The nature of God

At the very core of the Catholic faith is the belief in God. Without the belief in God there is no belief in the rest of the Catholic faith. You either believe in God or you don’t – it’s the foundational argument of our religion.

But who is God? From where did God come? We’ll explore those questions by taking a look at our profession of faith that we recite each time we are at Mass, the Nicene Creed. I’m willing to bet that you have this whole thing memorized, but never really stopped to take a good look at what you’re saying during Mass. Chances are you’re worried about saying all the words right so you don’t sound stupid to the person next to you during Mass.

All right, so not everyone is like that, but there are many people who go through the motions and never take a moment to reflect on what it is they are actually saying or the reasons they are really at Mass.

At the beginning of the Nicene Creed we profess that “We believe in one God.” God is the only god in which we believe and follow as Christians. There is no other god besides God even though we sometimes fail to recognize God as the ruler of our lives. As it pertains to the faith we only worship the one God, not anyone or anything else. God is at the center of our faith (or at least he should be).

The Creed continues “the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.” God is the divine being from which all things come ‘ even the things we cannot see or do not know. God made heaven, earth, angels, saints, our bodies, our souls, everything!

This part of the Creed also tells us that there is a physical realm that we can see and that there is a spiritual realm that we cannot see. God created it all. So, who is God? He is our Heavenly Father who formed us and everything else. We share in all both parts of this creation because we have both a body and a soul.

That is just the first four lines of the Nicene Creed and they sure are packed with some juicy stuff about our Creator. One question remains, however ‘ from where did God come? Well, we believe that God always existed and, in fact, God did not come from anything! Everything came from God. This is stated in our belief that God is the “maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.”

This isn’t all that Catholics believe about God though. There is even more! We believe that there is one God, but is manifested in three persons. We call this the Mystery of the Trinity. In short, there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, each having distinct personalities.

Belief in God is necessary for salvation. No one can essentially prove that God exists by using methods of science or other means. Believing in God is an act of faith.

How can I come to know God?

Say a magic little prayer and…no, just kidding.

Coming to know God is life’s most precious joys because you enter into a relationship with your Creator ‘ the one who created you out of love and desires for you to share with him all his glory. The Church believes that people desire God and only in God will they find the truth and happiness that we constantly seek. God is always pouring out his love for us and it’s up to us to turn to God. He will never stop loving you!

Knowing God takes all one’s heart, mind and soul. It also can take time. Knowing God is not one of having scientific proof that God exists, but by the seeking out of God one’s heart becomes more and more convinced that God exists. It requires patience and weeding out the distractions in your life. Often times we spend much of our lives with a complete lack of silence ‘ always having the radio or the TV on. Just take a moment to pause in silence and listen for God. He is there.

What about all the needless suffering?

A popular argument against God is that if he really loves us so much then why is there all the suffering and pain in the world. There are a few responses to that question. One is that there is pain and suffering in the world not due to God, but due to sin that humanity brought into the world.

It is humankind that has chosen to separate itself from God and therefore causing the pain and suffering that was not in the initial plan of Creation as outlined in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God made everything wonderful and perfect for us, but by the sin of Adam we now suffer.

Another response, and one that fits well into the first one, is that through pain and suffering we find God, we finally see the need to seek God and thereby form a closer relationship with him. Have you ever had an experience where you were really injured and you have a lot of free time while recovering you started to read the Bible more? Chances are you have not, but that is just one example of how suffering brings people closer to God.

Our lives can be filled with many distractions that take away our time from God and suffering and hardships in this world remind us that we cannot do it alone ‘ we need the love and grace of God which we seek and he freely gives. Jesus reminds us that even though we may be suffering now it is later that we will get our reward (Mt. 5:3-12). We should not be angry with God for suffering, but use it as a chance to seek him and develop a closer relationship with him.

Taken from aboutcatholics.com

Indulgences

An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment for sin in response to certain prayers or spiritual works. In common parlance an indulgence would reduce the time spent in purgatory if one should need to go there on one’s way to heaven. An indulgence does not take the place of a confession; confession and repentance of sin must have already taken place.

Just like when one goes to confession, God forgives the penitent (confessor) through the priest, it is God who remits the temporal punishment through the Church.

A person may gain an indulgence for themselves or apply it to one who has died who may be in purgatory. This is possible through the belief in the communion of saints.

Indulgences are rooted in the belief if the abundance of God’s forgiving love through Jesus. God’s love is endless and thus he would grant us remission of temporal punishment due to sin.

Kinds of Indulgences

A partial indulgence removes part of the temporal punishment due to sin. Some ways to gain a partial indulgence are by

• Praying the Magnificat or Hail, Holy Queen;
• Praying the Acts of Faith, Hope, and Love, and the Creed;
• Making the sign of the cross;
• Visiting the Blessed Sacrament; or
• Visiting a cemetery.

A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment due to sin. The conditions for a plenary indulgence are

• Receive the sacrament of Reconciliation;
• Receive Holy Communion; and
• Say a prayer for the Pope.

Some ways to gain a plenary indulgence are through

• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for at least one-half hour;
• Reading Scripture for at least one-half hour;
• Reciting the Way of the Cross; or
• Praying the rosary in a church or with a family group or religious community.

There may be other ways not listed here that the pope or a local bishop could authorize as a means to gain a partial or plenary indulgence.

The History of Indulgences

Indulgences have a controversial place in the history of the Catholic Church. The buying and selling of indulgences is what helped to launch the Reformation.

Indulgences began in about the ninth century A.D. as a means to substitute a set of tasks for a difficult to fulfill penance. For example, pray so many prayers instead of making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Travel was very difficult back in those days. This type of practice expanded to other penances and created a sort of Church currency by which people could exchange a difficult penance for a calculated number of prayers or alms.

During the Crusades under Pope Urban II (1088-1099) Christians who could not participate in the Crusades personally could do so vicariously by almsgiving. Those who personally took part received a plenary indulgence upon death.

In 1343 Pope Clement VI officially sanctioned the view that Christ had left the Church atreasury of satisfactions that Church officials could dispense (an indulgence) for the remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. One obtained an indulgence, usually granted by the Pope, by performing some good work, often a donation of money. Official doctrine always required internal repentance by the recipient, even if it was not the common practice.

Martin Luther objected to indulgences because the common practice of his day did not fit well with his view that good works could not remit temporal punishment due to sin. With the abuses of indulgences in his day, often the only thing that was officially preached by Church leaders was offering indulgences in exchange for making a donation to the church with no emphasis on Christ’s sacrifice and the forgiveness of sin which only comes from God. Luther did not seek to strike down indulgences altogether, but challenged the common practice at the time. The practice of trading indulgences for money wrongly de-emphasizes the need for interior conversion and repentance.

Pope Paul VI changed the norms around indulgences by seeking to eliminate the commercial aspect they had acquired over the centuries. Treasury of satisfactions was changed to a treasury of merits. Indulgences are now designed to spur Christians to spiritual tasks such as devotion, penance, and charity.

taken from aboutcatholics.com

The Suscipe

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.
You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.
Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace.
That is enough for me.

st ignatius of loyola

Good Friday

It is accomplished; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit."

Today the whole Church mourns the death of our Savior. This is traditionally a day of sadness, spent in fasting and prayer. The title for this day varies in different parts of the world: "Holy Friday" for Latin nations, Slavs and Hungarians call it "Great Friday," in Germany it is "Friday of Mourning," and in Norway, it is "Long Friday." Some view the term "Good Friday" (used in English and Dutch) as a corruption of the term "God's Friday." This is another obligatory day of fasting and abstinence. In Ireland, they practice the "black fast," which is to consume nothing but black tea and water.

Spy Wednesday

Wednesday is known as Spy Wednesday because on this day Judas made a bargain with the high priest to betray Jesus for 30 silver pieces (Matt 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:1-6). In Poland, the young people throw an effigy of Judas from the top of a church steeple. Then it is dragged through the village amidst hurling sticks and stones. What remains of the effigy is drowned in a nearby stream or pond.

This is also the day that Jesus was anointed with an expensive jar of alabaster by the woman at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-19).

Taken from http://www.catholicculture.org/

Common Catholic Prayers

Prayer, the lifting of the mind and heart to God, plays an essential role in the life of a devout Catholic. Without a life of prayer, we risk losing the life of grace in our souls, grace that comes to us first in baptism and later chiefly through the other sacraments and through prayer itself (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2565). Through prayer we enter into the presence of the Godhead dwelling in us. It is prayer which allows us to adore God, by acknowledging his almighty power; it is prayer that allows us to bring our thanks, our petitions, and our sorrow for sin before our Lord and God. 

While prayer is not a practice unique to Catholics, those prayers that are called "Catholic" are generally formulaic in nature. That is, the teaching Church sets before us how we ought to pray. Drawing from the words of Christ, the writings of Scripture and the saints, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, she supplies us with prayers grounded in Christian tradition. Further, our informal, spontaneous prayers, both vocal and meditative, are informed by and shaped by those prayers taught by the Church, prayers that are the wellspring for the prayer life of all Catholics. Without the Holy Spirit speaking through the Church and through her saints, we would not know how to pray as we ought (CCC, 2650). 

As the prayers themselves witness, the Church teaches us that we should pray not only directly to God, but also to those who are close to God, those who have the power to intercede upon our behalf. Indeed, we pray to the angels to help and watch over us; we pray to the saints in heaven to ask their intercession and assistance; we pray to the Blessed Mother to enlist her aid, to ask her to beg her Son to hear our prayers. Further, we pray not only on our own behalf, but also on the behalf of those souls in purgatory and of those brothers on earth who are in need. Prayer unites us to God; in doing so, we are united to the other members of the Mystical Body. 

This communal.aspect of prayer is reflected not only in the nature of Catholic prayers, but also in the very words of the prayers themselves. In reading many of the basic formulaic prayers, it will become apparent that, for the Catholic, prayer is often meant to be prayed in the company of others. Christ himself encouraged us to pray together: "For wherever two or more are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20). 

Keeping in mind the aforementioned characteristics of Catholic prayer will enable you to appreciate and to understand the prayers listed below. While this list is certainly not an exhaustive one, it will illustrate the different kinds of Catholic prayers that help to form the treasury of prayers in the Church. 

  

Fundamental Catholic Prayers

 

Sign of the Cross

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Glory Be

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. 

Prayers to Our Lady

 

The Rosary

The six fundamental prayers listed above are also part of the Catholic rosary, a devotion dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God. (CCC 971) The rosary consists of fifteen decades. Each decade focuses upon a particular mystery in the life of Christ and his Blessed Mother. It is customary to say five decades at a time, while meditating upon one set of mysteries.

Joyful Mysteries

I. The Annunciation 

II. The Visitation 

III. The Birth of our Lord 

IV. The Presentation of our Lord 

V. The Finding of our Lord in the Temple 

Sorrowful Mysteries

I. The Agony in the Garden 

II. The Scourging at the Pillar 

III. The Crowning with Thorns 

IV. The Carrying of the Cross 

V. The Crucifixion and Death of our Lord 

Glorious Mysteries

I. The Resurrection 

II. The Ascension 

III. The Descent of the Holy Spirit 

IV. The Assumption of our Blessed Mother into Heaven 

V. The Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth 

Hail Holy Queen

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thy intercession was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, we turn to thee, O Virgin of virgins, our Mother. To thee we come, before thee we stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, do not despise our petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer us. Amen. 

The Angelus

The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary. R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Hail Mary . . .) Behold the handmaid of the Lord. R. Be it done unto me according to thy word. (Hail Mary ...) And the Word was made flesh. R. And dwelt among us. (Hail Mary ...) Pray for us, O holy Mother of God. R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy grace into our hearts; that, we to whom the incarnation of Christ, thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by his passion and cross, be brought to the glory of his resurrection, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

  

Daily Prayers

 

Prayer Before Meals

Bless us O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayer to Our Guardian Angel

Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here, ever this day be at my side to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.

Morning Offering

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of your sacred heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all the apostles of prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

Evening prayer

O my God, at the end of this day I thank you most heartily for all the graces I have received from you. I am sorry that I have not made a better use of them. I am sorry for all the sins I have committed against you. Forgive me, O my God, and graciously protect me this night. Blessed Virgin Mary, my dear heavenly mother, take me under your protection. St. Joseph, my dear guardian angel, and all you saints of God, pray for me. Sweet Jesus, have pity on all poor sinners, and save them from hell. Have mercy on the suffering souls in purgatory. 

Generally, this evening prayer is followed by an act of contrition, which is usually said in conjunction with an examination of conscience. A daily examination of conscience consists of a brief recounting of our actions during the day. What sins did we commit? Where did we fail? In what areas of our lives can we strive to make virtuous progress? Having determined our failures and sins, we make an act of contrition.

Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend thee, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. 

  

Prayer after Mass

 

Anima Christi

Soul of Christ, make me holy. Body of Christ, save me. Blood of Christ, fill me with love. Water from Christ’s side, wash me. Passion of Christ, strengthen me. Good Jesus, hear me. Within your wounds, hide me. Never let me be parted from you. From the evil enemy, protect me. At the hour of my death, call me, and tell me to come to you that with your saints I may praise you through all eternity. Amen. 

  

Prayers to the Holy Spirit

 

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Breathe into me Holy Spirit, that all my thoughts may be holy. Move in me, Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Attract my heart, Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy. Strengthen me, Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy. Protect me, Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

Come, Holy Spirit

Come, O Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray

O God, who has taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that by the gift of the same Spirit we may be always truly wise and ever rejoice in his consolation, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

  

Prayers to the Angels and Saints

 

Prayer to Saint Joseph

O glorious Saint Joseph, you were chosen by God to be the foster father of Jesus, the most pure spouse of Mary, ever virgin, and the head of the Holy Family. You have been chosen by Christ’s vicar as the heavenly patron and protector of the Church founded by Christ. 

Protect the Holy Father, our sovereign pontiff, and all bishops and priests united with him. Be the protector of all who labor for souls amid the trials and tribulations of this life, and grant that all peoples of the world may follow Christ and the Church he founded. 

Dear St. Joseph, accept the offering I make to you. Be my father, protector, and guide in the way of salvation. Obtain for me purity of heart and a love for the spiritual life. After your example, let all my actions be directed to the greater glory of God, in union with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and your own paternal heart. Finally, pray for me that I may share in the peace and joy of your holy death. Amen.

Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all the other evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Taken From Catholic.com