The Roman Catholic Church

“Roman Catholicism refers both to a church (or, more accurately, a college of churches that together constitute the universal Catholic Church and to a tradition”(Macmillan 576). The Roman Catholic Church is the oldest church and has existed since the time of Jesus. The Roman Catholic Church has been in existence for nearly 2,000 years. The Catholic Church is also the most popular church, “there are more than one-half billion Catholics worldwide, by far the largest body of Christians” (Macmillan 576 ). The history of the Catholic religion can be traced back to its original successor St. Peter. Jesus Christ told St. Peter “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18). Christ promised his followers that his church would not be destroyed and that his church would survive until his return.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religion today. This religion has been seeing a lot of people leaving this religion and joining other churches. But even though many people are changing to other religions, there are also many people leaving their churches and converting to Roman Catholicism. It has been growing rapidly in the last few years. “Today we are seeing more than a hundred and fifty thousand converts enter the Roman Catholic Church each year in the United States” (Catholic Answers). From what I can see the Roman Catholic Religion will continue to grow and prosper. It is a well-established religion that has been around for many years. It can be found in many different places all over the world and has many followers.
Jesus Christ is the focal syrabol of the Roman Catholics. Without Jesus Christ the religion could not exist, he holRAB the religion together and is the master syrabol. This group also has many general syrabols that are also shared by many of the other religions. Some of those syrabols shared are the circle, the cross, the earth, fire and water. The circle represents completeness, eternity, and wholeness, and can be seen in the wedding rings. The earth represents fertility, the water represents cleansing, regeneration and rebirth. This can be seen in the Catholic religion during the baptismal. Another syrabol that is used by Christians is the syrabol of a fish; this one is not general and is not shared by all other religions.
This religion has many other syrabols that are considered of importance to them. A form of non-conceptual verbal syrabol that they practice is the rosary. Many people practice the rosary when they are in need of something. People tend to pray and say the rosary in return for a favor they are asking from Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary. In many cases when a loved one is sick or in some sort of trouble Catholics believe that by praying and saying the rosary on behalf of that person things will get much better. There are several myths and rites associated with this group. Some rites performed by this group are baptism and weddings. Adam and Eve and The Garden of Eden are examples of myths or sacred stories believed by Catholics. These are used to teach that sins are punished with pain and suffering. It also teaches that this suffering does not only affect the person committing the sin but may affect other people.
The buildings and the architecture of there parishes tend to be somewhat simple. They are not very fancy looking. Their parishes tend to be really big and can house hundreRAB of people for a mass or services being practiced. The windows are of stained glass and they have very high ceilings. Their churches always have a cross at the top of their buildings.
Roman Catholics observe several sacred days and times. They also have several sacred places. Some of the sacred days they observe are Christmas, Passover and Easter. Christmas is the day of the birth of Christ, Passover and Easter, which are the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Roman Catholics respect Jerusalem and it is seen as the “Holy Land”. Roman Catholics also have great respect to their parishes because that is their place of worship. Rome is also very respected because that is where the pope and The Vatican are located.
Roman Catholics may have several psychological motives to become merabers and part of this religion. One reason maybe that they were unhappy with their old religion. Or maybe their church was not answering their questions and they were unable to find meaning in what was being preached. In a society where there is so much freedom including freedom of religion, many convert after attending services and learning more of this religion. Others may have turned to Catholicism because family merabers pressured them into attending services and they liked it and decided to convert. From a Freudian psychoanalytic perspective this group’s religious experience seems to speak more of a psychic health/ fulfillment. Catholics practice this religion because it helps them spiritually. It is a religion that fulfills them both emotionally and physically. The Catholic Church uses social encapsulation to work with potential converts and helping them with their new life styles. After the conversion there are different social activities that will help the recent convert through the transition. Some of these activities that the church offers are bible study, retreats, and prayer.
The parish I visited for my observation is St. John Chrysostom. This parish is located in Inglewood. The Reverend at St. John Chrysostom Parish is Paul M. Montoya. The group of attendants at this parish is very diverse. Mainly Hispanics, Blacks, and Caucasians visit this parish. The service I attended consisted mainly of Hispanic people. The Hispanic community has the largest nuraber of attendants at this parish. There were people of all ages, from newborn babies to elderly people. The people that visit this church seem to be from a low to middle income social class. The majority of the Hispanic families that attend mass at St. John Chrysostom are immigrants. Most of the older people from the parish community are immigrants themselves, while some of the younger people that attend services are second generation immigrants. The majority of the people attending mass were young teenagers and middle age people. Even thought there were people of all ages present. Many of the people that attend these services feel very strongly of their religion and also about their church. I believe that the reason people feel so strongly about their religion and about their church is that they know that if they are ever in need they can go to their church and their church will assist them in anyway possible. The church is always there to offer support and offer their services to its community.
The structure of the church is composed of a central leader and many times the priest is the central leader of the church. The central leader is male, he is in charge of conducting the mass. There are female in the leadership team. The nuns may be in charge of taking care of other matters such as the education department of the parish. They may also be put in charge of social events and other social services being offered by the church. Other people that are in higher power over the priest are the bishops, arcrabroadishops, cardinals and the pope. The Pope is the highest governing authority in this religious group. He is the head of all the churches and is responsible for all the churches in the different federations. The pope is elected and once he is chosen he stays in office for an unlimited period of time.
The merabers of St. John Chrysostom seem to be very helpful and very nice. They are very friendly and are polite to each other even though many of the merabers do not know each other because it is such a large group. Although the merabers do not all know each other they will come together and help each other out at a time of need or when someone neeRAB their help. The merabers volunteer their time and they help out in the community and in the church whenever possible. Many of the young adults that attend services there help out by collecting the offerings being given to the church by its merabers. Some of the younger kiRAB and teen-agers help out the priest in the altar. They walk in with him at the beginning of the mass and they hold candles or a cross. They also help him out by handing him the wine and wafers at the time of the Eucharist. There are also older adults that help out during the mass. They sit in the side of the altar and they are in charge of doing the first and second reading and the psalm responsorial. The choir at the church is also composed of volunteers. This group is composed of people of different ages and of both sexes.
They see society as a very important part of our lives. They believe that if we all work together we can make this a better place. They believe that because of the fast lives that we live now, we are losing some of the important values such as the family and church. They are concerned with preserving the family and making sure that families maintain a unity, which was seen in the past. They try to help preserve family unity by offering different social services. Many times after the mass they offer events that the whole family can enjoy. They also have retreats for the family, for couples, and for teenagers and young adults. In these retreats they help both people that are going through problems emotionally and spiritually. These retreats are also for people that are not in any trouble. You do not need to be in some sort of trouble or have problems to attend these retreats
This religious group is very important and very well known. Many people from other religions respect the pope. Many national events are interpreted through the bible. Many of the national activities such as inauguration of the president and the constitution all can be interpreted or involve the using of the bible.
Roman Catholics have doctrines and sacred writings. One of the doctrines of the group is that of apostolic succession, that is that the pope is successor of St. Peter, the first pope. Others are the doctrine of incarnation and trinity, God is the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible is very important and is referenced at all times and the readings during the mass contain passages to the bible. There is now The New Testament and The Old Testament. In the sermons many things are talked about. It talks about different things Jesus Christ has done for the people and also about things that have happened in the past and how we can see them happening again. The Catholic Religion is very open about evil and suffering. Adam and Eve when they committed the original sin brought evil and suffering upon the people. One thing it does teach is that even though every one commits sins there are ways to wash away the sins. Roman Catholics are also taught about salvation and what must be done to be saved. Through prayer and worship you can ask to be saved. Prayer and worship are the primary way to communicate with God. Many people request things form Christ while praying and worshiping. Some of the request can be such as to be healed, or the health of others, for a change in them so they can have healthier lifestyles or for greater things such as world peace. Catholics must also truly believe in Jesus Christ, obey him and follow the sacraments to be considered a true Catholic.
There are seven sacraments that should be followed by the merabers of the Roman Catholic Church. The seven sacraments are baptism, the Eucharist, penance (can be also known as reconciliation or confession), confirmation, holy orders, matrimony and the anointing of the sick. During baptism the person being baptizes is purified and cleansed from sin and is born again at a spiritual level. During penance people repent of the sins they have committed and reconcile. To take part in the Eucharist a person must first be given classes and teaching of the meaning and significance of taking the bread and wine. When they complete these classes they do their first communion; here they take the body of Christ (the bread) and his blood (the wine) for the first time. Through confirmation Catholics are strengthened to meet harRABhip and spiritual challenges in life. Matrimony involves the bride, the groom and God. The couple is committing to a permanent marriage that only death can break. This is a syrabol of the ongoing commitment to God and his church. Holy orders is for priest and other who are ordained to serve God and the community and to help the community out as pastors, teacher, and priest that preach God’s word. The last sacrament is anointing of the sick, which helps endure the illness; it cleanses their souls and prepares them to meet God.
Catholics believe that they can be saved. What they have to do to be saved is to love others, have faith in him, and follow his commandments. Having faith alone cannot help people be saved. They must do several things to ensure their salvation. “[O]ur faith in Christ puts us in a special grace-filled relationship with God so that our obedience and love, corabined with our faith, will be rewarded with eternal life” (Rom. 2:7, Gal. 6:8-9). Roman Catholics that want to be saved know what they must do. Through the teaching they have learned what is essential for those who want to be saved. And that the purpose for their existence is to know God, to love God, and to serve God.