benedict_x Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 Thanks everyone! I'm learning alot here. :D I remember reading about people praying for their rellies who are in purgatory.... what would their prayers do for them? Like, why pray for them? And so forth... There is the Bible’s approval of prayers for the dead: "In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the dead to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin" (2 Macc. 12:43–45). Protestants had to cut the books of the Maccabees out of their Bibles in order to avoid accepting the doctrine of purgatory and praying for the dead. Just in case you're wondering. A well know prayer for the dead goes something like this: "Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let the perpetual light shine on them May they rest in peace. Amen." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benedict_x Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 (edited) Ummm yeh okay, I know I have alot of questions here.... so just bare with me! I was also wondering... what is the deal with Confessing to priests? To be honest, all I really know about it is from the movies when people go into that little box and confess to their priest... I would like to understand what is the 'process', why you do it, why to the 'priest', what's the importance of it, what if you do not confess, ect ect... sorry for being a pain B) I would guess you'd understand that baptisim wipes away all previous sins. For sins committed after baptism, a different sacrament is needed. It has been called penance, confession, and reconciliation, each word emphasizing one of its aspects. During his life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power in his human capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, "the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" (Matt. 8:6), which is why the Gospel writer himself explains that God "had given such authority to men" (Matt. 9:8). God had sent Jesus to forgive sins, but after his resurrection Jesus told the apostles, "‘As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.) Why do we do it? Beacsue we gotta be forgiven for the serious sins we commited. Why to the priests? Because only they have the power to forgive sins given to them by the church through the sacrament of Holy Orders. They carry the same dispostion as the originial Apostles did. Why is it important? Pratically: It absolves us from the sins which would send us to the nasty place. Psycologically: The guilt of the sin does not weigh us down as we are free from it. We start anew and try again. Dun worry, we love answering your questions :) Edited August 22, 2003 by benedict_x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cure of Ars Posted August 22, 2003 Share Posted August 22, 2003 (edited) I was just wondering, what is Eucharistic or whatever? Eucharist literally means thanksgiving. It is a term for holy communion. Here is what Justin the Martyr, born about 100 A.D. said about it. Listen, as he teaches the early Christians on the Eucharist: "We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it.... For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of the incarnated Jesus" (Justin Martyr; First Apology 66:1-20; A.D. 148) Edited August 22, 2003 by Cure of Ars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeraMaria Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 You might want to check out this site for Catholic teens to learn about the Eucharist.... Lifeteen's Eucharist page Peace, and God Bless... :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now