The Catholic Religion

Kelsey Klitus
G. Walsh
Paper #1
September 14th, 2012

Religion is a large worldwide subject. It is very important to some people, and not as important to others. However, religion is very important to me and it is a major part of my everyday life. Many people are confused about different religions. The catholic religion is confusing to some people. But if one were to look into the religion they would see it is not confusing, just not well understood. Although I do not go to church as frequently as I would like, I still have very strict beliefs and follow a strict religion. I have been brought up and will continue to be brought up as catholic. There are over a billion Catholics in the world and this number will continue to grow with time. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in god and his divine grace. There are many reasons why being a catholic is so important to me. The Catholic Church allows me to follow a tradition, and it allows me to learn new things about my faith each and everyday.
Being a catholic is very important to me and to my family. My family has been brought up catholic, and we are very strong believers of this religion. Believing in a religion allows you to provide a tradition that can be passed down from generation to generation. The catholic religion deals with many holidays including Christmas, Easter, All Saints Day and Ash Wednesday. For example, every year my family and I go to church on Easter morning. This has become a tradition in my family and will continue to be one for generations to come. The Catholic Church has allowed my family and I to become closer and to make traditions and to make memories. Another example, every year around Christmas time my family and I participate in an event at my local church. During this event my family and I pick a child’s name off of the “Joshua Tree.” The Joshua tree is a tree that has less fortunate children’s names on it. Each family picks one child from the tree and buys them a present for Christmas time. Another tradition that most Catholics participate in are the sacraments. The Catholic Church participates in 7 sacraments. These sacraments include Baptism, the Eucharist, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. To be a part of the Catholic Church you must fulfill these sacraments. The catholic religion, along with the Catholic Church has allowed this to become a tradition in my family that I will forever partake in. The Catholic Church is a great place to build traditions and to build up your relationships with your family members.
As well as helping to build traditions, the catholic religion also allows me to learn new things about my faith day after day. The catholic belief system is a very hard one to understand if you are not catholic yourself. The Catholic Church believes that the bible must be interpreted, which they do using the tradition of the apostles. Catholics believe that creation is good, which is used by god for his purposes, which is marred by original sin. Catholics believe that the only way to remove this original sin is through the sacrament of baptism. Baptism symbolizes that one belongs to Jesus, not to themselves anymore. Another belief that I have learned from being catholic is that Jesus is both fully god and fully man. He is believed to be the awaited Messiah of Israel. Jesus was said to be born from a virgin, Mary. He is said to have died of a torturous death from being nailed to a cross. He is believed to have risen from the dead, which further symbolizes to Catholics that this proves his divine authority. The most important thing in the catholic religion that I have learned about is the bible. The bible texts have been determined by the church. The bible teaches you many things like the journeys and hardships that Jesus had to take. Catholics are taught to believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person, but the people and the church. Catholics believe in one god. Like others Christians, they believe that Jesus is god’s son, which goes hand in hand with the belief of the Holy trinity. God the father and the son and the Holy Spirit make up the Holy Trinity. Catechism is something that is required of the catholic religion. Students are taught about it during Sunday school and if they attend a private school, they are taught about it in school. This allows children to study the catholic religion and to follow the basic rules.
In class we recently watched a video on Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion practiced by many groups, especially many in Asia. People who study this religion believe in Buddha. This is a belief that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom and meditation releases one from desire, suffering and rebirth. The catholic religion differs a lot from Buddhism. Buddhists do not believe in the creator god, whereas Catholics do. While Buddhism has Buddha, Catholics have Jesus. By studying Buddhism, you do not have a father to repent your sins to. However, when you are catholic the priest listens to you and forgives you for your sins. Catholics are very big and take a lot of pride in praying each and every day. Buddhists do not enjoy praying and it is not necessary in their religion. Buddhism uses the Tipitaka, where Catholicism uses the Holy Bible. Buddhists believe that when you die you are reborn and reincarnated again. Catholics believe that you either go to hell or heaven when you pass away. Buddhism doesn’t have as much overall structure, like Catholics, who have sacraments. Both have structure through their daily lives, but Buddhism doesn’t have as much longer term religious markings and initiations. Buddhism is more personal salvation, and the personal effort to reach salvation, while in Christianity salvation comes from god. Even though Catholicism and Buddhism are both religions, they both vary different and have very different and opposite beliefs.
Religions are made up of people and beliefs in which they find security and happiness. Who are we to judge the way people live their lives, or what religion they choose? Each one of us has our own beliefs and we only hope that we do not get judged. God is the only judge, to me. For those reasons I am happy that I chose this religion because it is my willingness to understand Catholics that others will see that Catholicism is just another religion living a life that god intended us too.