RCIA Questions & Answers! !

Marriage - why is it important to marry in the Church?

If by Church you mean inside of a standing Catholic church it is because a wedding is solemn and sacramental event which should occur inside a church. Since the sacrament of matrimony is indeed a sacred thing, it must follow that the sacrament take place in a sacred place; inside of a Catholic church. As Catholics, we take this notion of a sacred space very seriously. That’s why being inside of a church feels different being anywhere else. An atmosphere of peace, reverence, and respect is important, which reflects God’s presence in the Church and thus in the marriage taking place. It is also where the most sacred sacrament of all resides, that is the Holy Eucharist. It is fitting then, for the marriage to take place where the Eucharist resides, to show that the couple intend for Christ to be the center and most important thing in their lives.

Being married in a church also makes a statement. It says that the couple takes this sacrament seriously. Since sacraments belong to the entire church—not just the bride and groom—they are normally celebrated in the place that the church gathers. This unites the couple with the universal church throughout the ages and puts the ceremony in the common gathering place where other sacred celebrations occur.

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If by Church you mean within the universal Catholic church and not, for example, getting married via Justice of the Peace, this is because a baptized Catholic who wishes to validly receive the sacrament of Matrimony must abide by the teachings and guidelines of the church, since it is through the sacraments that grace is transmitted to the faithful. Also as baptized Catholics we profess our faith in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. By this profession, we also lovingly accept all of the teachings and guidelines set by the church for us to receive the sacraments. Also, as Catholics, we adhere to the Holy Mass by devoutly attending it on holy days of obligation, so by getting married the couple is doing it within the celebration of the Mass and the Catholic church is the only institution that offers marriage to be a part of Mass, where the couple can receive not only the sacrament of the matrimony but also the Eucharist.

Are there nunnery sweatshops that make the Eucharist?

There are no nunnery sweatshops, since a sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for a harsh working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous, something the church would not allow.

But, in fact nuns who reside in a convent do make the hosts that are used for consecration at Mass and turned into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. They do this as a way to support their communities that they are a part of.

There’s no specific convents that are solely dedicated to making the hosts. It’s usually done by an order of nuns who have the same duties and responsibilities as any other convent around the world. They make the hosts similarly to how one makes bread, they simply mix flour and water, bake it, and when it’s soft enough they just punch out the hosts with some kind of machine. Once they are made they can be directly distributed to the churches or sold in religious stores as well.

Why can’t women become deacons or priests?

While there are many reasons that women cannot be ordained into the the deaconate or priesthood, first it should be noted that Jesus did not choose any women to be apostles. The 13 chosen apostles (the 12 including Judas, then his replacement after Judas committed suicide) were all men.

Judaism also does not use female priests. Remember that everything in the Old Testament of scripture points to the coming of Christ. The lines of priests in the Old Testament were all males.

The priesthood represents Jesus Christ. The Old Testament points to the male Jesus, Jesus Himself became a human male, and today’s priests from St. Peter on, all reflect the priesthood of Christ who is a man. The question why women can't be ordained priests is often confused with the issue of equality. The Holy Father has made it clear that men and women (as far as their sex is concerned) are equal before God. But equality isn't identity. Men and women have different though complementary functions. Priesthood is a male function, for the reason that a priest is an icon of Christ, and Christ is male. The maleness of Christ is an important sign of His relationship to the Church, His Bride. As in nearly all cultures a man takes the initiative in winning a wife, so Christ took the initiative in winning souls and establishing His Church. For this reason, marriage is a “mystery” or sacrament of the Church.

Just like how males and females are physically different from one another, this does not make us unequal. It just makes us different. The role of a woman is to be able to bear and give birth to children. This role cannot be fulfilled with males.

Since men and women have physical differences, so too do we have spiritual differences that we cannot see. St. Paul develops this theme in his parallel between a local church and the family. A "bishop" (or "overseer," which applied to both bishops and priests in NT times) is expected to keep his own family in order, "for if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church?" (1 Tim 3:5) Male headship in the family is an axiom of both Scripture and Tradition, and if the Church is the Household of God, and Christ is Head of the Church, then His headship in the Church can be represented only by men.

However, lest it seem that God has honored men above women, we should recall that of all created beings, including the hierarchy of Angels, God raised a Woman to the highest place, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Though she was not an Apostle, she was made Queen of the Apostles, Queen of Angels, Queen of the universe, and the Mother of her own Creator.

So with all this being said, Blessed Pope John Paul II declared “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful.”

So even if one day everyone wanted to have women as priests, this cannot happen because the church does not have the authority to ordain women.

Why are Ouija boards bad, but praying or talking to the dead is not?

First of all, what is the purpose of a Ouija board, and what is the purpose of talking and praying to the Saints in heaven? The purpose of a ouija board is divination. Divination is the act of seeking hidden knowledge or information from sources outside of the material world and the normative means that God gave us to obtain knowledge, not divinely revealed. These sources of knowledge include angels, demons, and deceased humans. So divination differs from prayer because it goes outside of the natural ways God reveals His will to us. It seeks to circumvent the right ways that God gives us to obtain knowledge.

Divination has been around for a long time, since ancient times, but the prevalent forms today include the Ouijia board, palm reading, tarot cards, fortune telling, psychic hotlines, witchcraft, astrology, and horoscopes. Each of these things seek to acquire information about the future, knowledge beyond a person’s natural abilities, or power outside of God’s providence.

God has already revealed everything we need to know about our present and our future through Divine Revelation and the Church; anything else He wants to tell us comes to us via prayer and spiritual discernment. In other words, God has already established safe channels for us to pursue when we seek answers to life's questions. Divination, even if done in ignorance or for fun, is a way of stepping outside God's plan for us. If this is done deliberately, with full knowledge and consent of the will, then the offender is guilty of grave sin.

the Catechism of the Catholic Church states the matter well: "All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to 'unveil' the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect and loving fear that we owe to God alone" (CCC 2116). People show a profound lack of trust in God by turning to the occult for answers to their most basic needs and deepest desires. This is precisely why divination is sinful. Using ouija boards and other forms of divination opens up the door to the evil spirits who have every motive to answering to our desires, because by doing this, we become separated and less dependent on God and His holy will, and and instead are tempted to turn to spirits to give us what we want that God would withhold for good reasons.

In today’s society with the advent of the ouija board, we have the testimony of the Church’s exorcists. Their experience shows that Ouija boards are far from harmless. Some investigating supernatural phenomena from a Catholic perspective have gone so far as to say that 90 percent of their very worst cases involving demonic activity have been linked to the use of the Ouija board.

Now, why do we pray to the saints in Heaven - what is the purpose of this? The purpose of this to to ask for their intercession and for them to pray for us to do God’s will. We communicate to the dead, or are actually alive in Christ and more alive than us, in order to recognize the communion of saints and ask them to pray for us and ask for their help. There is nothing wrong with asking God and the angels and saints for material things. We can even ask them for knowledge of things, however we do this always keeping this in mind; “Thy will be done.” We always pray to God in faith but always do so in accordance with His will. If it is His will for us not to know something we seek, then we must accept it because God does this for a very good reason.

If someone finds out you are religious and they call you a “fool” for believing, what would you say?

There are a number of things you could say or do when faced with this situation. For one, this presents the faithful with an opportunity to be a witness to our Catholic faith and make a defense for it. We could use this opportunity to possibly ask the person why they think we are fools for being Catholic Christians, and then charitably answer them as to why we believe what we believe. This could lead to a conversation about Catholicism and why it is true, giving us the opportunity to continue to witness to our faith.

But in the end, it should not matter what other people think about us because we already know that the Catholic Church is the fullness of truth.

What if someone isn’t baptized, and you’re a very good Christian person, and a good person in general. Do you still get into Heaven?

Let’s look first at the Baptism and its purpose. Being one of the 7 sacraments of the church, baptism is necessary for our salvation. The church teaches that one cannot enter Heaven unless he or she is baptized. And the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The Lord himself affirms that baptism is necessary for salvation [John 3:5]. . . . Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament [Mark 16:16]" (CCC 1257).

That being said, if someone isn’t baptized because their parents didn’t have them baptized as children and this person wanted to convert to Christianity, he or she would have to be baptized using the form of the prayer along with water. If this person should die before receiving the sacrament, the church teaches that there are other forms of baptism such as the baptism of desire, where one can be baptized by simply desiring to have been baptized into the church. There is also baptism by blood where if a person who is not baptized dies for the faith (i.e. they die a martyr) then the church trusts that this person is baptized by their martyrdom.

Thus the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, are saved even if they have not been baptized" (CCC 1281; the salvation of unbaptized infants is also possible under this system; cf. CCC 1260–1, 1283).

We should also look at part of the question that mentions if someone is a “very good person” and a good Christian.

Does a good person go to heaven? What does it means when we say a “good person?” This could mean someone who holds the door open for an elderly woman, someone who saves a person from a burning building, etc. But does this constitute as being a good person? Sometimes we might think that “as long as you’re not a Hitler and don’t kill people and try to be a decent person, then you’re good.” Let’s look at Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

Getting into Heaven isn’t done by simply doing a bunch of things, and not a lot of bad things. God created us good. In Genesis chapter 1 is says that “God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good.” This includes humanity. So even those who end up in Hell were created good. So it’s not the doing good that gets into Heaven, it’s - did we do the will of God? Did we keep His commandments and obey His will? For example, we can go through life holding open a lot of doors for people, but then deliberately miss Mass and die without being sorry for that.

The bottom line, though, is that we simply do not know where people end up when they die unless it is revealed to us by God, such as when people are declared Saints by the church. So if we do know someone who died without baptism, we leave them up to the mercy of God, which is endless. But we must keep in mind that baptism is absolutely necessary for our salvation and cannot get into Heaven without it.

If someone dies suddenly without being anointed before their death, do they get excused or pardoned in some way to guarantee their should will be in Heaven?

The church teaches that in order to get into Heaven we must a) be baptized, and b) be in a state of grace at the moment of our death (have no mortal sins on your soul). The only sacrament technically needed for our salvation is Baptism. Not all sacraments are necessary or are even attainable to some people; for example a married man who dies while still married is never able to receive Holy Orders and be ordained. While the anointing of the sick is good and offers many graces, again it’s not absolutely necessary for our salvation. Let’s say a baptized Catholic went to Confession last month, falls sick and is in danger of death, then suddenly dies before he can receive the anointing of the sick, he is in all likelihood in a state of grace and since he’s baptized he would be able to go to Heaven.

But of course, there’s the other side where a baptized person who suddenly falls sick, or dies suddenly from a physical ailment like a heart attack or by an accident like a car accident, there’s the possibility that while baptized, he might have unconfessed mortal sins on his soul, which, when he dies, would cause him to be eternally separated from God in the state of being we know as Hell.

The Church of course always teaches us to cleave to God’s mercy realizing that God is not bound by space and time, and therefore can use the very last seconds of a person’s life to offer them a choice in some way possibly known only to God. But there is no way to know this for certain. Our salvation is not guaranteed because we have a free will. Meaning that a person can “do good” his or her whole life then choose against God by committing some grave sin at the very end, to which all that good doesn’t matter.

It’s also important to point out that a person who dies in the state of grace but has unrepentant venial sins, or has penance due to those sins not completely on earth, this soul must undergo the state of being we know as Purgatory, where that person is indeed guaranteed Heaven, but not before undergoing suffering in order to make restitution to the Divine Justice.

How do Saints become Saints?

So in other words, how does a person like you or me go about becoming a saint who is now in Heaven? The answer to this is very simple. We must will it. The first thing necessary to sainthood is to desire it with every fiber of our being. What will follow is that we will strive to live holy lives by doing the will of God and turning away from sin. Something that is attainable for all of us.

What is NOT required to become a saint is for us to do extraordinary things and undergo terrible sufferings and die a martyr’s death. Not everybody is called to do this.

Perhaps one of the best saints to model our lives after is St. Therese of Lisieux, or St. Therese The Little Flower. She was known for her simplicity and practicality of her approach to the spiritual life. She did not do great things, or perform heroic acts, but rather made many small sacrifices throughout her life and offered to God everything that came her way no matter how small. This is is something that we can all very easily do. Offer everything that comes our way to God and make many small sacrifices; this way we can become saints.

What does the church teach about replacement theology? (The idea that in some scriptures you replace any replacement to Israel with “church”)

From: http://www.catholicsforisrael.com/content/view/102/25/lang,de/

What is Replacement Theology?!

Replacement theology (or supersessionism) is the idea that the Christian Church has "replaced" Israel (or the Jewish people) in God's plan of salvation as His chosen people. In its simplest expression, replacement theology could be expressed as follows:

The Jews have rejected Christ; therefore God has rejected the Jews and the Church is now the 'New Israel.’

Thus the main tenets of replacement theology are:

The Jews were formerly God's chosen people at the time of the Old Testament until the coming of Christ, but because they did not accept Jesus as Messiah of Israel, God then rejected them and formed a new people instead of them - the Church.

Jews, therefore, are no longer the chosen people, and God has no future plan or calling for the nation of Israel. The only role left for the Jewish people is to convert to Christianity and be incorporated into the Church. The promises, covenants and blessings ascribed to Israel in the Bible have been taken away from the Jews and given to the Church, which has superseded them. However, the Jews are still subject to the curses found in the Bible, as a result of their rejection of Christ. Consequently, the prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are "spiritualized" or "allegorized" into promises of God's blessing for the Church.

The Problem with Replacement Theology!

If God rejected Israel as His chosen people it would constitute a real failure on His part. It would mean that He chose a people to be his witness to the world, but in the end He was unable to get them to accomplish his purposes. God married Israel, but she proved to be such a problematic bride that she stretched her divine husband's patience beyond the breaking point until He could not stand her any more and divorced her, thus violating His own promise to betroth her forever.

A major practical problem with replacement theology is the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been rejected and condemned by God, and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the remarkable survival of the Jewish people over the past 2000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them?

What do the New Testament and the Catholic Church say about Replacement Theology?

The Covenant with Israel is indeed fulfilled in the New Covenant, but this does not mean that the former is abolished or dissolved. The Church is indeed the "New Israel" (LG 9), but this does not imply that Israel "in the flesh" has been dispossessed of their divine election and promises. The New Testament never claims that Israel's special role should come to an end after the coming of Christ. On the contrary, it affirms the permanent validity of their covenant with God. Neither do we find a confusion of identity between Israel and the Church in the New Testament; the two remain distinct although closely related. There are 77 references to Israel in the NT and none of them refer to the Church. Try replacing the words "the Church," where Israel is mentioned and the passage is rendered unreadable and incomprehensible, e.g., Rom. 10:1, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they might be saved." If you put "the Church" where Israel is mentioned, then it is redundant. The Church is the body of saved believers, so how could Paul's prayer be for the Church to be saved? In conclusion, replacement theology or supersessionism is a theological error that has no foundation in the New Testament or teachings of the Church. Even though this error became widespread and was taught by many influential Christians beginning with the Church Fathers, it was never an official doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Explain the main difference between Jewish and Catholic

Judaism is the Old Testament religion that Jesus followed. It contained the old covenant and laws that God established with His people. When Christ came, he fulfilled the old Jewish law and established Christianity. Unfortunately, many people during the time of Jesus who were Jewish did not recognize Jesus’ role as Messiah and so did not accept Christianity, the completed form of Judaism. Instead, they stayed with a partial, incomplete form of Judaism. Other Jews (the apostles and their followers) did recognize that Jesus was the Messiah and embraced the new, completed form of Judaism, which is Catholicism.

What does the church teach in regards to the gospel of the kingdom (that Jesus and the original apostles preached) and the Pauline Gospel of salvation (Christ’s death, burial and resurrection)? Does the church recognize both? If so, how do they compare them?

If you are referring to the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God”, the church does recognize this because it was proclaimed by Jesus and the Apostles as well as John the Baptist. The Proclamation of the Kingdom is also recognized as a mystery of the Rosary in the Luminous Mysteries.

Regarding the Pauline Gospel; the church recognizes the teachings regarding Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, but if you are referring to Paul’s epistles to the Laodiceans and to the Alexandrians, then this is a non-canonical book along with many other “gospels” and non-canonical books. While some of the teachings in these epistles are legitimate and true, there are others that may not be quite accurate, hence their exclusion from the canon. The teachings of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, however are found in the 4 Gospels of scripture.

What are the ways and symbolism of how we do the sign of the cross?

There are about 5 known different styles to make the sign of the cross:

The first is with your right hand, touch the thumb and ring finger together, and hold your index finger and middle finger together to signify the two natures of Christ, while making the sign of the cross.

The second is to hold your thumb and index finger of your right hand together to also signify the two natures of Christ.

The third is to hold your thumb, index finger, middle finger of your right hand together to signify the Trinity, while tucking the ring finger and pinky finger toward your palm to signify the two natures of Christ.

The fourth is to hold your right hand open with all five fingers together and very slightly curved, and the thumb slightly tucked into the palm to signify the 5 wounds of Christ.

The fifth is a common New Mexico practice in which the thumb and index finger are pressed together to form a cross while also making the sign of the cross.

Who came up with the word “pew” and “tabernacle”?

Definition of “pew” from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary:!

A seat for worshippers in a church. Pews are an early medieval innovation in the West, where they gradually developed from stone seats attached to the walls or to the piers of the nave. Many churches had elaborately carved pews, at the ends and on the back, with figures of saints and symbols of the Passion of Christ. (Origin: Middle French “puie” = prop, raised seat, balcony.) The assembly area!

Entering the church proper, the nave ( from the Latin word for "boat"), we find ourselves in a large room. The nave is usually filled with benches, or pews. Catholics expect to find pews in a church and are surprised when they enter one of the older churches of Europe and find no pews or fixed seating! The absence of pews in older churches is a reminder to us that the principal posture for Christian worship is standing. We stand in the presence of one we wish to honor and to serve—just as the priest stands at the altar during Mass. Standing is a mark of reverence and readiness. Pews and fixed seating entered the church at about the same time western culture discovered the printing press; people in church began to "line up" like lines on a printed page to hear the word of God read to them from a printed book. At the time of the Reformation, pews enabled the congregation to sit and listen to the sermon, which often lasted several hours.

Fixed pews reinforced the image of the congregation as "listeners," like the audience in an auditorium (audire, Latin, "to listen"). Recent liturgical renewal suggests that we are present as "doers," actively engaged in the liturgical action, and not merely "listeners." Definition of Tabernacle:

often Tabernacle The portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant through the desert.

often Tabernacle A case or box on a church altar containing the consecrated host and wine of the Eucharist.

A place of worship.

A niche for a statue or relic.

Nautical A boxlike support in which the heel of a mast is stepped.

[Origins: Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin tabernāculum, from Latin, tent, diminutive of taberna, hut; seetavern.]

Tabernacle!

The climax of a tour of a Catholic church would have been the tabernacle (tabernaculum, Latin for "tent"), the "little house" in which the Blessed Sacrament was kept. The little golden door on the high altar with a red lamp burning before it was the sure sign that I was in a Catholic church.

A lamp, often a red votive candle or sanctuary lamp burning before the tabernacle, has traditionally served Catholics as the sign that the consecrated bread is present there. Other candles will be found in both devotional areas and the assembly area of the church. Once they were~ primarily used to give light for reading the Scriptures and celebrating the sacred action. Even in our age of electrical lighting, the symbolic function of the candles remain—the beautiful quality of candlelight—the candle consumes itself in service of the sacred mysteries. Sometimes Catholics will light a votive candle in front of a statue or shrine as a reminder that their prayers continue even after they leave the church.

What kind of wine do they serve at mass?

It is a definitive doctrine of the Catholic Church that only pure and natural grape wine can be employed as valid matter for transubstantiation into the blood of Christ. The 1983 Code of Canon Lawdeclares: "The most holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist must be celebrated . . . in wine to which a small quantity of water is to be added. . . . The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt" (CIC 924). Moreover, the Catechism of the Catholic Church asserts that one of the "essential signs of the eucharistic sacrament" is "grape wine" (CCC 1412). First, for a Mass to be valid, a consecration of wine into Christ’s blood must occur. This is because on Calvary (which the Mass mystically re-enacts in an unbloody manner) his blood was separated from his body, as recorded in John 19:31-37, especially verse 34 (see also 1 Jn 5:6).

Well, then, if the blood of Christ must be confected for a valid Mass, can’t an exception be made for the kind of liquid used? No. The categorical statements of both the Code of Canon Law and theCatechism of the Catholic Church prohibit the use of any altar drink other than grape wine at the consecration of the Mass.

What is the immaculate conception?

The dogma proclaimed in Christian tradition and defined in 1854, that from the first moment of her conception, Mary (by the singular grace of God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ) was preserved immune from original sin (CCC 491). what is the difference between Our Lady of Guadalupe and Virgin Mary?

Our Lady of Guadalupe is when the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill (the outskirts of what is now Mexico City). The Virgin Mary asked Juan Diego to go to the Bishop and request in her name that a shrine be built at Tepeyac, where she promised to pour out her grace upon those who invoked her.

The Bishop did not believe Juan Diego and asked for a sign to prove that the apparition was true. On December 12, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac and here the Blessed Mother told him to climb a hill and to pick the flowers that he would find in bloom (although it was winter time, he found roses flowering). He gathered the flowers and took them to the Blessed Mother who carefully placed them in his mantle (or tilma) and told him to take them to the Bishop as proof. When Juan Diego opened his mantle for the Bishop the flowers fell on the ground and there remained impressed, in place of the flowers, an image of the Blessed Mother, on the mantle.

The commemoration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated on December 12.

How young can you become ordained a priest?

Formation for the priesthood takes between 4-8 years, depending on age and educational background. The priest spends about the same amount of time in studies as a lawyer or doctor so that would include 4 years of undergraduate studies in philosophy and 4 years of graduate studies in theology. Formation includes more than just academics, in order to allow his heart to be formed like that of Christ’s, a man intellectually, spiritually, pastorally and humanly. A man who enters seminary right after high school graduation would expect to spend 8 years in formation. A man who has already graduated from college will spend between 4-6 years in formation. Each case should be discussed individually with the Director of Vocations.

What is the church’s view on dispensationalism? Not so much as far as the differences we have with the “rapture” but more generally?

The Church does not endorse pre-millennialism (dispensationalism). The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism." Indeed, the Nicene Creed, which is said at every Sunday Mass, appears to reject pre-millennialism, holding that Christ will return "to judge the living and the dead," not to reign on earth for a thousand years and then judge the living and the dead. Since the Church is not pre-millennial, the question of a pre-trib Rapture does not arise, as pre-tribulationism is a variant of pre-millennialism.

Though it does not use the term rapture, the Church does acknowledge that there will be an event where the elect are gathered to be with Christ. Scripture clearly declares it:

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16–17) Recommended online reading: http://www.catholic.com/documents/false-profit-money-prejudice-and- bad-theology-in-tim-lahaye%E2%80%99s-left-behind-series!

I wonder how it is like to get your sacraments for the first time?

Receiving your sacraments for the first time is definitely a very personal experience shared between you and God and the preparation period of learning the faith and time spent in prayer reflects in the meaningful experience you will feel.

Who started the RCIA?

The RCIA is a program of the Catholic Church oriented towards those who are searching and inquiring about the Catholic way of life and aiding in the process of initiation of these adults to being received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Since the days of the Apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages, which could be a rapid or slow process depending on the individual. The second Vatican council restored in the Latin church the distinct steps in the RCIA process.

Will anything change in the RCIA later on?

The Rite of Christian Initiation is not written in solid rock and was created for the benefit of the inquirers. It can be amended as needed in cases of emergencies. For example, a dying person may not be able to wait until Easter Vigil to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. As such, the Christian initiation may take place at the person's death bed, either at home or in the hospital.

The future and success of the RCIA Committees depends on the active involvement of the faithful. For the grace of God to work according to the Divine Plan, it must be manifested through human beings who are ready to become instruments of light for others.

What do you need to become an RCIA team member (any requirements)?

The members of the RCIA team should shine in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, namely in "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control. [Gal. 5:22-3] Other desirable qualities that the members should possess consist of being practicing Catholics, always striving to grow and mature in their faith, being team oriented, being loyal to the teachings of the Church, being humble, respectful, prayerful and knowledgeable.

The members of the team are called to evangelize in response to the great commission of Jesus to all the faithful. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." [Mt. 28:19-20]. To evangelize as a Catholic means more than witnessing to others! It means to be a living "example" by "sharing" and "witnessing" to others regarding one's faith in Jesus; and most importantly team members must be practicing Catholics.

Where did all the other religions come from if Catholic means ‘world wide’?

For the first thousand years of Christian history there were no ‘denominations’ within the Christian Church as there are today.

Various offshoot groups existed but they were considered ‘heresies’ and not part of the Christian church and were small and not influential.

From the beginnings of Christianity through the middle ages there was only one Catholic, universal Church.

The first division within Christendom came in 1054 with the ‘Great Schism’ between the Western Church and Eastern (Orthodox) Church that became the Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east.

The next major division occurred in the sixteenth century with the Protestant Reformation sparked by Martin Luther in his 1517 thesis, but “Protestantism” as a movement officially began in 1529 with the publication of the “Protestation” directed at the imperial government. The authors wanted the freedom to choose the faith of their territory. Thus the emphasis was on individual interpretation of scripture and a measure of religious freedom and marked the beginning of ‘denominationalism’ as we know it today. Those who remained in the Catholic Church argued that central regulation of doctrine (the Magesterium) is necessary to prevent confusion and division within the Church and corruption of its beliefs.

Those who broke from the Church demanded that believers be allowed to read the Scriptures for themselves and act in accordance with their conscience.

From there the Reformation developed and spread throughout Europe with the Calvinsits in Switzerland, Presbyterianism in Scotland, Switzerland was also the birthplace of Mennonites, Quakers and Baptists. Anglicanism was established by King Henry VII and became Episcopalianism in American. Methodism also has its roots in Anglicanism, to name just a few.

What do bunnies and easter eggs have to do with Easter?

Spring is the season of rebirth and renewal. Plants return to life and many animals mate and procreate. Many pagan cultures held spring festivals to celebrate this renewal of life and promote fertility. One of these festivals, “Eostre” or “Eastre” the goddess of dawn, spring and fertility came from the pagans in Northern Europe. It was closely linked to the hare and eggs as symbols of fertility and new life. As Christianity spread, this blending was going on in many cultures as the pagans brought the hare and eggs images to their new Christian Faith. These celebrations also coincided with the Church’s celebration of the Resurrection.

Also, in many places people did not eat eggs during lent like we abstain from meat and so by the end of lent the abundance of eggs gave way to a sort of ‘egg eating party’ and were also decorated.

What does the money given at Mass go to and do churches have to pay PNM and mortgages or is that a taxpayer contribution?

The main collection or first collection goes to the operation and maintenance of the Parish, including paying the utilities necessary for the daily operation of the church building and parish offices.

If a parish has a mortgage, the money comes from the collection also. Many churches were build using up front collections from the congregation.

If there is a second collection, it is usually announced where the money goes and what it is used for, ie. St Vincent de Paul (for the poor), Catholic missionaries, or other Catholic relief services. No taxpayer money is used for operation of a parish.

If you had a homosexual friend and they wanted to get married to their partner, would you go to their wedding or not? If yes or no, why or why not?

Marriage is the union of a man and a woman oriented towards the procreation of life and a homosexual wedding is not a marriage and is contrary to everything the Catholic faith teaches about marriage and sexuality.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that we must treat all people with dignity and respect, however our respect and pastoral care for others does not mean that we are free to endorse or ignore immoral or destructive behavior. St Paul tells us in Eph4:15, that “we are to spread the truth in love”

To witness a same sex wedding ceremony would be to give tacit approval for something false and disingenuous and could scandalize others, especially young people.

If invited to a gay wedding, it is our conviction that as a believer in Jesus Christ would respectfully decline.

Why are priests referred to as Reverends?

The title “Reverend’ indicates that the person, priest or deacon, holds a position for which reverence is to be shown (as he has chosen to devote his full time to ministry in serving God).

It is the office that is revered and not necessarily anything intrinsic to the person. Can someone ever be kicked out of Church or a confessional?

If a person is disruptive or worse in a Church, say at Mass, it is the ushers duty to escort the person out of the church.A person cannot be ousted form a confessional by merely confessing their sins no matter the gravity of the sin. Again, if a person is disruptive or dangerous, then yes.

Would like to learn more about the symbols and meanings of all the symbols of the Church, ie. Symbol in art, santos, sacred heart.

The symbols of the Church, in art, Santos, Icons, relics, Sacred Heart, statues, water, oils, etc. are called Sacramentals. There are many books that teach about Sacramentals that can be found at any Catholic book store. Also, one of the classes in the RCIA is about Sacramentals.

Can a woman have kids and then be ordained as a nun?

The Church can permit a woman who has had children to become a nun as a widow or divorced through no fault of her own or if the marriage is annulled An example is St Elizabeth Bayley Seton who founded a religious order. Nuns are not ordained.

Why do popes choose another name?

Popes do not have to change their name but most do. It recognizes that our Lord changed Simon’s name to Peter when he named him the first leader of His Church, Mt16:18 “and so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Chruch” It can refer to their new ‘office’. Also, popes change their name to a saint that they honor.Pope Francis chose his regnal name (or reign name) because of St Francis’ of Assisi’s great love for the poor. Pope Benedict XVI chose the name to honor two of his favorite figures in Church history. St Benedict of Nursea who wrote “The Rule” which became the foundation for western monasticism and Pope Benedict XV who lead the Church during WWI and directed the preparation of a new Code of Canon Law.