apostles, to the contrary, upholds, opens up, and completes that which is found in Sacred Scripture.
Not every practice of the Catholic Church is part of Sacred Tradition. For example, while liturgy in its broad outlines is a "constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition" (CCC, #1124), the Tridentine (Latin) Mass, as a specific form of the Eucharistic Celebration, is a human tradition that can, and has, been changed by the Church over the centuries.
Catechism: #1124, 1181-1182, 1383
Scripture: Mark 7:8-13, 2 Thess 2:15, John 16:12-13, 2 Tim 3:15
Why can’t non-Catholics receive communion? Isn’t everyone invited to the Lord’s Table?
The Eucharist is the sign of unity of the Catholic Church. St. Paul speaks of this unity in his first letter to the Corinthians: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10:16-17).
Essential to this unity is the teaching of Christ that has been entrusted to the Church. Communion in the Church represents the assent of the faithful to all that the Church teaches. Therefore, non-Catholics cannot participate in Holy Communion, because they do not accept all that the Church teaches. To allow our separated brethren to receive Communion would be falsely demonstrating a unity that does not exist. The Catechism says that,
The more painful the experience in the divisions in the Church which break the common participation in the table of the Lord, the more urgent are our prayers to the Lord that the time of complete unity among all who believe in him may return (CCC #1398).
Catechism: #1398-1401
Scripture: 1 Cor 10:16-17
Why do Catholic priests not marry?
Jesus said this about remaining unmarried:
It is not everyone who can accept what I have said, but only those to whom it is granted. There are eunuchs born so from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs made so by human agency, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can (Matt 19:11-12).
The Church has always interpreted this, not as an endorsement of actual physical mutilation, but as an encouragement to chastity by those who accept God’s call to serve only Him. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says the same thing:
I should like you to have your minds free from all worry. The unmarried man gives his mind to the Lord’s affairs and to how he can please the Lord, but the man who is married gives his mind to the world and to how he can please his wife, and he is divided in mind. So, too, the unmarried woman, and the virgin, gives her mind to the Lord’s affairs and to being holy in body and in spirit; but the married woman gives her mind to the affairs of this world and to how she can please her husband (1 Cor 7:32-34).
We should note that Jesus promised the grace to be chaste for the sake of the Kingdom, to those who accept it. The Church teaches that this holy consecration "accepted with a joyous heart . . . radiantly proclaims the Reign of God" (CCC #1580).
In the Latin-rite Church, all bishops and priests take a vow of celibacy; however, married men may be ordained as permanent deacons (temporary deacons are those men intending to become priests). In the Eastern Churches, while priestly celibacy is not required, it is held in great honor; unmarried men who are ordained as priests cannot subsequently marry, nor may a married man be ordained a bishop.
The shortage of priestly vocations in some geographic areas has encouraged discussion of the possibility that the Church may change this rule (which is a discipline, not doctrine) sometime in the future. Whether this occurs or not, the restoration in the Latin-rite Church of the permanent diaconate following the Second Vatican Council has extended the sacramental grace of Holy Orders to married men judged to be called to ministerial service.
It should be noted that St. Paul, in the above-cited passage, is not encouraging everyone to be celibate. Those who are married have their own call to build up the Body of Christ through their children and the witness of their holy lives to the secular world. Here we are emphasizing the special gift and advantages of celibacy within Holy Orders (and, for women, of consecrated virginity).
Catechism: #1578-1580
Scripture: Matt 19:11-12, 1 Cor. 7:32-34
Why do Catholics believe that the bread and wine actually turn into Christ’s body and blood at Mass?
The Church has always interpreted Jesus’ words, "This is My Body; this is My Blood", which occur in four accounts of the Last Supper (Matt 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25), in a literal sense. Jesus says that what He holds in His hands is His Body and Catholics, like the apostles, humbly accept His word, for as God what He speaks, is, and He speaks only truth.
There is no account of the institution of the Eucharist in St. John’s Gospel, which was written long enough after the others that he very likely knew these accounts existed. Instead, the entire sixth chapter of his Gospel is devoted to the theology of the Eucharist. First, Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes and fed the multitude (John 6:1-15), prefiguring the superabundance of the unique bread of the Eucharist. Next, He walked on the water to meet His disciples in a boat on the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-21), showing that He could suspend the laws of nature with respect to His own body as well as with respect to material objects.
Finally, in a lengthy discourse in a synagogue in Capernaum on the following day, Jesus taught in the most emphatic and even graphic terms possible that those who wished eternal life would have to eat His body and drink His blood (John 6: 22-59). This chapter concludes with the result: many were appalled, they left Jesus and "accompanied Him no more", and He did not call them back to explain that they had misunderstood (John 6:60-66). But the twelve apostles, led by Peter, chose to follow Jesus in utter faith. When Jesus asked them whether they, too, would leave, Peter replied: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we believe; we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:67-69). Jesus revealed how His followers would be fed by His Body and Blood at the Last Supper.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul makes the Real Presence clear to them: "Therefore anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily is answerable for the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor 11:27). This belief in the Real Presence in the Eucharist is universal among the early Fathers of the Church, and Christ’s presence -- His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist – is as real today as it was at the Last Supper and throughout the existence of the Catholic Church: "And look, I am with you always, yes, to the end of time" (Matt 28:20).
Catechism: #1333-1344, 1373-1381
Scripture: Matt 26:26-29, Matt 28:20, Luke 1:37, Luke 22:19-20, Mark 14:22-25
John 6:1-69, 1 Cor. 11:23-25,27
What is "liturgy"?
"Liturgy" is the official public worship of the Church, to be distinguished from the private devotions and prayers of individuals. Its function is twofold: to give honor, praise, and worship to God, and to obtain blessings for the human race so as to sanctify it (make it holy). "Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church" (CCC #1069). The liturgy responds to the "divine pedagogy of salvation" (CCC #1145, using visible creation (light and darkness, wind and the fruits of the earth) and signs and symbols taken from the social life of man (washing and anointing, meals, music and song, the embrace of peace), signs of the Covenant given to the Chosen People of God (laying on of hands, sacrifices, the Passover), and signs used specifically by Christ as part of His New Covenant with the universal People of God (healings, preaching and teaching, the breaking of the bread, the crucifixion and resurrection, giving a new meaning to the Passover).
As the work of Christ liturgy is also an action of his Church. It makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the communion in Christ between God and men. It engages the faithful in the new life of the community and involves the conscious, active, and fruitful participation of everyone (CCC #1071).
In it full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others (CCC#1070).
In the Mass, the pivotal act of liturgy, "the Church’s whole liturgy finds its center and its most intense expression in the celebration" of the Eucharist (CCC #1330). The liturgy of the Mass is divided into two great parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. This division is prefigured when Jesus first taught the multitudes and then fed them (Mark 6:34-44, Luke 9:11-17).
The Mass is not the only liturgical celebration of the Church. Each sacrament has its own liturgy, even when often or usually celebrated within the context of the Mass. The Liturgy of the Hours, in which all the faithful can exercise the royal priesthood of the baptized throughout all the hours of the day, integrates the prayers of the Psalms with other prayers appropriate to the liturgical season and feast. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the Stations of the Cross, novenas, and processions are other liturgical expressions of the Church.
Catechism: #1066-1075, 1330, 1145-1162, 1174-1178
Scripture: Mark 6:34-44, Luke 9:11-17, Luke 24:13-35
Why do we consider the Bible inerrant?
God is the Author of truth, and no falsehood can come from God. In the Gospel of John, the intention is stated of providing a record of Jesus’ "signs" "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life through his name" (John 20:31). In the Gospels, Jesus proclaims that He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), and promised to send the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and, by extension, to the entire Church, and that the Spirit would "guide you into all truth" (John 16:13).
As a God Who created us out of the superabundance of His love and Who has destined us to share in His glory for all eternity, He must have given us what we need to seek, believe in, and know Him, and to follow His commandments, grow in perfection, and live with Him eternally. The full revelation of God’s plan of salvation was made by Jesus, Who established His Church to guard all that He revealed, and to teach it to each generation until He returns.
In his letter to Timothy, a bishop in the early Church, St. Paul noted that "all Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Tim 3:16). After a reminder that interpretation of Sacred Scripture is never a matter for the individual, St. Peter in his letter to all Christians said that "no prophecy ever came from human initiative. When people spoke for God, it was the Holy Spirit that moved them" (2 Pet 1:20-21). Both of these passages refer principally to the Old Testament, since much of the New Testament was not then widely available. However, in the same letter, St. Peter referred to St. Paul’s letters thus: "In all his letters there are of course some passages which are hard to understand, and these are the ones that uneducated and unbalanced people distort, in the same way they distort the rest of Scripture -- to their own destruction" (2 Pet 3:16) [emphasis added]. Plainly, St. Peter regarded St. Paul’s letters as part of the totality of Scripture, which is the inspired word of God. In the next few centuries the final canon of the New Testament was established by the Church.
Thus Scripture is the inspired word of God, Who is Truth and cannot utter a falsehood, and must be inerrant: "Since therefore all that the inspired authors or sacred writers affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit, we must acknowledge that the books of Scripture firmly, faithfully, and without error teach that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the Sacred Scriptures" (CCC 107).
Since Scripture is a revelation of God and His plan for salvation, it should not be looked at in the same way that we look at, for example, a modern scientific text. Scripture has real human authors, who shared all the limitations of the people of their time. "Inerrancy" refers to what the sacred authors intended to affirm, in accord with the original intention of God in choosing to reveal Himself by the written word – for the sake of salvation. Some passages in Scripture appear, in isolation, to contradict each other, but taking passages out of context, without understanding them in light of the whole of Scripture, is certain to lead to error.
Catechism: #105-107, 111, 120, 129
Scripture: John 14:16, John 20:31, John 16:13, 2 Tim 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21
2 Peter 3:16
Do we have to believe that every single statement in the Bible is historically or scientifically accurate?
The first thing we must understand about the Bible is that no part of it was written as a scientific treatise, and much of it was not written as history in the manner practiced by modern historians. There is a great variety of literary genres in the Bible, including poetry, drama, parables, history, hymns, letters, and others. Each of these literary genres must be evaluated on its own terms, and not made to do something neither its human author nor the Holy Spirit Who inspired the author intended.
The second thing we must understand is that the human authors were truly authors; that is, they were not "secretaries" taking down the Holy Spirit’s "dictation" (see CCC 106). These individuals shared all the limitations of knowledge of their times, and that includes the inability to ascertain historical and scientific facts unavailable to them. Since neither a full history or a full scientific treatise are necessary to our salvation, the Holy Spirit did not give the Bible’s authors historical and scientific data unavailable to anyone else in their time.
If we understand that the Bible includes in it everything that God wanted to be written down for our salvation, we begin to look at it correctly. For example, the most disputed account in the Bible, from a scientific point of view, is the Genesis account of creation. But we truly do not need to know the order in which things were created, nor the duration of creation, not the names of our first parents, but we do need to know that: 1) there is an uncreated Being that brought into existence all the things in the universe; 2) creation is good, not evil; 3) human beings are a result of a special creation of God (which has no bearing on questions of evolution from apes or hominids, who lacked the immortal soul that makes us unique) and are, male and female, made in His image; 4) that there really are beings who seek to turn our minds and hearts from God to evil; 5) human nature is broken in a fundamental way, and we are thus prone to sin; and 6) God promised a savior who would vanquish evil and restore humans to God’s favor.
For some individuals who are faithful readers of the Bible, the notion that there are degrees of historicity and scientific accuracy in the Bible can be extremely unsettling, for then they may feel that understanding what God intends is truly beyond them. However, we already know that we cannot fully understand the Bible as it was written, for we no longer live in the same world nor do we speak the Hebrew, Greek, and possibly Aramaic of the originals. In His providence, God has given us His Church, to help us understand Sacred Scripture and interpret it correctly. St. Peter said: "We must recognize that the interpretation of scriptural prophecy is never a matter for the individual" (2 Pet 1:20). The Church teaches that "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written" (CCC 111), and that "the Holy Spirit . . . gives [the Church] the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture" (CCC 113), the same Spirit that Jesus promised "would lead you into all truth" (John 16:13).
Catechism: #106, 111, 113
Scripture: John 16:13, 2 Peter 1:20
Who decided, and how, that the books we have in the Bible belong there, while other available documents were not included?
The Bible, Old and New Testaments, is divided into "books", reflecting a diverse authorship over approximately 1,600 years, from about 1500 B.C., the traditional date of the Exodus and thus of the first five books of the Old Testament, attributed to Moses, to about 100 A.D. when the Gospel of John and, perhaps, a few other books of the New Testament are considered to have been written.
With respect to the Old Testament, the Church adopted the books that had been included in the Greek "Septuagint" as canonical. The Septuagint, a translation of Hebrew texts with a few additional texts written originally in Greek (this translation was done in Alexandria, Egypt, by Jewish elders from Palestine shortly before the time of Christ’s advent into history), was the Old Testament that the early Church used in evangelizing the Gentiles, none of whom knew Hebrew but most of whom understood Greek, the international language of the time. The Jewish Bible differs from the Christian Old Testament canon by excluding those materials not preserved in Hebrew (this was done by rabbis late in the first century A.D.), and it is the Jewish canon that Protestants came to use (the excluded books are often called "apocryphal" books by Protestants).
It is the constant tradition of the Church that general revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle, St. John. Thus, those books considered for inclusion in the New Testament must have been written before that time, excluding many highly worthy documents clearly attributable to later periods. Some works that claimed to have been written during apostolic times failed to be included as well. It needs to be noted that the Bible did not create itself; the inclusion and exclusion of certain books was done by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A major criterion of inclusion was their constant use by the Church for public reading from the most ancient times. Thus, if a previously unknown letter written by St. Paul were found by modern archaeologists, it would not be added to the canon.
The final canon was first established by two African councils, the councils of Hippo and Carthage which met in the fourth century and whose work was approved by Pope Damasus I, and infallibly defined by the Council of Trent in response to the challenge of Martin Luther and others to certain books in both the Old and New Testaments. The primacy of the Church as guardian of revelation was in St. Augustine’s mind when he wrote: "I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me" (CCC 113).
Catechism: #113, 120, 128-130, 138, 1093, 1156
Scripture: Matt 16:17-20
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