Latin Rite

Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband” (1 Cor 7: 32 – 34). By the same token, it is imperative to clarify that celibacy is not a dogma. It is a disciplinary rule that might be modified or suspended without affecting the sanctity of the Church. In fact, in some Eastern churches, married men are admitted to receive validly the sacrament of Holy Orders. Additionally, the Catholic Byzantine Rite also ordains married men to the ministerial priesthood. As for the Roman Catholic Church, or the Latin Rite as it is better known, celibacy as a requirement for ordination is fully in force and there is no sign that this rule will be abolished any time soon. Likewise, it is important to understand that celibacy is not a mere absence of genitality exercise, an inconvenience or a burden to man, much less, a coarctation of human freedom. If celibacy is seen from this perspective, it is clear that the criticism towards this practice is engendered from the judgements, which are often far from its true essence, either because of ignorance or because of convenience. What it means is that priestly celibacy must be understood from a holistic perspective. In fact, sexuality is integrated into…

Fasting is a Christian discipline for one who wants “to let go of an appetite in order to seek God on matters of deep concern for others, myself and the world” It is a discipline that is to be done for God and seen only by God. At the commencement of Bible College I understood fasting to be a practice that people in the church did in order to get God to hear their prayers and move on their behalf and answer the prayers that they had placed before Him during the time of fasting. It was…

In Europe, from 1450 to 1700 about half of the population were labeled as poor. To be considered poor one must have the bare minimum to be able to maintain life. The amount of people living in poverty increased, during times of war, famine, and plagues, up to eighty percent of a region’s population. In Europe between 1450 to 1700, the poor were approached in many different ways, based on other’s sympathy or disdains; these included compassion, intolerance, and appealing for disciplinary actions…

No family is perfect…We argue, we fight. We even stop talking to each other at times. But in the end family is family…The love will always be there.” This quote by an unknown author relates to the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and to my family in many ways. Although my Family has very different beliefs than the family in the movie. One big difference in the parenting roles between my family and the Portokalos family is that I come from a divorced house hold which is very different from a…

“Well my mother did it for my father!” I could hear the tension in his usually seductive voice. Tears began to gather in my eyes as I looked out the window. I had wanted to scream, or cry, or not talk at all. However, in reality I did not know what I had wanted. I knew what he wanted. He made that extremely clear. He was my first real boyfriend and I would have done almost anything to please him, but this was too far. Granted I am stubborn in my ways, but for good reason! I should not have to do…

John Henry Newman was one of the most important Roman Catholic theologians in the 19th century, otherwise known as the Victorian Era (Shiefen). He is known greatly for his involvement in the Oxford movement, a movement in which many men argued for the want of older Christian traditions to return so that the Church of England could be brought back to its Catholic roots. Before Newman was a part of the Oxford movement, he was a very popular priest at Oxford, and he later became a cardinal.…

MY FAMILY During the time of preparation for Confirmation, my family was there for the journey. When I started the process of Confirmation, the first requirement I started was getting service hours. I had to volunteer at many places to get ten sessions. My parents scheduled the times I would volunteer, helped plan out my schedule, and drove me to Home Sweet Home, the SF-Marin Food Bank, and Saint Vincent de Paul. My parents also attended masses with me as my preparation for Confirmation…

When I was a baby my mother took me in to get baptized at our local Catholic church to welcome me into the Catholic faith. I wore the little poufy white dress with frilled white socks and the white shoes. My hair was done up in a white bow and wearing a small gold rosary. I was the symbol of purity. Years later when I reached the age of seven, I was beginning my rite of passage of my First Holy Communion. I grew up in a Catholic household continuously going to Catholic Mass every Sunday at one…

On April 11, 1998, I became Catholic and it was the happiest day of my life. I had waited over 25 years to be confirmed and receive communion and because of religious education, my dream had finally come true. Religious education has many facets in the Catholic Church and that night I made a promise to myself that I would learn as many as I could in my lifetime. As a military child, I was always intrigued by the Catholic faith. Every Sunday I would watch the Catholic families pile into…

I was raised to be catholic which as you may know is a strict, and structured type of mass. Their practices in mass is exactly the same way each Sunday you attend, the only thing that usually differs is the subject of which the mass has been planned around. That is why I chose to go to a non denominational church for my church visit reflection. This is because these two religions are extremely different, and a couple of my friends on the soccer team go there for church each Sunday. The church I…