Questions on the Catholic Faith

QUESTIONS ON THE
CATHOLIC FAITH
Saturday, July 7, 12

KEITH ALLEN’S QUESTION:
BAKIT KAILANGAN NG CATECHISM?

To evangelize like the apostles. Catechists are “lay
apostles”

Working with priests to spread our faith in God.

Evangelization means to tell people the “Good News”
that Jesus has come to save mankind from sin and
death.

Catechism is missionary work.


CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES

Christians who so love God that they go to distant
places away from their family and all they know to
teach pagans/non-believers or people of different
religions about God.

Martyred missionaries - die for their faith in and love
for Jesus (unwelcome in many places)

Martyr - from the Greek word “martys” meaning
“witness”


The 70 Disciples
Early Missionaries

In the Gospel of Luke
10: 1-24, Jesus sent 70
of his disciples, early
followers of Jesus, to
different places to
preach the Gospel.


THE MARTYR AND THE MISSIONARY
SAINT STEPHEN AND SAINT PAUL


SAINT STEPHEN

First disciple of Jesus to be martyred for his faith.

Was classmates with Saul (later St. Paul)

Was a Christian among Christians, and full of the
fruits of the Holy Spirit - humility, gentleness, purity,
kindness, charity - that many admired him

Head of 7 disciples named by the Apostles as deacons
to do works of charity and spread the Gospel.


SAINT STEPHEN

The perfect minister of charity and the Gospel.

He knew divine scripture by heart.

Fearless in his service of God in the face of adversity.

Was a great speaker and defended Jesus in the Jerusalem
tribunal. Criticized the chief priests for their hard-
hearted resistance to the Holy Spirit and for putting to
death Jesus, the Messiah all Jews had been waiting for.

Was stoned to death.


Stoned to death for
his beliefs.

Question:

Doesn’t this sound
familiar? Hindi ba’t
pinagtatawan at
kinukutya ang
maraming
Kristiyano ngayon?


STEPHEN PRAYED FOR SAUL
Stephen prayed for Saul and all who persecuted him
and Christians.

Stephen’s brave sacriﬁce converted many to
Christianity. People marveled at the unwavering
devotion of Stephen to Jesus and began to believe.

Saul persecuted Christians - “...entering house after house
and dragging out men and women, he handed them over for
imprisonment. Acts 8:3b

It is believed that St. Stephen’s prayer for Saul led to
his conversion.

On the road to Damascus to persecute Christians... The Lord said,
“Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5b)

CONVERSION OF SAUL
CREATION OF A MISSIONARY

On the road to Damascus to arrest Christians, Saul had
an experience that converted him from Judaism to
Christianity.

Realized he had been blind to the truth and resolved to
work tirelessly to bring people to God. “...present everyone
perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the
exercise of his power working within me” (Colossians 1:28b-29).
“For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but also in
power and in the Holy Spirit and [with] much conviction” (1
Thessalonians 1:5a).


CATECHISM IS WITNESSING
So why do we need Catechism?

To learn and experience the truth that God loves us so
much that He sent His Son to save us from sin and the
results of sin (death)

To realize the value of this gift of ETERNAL LIFE with
our Father in heaven, and to cherish it, to nourish it.

To turn away from all that separate us from God.

And ﬁnally, to become “catechists” to others, to spread
our faith, by telling others of the love of God.


JENNIE LYN BATAS’ QUESTION:
BAKIT NATIN KINO-CONSIDER NA BIRHEN SI MARY
GAYONG NAGKAROON NG MARAMING KAPATID SI JESUS.
MAY MGA KAPATID NGA BA SI JESUS.

In the Annunciation, Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary
and said “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are
you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” The
Angel told Mary that she was to give birth to the Son
of God.

Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do
not know a man?”And the angel answered and said to
her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the
Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is
to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:34-35)


Annunciation


VIRIGINITY OF MARY, CONT’D

Many Protestants deny Mary’s perpetual virginity
because some text in the Bible refer to the “brethren of
Jesus”

2nd century document “Protoevangelicum of James” tells
of Mary being virgin before, during, and after Jesus’ birth

States that St. Ann, Mary’s mother, had promised
Mary as a “virgin for the Lord” to work in the
temple. (vow of chastity)

Joseph as guardian of Mary’s vow of virginity, a
widower and much older than Mary, had children
from a previous marriage.

VIRIGINITY OF MARY, CONT’D

Before Jesus died, He entrusted His mother to John
"Woman, behold your son!" and to his disciple "Behold, thy
mother!" in John 19:26-27. If Mary had other children,
Jesus would have entrusted Her to them and not to His
disciple, John.

Brethren - “Brother” in Hebrew meant any male
relative that a person did not descend from. (eg. the
husband of your true aunt). If a person is directly
descended from a man, regardless of the number of
generations, the person is said to be a “Father”; No
word for “cousin”.


JENNY ROSE CORNEJO AND RAVEN’S QUESTION:
BAKIT KAILANGANG MAGSIMBA TUWING LINGGO?

One of the 10 Commandments “Thou shall keep holy
the day of the Lord.”
"Where two or three come together in my name, there am I in
their midst" (Mt. 18:20)

Jesus Himself instituted the Holy Eucharist during the
Last Supper before His passion and death by
cruciﬁxion. Jesus asked that we receive His Body and
Blood (through the Eucharist) “Take this all of you and eat it.
This is My Body which will be given up for you.” “Drink this Blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for
you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in
memory of Me.”


Jesus instituted the Eucharist
during the last supper and
asked us to remember Him
in the Eucharist.

Today we remember
Jesus sacriﬁce in the
Holy Mass.


BAKIT KAILANGANG MAGSIMBA TUWING LINGGO?

We receive the grace of God when we receive Holy
Communion. We are strengthened as we afﬁrm Jesus
as our Lord and God by accepting Him in the
Eucharist.
We go to Mass on Sundays to obey Jesus, to remember
Him, and to be together as the family of God.


CARMELA MONTECINO’S QUESTION:
WHAT ARE THE PARTS OF THE MASS AND WHY ARE THEY
IMPORTANT?

2 Major Parts: Liturgy of the Word and Liturgy of the Eucharist

Gathering: Gathering in Church, the assembling, is to bring us together
into one united body, ready to participate by giving of ourselves, by
breaking bread together.

Greeting: The celebrant will ask us to join him in making the Sign of the
Cross. He will intone: "The Lord be with you," to which the
congregation replies: "And also with you." Then the priest may very
brieﬂy introduce the faithful to the Mass of the day.

Penitential Rite - consisting of the "Conﬁteor" (I confess). penitential
words included in it. It is a prayer giving faithful praise to the Lord and
imploring his mercy.


PARTS OF THE MASS

Gloria - The "Gloria" is an ancient hymn in which the Church,
assembled in the Holy Spirit, praises the Father and the Son.

Opening Prayer

Liturgy of the Word - Readings, Responsorial Psalm, Gospel, Homily
(catechism on the readings)

Prayers of the Faithful - petitions, things that we are asking from
God

Profession of Faith - “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will
come again.)


PARTS OF THE MASS

Liturgy of the Eucharist

Preparation of Gifts

Thanksgiving

Acclamation (Santo, Santo, Santo)

Consecration - when the bread and wine are miraculously
turned into the body and blood of Christ. (“My Lord and My
God”

Offering - offering the sacriﬁce of the Mass to God, offering
ourselves to God as well.


PARTS OF THE MASS
Intercessions - Acknowledging that the Mass is being offered in
communion with all its members living or dead, who are called to
share in God’s salvation.

Communion Rite

Lord’s Prayer - “Ama Namin”

Rite of Peace - Peace be with you

Lord, I’m not worthy to receive you....

Communion - we receive the body and blood fo crhsis.

Concluding Rite


JENNY ROSE CORNEJO’S QUESTION:
ANO ANG KAILANGANG GAWIN PARA MAGING TUNAY NA
KRISTIYANO?

Judaism had so many laws that confused many people.

When Jesus was asked what the most important
commandment was, Jesus answered him, “The ﬁrst of all
the commandments is, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one
Lord” (One and Only God) Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength.'

“The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS
YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater
than these."


GRACHEL LO, MADEL MALLARI, RODERICK PANGANIBAN,
RIEZEL SAMERA ’S QUESTION:
BAKIT KAILAN NG PAULIT-ULIT NA DASAL GAYA NG
ROSARY?

Any prayer, whether repeated (like the Rosary,
novenas) or not (personal prayer), is acceptable to
God.

Repeated prayer - It is like saying I love you to God. Is
there a limit to the number of times we should tell
God that we love Him?

Many Christians dismiss the Rosary as “vain
repetition” referring to Matthew 6:7, which reads: “But when
ye pray, use not vain repetition, as the heathens do: for they think
that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (KJV).


“VAIN REPETITION”
“As the heathens do” - Jesus was referring to “empty”
or “vain” vocal prayer as practiced by the pagans,
“who feared to omit from their prayer the name of
one god or the mention of one request.”

The key word here is “vain” or “empty,” not
repetition. Pagans then believed that their gods had
human-like traits, that they were ﬁckle and petty and
had to be impressed with their incessant vocal
prayers. It wasn’t “repetition” that Jesus did not want,
it was praying to false gods and praying without
sincerity.

REPEATED PRAYERS

Jesus Himself taught a prayer that He meant to be
repeated. “The Our Father/Lord’s Prayer”

All prayers --- a response to God’s love. As God
reveals Himself to Man, man responds to Him in
prayer. (Catechism, 2567)

Christian tradition has maintained 3 major
expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative,
contemplative. -- three basic traits in common--
composuire of heart.


REPEATED PRAYERS

Rosary - a vocal prayer, also a meditative prayer on the mysteries of
the life and death of Jesus

We remember the joyful events in Jesus’ life such as the
annunciation, Jesus birth, being presented at the temple.

We remember Jesus passion/suffering and death on the cross. We
remember the glorious events in Jesus’ life in which His divinity is
revealed.

The power of our prayers does not come from how we feel during
prayer, but on the grace of God given through our steadfast
discipline (1 Cor. 15:58; cf. Catechism, 2725).


REPEATED PRAYERS
A regular recitation of the Rosary helps us to develop the discipline
that is needed to grow in our faith. It develops obedience and
faithfulness to our Lord.

Sometimes, we do not feel like praying the Rosary or going to Mass
but if we overcome our feelings of laziness and dryness, we will
develop a stronger, more unshakeable faith in God as we strive to
remain faithful to Him in the little things that we can do.

Regularity and frequency of prayer need not depend on how we
feel. The Rosary is an exercise in steadfastness/persistence. The
mere act of reciting the Rosary is a movement toward God.

Same with praying other repeated prayers such as novenas and
devotions.

MADEL MALLARI’S QUESTION:
IN THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, IT IS SAID THAT WE SHOULD
NOT HAVE OTHER GODS. BUT WHY ARE THERE SO MANY
SAINTS IN CHURCH THAT PEOPLE PRAISE?

This is a popular misconception that is being spread
about Catholicism by other Christian religions.

There are 3 Churches:

Church Triumphant Saints, those who are in heaven

Christians on earth who are living; who
struggle against sin, the devil and "..the
Church Militant rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high
places" (Ephesians 6:12).
Church Suffering Christians in Purgatory


ABOUT SAINTS

We adore and worship God alone and no other.

Saints - people just like us who have lived their lives for God, who
did all things for the love of God, who served God by serving the
needy.

Saints in heaven are our champions -- they are the ones rooting for
us. Their work is to pray for the Church Militant, that we may strive
to live according to the laws of God and be forgiven our sins.

We do not worship saints, we only ask for their help to pray
to God for our needs. (Prayer and worship do not end when a
person dies and saints continue to pray in heaven.)


ABOU T SAINTS

There are many patron saints that we can ask for help and prayers.
They become patron saint of something that is related to their
experience or journey while here on Earth.

For our part as Church Militant, we must pray for a world that has
become too materialistic, a world that has forgotten about God.
We must pray for the forgiveness of our sins.

We also pray for the forgiveness of the sins of the people in
Purgatory (Church Suffering), because there is nothing they can do
to get out of Purgatory except for our prayers. This is why we
should make it a practice to pray for our loved ones who have died.


JAMILLE JOY REYES, JUVELYN SAMONTE, JANINE VILLEGAS AND
JOMAR VISCO’S QUESTION:
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM CHARITEACH? WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT?

The goal of Chariteach is simple - it is mainly to teach you about the
love of God

To shepherd you who are babies in the faith towards the right
direction in the middle of all the noise that you hear around you.

GOD = Love = Charity

God is the source of all love and charity is love in action.

Chariteach also aims to equip you with the right values and
understanding of the different things that happen around you. (eg.
happiness, sorrow, anger, forgiveness, bullying, atheism, relativism,
etc.)

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