What does a Roman Catholic week look like?

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Hi!
I’m kristine
Age:22 years old
Work: web design

You want to know what Roman Catholics believe, as opposed to Protestants - is that your question?

Well, the two sides are dissimilar in many respects - the main being:
  1. The Mass (called by Prots. ‘Eucharist’, ‘Holy Communion’ or 'Lord’s Supper). The difference is that RCs believe that only a priest can ‘do the biz’ - ie. turn the wafer and wine into the ACTUAL and present body and blood of Christ, and that it
    becomes so (by ‘transubstantiation’) after the priest has said his prayers. Prots. do not believe in ‘transubstantiation’ (ie. that the wafer and wine changes its substance) but that they are representative only.
    Also, RCs believe that, whenever the Mass is celebrated (or should I say, sacrificed), that Jesus Christ is again being resacrificed on the cross, whereas Prots. believe that he was sacrificed ‘once for all’ (Hebr.10:10).
  2. The Priesthood : RCs believe in a celibate priesthood, whereas Prot. clerics can marry. RC priests are absolutely indispensable to the practice of their faith, whereas this is not so with the Prots.
  3. The Pope : RCs give much reverence to this figure, who they consider the head of the Church on earth, whereas Prots. elevate no man to such a degree - perhaps the highest degree is that held by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Pope, when speaking ‘ex cathedra’ (from St. Peter’s chair) is considered by them infallible in his pronouncements.
  4. The Virgin Mary : RCs give very much more reverence to her than Prots. do, and they also believe that she was assumed into heaven and there crowned queen. They also believe that you can pray to her, as well as to the other canonised saints for grace from God. Prots. believe that it is forbidden by Scripture to have any contact with dead people and that you do not need an intermediary through whom to pray to God.
  5. Purgatory : RCs believe that, when they die, they don’t go straight to heaven, but have to go to a place of suffering, called purgatory, to expiate their sins. They can do masses and pay for prayers and this will take some time off purgatory. Protestants believe that purgatory is not necessary, for Jesus Christ suffered and paid the price for all our sins on the cross.
  6. Confession : RCs are expected to confess their sins regularly to a priest and he will give them a penance to do (prayers like ‘Hail Mary’). Protestants confess directly to the Father and ask forgiveness of him. They will also confess to one another and pray for one another. There is no penance, except to put matters right.
  7. The Rosary : this is a system of little prayer beads, some representing the Lord’s Prayers, others the ‘Hail Mary’ and RCs pray using this system. Protestants have no such method.
  8. Statues, candles, bells and incense : the RCs use these to a much greater degree than Prots. Statues are pretty-much unique to Catholicism, because Protestantism follows the biblical injunction to have no ‘graven images’.
  9. Saints : whilst the RCs believe that you term ‘saints’ only the very godly that the Pope has so recognized by canonization, the Prots. believe that all of those whom Christ has saved are saints (ie. holy ones) through his own holiness given to them.
That’s about the main ‘bones’ of the thing. I have to say, I don’t think you’re at all stupid that you can’t easily tell the difference. You are still very young, and learning to recognize the differences takes years of observation, reading and experience, before it becomes very obvious to you that the two are, in fact, poles apart. Discernment, and understanding, comes with time.
 
Calgar said:
I hear a lot about tradition. How does that work in relation to the Holy Bible? Does tradition trump the Bible? Does it fill in gaps?
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No, Tradition (we’re talking about the capital-T stuff here), i.e. the deposit of faith given by Jesus to the Apostles and from then on passed on in the Church from one generation to the next, does not trump Scripture as if they’re two rivalling, irreconcilable forces; Catholics - as well as other historical Churches such as the Orthodox - see both Scripture and Tradition on equal footing.
 
To give an example, it is only by the Tradition of the Catholic Church that a southern Baptist knows that the Gospel of Matthew was written by Matthew (who, along with others, doesn’t self identify). It is only by the Tradition of the Catholic Church that a southern Baptist knows that the 27 books in his KJV are inspired and part of an infallible canon. R.C. Sproul once admitted, oddly, that the best that protestants can believe is that they have a fallible canon of infallible books (i.e. we know the books are infallible, but the list of which ones are infallible is not, iteself, infallible). That, of course is logically impossible. If the canon, the standardization of the collection, is fallible, then we cannot know objectively that each book is infallible. If the canon is fallible, then which books are infallible becomes subjective. If you’re saying the canon is fallible, then you cannot say that I am objectively bound to accept the Epistle of James or the book of Revelation as infallible (Martin Luther also didn’t think these two belonged in the NT) This is why Tradition is so important. The reason we know what 27 books make up the new testament is because the Catholic church, guided by the Paraclete, as our Lord promised, made an infallible decision that the 27 books are inspired. It is an infallible collection and only that way can we know that the books within are also infallible. Of course R.C. Sproul cannot admit the “infallible canon” part of that because to do so would be to acknowledge that the councils of the Catholic church were protected from error by God (as he promised) which would of course imply that the Bishops at those coucils were the successors of the apostles and that they made up the magesterium of the Church that Christ founded and to whom he said “what you bind is bound , what you lose is loosed, sins you forgive are forgiven, sins you retain are retained” and this of course cannot be admitted and so he chooses instead to make the logically impossible statement “fallible collection of infallible books”.

Sorry for all the writing, but I know that since scripture is rightly and admirably so important to protestants, that this example is one of the most useful to give for the importance of Tradition and Magesterium along side Scripture.
 
Tradition is the teachings of Christ as taught to the Apostles and safeguarded by the Holy Spirit handed down through the generations. The Magisterium, or teaching authority of the Church, has been entrusted with authentically interpreting the Word of God, whether written (Scripture) or handed on.
As Catholics, we see “that sacred tradition, sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s wise design, as so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls”[Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation].
 
In my Parish, there is no Sunday School. For school aged kids, Religious Ed classes are offered throughout the week in the evening.
 
  1. On Sunday, is there some type of Sunday school that occurs before or after service?
    My answer: At my parish yes, it is.
  2. Is Mass what most folks go to?
    My answer: Unforunately yes, the weekly attendance is lower here.
  3. How long is Mass usually?
    My answer: 60-75 mins
  4. Is that one service all that most catholics attend each week?
    My answer: Regrettably, yes.
  5. How many days out of a week do Roman Catholics spend at church?
    My answer: I can only speak for myself and my answer is 5-6 days. Working volunteerly, altar serving and and attending mass.
 
Calgar said:
What are catechisms? Do they take the place of reading the Bible?
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Chatecisms are the Catholic version of the Baptist Faith and Life, it condenses Catholic teachings in one volume with many citations from the bible.

It no more repalaces the bible than the Faith and Life message.
 
Calgar said:
I’m curious as to what the usual worship activities and education are for Roman Catholics. I think if I number my questions it’ll make answering easier. 😃
  1. On Sunday, is there some type of Sunday school that occurs before or after service?
  2. Is Mass what most folks go to?
  3. How long is Mass usually?
  4. Is that one service all that most catholics attend each week?
  5. How many days out of a week do Roman Catholics spend at church?
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  1. I am not sure…for children?
  2. Yes…Mass. The only service that we have is on Good Friday. Otherwise it’s always Mass
  3. During the week…about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. On Sat night/Sunday 1 hour.
  4. Maybe most…I usually attend Mass everyday. What is nice is that there is a CC two blocks from work. And since Mass is always the same…I can attend there during the week and my home parish on the weekends.
  5. It depends…I am usually at church everyday. Not only for daily Mass but Adoration, faith formations, I am a sponser for RCIA…etcs.
 
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