Читать книгу Catholicism For Dummies - Rev. Kenneth Brighenti - Страница 14

Catholics are first and foremost Christians. Like Jews and Muslims, Catholics are monotheistic, which means that they believe in one God. But Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, which is unique to Christianity. Catholics also believe the following:

 The Bible is the inspired, error-free, and revealed word of God. See Chapter 2 for an introduction to the Bible.

 Baptism, the rite of becoming a Christian, is necessary for salvation. This is true whether the Baptism occurs by water, blood, or desire (see Chapter 8).

 God’s Ten Commandments provide a moral compass — an ethical standard to live by. We discuss the Ten Commandments in detail in Chapter 12.

 There is one God in three persons: the Holy Trinity. In other words, Catholics embrace the belief that God, the one Supreme Being, is made up of three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (see Chapter 2).

Catholics recognize the unity of body and soul for each human being. So the whole religion centers on the truth that humankind stands between the two worlds of matter and spirit. The physical world is considered part of God’s creation and is, therefore, inherently good until an individual misuses it.

The seven sacraments — Baptism, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick — are outward signs that Christ instituted to give grace. These Catholic rites marking the seven major stages of spiritual development are based on this same premise of the union of body and soul, matter and spirit, physical and spiritual. You find out more about the sacraments in this chapter’s section “Worshipping as a Catholic: The Holy Mass,” as well as in Chapters 8 and 9.

Grace is a totally free, unmerited gift from God necessary for our salvation. Grace is a sharing in the divine; it’s God’s help — the inspiration that’s needed to do His will. Grace inspired martyrs in the early days of Christianity to suffer death rather than deny Christ. Grace bolstered St. Bernadette Soubirous to sustain the derision of the locals who didn’t believe she’d seen the Virgin Mary. You can’t see, hear, feel, smell, or taste grace because it’s invisible. Catholic belief, however, maintains that grace is the life force of the soul. Like a spiritual megavitamin, grace inspires a person to selflessly conform to God’s will, and like the battery in the mechanical bunny, grace keeps the soul going, going, going, and going. Because grace is a gift, you can accept or reject it; if you reject it, you won’t be saved, and if you accept it, you have to put it into action.