Catholics: Who are we?

1.

We are Christian: Many people wonder if Catholics are Christians. People ask, “Are you Christian or are you Catholic?” Our answer is ... yes! Yes we are Catholic, and yes we are Christian. Jesus is the centre of our lives, and our Catholic faith calls us to a personal relationship with Him as well as membership in His Body, the Church.

2.

We love the Bible: The Catholic Church is Bible-oriented! Many people do not know that Catholics pray with the Bible, and we call it Lectio Divina, Sacred Reading! The prayers of our Liturgy, and many of our personal prayers use the words of the Bible. We proclaim Sacred Scripture at daily Mass and even more on Sundays.

3.

We care for all people: Catholics feed, clothe, shelter, educate, and provide medical care for many people. It is our faith in action, and we cannot live our faith except through ministry. We encounter Jesus every time we minister to the least in our midst.

4. We are sinners: We want to, but we do not always live up to our high calling. We are supposed to be friendly, welcoming and joyful, but if your experience was not very pleasant whenever you visited a Catholic

parish, please come back. Through prayer and service of others, we try to show the love of Christ in all we do.

5. We honour Mary; we do not worship her: This is one of the most misunderstood notions of Catholics. Although we do not worship her, we treat Mary the Mother of Jesus very special. It is very simple to understand though. When you have a good friend, chances are you know her or his mother and probably appreciate her role in helping your friend be the person that she or he is. Jesus has a mom too. In the same way you might ask a family member to pray for you, we ask Mary to pray for us.

6. We hold the Pope as the head of the Church: Our authority structure helps us offer clear and consistent teaching ... Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would keep His Church free from error in her doctrinal and moral teaching. But Jesus and the Holy Spirit work through men as successors to the Apostles – our bishops throughout the world – to teach in His name with authority and love.

7. We accept Seven Sacraments: One way Jesus keeps His promise to be with us is through the seven Sacraments. Sacraments are external signs of God’s presence. They span the whole human lifetime, from birth to old age, and spiritually nourish the believer. In the Sacraments we personally experience the presence of Jesus in ways that complement our encounter with Him in the Bible.

8. We worship in a unique way: The popular Catholic Worship is called Eucharistic Celebration, or the Mass. While Jesus died and rose just once to save us all from sin and death, the Mass allows us to be present for that most pleasing sacrifice, and to please our heavenly Father by our worship. Catholics do have prayer services; they are great. We do have sermons and spiritual talks, which can inspire and edify us. But the Mass is how we fulfil Jesus’ command to “Do this in memory of me.”

9. We build God’s Kingdom of love, justice and peace: We collaborate with all people of goodwill so that together we can build a civilisation of love. People of goodwill come in all shapes, sizes, colours and faiths, and we love and respect everyone.

10 .We love to build a community of believers, we love company. Catholic churches are houses of worship where visitors can find a quiet place to pray. At Mass when the community worships, Mass prayer cards available usually to explain what to do at various points in the experience, especially when it is time for Holy Communion. Please stop by and visit; we would love to see you.