13 General Questions

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DavidAllen

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Good evening,

My name is David Allen, and I’m currently going to school. I’m taking a Religions of the World class, and for my final project I am selecting a church that I’m unfamiliar with to do a 2,500 word report on. I’ve chosen the Catholic Church as it’s a religion I’ve always been inclined to learn about, but have never had a close friend to ask questions to.

For my final report, I was to find somebody who practiced this religion and ask them 13 questions (that I wrote before hand) and include the results of the interview in my report. The man I had set up to talk to has been out of town with work for the past week, and I need to get my rough draft done - so I am coming here hoping somebody with knowledge can answer these questions for me.

Please understand answering these questions isn’t doing my homework for me, these are questions I wrote with my limited knowledge of the church and am supposed to find somebody with knowledge to ask them to.

I truly appreciate your time and knowledge!
  1. What is the purpose of the rosary in your religion?
  2. What is the reason people mimic the cross shape on their body? Is there a name for this movement?
  3. What is the purpose of the communion?
  4. What does saying Hail Mary accomplish?
  5. What is the purpose and benefit of confession?
  6. Why do you not believe in divorce?
  7. Why do you not believe in birth control?
  8. Why are priests not allowed to be married?
  9. I went to a Catholic funeral one time and the preacher would say something, and the audience would repeat it. What is this and what is the reason for doing it?
  10. I had a friend who went to a “Midnight Mass” on Christmas Eve. What is the reason and purpose to this event?
  11. What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?
  12. How has religion shaped your life?
  13. What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion?
 
All of this and more can be found in the Catechism of The Catholic Church…or my personal favorite, the multi-volume Baltimore Catechism
 
Michael Daniels,

Thanks for your reply. The point of the interview questions isn’t to just get our questions answered, as I could google those questions fairly easy. It’s to get somebody elses opinion and answers that belong to the church we chose.
 
DavidAllen said:
For my final report, I was to find somebody who practiced this religion and ask them 13 questions (that I wrote before hand) and include the results of the interview in my report. The man I had set up to talk to has been out of town with work for the past week, and I need to get my rough draft done - so I am coming here hoping somebody with knowledge can answer these questions for me.
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Well, some of those questions have had dozens of books written to answer them (in the case of question 3, hundreds or possibly thousands of books), and I don’t think I have time to answer them all. But maybe if I take some, and someone else takes others, that would be good enough.

Although I must admit to being interested in how someone whose name and writing indicate a native English speaker would only know one Catholic and would be unable to find a church to ask at. I mean, even in England, Catholics are about 8 or 9 percent of the population, and here in the US we are nearly 25%. But that is just curiosity on my part, and you don’t have to answer or anything.

In case you are not familiar with Christianity in general, the references in parentheses EXCEPT the ones marked CCC are from the Bible, with chapter and verse number(s).

The references marked CCC are from the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, with the paragraph number reference.
DavidAllen said:
  1. What is the purpose of the rosary in your religion?
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I am assuming that you are not asking the purpose of prayer, which can be simplified to “becoming closer to God.” The Rosary is a prayer, or a series of prayers, so its primary purpose is to come closer to God. While praying the Rosary, you meditate on different things, mostly (in 18 of 20 cases) from the life of Jesus. Personally, I find that the vocalized prayers of the Rosary help me to concentrate on the meditation without being distrated. If I just sat down and tried to meditate on, for example, Jesus’s crowning with thorns, for 5-7 minutes, I would find it very difficult not to get distracted. However while praying the Rosary it is much easier, and sometimes it provides me with insights on the event in question, for example that Jesus was more hurt by the injuries that His tormentors were doing themselves by sinning, than by the thorns on the crown, because He loved even His tormentors with the perfect love of God.

In addition, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, intercedes for us to God the Father through Jesus her son and the Son of God. In addition we venerate her because of what God has done for her (“all generations shall call me blessed”) and because she is a model for virtues that we should emulate. That is not the official answer of the Church, but it is my answer, and I don’t think there is anything contrary to the Church’s teaching in it.
DavidAllen said:
  1. What is the reason people mimic the cross shape on their body? Is there a name for this movement?
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Touching yourself on the forehead, chest, and each shoulder is called “The Sign of the Cross.” In other parts of the Catholic Church, this is done (I believe) by making a small cross on one’s forehead instead. According to the Catechism:
“The Christian begins his day, his prayers, and his activities with the Sign of the Cross: ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.’ The baptized person dedicates the day to the glory of God and calls on the Savior’s grace which lets him act in the Spirit as a child of the Father. The sign of the cross strengthens us in temptations and difficulties.” (CCC, 2157)

So basically, that is why.
DavidAllen said:
  1. What does saying Hail Mary accomplish?
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I’m going to have to skip question #3 because it is just too big for me this late at night. #4 is related to #1, in that most of the vocalized prayers of the Rosary are the Hail Mary.

First I would point out that the first half of the Hail Mary is just quotations from Scripture. “Hail [Mary] full of grace, the Lord is with you.” (Lk. 1:28)
“Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb [Jesus].” (Lk. 1:42)
(Words in brackets are in the prayer but not in the Scripture verses.) It is always good to recite Scripture.

The second half is like this:
“Holy Mary” (well, Scripture says she is full of grace, so it follows that she is holy)
“Mother of God” (Mary is the mother of Jesus, and so if you deny that Mary is the mother of God, you deny that Jesus is God.)
“pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” (We believe that the souls of the saints are already in Heaven, and therefore can pray for us. Mary is unique in that her body has also been brought already to Heaven, so she already has a body like what all humans in Heaven will have at the end of the world.)

More in my next post.

–Jen
 
DavidAllen said:
  1. What is the purpose and benefit of confession?
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Well, I can’t give you the whole of it, since it takes up about 8 pages of the Catechism. But I think the best summary is:
“Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as ‘the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.’” (CCC, 1446)

There are many other benefits, like you have to examine your conscience before you go to confession. There are many aids out there for this, and if you use them it helps you not skip over sins that you commit that you would rather not think about.

Also, although you are really confessing your sins to God, who knows them already, I have personally been deterred from committing certain types of sins by the knowledge that I would have to say them to a man.
DavidAllen said:
  1. Why do you not believe in divorce?
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And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away.” But Jesus said to them, “For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”

And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mk. 10:2-12)

So basically, we don’t believe in divorce because Jesus said not to.

Sorry, I don’t have time for any more answers tonight, but hopefully some other people can help with the rest.

–Jen
 
I try a few of the others for you. 🙂
  1. Why are priests not allowed to be married?
Actually, there are Catholic priests who are married. The Catholic Church has different Rites–the largest by far is the Latin Rite, whose priests do not marry as a matter of discipline. (There are some, usually converts from other Christian denominations, who are married.) Jesus said that some were called to be eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God. Catholics take the marriage commitment very seriously, and it’s difficult for a priest to take care of both his family and his church flock.
  1. I went to a Catholic funeral one time and the preacher would say something, and the audience would repeat it. What is this and what is the reason for doing it?
What you experienced was what we call “liturgy”. Liturgy means “work of the people”. Some parts of the liturgy involve repetition, like the Kyrie. The priest says “Lord, have mercy”, and the people respond in kind. You can look up the parts of the Mass and explanations for all of them online. Liturgy is the way in which all Catholics, all over the world, worship God. Catholic weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc all take place within its framework.
  1. I had a friend who went to a “Midnight Mass” on Christmas Eve. What is the reason and purpose to this event?
Of course you know we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas . . . Midnight Mass is just something special we do for Christmas, since the tradition is that Jesus was born late at night.
  1. What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?
    In addition to Christmas, there’s the Easter Triduum (Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday), Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, All Saint’s Day, various feasts commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary, and many, many others. This is a really involved question, because Catholicism has a ton of important traditions–everything from lighting candles to blessing throats. 🙂
 
Jen and Moscati,

Thank you so much for answering what you have so far. I really do appreciate your time and your knowledge on these questions.
 
If anybody else has the time to answer the last two questions I’d appreciate it. Oh and I know #3 can include a lot, but like I said these aren’t supposed to be complete answers, just answers I asked somebody and their response from the interview. So a general answer to #3 works as well.
 
How has religion shaped my life?

The most important thing in my life is my Catholic faith. I put God first before everything else. I have a personal relationship with God and I try to involve him in my everyday activities. He is a constant companion and friend who is there to help, support, and strengthen me throughout the day. When I go to Mass and receive Communion, I receive the actual body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. This is not symbolic. This is the truth. The Communion host is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ under the appearance of bread. My God is always with me, and always in me. The Mass brings us as close as we can get to God in this life.

My religion gives me answers to the most important questions in life. It removes all doubt and uncertainty about what is right and what is wrong. It gives me hope for the future. My faith gives me a reason to be a good person; it gives me a reason to live. Faith is an immense comfort when life gets difficult. Religion helps me cope. No matter what happens, I know that I have a faithful friend in Jesus.

I also know that I have many spiritual brothers and sisters in heaven. The Saints are our brothers and sisters; we are all one big family. I pray to the saints asking them to help me in my life. I ask the saints to pray to God on my behalf. St. Thomas Aquinas is my patron saint; he helps me and prays for me. His intercession has helped me pass many exams; I know I would have failed some of them if not for his prayers.

Lastly, the Mother of Christ is also my Mother. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the Church; the mother of all believers. She leads me by the hand to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Mary loves me like my earthly mother loves me. When I fall, she picks me up and consoles me. She is always ready to help me when I need her. All she ever wants is for people to love her son as much as she loves him. The Blessed Virgin reveals Christ and helps us all achieve holiness.
 
  1. The Sign of the Cross, as I understand it, does at least three things:
A) It keeps the devil away. The devil hates the Cross and he fears it. It defeated him and he doesn’t like to be reminded of that. Making the Sign of the Cross blesses onesself.

B) It proclaims that Christ died on the Cross. HE actually DIED on the Cross. It’s not that He pretended to die or somebody else’s body was put upt there. He died. On the Cross…some religious movements accept he was nailed to a tree, but, deny it was a cross.

C) It proclaims the Trinity. In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Most other religions do not accept that God is three in unity.

Incidentally, we, the west, cross ourselves from left to right. The East does the opposite. All Christians, as I understand crossed themselves from right to left, but, at some point the west decided to mirror the priest’s hand movement of a blessing.

Also, the East, in one of the ways they hold their hand to make the Cross, rather than just use their entire hand or their middle finger the way most in the West do, puts their thumb, first finger and middle finger together to represent the Trinity and the ring finger and pinky finger is down on their palms to represent the two Natures of Christ (Human & Divine).
 
  1. What is the purpose of communion?
Catholics have the Sacrament of the Eucharist (often called communion). Catholics believe the bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ; receiving the eucharist is receiving Christ. I assume the purpose is somewhat obvious from this.
  1. Why do we not believe in divorce?
Our understanding of a valid marriage is that a permanent joining has been made; thus, it can’t be undone. As another wrote, Jesus spoke about this, too. Civil divorces are allowed in certain circumstances (like physical abuse) but we wouldn’t consider the couple truly divorced; it’s a legal separation to protect the innocent spouse and both spouses are still seen as married, just not living together. The secular media often refers to annulments as “Catholic divorce” but that’s not correct. The actual term is a declaration of nullity and is based on a study of what happened at the time of the wedding: was a proper marriage actually made at that time. For instance, if the bride was 9 years old at the time of the wedding, that was not a proper marriage. Other situations get more complicated. I’m trying to keep things fairly simple. Marriage is until death do they part.
  1. Why do we not believe in birth control?
Technically, the question should probably refer to artificial birth control. In some cases, Catholics are allowed to use natural family planning which makes use of a woman’s fertility cycle (this isn’t the rhythm method). Catholics believe that sex is reserved for marriage and that it has two unseparable purposes: creative (to produce children) and uniative (bringing the spouses together). Catholics should not do anything to the sex act that goes against these purposes as that would be misusing one’s sexuality. So, if the couple has sex when the woman isn’t fertile, they have not done anything to the act itself. Using a condom is taking action against the sex act. It’s understood that married couples are to be open to life and so it’s not considered ok for a couple to marry with the plan of always using natural family planning to avoid having kids so they can keep all of their money to have a big house, go on fancy vacations, etc. This is related to the Catholic beliefs about what marriage is (marriage is inherently related to having children).

I think all of the questions except 13 have been answered. I’m not sure how to address 13; I’m sure everyone has their own challenges. Perhaps in a general sense, we are asked to look beyond our selves and that creates challenges. Most religions ask that, of course. I’m not sure what the comparison might be. For instance, we have fasting requirements so it’s more challenging than not having any fasting requirements (for instance, being atheist), but the requirements are less demanding than those in the Greek Orthodox Church.
 
Hi David Allen. I have always loved questionairres. I hope you understand that I don’t presume to speak for everyone. But here are my answers:
  1. What is the purpose of the rosary in your religion?
Ans: It is at least two-fold. It is a contemplative prayer used for meditating upon the life of Christ. It is also an intercessory prayer that many Catholics in the West perceive as being peculiarly suited and intended for these latter days. This devotion is believed by many to have been given directly to St. Dominic over a thousand years after the death of Christ.
  1. What is the reason people mimic the cross shape on their body? Is there a name for this movement?
Ans: This is called “the sign of the cross”. It is apparently of Apostolic origin being mentioned byu some of the earliest Fathers. It signifies one’s willingness to be identified with Christ in his Crucifixion.
  1. What is the purpose of the communion?
Ans: Also multipurpose.But primarily and briefly, it is that the partaker might enjoy the most intimate realtionship with Christ our Savior. In the supernatural, it is the same as in the natural order. You are what you eat. Communion is primarily for the purpose of transforming ourselves into Christ’s likeness.
  1. What does saying Hail Mary accomplish?
Ans: It denotes our identification with John the Baptist and his mother Elisabeth who addressed our Lady with “Hail, Full of grace” at the Visitation. They both recognized her as the mother of the Lord, and a such, having a maternal influence with Christ. The full prayer implores her present help, with a particular wish for her care at the time of our deaths. Presumably, Catholics who have said some Hail Marys will be comforted at that time.
  1. What is the purpose and benefit of confession?
Ans: Confession is the remedy for serious sins (mortal sins) that are committed after baptism. We cannot be rebaptized. Confession, with the correct intentions, can be repeated. Another purpose and benefit is to gain grace (help from God) to be able to overcome less serious (venial sins). Even if we have not separated ourselves from God by committing mortal sin, we are encouraged to do battle against less serious sins through this sacrament.
  1. Why do you not believe in divorce?
Ans: I deny that I disbelieve in divorce. One can formally separate from a lawful spouse. What I believe is that holy matrimony lasts “until death do us part”. I do not believe in “holy bigamy” or “holy polygamy”. If one obtains a legal separation from another this does not mean that they can legitimately remarry. One who is divorced cannot marry again “until death do us part.”
  1. Why do you not believe in birth control?
Ans: Again, I think this question imperfectly reflects my belief. One can choose to abstain from the act which makes babies. One can even choose to abstain during times that are known to be particularly fertile. I think it is wrong to deliberately incapicitate healthy anatomical function. Further, the Church teaches that the unitive purpose of the marriage act is intrinsically connected to the reproductive purpose. Forgive my brevity. You can do a lot more research if you like.
  1. Why are priests not allowed to be married?
Ans: It is because marriage is such a great good! Priests, in every religion, as those who offer sacrifices. To make a sacrifice of marriage and family is almost the supreme sacrifice short of death that a person can make for God. While there are exceptions for this rule, those who offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are ordinarily chosen from among those who are willing to forego marriage. Practically speaking, the sheep are less reticent to disturb shepherds whose entire lives are dedicated to the sheep. When the shepherds have the responsibility of wives and children it seems difficult to call upon them at every moment.
  1. I went to a Catholic funeral one time and the preacher would say something, and the audience would repeat it. What is this and what is the reason for doing it?
Ans: This I do not understand.
  1. I had a friend who went to a “Midnight Mass” on Christmas Eve. What is the reason and purpose to this event?
Ans: There is a different liturgy, or worship service fopr Christimas and Easter depending upon the time of day in which the worshipper is disposed to attend. The entire calendar of the Church is directed toward making to worshipper experience the events of the life of Christ throughout the different seasons in weeks and months. When it somes to the mysteries of the Nativity and Resurrection, there are different worship forms depending upon the very hour that you decide to attend!
  1. What are the important holidays and traditions of this religion?
Ans: I already mentioned the two most important. There are a handful of what are called first class feasts or solemnities. Some of these include the Feast of the Circumcision, the Ascension of Christ, the Feast of the Sacred Heart, the Assumption of Mary, the Feast of All Saints, and the Immacaulate Conception. Other holidays are parituclar to different regions of the world. In the West for instance, March 17, the feast of St. Patrick is particularly regarded because of how he was almost entirely responsible for the conversion of the Irish, who in turn sent monks and learned men throughout the Continent to promoite the Catholic faith.
 
This website doesn’t permit answers exceeding 6,000 characters. I sometimes violate this policy. Today is one of those times. Here si the rest of my posty which the website judges to be too lengthy already. Sorry. I thought I was being too brief already. Thirteen questions deserved thirteen books. Anyway, here is the rest:
  1. How has religion shaped your life?
Ans: I dunno. I am still pretty bad. But I think about it every day, if not every hour. I am a bad Catholic. I am given to worldly pleasure. I love to drink. But I also love Our Lady and the Holy Rosary. I sometimes have good Holy Communions where it seems like I realize how unworthy I am of receiving our blessed Lord. But I am still a jerk and a proud fool. I would not want anyone to really judge my faith upon how I live it. I fear I believe better than I live. But I am so happy to be Catholic. I know God loves me infinitely, and if I can but love Him a little back, He will accept it. God is all, whollly, and completely good.
  1. What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion?
Ans: Hmmmm. I dunno. It is hard to believe that we can do so little to gain so much? Yeah. How about that?
 
Some good answers so far, but I’d like to give some lesser known background on the following:
DavidAllen said:
  1. What is the purpose of the rosary in your religion?
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The rosary is also known as the “peasants’ psalter”.

In the first centuries, monks used to recite the 150 psalms from memory. This was impractical for the laity, so they imitated the practice by repeating the “Hail Mary”, one for each psalm. Until recently, a complete rosary had fifteen decades (a set of ten Hail Marys), which equals 150 Hail Marys, there are other prayers as well. One, the “Oh my Jesus” prayer, comes from Mary herself in an apparition.
 
mark_a said:
Some good answers so far, but I’d like to give some lesser known background on the following:

The rosary is also known as the “peasants’ psalter”.

In the first centuries, monks used to recite the 150 psalms from memory. This was impractical for the laity, so they imitated the practice by repeating the “Hail Mary”, one for each psalm. Until recently, a complete rosary had fifteen decades (a set of ten Hail Marys), which equals 150 Hail Marys, there are other prayers as well. One, the “Oh my Jesus” prayer, comes from Mary herself in an apparition.
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Hey mark a.

Bob Jones country. I’ve never been to Greenville but I was a Baptist. You can get farther from the true faith. Anyway, glad to see a Catholic response from that location. A very good and informative response too. Yes…the peasants’ psalter. That’s what this truck driver can do every day!
 
mark_a said:
Baptists are tough nuts to crack!! How in the world did that happen?

I must credit Catholic radio for that one.
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Hi Mark,

Out of the mouths of babes (people who came to visit my church) came questions that I couldn’t answer. They wouldn’t have dreamed to have done so, but they drove me Romeward. I pastored the East County Baptist Church from 1985 to 1989. We then became the Berean Bible Church from '89 to '92. I am not ashamed of my ministry or the people who participated. In some respects, we were pretty good Catholics! It would be hard to explain. We were all moving in the right direction, but I was moving fastest. I left in '92, the church broke up soon after. I was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 1995. I hope by God’s grace to die in this faith.
 
RoryMcKenzie56 said:
Hi Mark,

Out of the mouths of babes (people who came to visit my church) came questions that I couldn’t answer. They wouldn’t have dreamed to have done so, but they drove me Romeward. I pastored the East County Baptist Church from 1985 to 1989. We then became the Berean Bible Church from '89 to '92. I am not ashamed of my ministry or the people who participated. In some respects, we were pretty good Catholics! It would be hard to explain. We were all moving in the right direction, but I was moving fastest. I left in '92, the church broke up soon after. I was received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in 1995. I hope by God’s grace to die in this faith.
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That’s a great story. Do you have a published version of it?
 
Hey David,
I will give #13 a whirl since you seem to have most of the others.
  1. What are the challenges, if any, to practicing this particular religion?
    Practicing Catholicism is challenging in that it involves one’s whole life: thoughts, actions, feelings, all of which we try to submit to God’s will because His will is perfect for us, He wants us to be the best people we can possibly be, and live in love and joy with Him forever, which is why He created us.
    So it’s not something we just do on Sundays, our faith colors our whole lives. It influences who we vote for, how we treat a beggar on the street, how much money we spend, how we relate to our employer, how we spend our time, what we read or watch, the music we listen to.
    It’s sometimes a challenge for me to remember not to eat meat on Fridays, which we do in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for us on a Friday. But then I remember what He went through, and the small sacrifice becomes a pleasure.
    So basically these challenges translate into a release from despair, the fear of death and depression. The knowledge that God loves us enough to send His son to die for us gives us the hope to face anything that life can throw at us.
Hope this is helpful; good luck with your assignment.
 
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