Do you have questions about Catholicism or the Catholic Church?
Whether you grew up Catholic or have another religious background (or none at all), you may have questions about what Catholic believe. No worries! We’ve included some basic information that will help you understand our church. You can always also be in contact with one of our clergy or staff members if you have additional questions.
The core beliefs of the Catholic faith are found in the Nicene Creed. While you can read the whole creed here, we’d like to highlight a few of the statements from the creed:
The Catholic Church is the original Christian Church and was founded by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ chose 12 apostles (which means “sent”) to lead the Christian faith. Scripture shows us in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verses 13-20 that Jesus chose Peter to be the leader of the apostles and the first Pope. Every Bishop and Pope since then is part of an unbroken line of succession since Peter, the first Pope. If you’d like to read more about this, click here.
The Bible was compiled by the Catholic Church and its final order was set by the Council of Rome in 382 AD. You can read a very detailed synopsis of the formation of scripture here.
Catholics believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. God, being the primary author, used human authors to bring about the collection of books we call the Bible. From the beginning of Christianity, the Catholic Church has upheld scripture and defined what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Through the centuries, it’s the Catholic Church that preserved the Bible, as well as many other written works, through its monasteries and libraries.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is an organized presentation of the essential teachings of the Catholic Church in regards to both faith and morals. The Catechism has a deeper explanation of the inspiration of scripture, which you can read here.
St. Paul, in a letter to the Church in Thessalonica encourages Christians to “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15, ESV). Before all of the Bible was written or compiled, the Gospel was preached by the Apostles as well as ordinary Christians. The apostles handed on written instructions as well as verbal teachings (which we call Tradition). The Tradition accompanies the written word and brings life to the Church, connecting us to the apostles and also to Christ.
Early in the history of the Church, there was the belief that when Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Take this and eat – this is my body; take this and drink – this is my blood,” (Matthew 26:17-30) he was giving us the gift of his real presence in the form of bread and wine. We call this the Eucharist – a name that comes from the Greek word for thanksgiving. At the Catholic Mass, Catholic Christians come together to celebrate, give thanks, and be renewed by the real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist.
If you were baptized a Catholic, but haven’t attended Mass in a while, we encourage you to renew your relationship with Christ. Call our office and schedule some time with one of our priests or deacons. We’d love to welcome you home again.
If you were not baptized a Catholic and are interested in finding out more about the Catholic faith, we encourage you to enter RCIA. RCIA refers to the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. It is a series of classes and gatherings to prepare adults for the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, and into full communion with the Catholic Church.
It is the principal means used to introduce the Catholic Faith to those who are interested in becoming Catholics. The RCIA program is a discernment process and does not require a commitment to become Catholic – it is fully up to the participant if, through attending the program, they feel a calling to become united with the Church through its Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist). Find out more about RCIA as well as watch past testimonials here.
Ready to find out more? Feel free to contact our RCIA Coordinator, Della Doss at rcia@stjudeparish.com.