NORBEA MAY L.

RODRIGUEZ
THEO 1000 | TTH 7:40 – 9:10 AM
SYNTHESIS PAPER

The world’s largest religion by population until now is Christianity. Amongst all types of Christians,
Catholicism is the most common and widespread here in the Philippines. It practices the tradition that was passed
from the ancient times to the generation and the coming generations. This paper is to give an overview of the
Catholic traditions, their sacraments, and the sacramentals.
“Prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven. It is a cry of recognition and of
love, embracing both trial and joy.” – St. Therese of Lisieux.
One of the most essential practices that Catholics give importance to is prayer. It is a relationship between
God and the human person simply because it is a form of communication. To illustrate prayer, it is like two
persons communicating because they love each other. The Catechism puts it as a response of love and a response
of faith. Faith because you believe that God exists. Even though you can’t see Him, you communicate with Him.
There are three primary forms of prayer in the Catholic Church. These are first, the blessing and
adoration, where a person recognizes that God is the source of everything and praising Him for who He is.
Second, the prayer of petition, where a person asks for something from God without treating Him like a vending
machine. Third, the prayer of intercession, which means praying on behalf of other people. And fourth, the
prayer of thanksgiving, where someone thanks God for everything He had done. Catholics do other practices,
such as the Lectio Divina (where they study the bible and reflect on it). Second, the liturgy of the hours (where
people joined together to pray at a specific time and place). And last is the holy rosary, a unique practice because
only Catholics practice it. It is contemplating the great mysteries of salvation history brought about by the passion,
death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The seven sacraments are also unique from the Catholic Church (Hussite Church also practices it, but
they were originally pure Catholics, so they count). The first sacrament is the Sacrament of Initiation, which
consists of baptism, confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist. Baptism was rooted in the great commission of Jesus
found in Matthew 28:19-20 and some other verses in the bible. Baptism can be received by both infants and
adults, and it only not enables the person to receive forgiveness from all sins, but he also becomes a “partaker of
the divine nature.” There are arguments as to why Catholics give infant baptism, but it is because to cleanse the
newly born babies from the original sin—the sin which our ancestors committed. The second is the confirmation;
it completes the baptism by laying on of hands to the person. Some of the effects of confirmation are; it integrates
the person more deeply into Christ and strengthens the bond of the person with the church. The third one is the
Holy Eucharist, recognized as the source and Christian life’s summit. This is the partaking of the bread and wine,
meaning you are now united to Christ and the people who also took the Eucharist. According to the Canon Law
Code, the Holy Eucharist’s recipient is “only baptized person who is not forbidden by law may or must be
admitted to Holy Communion.” The same with the baptism and confirmation, this too will unite the people with
Christ. It also liberates the person from sin and gets reconciled.
The fourth sacrament under the Sacrament of Vocation is the Holy Order. It is the calling of every man
who wanted to serve the church. It has three degrees; episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate. The second under
the Sacrament of Vocation is the Holy Matrimony or the uniting of the two persons into one flesh (Matt. 19:5)
or marriage. It is a covenant or an irrevocable commitment between couples. The sixth sacrament is Penance,
which is under the Sacraments of Healing. This is the calling of every person to repent from their sins because
the Kingdom of God is near. The three parts of it are contrition, confession, and penance or satisfaction. All of
them lead to reconciliation with God and with the church. The last sacrament is the Anointing of the Sick. This
is where the priests give those in real danger of death to give Eucharist as viaticum (food for the journey).
Anointing of the sick is not a replacement for any medical intervention, but it is just like the other sacraments
which unite the person to the passion of Christ, strengthens the sick person, forgiveness of sins of the sick person,
preparation of them to pass over eternal life, and etc.
Furthermore, if there are practices and traditions common amongst the Catholics, this would be called the
Sacramentals. These are the signs and symbols, and even events that are important in the church. These
sacramentals are 1blessings of homes, cars, buildings, and etc.; 2actions such as bowing, doing the sign of the
cross, and kneeling; 3words such as grace before and after meals; 4objects such as images, statues, candles, and
other things; and 5time or events such as advent, lent, or holy week.
To conclude, the Catholic Church’s beliefs and practices serve every person to become closer to God or
become united with Him again. However, the effects are only valid to the people who fully understand what they
really mean, the sole reason why some people feel awkward when they hear about these practices. Nevertheless,
it is always the person’s choice to whether know or love God or not.

Source: Roawie L. Quimba, PhD, RN. Faith Seeking Understanding, 2021.