Catholicism: Basic Beliefs

Catholics are, above all else, Christians. Like Jews and Muslims, Catholics are monotheistic- they believe that there is only one God. However, like all Christians, Catholics also believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, a belief unique to Christianity. Catholics also believe that:

• The Bible is the revealed, inspired, and error-free Word of God.

• Baptism is necessary for Salvation. Baptism is the rite of becoming Christian. There are three ways that Catholics believe one can be baptized: by water, by blood, or by desire.

• The Ten Commandment provide an moral standard that all MUST follow.

• That God is in three persons - The Holy Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Catholics also believe that each human being is a union between body and soul. The entire of idea of religion is that we are native to the two different worlds of matter and spirit. Since God created the physical world, it is inherently good. That is, until it is misused by humankind.

The Seven Sacraments - Baptism, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Annointing of the Sick. Catholics believe these are the outward signs that Jesus gives us to signify divine grace. Each of these rites commemorates a different stage in the spiritual development of a Catholic, but they are based on the same idea of union between matter and spirit, and body and soul. Each of the Sacraments involve a physical symbol that represents the unseen spiritual reality that grace supernaturally provides. For example, water is used as a symbol for Baptism, and oil represents the annointing of our souls.

Which brings us to our next area of belief- Symbols. Anyone who has ever observed a Catholic worship can testify to the prominence of symbols in the Church. Stained glass representing saints, burning incense candles, the bread and wine, all symbolize deeper spiritual meanings. As humans, we only have five senses that connect us to physical world. Catholicism uses symbols to help our senses remind us of the invisible reality of divine grace.

Grace is the free, undeserving love that God provides everyone on Earth. It is the inspiration that we need to do his Will. Grace was the reason that early Christians preferred to be martyred rather than deny Christ. Grace strengthened St. Bernadette Soubirous enough to overcome the mockery and derision of others when she claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary. Since Grace is not of this world, we cannot feel it or detect it with any of our senses.

Catholic belief is that Grace sustains our souls. It allows us to selflessly conform to the Will of God and it keeps our spirit active. Catholicism teaches that Grace is an undeserved gift that God provides us, unsolicited. You cannot experience salvation without it. That said, Grace is a gift, which means that it is up to each individual person to decide whether to accept it or not. And merely accepting it is not enough, the individual must cooperate with Grace to serve God's will. It must translate into action by the person, or it is pointless.