Catholic Christians have many rituals about death, funeral practices, mourning, lenten, ashes, Penance, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, blessed palms and Triduum rituals.
Sacraments
Baptism is a catholic christian ritual of acceptance or admittance into the church. Baptism is usually performed with the use of water, in a church or sacred space. In some cultures and traditions baptism is referred to as christening, but sometimes this term is only used for the baptism or christening of infants.
The new testament informs us that Jesus was baptised. In those times, this meant full immersion of the body in water, with water being poured over them.
Today some traditions believe that baptism is not necessary. Most catholic still practice the rite, and are baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. A baptism can be referred to as a ceremony, trial or an experience in which an individual is initiated, purified and accepted into the church.
Reconciliation is also known as the sacrament of penance, or confession. It is the sacrament in which the sinful confess to a person of religious importance, and through God, achieve divine mercy. By this action Catholics are released from any sins committed against God after baptism.
Eucharist also called Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper, Sacrament of the Alter and the Blessed Sacrament. It involves reenacting Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples, which is recorded in the New testament. Catholics do this in remembrance of him. When bread is broken Catholics recite from the bible “This is my body” and as the wine is prepared we say “This is my blood”. There are many different interpretations of the meaning of the Eucharist.
Confirmation is the sacrament of making someone an adult member of the Church. By being confirmed, you are confirming that you agree with the churches beliefs and will follow the church laws. This sacrament includes choosing a sponsor, or a person which you look up to and is an adult member of the church (already confirmed). In Catholic tradition the person being confirmed chooses a saints name, in which becomes their confirmation name in the Church.
Anointing of the sick is a ritual in which a sick or ill person is anointed by a person of religious importance for their own benefit. This anointing is used in other sacraments, for example Baptism (anointing with holy water) and Confirmation (anointing with Chrism).
Marriage is a legal contract between two people that involves kinship. A wedding is usually held where the couples intimate relationship is acknowledged and celebrated.
Ordination of Clergy is a sacrament where people are made a wide range of formal and informal clergy positions, including deacons, priests, bishops, preachers, pastors and ministers.
