Podcast 26 : Does the Bishop Punch You at Confirmation

The Sacrament of Confirmation

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The character of Confirmation gives us the power to be soldiers in Christ’s army, fighting with him against the enemies of the faith.  

We do not fight against persons, but for them, as an army of liberation to free them from the enemies of their soul.

This is lesson number 25, the Sacrament of Confirmation

Hello everybody, I want to welcome you back to another lesson of All About My Catholic Faith. If this is the first time that you've joined this podcast, I want to thank you and welcome you, and if you've been here before, then also a very big thank you. If you need to go back and review some of the previous lessons, you can do that by looking In the archives where you get your podcast or you can go to our website, All About My Catholic Faith.com were you’ll find all the past episodes and lessons for this catechism series.

I'm so thankful to be joined by my son Christopher again this week.

Last week we started the series on the Sacraments by talking about Baptism, and remember Baptism is the gateway to all of the other Sacraments of the Church. In order to receive any of the other Sacraments, you must first receive the Sacrament of Baptism. If you remember from last week's lesson, on Baptism we are born again of water and of the Holy Spirit. This week we're going to talk about Confirmation. At Confirmation, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to grow from our infancy to adulthood in the life of Grace in the Church and gives us the strength of a soldier to fight for Jesus Christ.

That was a great lesson last week on Baptism and I really learned a lot so I'm looking forward to this week's lesson on Confirmation.

Before we get started I’d like to give you a few questions to think about as we go through the lesson alright? So the first question is: 

What does the Holy Spirit do in our soul at Confirmation?

How does this differ from what he does in Baptism?

What two ceremonies of Confirmation reminds us that we have to bear crosses?

How do we fight in the army of Christ?

And the last question to think about is, Should we argue with non-Catholics about the faith?

If you keep listening to this lesson I will do my best to answer those and of course, Christopher, if you have any other questions for me during the lesson then feel free to ask away. All right.

All right, I will.

Let’s get into this lesson! I’d like to read a little from the Holy Bible. This first reading is going to be from St Luke's Gospel chapter 10, verses 1 through 20 and it's going to talk about when Jesus sent out 72 Disciples to teach and to talk about the Faith.

That's a great reading and one thing I pulled out of it was when Jesus told his disciples that they would be like lambs among the wolves. When we grow into adulthood in the Church, we often may feel like we are also lambs among wolves with people always attacking us for our Faith and also attacking the Catholic Church. Unfortunately, but you know it's understandable I guess, the Catholic Church is one of the most discriminated against groups in the entire world. And I believe, and I really know that the reason why is because the Catholic Church holds and teaches the truth to pure happiness. There are many people out there who just don't want to accept the truth in the way that Jesus taught and what the Catholic Church has taught for 2,000 years and continues to teach today. 

We’re all called by our Baptism to be holy children of God and Confirmation is the Sacrament when the Holy Spirit will come to us in a special way that will enable has to profess our faith as strong and holy Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. In this world, we need to be like soldiers, because again it’s only a matter of time before someone will confront you about your Catholic beliefs. It may not happen today, it may not happen tomorrow, but you can count on this, one day someone will confront you about your faith, and you have to be ready. 

One of the most important things is for you to always love God as a soldier loves his country, and for you to be equipped to go into the world to spread your faith, to fight for the Church, and if needed die for Christ. If you remember in last week's lesson about Baptism, we talked about Baptism of Blood. Recall that’s when someone has died of martyrdom. Dying of martyrdom means that they stood up for the Faith and for Jesus even if it cost them their lives. There are many great examples of martyrs throughout the history who have refused to give in to the pressures of the world and they have stood fast for their Faith in Jesus and his Church, the Catholic Church.

I hope that you'll never need to be a martyr but as you'll see as we go through the lesson, Confirmation will give you that extra power to suffer and even die for the Church and for Jesus if you're ever called to do that.

How do you get Confirmed in the Catholic Church?

After you were baptized, remember for most Catholics that's done right after birth, you will continue to go through your life, learning about the Faith, going to the Mass with your parents, learning from your parents and from the priests, and perhaps even going to Catechism classes. After you reach at least the age of seven but sometimes older, a person in the western part of the Catholic Church can then receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. 

If you were baptized as an infant, remember that your parents spoke up and had you baptized so that you could become a Child of God and so that you could have original sin washed away from your soul. After you've learned about the faith, then there will come a time when you will want to stand up for yourself and say, Yes! I want to be a follower of Jesus and I want to continue to learn and spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. 

When that time comes, again usually sometime after you are seven years old or even up until you’re in high school, then it’s time for you to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. You may have to take a short series of classes to prepare for Confirmation, and that's all right because that will get you better prepared and help you to really determine that this is what you really want. Once those classes are complete, then you'll be ready to be confirmed in the Catholic Church. All those that have been preparing for Confirmation will go usually to the Cathedral in the diocese, but sometimes also in your local parish, and the bishop of the diocese will be there and will actually minister the Sacrament of Confirmation to all of those who are there to receive it. 

The Bishop? That’s Cool!

I know!  The bishop that confirmed me actually became a Cardinal in the Church a few years after my Confirmation.

Pentecost is the day that the Church started and that's when the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles and gave them strength and courage to go into the world to be teachers and followers of Jesus. In a similar way at Confirmation, the bishop will extend his hands over all those who are to be confirmed, and he will say a prayer that all those will receive the Holy 

Spirit just like those Apostles did during Pentecost. He will then will lay his hands on the head of each of the persons who are to receive Confirmation and then he'll also anoint the forehead in the form of a cross with holy chrism which is holy oil.

While the bishop's anointing the person, he will say, “I sign you with the sign of the cross and I confirm you with the chrism of salvation in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  At that point, you have received the Sacrament of Confirmation. In order for the Sacrament to be fully active when you receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, you must be in a state of grace, which again means that you do not have any mortal sins on your soul. It's also very good not to have any venial sins on your soul at the time of Confirmation as well. So because of this, during your final preparations for Confirmation, just as when you prepared for your First Holy Communion, you will go to Confession. So, assuming that you went to Confession and you confessed all of your sins that you recalled, and then you receive the anointing at Confirmation, then you are now confirmed and are now a soldier of Christ, and you will now have the extra gift of the Holy Spirit in your life.

Let’s have a quick reading from the Bible from The Acts of the Apostles chapter 8, verses 14 through 17. This is when Peter and Paul went to Samaria to actually confirm those people there in Samaria who were Believers of Jesus but who had not yet had the special gift of the Holy Spirit come upon them.

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit

So a question, before we continue, what is the holy chrism and where does it come from?

Well, this holy chrism is actually a mixture of olive oil and balm that was blessed by the bishop on Holy Thursday. Holy Thursday is the Thursday that is immediately before Easter Sunday. The bishop will bless this special oil on Holy Thursday and then this oil will be available for the special anointing during confirmation and for other things throughout the year.

In the ancient days, athletes, before they would go into a big competition, would often use oil to spread on their body to anoint their bodies in order to limber up their muscles and prepare them for the competition they were getting ready for. The oil that's used in the sacraments including Confirmation doesn't limber up your muscles but instead symbolizes strengthening of your soul.

I mentioned it briefly when I was talking about how the bishop confirms you but remember that the bishop will actually trace a cross on your forehead with the anointed oil.

What's that for?

The anointing is in the form of a cross because the strength that we receive during Confirmation is the extra strength from the Holy Spirit to bear our crosses for the love of God. You know we all have to be ready and willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus and even die for him if that's what we're called to do. Jesus told us all in the Bible that we must be ready to take up our cross and follow him.

Every time someone is confirmed, another person is added to the army of Jesus, and we are all carrying our cross behind Jesus so you can picture it like this: that Jesus is in the lead carrying his cross, his mother Mary is right behind him, and then St. Peter who was our first pope is followed by all the other popes in history, all the priests and nuns and deacons, and then, of course, your own family members, your father, and your mother and your brothers and sisters, and then finally you are there carrying your cross because now you have received the great and wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit during Confirmation.

I heard that the bishop will hit you in the face when you're in front of him during Confirmation, is that true?

That's not exactly true today but the bishop used to give each person that he confirmed just a slight blow on the cheek, and this was a good thing because it reminded that person that he must be ready to suffer everything, even death, for the sake of Jesus. And this little tap on the cheek was nothing in comparison to what a person may have to go through when they are confronted and have to defend Jesus and his Church. Things like that sometimes do change in the Church, but I think it would be great if we went back to the old way. Today, the bishop will just shake your hand as he gives you a wish of peace. Not really the same as it used to be! The Sacrament of Confirmation is still the same and has the same benefits though.

I’m certainly not here to scare anyone about what you may be faced as you grow older and need to defend your faith, but it is sadly a fact of life and we must all be prepared for that. You should continue after you've been confirmed to study the Catholic Faith and learn all that you can about Jesus and the Catholic Church. You should learn all you can about the Catholic Church not only for yourself but so that you can help others. You know, a Catholic who never tries to work for the conversion of non-Catholics or to help bad Catholics back to the Sacraments is the same as a soldier who lets the enemy win the battle without even putting up a fight.

You may think that fighting is a bad thing and you know, most the time it probably is, but it's not always a bad thing. So for example, if you see your sister being harassed by a bully and you basically ignore it and run away, then you have not really fought for your sister. You should, of course, instead fight for your sister because you don't want anything bad to happen to your sister even if it means that you put yourself in danger. If you see that a baby has fallen into a swimming pool and is about to drown then again you don't just walk away and turn away from the fight. No, you engage in the fight, you jump in the water and you do your best to save that child, again even if that means that you endanger your own safety by doing so.

Christopher, in the last lesson I remember that you asked me about whether I went to confession because I delayed getting you baptized until you were 7 years old. I told you that was a very personal question but since you are a follower of Jesus you should never be afraid to confront someone or ask someone out of pure love for them about their sinful ways. You should do this not to condemn a person, but again because if you truly love that person then you’ll want what is truly best for him and that he makes it to Heaven. In order for a person to make it to Heaven, they have to be part of the Catholic Church and they have to be an active participant in receiving the Sacraments on a regular basis. If you know someone who is not a Catholic or who is what we call a fallen-away Catholic or a cafeteria Catholic, then it’s your responsibility to help them back to the Sacraments so that they will be able to make it to Heaven one day. It's not doing them any good if you turn away and ignore their sinful lifestyle. Again you don't want to just turn away and let your sister be harassed by the bully and you don't want the baby to drown, so also you don't want those that are not living their full Catholic life to drown in sin or be harassed by the devil.

You can't very well explain the Faith, especially to intelligent non-Catholics, unless you know it well yourself, so every opportunity that you have you should try to learn something about your Catholic Faith. You can do that in a number of ways. You can take classes, you can learn online, you can go to the Internet, (you know these days that's such a wonderful thing), you can go to places like catholic.com and learn all kinds of things about the Catholic faith and as I said in an earlier lesson you can listen to Catholic radio such as Relevant Radio and there you can hear other people who are struggling with their Faith or who are trying to learn more about their Faith be taught by some of the greatest Catholic minds in the country.  

As you continue to learn more and more about your Faith you will, of course, help yourself but you will also be able to help those around you learn more about the Faith. You know many non-Catholics actually inquire and actually join the Catholic Faith because of people like you who have learned their faith and live their Faith in a strong way every day. Wouldn’t it be great one day in heaven if someone came up to you, tapped you on your shoulder, and said, “one day I was watching you and hearing you talk about and living your faith and I decided to become Catholic at that point and now here I am in heaven with you, so I just wanted to give you a great big hug and giant thank you for living your faith in such a great way that inspired me to become a better person myself.”

Ya, I guess that would be pretty cool!

I know when we’re baptized we receive Sanctifying Grace, so when we’re confirmed, do we get anything new and special?

Well, yes indeed I'm glad you asked. Confirmation increases the Sanctifying Grace that you received during Baptism and it also gives you special Sacramental Grace and puts an imprint on your soul, that's called a character that will last forever. You may remember from a couple lessons ago when we did the introduction to the sacraments that the Sacramental Grace at Baptism will help you to live as a child of God and make it easier for you to believe in God and act accordingly. You’ll also get help not to commit evil or sin, and the Sacramental Grace at Confirmation will give you strength to profess your faith even when it is difficult and during times of persecution, and will also again help you to live a good life and to lead by example for your friends, family, and everyone who sees you.

I know that you’ve told me many times that we need to be baptized in order to become a child of God and make it to Heaven, is that the same for Confirmation?

You don't technically have to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation in order to make it to Heaven, but I hope that you can see that the extra power and strength that you receive from the Holy Spirit during Confirmation will be a great and tremendous help to you. It wouldn’t just be a help to you, but it will also be a help to others around you as you live out your Catholic Faith in a stronger and more faithful way. I must say though that even though not being confirmed would not be considered a mortal sin if you refuse or neglect deliberately to not get confirmed then this would actually be a venial sin.

In the questions you gave us at the beginning you asked if we should argue with non-Catholics about the faith, should we?

I don't think it's a great idea to argue vehemently about your Faith, but I do believe that it’s a great thing to be open and willing to talk to others about your Faith and their Faith or lack of it. Most of the time people who have bad thoughts or bad feelings about the Catholic Church is because they just don't know what the Catholic Church really teaches. So if someone wants to badmouth your Faith or the Catholic Church, then what I would do is listen to them, see what they had to say, and then calmly in a loving manner tell them the real truth about the Catholic Church. That's why it's important for you to continue to learn about your Faith so that you will be equipped to answer those kinds of questions from other people. If you don't know the answer right away then that's all right, of course, because you're not expected to know everything, nobody knows everything except for God. The great thing is though, that you can tell that person that you really don't know the answer, but you will find out and get back with them. I think most of the time that a person would be okay with that and would then welcome you to come back and talk about that question at a later time. 

Then you can ask your parents, you can ask a priest, you can go on our website All About My Catholic Faith.Com and listen to the podcast series about the faith or you can go to Catholic Answers which is at Catholic.com, you can listen to Catholic radio, you can watch EWTN, there's a lot of different ways that you can try to find out the answers to the questions that you might have so that you're better able to go back to that person to answer their question or concern or argument about the faith. 

This person may be a complete stranger, they may even be your enemy, but remember Jesus taught us and told us that we should pray for and love our enemies, and not only our enemies but the enemies of Jesus and his Church.  So prepare yourself with all the knowledge that you can, read the Bible every day, read the Catechism, go to Mass, pray the daily Rosary, go to confession often to make sure you stay in a state of grace, show others that you love them in the way that you act and talk, and truly live out your Catholic Christian faith every single day. I would also suggest that you try to stay away from the true enemies of the church and also not read books or view things on the internet that are opposed to the Church and her teaching. Since the Catholic Church is the true Church, the Church that Jesus Christ started and is still here Two Thousand Years later, then you really shouldn't participate actively in a non-Catholic Christian form of worship. If you do that you may run the risk, and you may actually commit one or many sins. 

Those sins are called apostasy, heresy, and indifferentism. Apostasy means that you completely leave the Catholic Church to start practicing and professing a non-Christian religion or turning away from Jesus all together and not practicing the Christian Faith at all. The sin of heresy is a deliberate denial by you of one or more of the truths of the faith. Indifferentism is the belief that one religion is as good as another. 

Remember nothing is as good as the one, Holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church that Jesus Christ started. Jesus didn’t tell Peter that you are Peter and Upon This Rock, I will build my many churches, remember he told Peter that he was here to start his Church, that meant his one Church, the Holy Catholic Church. Each of these sins of apostasy, heresy, and indifferentism really really truly hurt God very deeply. Apostasy and heresy really show refusal to believe what God has taught us and again indifferentism would put the mystical Body of Christ on the same level as any other religions or even false religions or let's say religions of the world which means putting money, fame, and fortune above God.

Instead of having another reading from the Bible, I want you to write down a little homework assignment. Go to the Holy Bible and go to the Acts of the Apostles and read chapter 2 to learn a little bit more about what we've been talking about today. Then read chapter four in 1st Peter, which will teach you how to better live out your Faith in a loving, Christian way.

I Hope you've learned a little bit more about the Sacrament of Confirmation today.

Yes, I did, but I'm wondering if you forgot to announce the winner of the book giveaway?

I'm glad you reminded me. I was so excited about talking about Confirmation that perhaps I did forget, so thanks again for reminding me.

No problem, so who was the winner.

So the winner of our first book giveaway, Trent Horn’s book: Why We’re Catholic is Shawn Campbell. So Shawn, hope you're listening and congratulations and thank you for entering for the chance to win Trent Horn’s book. I think you will really enjoy it and hopefully, you will be able to pass it along to someone else to help them learn a little bit more about the Catholic Faith after you read it. So, Shawn, I will send you an email to let you know that you are the winner, and at that point, I will be able to get to your mailing information so I can get the book out to you as soon as possible.

Thanks to everyone who did enter and if you keep listening we will have other opportunities to win other books or other items, so keep listening and sharing this podcast and our website All About My Catholic Faith.Com. Our website has a lot of links on there for things that we've been talking about such as Catholic radio, EWTN, Catholic Answers, and a few other very helpful websites to help you continue to learn your Faith so that you can be a better Soldier of Christ as you continue through your life. 

As a reminder, if you’re Catholic remember we are in Lent now which is the six weeks leading up to Easter. This podcast is coming out on Friday, March 8th, which is the first Friday of Lent. Remember all Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence. And that means if you're a baptized Catholic over the age of 14 and in good health then you should abstain, not eat meat on Fridays, during Lent.  It's also a great idea on Fridays to do something extra for Jesus, perhaps reading a little bit extra from the Bible, learning a little bit more about your Faith, talking to someone about your Faith, praying for someone or even helping someone else learn more about the Catholic Faith.

I hope you have a really great and holy Lenten season. Remember to go to Mass this Sunday and every Sunday of course and during Lent, it's a great idea if you can go to Mass more often, even every day if you can. As I said before, I really hope that you’re learning more about your Faith by listening to this podcast series and remember to share this podcast series with those people who you know who are looking for more answers about the Catholic Faith even, if they're not a Catholic. What will it hurt to say to them, “I know this great podcast that will be able to teach you the truth of the Catholic Faith in a very loving and non-confrontational way.” 

I would really appreciate it if you would tell people about the podcast and hopefully, it will help them as much as it's helping you. If you have any questions or comments or even more importantly any prayer requests then please go to our website All About My Catholic Faith.Com, and in the right-hand column, you'll see an area where you can put your comment or question or your prayer request. I read all the messages and I promise that I will respond back to you as soon as possible, and if you have a prayer request for any reason at all I will most certainly take your prayers with me to Mass and also pray for you during my daily Rosary. Speaking of the Rosary, I want to tell you how important and how great praying the Rosary is every day. Although the rosary is a series of beads and a crucifix and looks harmless, it is actually the greatest weapon that you have to defend your soul against the enemies of the Church, most importantly Satan himself. He hates Mary and he hates the Rosary, so when you pray the Rosary and you meditate upon the wonderful Mysteries of the life of Jesus, you are providing yourself a solid shield of armor against evil. Praying the Rosary every day will help you stay stronger and less susceptible to fall into sin. And remember we all do sin, so if you do fall into sin make sure you go to confession right away and tell your sins to a priest so that you can have your sins completely washed away by Jesus Through the priest.

I ask you for a favor that you pray for me and my family whenever you go to Mass or pray the Rosary or say your daily prayers. I promise that I will always pray for you whether you send in a prayer request or not. 

We're going to talk about the Source and Summit of our Faith, next week, and that is the Holy Eucharist. 

Christopher thanks again for joining me!

You're welcome!

And I hope you and everyone out there has a wonderful week,

Thanks, you too.

Until next week God bless you and goodbye for now.

Podcast 25 : All About the Sacrament of Baptism

Do You Have to be Born Again to Make it to Heaven

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This is lesson number 24 - The Sacrament of Baptism

This is Scott and Christopher and we want to welcome you back to another episode of All About My Catholic Faith. I hope you had a great week this last week and I hope you went to Mass last weekend and perhaps you even invited someone to go to Mass with you. 

Lent starts next week, you know and I’m looking forward to growing a little closer to Jesus this Lenten season. I’m also excited that we’ll be announcing the winner of the book giveaway next week during our podcast. The actual deadline to enter for a chance to win a free copy of Trent Horn’s book, Why We’re Catholic, is next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, which is March 6. 

Before we get started with this week’s lesson, let’s have our first Bible reading. Today, our first reading will be from the Old Testament, Ezekiel Chapter 36, verses 22-38. We will hear about receiving a new spirit and a new heart from being sprinkled with clean, purifying water.

Remember the Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Jesus in order to give us grace. Baptism is the Sacrament where Christ acts on our soul and actually gives it Divine Life. We become children of God at our Baptism, and it’s the first time that we receive the Holy Spirit into our souls and when we receive Sanctifying Grace. 

Jesus told Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee, that no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and spirit. Here is that from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 3, verses 1 through 5:

Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. He came to Jesus at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you are doing unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born* from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot re-enter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.”

So, How is Baptism done in the Catholic Church?

At our baptism, we have water sprinkled or poured on us or perhaps we’ll be immersed into a pool of water. This is normally done by a priest or deacon, and as we are Baptized he will say, “I Baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” At that point, that person who is being baptized is now a child of God and will be eligible to enter the Kingdom of God here on earth and may be able to enter the Heavenly Kingdom of God when they pass from their time here on earth. What a wonderful thing. You know baptism not only makes us a child of God it actually frees us from the Devil. Remember we are born with original sin because our first parents Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Because they sinned against God we were given original sin when we were born. At our Baptism the Sacrament will give us grace and the strength to fight any evil that may try to enter our soul. Once we are baptized the devil can never ever enter our soul again to hurt us unless we invite him or we let him in. During baptism if we are old enough when we are baptized to say the words or later when we say or baptism vows, we are promising to live our lives for God and that we will imitate Jesus Christ in everything that we do, and that we will not love ourself too much and that I won’t love or follow or do things that the devil would have us do. We also promise that we will love Jesus and each other and that we will do everything to please God in everything that we do with all of our hearts.

Baptism is called the gateway into Christ’s Church and his mystical body. It’s also called that because we can not receive any of the other Sacraments until we receive that Sacrament of Baptism. So until we are baptized and receive sanctifying grace we are not allowed to receive Holy Communion or confirmation to be married in the Catholic Church, to become a priest or deacon, or receive the anointing of the sick.

 When should we get baptized?

You know from the very very beginning the Church has baptized young people even the youngest infants. There are a lot of non-Catholic Christians out there who believe that in order to be baptized you have to be older and be willing and able to say, “I want Jesus to be my personal Lord and savior and I believe in everything he teaches and I want to be Christian so please I would like to be baptized.”  And that's true if someone is older, an older teenager or young adult or even an older adult and they're able to come to that realization and they've never been baptized before, and they want to be baptized, then they can definitely do that. This happens all the time and it's a great thing when people are baptized when they haven't been yet. Perhaps again, through no fault of their own, they were never baptized or never taught about the need to be baptized. Remember though, Baptism is a Sacrament that gives you sanctifying Grace and when you are baptized you not only become a child of God you are born again in Jesus. 

What if a person wasn’t baptized when they were a baby?

Baptism takes away Original Sin it also takes away any venial and any mortal sin that is on our soul at that point. So if you are not baptized as an infant and you’ve committed sins, which we all do, and then you come to the Lord and desire to be baptized and accept him as your Lord and Savior, and when you decide to be baptized, after learning all about the Catholic Church and all of her teachings, then you will be washed clean from Original Sin and any other Actual Sins that have been committed up to that point in your life.  Awesome! When you get to the day that you finally get baptized and the priest says “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and pours that water on your head, wow, at that moment it's like a sheet has been cleaned completely, it’s pure white, you are now pure and no longer have any sins at all. If you were to die at that moment without having another chance to do anything wrong or to commit any other sins, you know what, what? you would go straight to heaven because that would be the cleanest and purest your soul could ever be. Remember though if you later sin even after you're baptized and you become a Child of God, you can go to confession to have your soul cleaned and purified again, as clean and pure as at the time you were baptized. We’ll talk more about the Sacrament of Penance or Confirmation in an upcoming lesson, so keep listening each week.

Do you have to be baptized in the Catholic Church?

Normally baptism is given by a priest or deacon of the Catholic Church, but it can also be given by a pastor of non-Catholic Christian churches. As long as that church is intending to conduct the baptism the way the Catholic Church does, and baptizes with water, and uses the words: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, then that person is truly and validly baptized. These people are regarded as true Christian brothers and sisters, but they are in an imperfect relationship with Jesus’ Church. Their specific beliefs in their particular Christian tradition will determine just how close they are to the true Church, the Catholic Church. Hmm! 

In rare circumstances, let's say there's an emergency and someone is in an accident and in danger of dying and they can't get to a church or have a priest go to them and they desire to be baptized and haven't been baptized yet, then anyone, anyone at all, it doesn't matter if that person is a Catholic or Christian or even if they're an atheist, it doesn't matter their background ,they can baptize the person who is desiring to be baptized in this emergency situation as long as they use water and they sprinkle it on the person at least some and they say “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” That person is in conditionally baptized which is a valid baptism as long as the person doing the baptism is doing so in the same manner as the Church desires. If that person were to die because of their serious injuries before they have a chance to go to the priest, then they would go to heaven.

What if a person dies but is never baptized? Will that person still be able to go to Heaven?

Jesus did say that “Unless a man be born again of water and the spirit, he can not enter into the Kingdom of God.” If however, a person, through no fault of their own, has not had the opportunity to be baptized, the Church teaches that this person may still be saved by what is called Baptism of Desire or Baptism of Blood. Baptism by water that we’ve been talking about here in this lesson is the only way that a person can truly make it into the body of Christ and be a member of his Church. Baptism of Blood and Baptism of Desire are there as lifelines that can possibly save someone who has not been baptized. Picture it like this. A boat sailing on rough waters has a ladder and two ropes hanging from its side. There is a person climbing the rope and is almost in the boat. There are two more people hanging onto the ropes with hopes that they too will make it into the boat. The boat, in this case, is the Church. The person on the ladder is part of the Church because the ladder is part of the boat, but the ropes are just hanging from the Church as possible ways to make it onto the ladder and into the boat, or into the Church. A person must be part of Jesus’ Church in order to be saved and make it to Heaven, Jesus told us that. Remember the Catholic Church is the one and only Church that Jesus started and that is still on earth today. But if by no fault of their own, a person has never entered the Church by being baptized, then these lifelines of baptism of blood and baptism of desire are there as possibilities for those to make it into the body of Christ, his Church, and into heaven.

How does a person receive baptism of blood?

A person will receive the baptism of blood when he suffers martyrdom for the faith of Christ. That means that he suffered and was killed to defend the Catholic Christian Faith. 

Ok, how does a person receive the baptism of desire?

Well, a person may receive the baptism of desire when he loves God above all other things and does everything that he knows, everything that is possible to love and serve God and to live in the manner that God desires. If this person lives this way and desires to do everything he can for his salvation, then he may receive the baptism of desire. If a person knows about the Catholic Church and has been told that baptism into the Catholic Church is the only way to enter the body of Christ and be saved and make it to heaven, and that person chooses not to be part of the Catholic Church, then they really risk their eternal salvation. They’ve basically let loose of the rope or even jumped off the boat.

Were people baptized before the time of Jesus?

In the Old Testament times the Jewish people had their young children, usually at the time they were eight days old, circumcised. During circumcision, the child was brought into the world of God at that young age. Of course that child wasn’t able to talk and they couldn’t decide to be a child of God and become part of the Jewish tradition, they weren’t able to tell anyone that they wanted to be a believer a follower of God but their parents could speak for him and say that they wanted this for their child. A parent must do many things for a child as they are growing up just like your parents had to do many things for you and help you along until you're able to do things on your own. When Jesus came and told everyone about the need for baptism and said that you must be baptized in order to enter the kingdom of heaven then Baptism replaced circumcision. We no longer have to circumcise a baby in order for them to enter the Kingdom of God but we do need to baptize our children in order for them to become children of God. We must baptize our children as soon as possible after they are born. 

If you were a baby way back at the beginning of Christian days you were likely to be baptized at the young age of a week or two old. During the early Church, they talked a lot about Baptism and they asked why do we want to wait till the child is even two weeks old so they started to baptize babies as soon as possible even a day or two after they were born. This is such a wonderful thing because that child is now born again and is now a Child of God.

What if Catholic parents don’t get their child baptized when they are a baby?

Great question. If Catholic parents delay needlessly and especially if they neglect to get their newborn baby baptized, then they will have committed a mortal sin. Not only do they put up a wall between them and Christ, but they also have now put their precious new baby in danger, and the baby will continue to live with original sin on their soul. It’s really the worst form of child abuse because they are basically saying they don’t care if their child goes to heaven or not.

So, I know I wasn’t baptized until I was seven years old, so does that mean that you committed a mortal sin?

Sadly yes. Although I really desired to have you baptized, I needlessly delayed having you baptized. For that, I am very, very sorry and I apologize to you. 

That’s Ok, thankfully everything worked out. Not to get too personal, but can I ask if you ever went to confession about that?

Yes I did confess that during confession, and yes it is a personal question, but, as a believer of Jesus and someone who loves others, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask those kinds of personal questions of others. To really love someone is to truly desire for them to make it to heaven one day. So not to blame someone, but to sincerely ask them about their possible sinful life can be a very good thing and can even bring that person to realize that the type of life they’re living needs to be changed. 

Let's continue on with a couple more readings from the Holy Bible. You know reading the Bible and listening to the Bible is so excellent for you and your soul. If you don't currently read the Bible make sure you pick up your Bible and start reading it. Make sure you write down the chapter and verses that I tell you during these lessons and then go back later also and read it for yourself.

Our next reading today is from the New Testament, Romans Chapter 6. It’s about freedom from sin and life with God:

Our next reading will be from I Corinthians Chapter 12, verse 13:

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

And now a reading from Ephesians, Chapter 4, verses 1 through 5:

I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

As we near the end of this lesson please know that the earlier Christians were told to baptize their entire family and we see in history and in other places in the Bible that the people baptized their entire families. So, if you think of someone's household, it will contain the adults, maybe grandparents who may be living there, young teenagers, young children, and even the very youngest babies and newborns. So when the entire household was to be baptized that means that the entire household should be baptized, that is everybody in that household. The father of the family back then would normally be the person who said I want my entire family to be baptized so a priest a bishop at that time would come in and baptize the entire household. That entire family, one by one, would be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, from the oldest in the household all the way down to the newborn baby.

I hope you were able to learn a lot about baptism today. Yes, this helped me a lot. I hope it helped others too! Great, me too. Remember that baptism is the first Sacrament and it opens the door and allows us to go into the door of God's kingdom, into the life of God, and into all the promises that Jesus has given us. Remember that Christ’s first birth was when he was born in the stable to Mary and Joseph. He then suffered and died for our sins and was buried. Jesus Christ’s second birth, when he was born again was on Easter Sunday when he rose from the tomb. Baptism by immersion gives us new life and we are born again, and this is also a symbol of Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection.  Our first birth is when we were born into this world but with original sin on our soul. When we were baptized and we were immersed under the water this symbolized us dying to our sin and buried with Christ. When the priest brings us out of the water, we are born again, and this symbolizes rising with Christ to the new life of grace. Baptism by immersion is not the common way that babies are baptized, but it can still be done that way. If a baby or anyone for that matter is baptized with water being poured or sprinkled onto them then this is also a symbol of dying to sin and rising to be born again into the new life of Christ,  but not as directly as being immersed under water. As long as water is used and the person who is doing the baptizing says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”, then the baptism is real and valid.

Remember Jesus died on the cross so that you could go to heaven and baptism is your doorway to heaven through the Catholic Church. It is your doorway into the world and the word of God, it’s very awesome. So if you haven’t been baptized yet and you want to be baptized, remember there are ways that you become baptized in the Catholic Church. Feel free to send me an email message on our website, All About My Catholic Faith.Com or better than that just go to your local Catholic Church and ask for the priest, and say that you really want to learn about becoming baptized in the Catholic Church. If you have already been baptized in another Christian faith, you won’t need to get baptized again, because remember baptism is one of the Sacraments that can only be received once, but you can still and you should still come home to the Catholic Church. Don’t be afraid. You know, that’s one of the most common phrases in the Bible, Don’t be Afraid, so Don’t be afraid, seek the answers and be baptized and unite yourself fully with the true Church of Jesus Christ.

If someone you know and love has not been baptized then please pray for them every day that they will see that Jesus is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life, and that they will seek to learn about the Church that Jesus started and will enter the Church through Baptism. 

The day when this podcast is coming out is Friday, March 1st. This again is your last opportunity to put your name and email in for the book giveaway for Trent Horn’s book, Why We’re Catholic. It's easy to do if you go to our website All About My Catholic faith.com and you look on the right-hand column towards the top, you will see an area to put your email address and your name and also a comment or question if you like. In order to be entered for the drawing for Trent Horn’s book, please put your name and email address in there and in the message box just simply put Why We’re Catholic.  Next week on Ash Wednesday, We will pick a winner for the book giveaway and we’ll announce that on the podcast next week on March 8th.

As I said earlier, Lent starts next week and in six more weeks, many, many people from around the world will enter the Catholic Church. If you know someone that is about to become Catholic and are looking for a gift, you can get a 15% discount off any All About My Catholic Faith products between now and March 5. Just go to shop.spreadshirt.com/twocjs and make sure to enter the discount code: GETU15. I’ll put a link in the show notes and our website, AllAboutMyCatholicFaith.com.

 Please remember to go to Mass this week and every week and if you're not Catholic remember you are always invited to come to Mass at any time. The door is always open to everybody. Remember at Mass, the angels and Saints are all their present with all of the other believers. 

If you know someone who wants to know more about the Catholic Church please tell me about this podcast series so they can also learn more about the Catholic Church.

I hope before next week that you will remember to say a prayer for me and I will keep you in my prayers every day during my rosary.

Next week we will talk about the Sacrament of Confirmation. Confirmation is the Sacrament in which the Holy Spirit will come into you in a very special way and will enable you to profess your faith as strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. 

So until next week God bless you and goodbye for now.

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Podcast 24 : The Seven Sacraments - Introduction

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The Sacraments are signs of Jesus taking care of his sheep. This is episode 23, The Seven Sacraments.

Hello there, I want to welcome back once again to another lesson of All About My Catholic Faith. Hey, If you remember from our last lesson, I told you that things are really starting to get exciting in our lessons. We are on lesson number 23, so we've come a long way in learning what the Church has taught and what God has taught us throughout all of these years. Today we're going to start talking specifically about the Sacraments of the Church. We're going to learn an overview of the Sacraments, what the Sacraments are, what they do for us, and some consequences if we don’t stay in God’s grace.

Make sure you listen to this week’s lesson so you can learn a bit more about the Sacraments and also how you can get a free copy of Trent Horn’s book, Why We’re Catholic.

I’m very glad that you’re joining me as we continue on our journey to learn the teachings of Jesus and his Church that he started 2,000 years ago. I’m also super excited to have my son, Christopher join me again. So Hey Christopher, thanks for joining me. You got it! How have you been since our last episode? Did you get over your cold? Pretty much. I’m doing pretty good, just spent the last couple days at the coast, so you know it’s hard to go wrong there. That sounds good.

Let's start off as we always do with a few questions for you to think about during our lesson.

What are some things that Jesus does for his sheep?

What is a Sacrament?

Why do we need signs?

How can we lose the life that we received at our baptism?

Now that you have those questions in your mind let's get right into this lesson about the Sacraments with our first reading from the Holy Bible.

This is a reading from the Old Testament from The Book of Ezekiel chapter 34: verses 11 through 16.

For thus says the Lord GOD: Look! I myself will search for my sheep and examine them.
As a shepherd examines his flock while he himself is among his scattered sheep, so will I examine my sheep. I will deliver them from every place where they were scattered on the day of dark clouds. I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord GOD. The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment.

All right, very good. So do you know who loves you more than anyone else in the world? Uh, you and mom? Well, of course, we love you, your grandparents love you, your aunts and uncles love you, but our Lord God loves you, loves each one of us, more than anyone can even get close to understanding. Just as a shepherd in the field loves and cares for his sheep, God is always there to take care of us and he will never leave us alone. He's always doing something for us even when we don't realize it. You know, God wants us to have some signs in order for us to know that he is there and that he’s doing something for us. We have eyes, we have ears, we have noses, so we can see, hear, smell and touch signs that God sends our way. We often may feel that we need to hear, feel, or see signs that God is doing something for us because again we cannot actually see him directly. We need signs for us to understand that he is there and loves us all the time. Signs usually indicate something else is near. Smoke is a sign of fire, dark clouds are signs of rain, a siren, and flashing red lights are signs of an emergency, and a flag is a sign of one’s country. These signs and other signs are there to indicate something else that we can’t see, hear, or feel at this moment.

The signs that God gives us are called the Sacraments. Sacraments are the signs that God gives to you and to me to show us that Jesus is working in our souls to produce grace. A sacrament is a sign of grace and of Jesus Christ in three different ways. Grace was made possible, first of all, when Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us. This was a sign of grace and Jesus from the past. Presently, we have grace in our life because we are children of God from receiving Sanctifying Grace for the first time at our baptism. We see grace in the third way when we see the results of grace when we will be able to share in the glory of the risen Christ when we make it to heaven.

You know in John chapter 10, verse 10 Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” So just like the shepherd wants to help the sheep, Jesus came so that we can have even more life, more happiness, more love and everything else that is good for us. Once that God has given us his life, remember that is Sanctifying Grace when we are baptized, he takes care of it and each one of us as one of his sheep. He feeds us, he protects us, he heals us, and he wants us to make it to heaven to be with him and to be with all the saints. The sacraments are indeed signs, but they're not only just signs, they are also the actions of our blessed Lord that give us or increase in us the life of God, in our souls.

By God giving us the Sacraments, by us receiving the sacraments, we are strengthened, we become holier, we become even better children of God. So again, a Sacrament is an outward sign that was instituted, or put in place in order to give us Grace. Remember the first time that you received Grace, Sanctifying Grace, is when you were baptized.

I think I got that. It’s helpful to see that the Sacraments are signs of something else in our life. That makes sense.

How many Sacraments are there?

There are seven Sacraments. Remember the Catholic Church was the Christian Church founded by Jesus Christ, and it has lasted for all these years. The Catholic Church is still the One True Church. The One, Holy, catholic, and Apostolic Church. It’s the only Christian church, besides the Eastern Orthodox Churches, that has all seven Sacraments. So there you go, we have seven Sacraments and they start off with Baptism when we receive Sanctifying Grace. Baptism normally comes within a week or so after we’re born into our human life, and Baptism is being Born Again in the life of Christ. The other Sacraments come along during our life to help us in our personal life and our life in Christ’s Church.

After Baptism, we grow into young adulthood, we receive the Sacrament of Confirmation. Confirmation gives us the power to become adults in the life of grace. The grace that we receive at our Confirmation gives us the strength to profess our faith even when we are persecuted or we face other difficult times. This grace will allow us to be better examples for others in our life.

Every time we receive the Holy Eucharist, the body, blood, soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, we get even more grace. We need food to be properly nourished in our life, and the grace we receive from the Holy Eucharist nourishes our love for God and for each other. This grace is also important to help us not to be selfish and not to love yourself too much. The Eucharist is truly the Flesh and Blood of Jesus and absolutely nourishes our soul.

The next Sacrament is the Sacrament of Penance or Confession. When you’re sick or wounded, you’re often helped out by the doctor with his care and medicine that may be given to you. The Grace that you receive during Confession will help you cure the damage that has been done to your soul after you commit sins similar to how the doctor heals your body. This Grace will also help protect you from committing further serious sins, similar to how the flu shot may help keep you from getting sick.

During your life when you get older and need extra care and attention, you may receive more medical care or even special living arrangements to help you live more comfortably. The next Sacrament is Extreme Unction or Anointing of the Sick. This Sacrament will help restore the health of your soul, similar to extra nursing attention can help your body. The grace received during Anointing of the Sick will help you to accept sickness and even death as a cross to be embraced and will help you accept the will of God concerning your life. How do we receive the Anointing of the Sick? We receive the Anointing of the Sick when we are very sick or near-death. A priest will give us a special blessing with the special anointed oil to allow us to get more grace at that time.

If you become a priest or deacon and receive Holy Orders, this is another Sacrament and you will receive more Grace. This Grace helps the priest to fulfill his very important and sacred duties as well as to help him be a very good priest.

When you get married and get married in the Church, the Sacrament you receive is the Sacrament of Matrimony. You get more grace at this time. This grace helps married people to put up with each other’s defects and imperfections and helps them to fulfill their duties of the married life, especially bringing children into the world and raising them to be children of God.

So, all Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church give us Grace that helps builds us, make us stronger, and make us holier in this life so that we can make it to heaven. I have to tell you though, that you only receive the fullness of the grace from the Sacraments if you are properly disposed of receiving that Grace.

What do you mean by that, I’m not sure I understand that completely?

For example, let’s say you go to Confession. In order to receive the Grace during Confession, you need to be truly sorry for your sins and also have a determination or firm purpose of amendment not to commit that sin again. If someone went to confession and did not intend to stay away from that sin, or were not sorry for committing their sins, that person would not be properly disposed to receive the grace. God will still pour out the waters of Grace, but if a person is not truly sorry, then the pipe that the waters of Grace would flow to the person through would be clogged so the Grace may not reach the person.  Does that help?

Ya, I think I understand that better now. 

Great? Also let’s say a person is in a state of mortal sin and goes to a Sacrament, whether it's to get married, receive Confirmation, or receive the Eucharist, that person will not receive the Grace associated with that Sacrament.

We have a special name for two of the sacraments. The Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance are called the Sacraments of the Dead. The reason they're called Sacraments of the dead is that those sacraments give us life when we do not have God's life in us. So before we were baptized, we were not children of God, so we were basically dead, our soul was dead. When we receive Baptism we receive Sanctifying Grace. We are infused with God's life and we are brought back to life. The same goes, if we have committed mortal sin we have put up a roadblock and we are no longer in the state of grace, we are not any longer in God's good graces or in his life so we are dead, our soul is dead. When we go to confession and we confess our sins and we are forgiven by Jesus through the priest, we are then brought back to life, our soul is brought back to life.

Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony are the other five Sacraments. These are called Sacraments of the living because the purpose of those Sacraments is to give us more grace than we already have. Remember we can only get more grace through these Sacraments of the Living if we are in a state of grace with no mortal sins when we receive these Sacraments.

So, If we receive one of the Sacraments of the living, and we’re not in a state of grace, do I understand correctly that we don’t receive the grace, but do we still receive that Sacrament?

Terrific question! The Sacrament would still be valid, but would not have the full benefit of having the associated grace until that person went to confession to be restored to a State of Grace. Also, a person who receives a Sacrament of the Living without being in a State of Grace, that person would commit another mortal sin that is called sacrilege.

Here is an important thing about the Sacraments.  Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders are Sacraments that can only be received once in your life. These Sacraments put an imprint on your soul, an imprint that can never be taken away. They can be dulled by sin, but when we go to confession and we get sanctifying Grace back fully, then those imprints of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders are made bright again. So, when we are baptized, when we are confirmed, or when we get holy orders to become a priest, those Sacraments can only be received once.

Student: Can we lose God's life of grace?
We definitely can lose God's life or Grace when we sin especially and most importantly if we commit a mortal sin. Committing a mortal sin, remember is when we are putting a wall between you and Jesus, between you and God. It's basically like holding your hand up and saying I would rather sin than live the life with you Lord. So, of course, you don't want to do that. If you do choose to put up the wall between you and God, God won’t be happy, but he will let you choose to do so because he has given us free will.

Student: So, If we lose God's grace, are we able to get it back or is that wall permanent?
Well, thank God yes we can get it back. Remember Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. It is up to us to stay in his good favor to keep his life and to keep his grace in us by not committing sins throughout our life. Remember when we do commit sins, which we all do course, it’s not the end of the world because Jesus provides for us the Sacrament of Penance which is when we go to confession to confess our sins to the priest and we get to hear those wonderful words from the priest, “I absolve you of all of your sins.” At that point, we get God's grace back in our souls again, immediately, just like when we were baptized and we received God's grace. When we go to confession and we confess all of our sins we again receive God's grace immediately. This is such a great gift, such a great gift. Always remember, as I said in a previous lesson, go to confession often because it will help you, it will definitely help you.

Student: What's the name of the grace that sacraments give us? 
The Sacraments, all seven Sacraments give us Sacramental  Grace. We receive Sanctifying Grace when we were baptized and then we will receive Sacramental Grace every time we receive another one of the Sacraments in our life.

Student: You talked about the two different types of Sacraments, Sacraments of the Living and Sacraments of the Dead. Why again can you receive the Sacraments of the Dead only once?
The Sacraments of the Dead are Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. When you receive one of those Sacraments, your soul is imprinted with a special spiritual mark that is called a character, which God has designed to last forever. This character is a mark on your soul similar to putting a seal on soft wax. This stamp puts the image of Christ on your soul and gives you a share of the priestly powers of Jesus.

Student: Got it. What powers do you get?
I meant to go over that earlier, so I’m glad you asked. At baptism, you receive the power to share in the Mass and to receive the other Sacraments. When you’re confirmed, you receive the power to spiritually fight for Christ and with Christ against the enemies of the Church. If you are called and answer the call to enter the priesthood and receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, then the power you receive is a full share in the priesthood of Christ, the ability and power to offer Mass, to forgive sins, and more.

Good questions, once again!

Let’s have a couple more short readings from the Bible. This first reading will be from the Gospel of Saint Matthew from chapter 28: vs 18, 19, and 20. This will tell us that the Lord will promise that he will be with his Apostles and his Church when he sent them out to give the sacraments in his name.

Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”

The next reading is when the Lord promised to be with us and to help us. This is also from Saint Matthew's Gospel chapter 11: verses 25 through 30.

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”


Next week we'll start talking in detail about each of the Sacraments. Next week we'll talk about the Sacrament of baptism. I know you know a lot about baptism because I told you about it already. I certainly hope you’ve been baptized, but if not you can definitely can. Feel free to send me questions to our website AllAboutMyCatholicFaith.com if you have questions on how to become baptized in the Catholic Church.

Remember there are seven sacraments. A great way to learn more about the Catholic Church is by listening to Catholic radio. I've learned so much by listening to Catholic radio and I'm blessed to have Catholic radio in my area. If you have a Catholic radio station in your area, I really encourage you to listen to the Catholic radio station in your area. You will be able to learn so much when people call in to ask questions when the host answers those questions. If you don't have Catholic radio in your area and you have the internet or a phone you can listen to a great Catholic radio network called the Relevant Radio. Relevant Radio has many many stations throughout the country, but If you're not in an area where you can receive those stations, you can listen online at relevantradio.com or on your mobile device by downloading the Relevant Radio app. The app is wonderful, it has prayers, it has shows you can stream later or you can listen live as the shows are happening. Relevant Radio has helped many many people increase their faith and even bring people into the Catholic Church who are not Catholic.

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Podcast 23 : The Beginning of Holy Communion & Marriage Laws

Jesus washed the feet of his Apostles before he gave them communion.  

This is lesson 22: The 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th commandments of the Church.

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Hello, welcome back to another lesson: All About My Catholic Faith. If this is your first time here, thank you very much and I truly hope that you’ll find that these lessons will teach you something new, strengthen what you already know, and help you to share your faith with others.

Things are really starting to get exciting now as we move into the next few commandments that the Church gives us. Then we’ll be able to start moving into the sacraments of the Church. The sacraments, among other things, are what makes the Catholic Church so special. Remember the Catholic Church is the Church founded by Jesus Christ 2000 years ago and it has continued unbroken for all that time until today. Jesus gave the authority to the Catholic Church to be the stewards of all of the seven sacraments.

I am very happy to have my son join me again today for this podcast lesson. How are things with you today, Christopher?

They’re pretty darn good, and I want to say that I’m glad you're making me a part of this podcast series. So, thank you.

You’re welcome, and thank you! I hope you get to feeling better. We’ve certainly had a lot of rainy and cool weather for the last few weeks, so maybe that explains it.

If I can, I would like to read a little bit from an email that we received on our website this past week.

Sure, go right ahead. That’ll be a great way to get things started this week.

We received this email through our website, AllAboutMyCatholicFaith.com from a listener named Shawn. He wrote: “Your podcast has been a breath of fresh air during this time when many Catholic young adults stray from the Church. I almost left the Church but found out the truth through prayer and research. Thank you and keep up the great work with your podcast.”

Wow, thanks for reading that. You know I been telling you that If I can just help at least one person either find their way into the Catholic Church or come back home to the Catholic Church, then perhaps I would have done something really worthy with my life. Well, I helped bring you into this world with my love and the help of your mom and thanks be to God, you are my wonderful son. So I guess that was pretty darn worthy.

Thanks, I’m glad you did!

Me too!

Student: Can I throw out a few questions for you to talk about?

Sure, what do you got?

When and how did the Apostles make their First Communion?

What did Jesus say about the need for communion?

And, why is it good for us to go to confession often?

Those are some good questions to get us going, so let's find out what the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th commandments of the Church are. Remember from our last lesson that these commandments are not the Ten Commandments that God gave us, but are commandments that the Church has given to us to help us stay on the right path towards happiness and ultimately, joining Jesus in Heaven.

The third commandment of the Church is that we are to confess our sins to the Church at least once a year. The fourth commandment of the Church is that we are also to receive Holy Communion at least once per year. The fifth commandment of the Church is that we are to contribute to the support of the Church. And the sixth commandment is that we are to observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.

Let's have our first reading from the Bible. This will give us a boost into this lesson. This is from the Gospel of St. John chapter 13, verses 1 through 14.

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.” So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet.”

I really love that reading and what it's about, Jesus washing the Apostles feet. It's not just about Jesus washing their feet though, it's also about Jesus teaching the Apostles and each one of us that we need to have our souls perfectly clean in order to be pleasing to God. When we bathe ourselves or take a shower, we’ll normally wash our hair and our face, our hands, and our arms and legs but me may not always reach down all the way to clean our feet. Jesus was telling the Apostles unless you actually wash your feet you are not completely clean.

The same goes for your soul. You must be completely clean and free of sin if you want to be fully pleasing to God. None of us actually chose to come into this world. God gave us our life and I am certain that he must feel pretty darn good when we do things that he asks from us. I know how happy I am when you follow my suggestions about things we talk about, even if it may not sound great at first.

Student: Does this tie into the Apostle’s first communion?

The same day when Jesus washed the Apostles feet was indeed the time they had their First Holy Communion. This was at what we call the Last Supper. We'll talk more about communion and the Last Supper as we go into other lessons. Basically, however, the Lord gave the Apostles their first communion at the Last Supper and this was also the first Mass. Also at this time, he gave the twelve Apostles the power and the authority to do the same thing, so that all people in the future would be able to share in his body and blood.

As you might remember in a previous lesson, Jesus said, as he broke the bread, “take this and eat this and do this in memory of me.” Also when he gave them the wine he said, “do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus commanded the Apostles to do this, it wasn't just a friendly suggestion. This is what the Catholic priests still do today. They’ve been given that same power and authority, through their ordination to the priesthood, to carry out that same commandment that Jesus gave his Apostles at the Last Supper.

We need to and we should want to be perfectly clean, both physically and within our soul. Our soul must be in a state of grace before we go to Holy Communion and we should have no mortal sin on our soul when we go to Holy Communion.

As I read the commandments of the Church, at the beginning of the lesson, one of the commandments is that we are to take Holy Communion at least once a year. If we only take Holy Communion once a year, that should be during Easter time or Easter season. Remember though, we must be in a state of grace when we do that. Even though we must take Holy Communion at least once a year, we are able to and we certainly can receive communion every day. If you can't go to Mass every day and receive communion, you still need to go to Mass each and every week. This doesn't mean that you have to receive communion every time you go to Mass, though. However, if you are in a state of grace when you go to Mass, then you should receive communion because that’s the same as cleaning your feet. Receiving Holy Communion is cleaning your soul, getting rid of all your smaller sins that may still be on your mind and in your soul.

Student: I’m a little confused, I guess. You say that we should go to Mass every week, but If we’re not in a state of grace we shouldn’t receive communion. I thought the main point of going to Mass was to receive the Eucharist at communion.

A lot of people, I suppose, may think that if they are not in a state of grace, and can’t receive communion, then why should they bother to go to Mass. There are two main things that we benefit from by going to Mass. Remember that we are commanded in the Ten Commandments to Keep Holy the Lord’s Day. Even if you’re not in a state of grace, and actually especially if you are not in a state of grace, you should go to Mass every week. The action of fulfilling a commandment of God, who loves you, will benefit you greatly, and make God very happy with you. If you are not in a state of grace, though, you should not go up to receive the Eucharist.

Jesus told us that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood we shall not have life within us. That’s from the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6 verse 54. We are taught and we truly believe that when we’re at Mass and when we receive communion, the bread and the wine have been transformed. They have been changed into the body and blood of Jesus our Savior. This is so very awesome. It’s the most special time of the Mass and it’s a culmination of our faith, the peak of our faith, the pinnacle of our faith. This is what Jesus wants us to do, so go to Mass regardless of the state of you're soul, but only receive communion if you're in the state of grace.

We do sin, everyone sins, that’s why we need Jesus and his Church. Venial sins, or the not so serious sins, do not keep us from receiving Holy Communion, however, mortal sins do keep us from receiving Holy Communion. If you are in a state of mortal sin and you receive Holy Communion then you’re actually committing another mortal sin on top of the mortal sins that you may already have. This is one of the reasons why we must go to confession at least once a year. We want to make sure that we don’t have mortal sins on our soul, and we need the help of confession, or reconciliation to give us the grace we need to stay away from all sin.

If we only go to confession once a year, then this should be around Easter time. I don't know about you but I really want to go to Mass and receive Holy Communion every week. I want to do my best to stay in a state of grace. To stay in a state of grace, I go to confession. You don't have to just go to confession once a year, you can go to confession every month or even every week, whatever it takes to keep yourself in a state of grace. Even if you don't have any mortal sins it’s still a great idea to go to confession very often because we do commit little sins which don't amount to a lot, but if we go to confession we can have our soul purified of even these smaller venial sins. It is also great to have the priests tell us that we have been forgiven by God of all of our sins, our small sins, and our great sins.

Another one of the commandments of the Church, that I mentioned, is that we should contribute to the support of the Church. What does that mean exactly? This means that if we are able to, then we should give money to the Church. The Church is just like any other operation, it needs money to pay for the electricity, and the heating, the materials and books, and the upkeep and cleaning of the grounds and buildings. The power company and the phone company sure don’t give your church that stuff for free and the book companies don't give your church the books for free, so your church has to pay for that. The only way your church will be able to pay for those things is if you give money during the collection. This is not all that the church uses your money for. They also use it to feed the hungry and help the needy and do other things for the community. It is a very special sign that when we give to the church and to the needy that we are really showing a true sign that we love God and our fellow humans.

The other Commandment that we are taught is that it is the ordinary law of the Catholic Church that we observe the marriage laws of the Church. We’ll go into more detail about marriage in a future lesson, but in general, in order for the sacrament of matrimony and the marriage to be valid, the marriage must be between one man and one woman. Marriage was raised to a Sacrament by Jesus himself during the Wedding Feast at Cana.

Jesus only made this sacrament valid if it was a marriage between one man and one woman. They must be married in the presence of an authorized Catholic priest and two witnesses in a Catholic Church.

It is frowned upon and discouraged for one Catholic to marry a non-Catholic. Why is that?  It’s not that we are against anyone who is not Catholic, and a marriage when only one person is Catholic can work out, but the odds are stacked against the couple on a few different levels. When a Catholic gets married, the couple must both agree to be open to bring new life into the world and to teach and raise their children they are blessed within the Catholic Faith. Sometimes a wonderful thing does happen and the non-Catholic will become Catholic. That is certainly a great thing for that person, the marriage and their family. However, it is more common that friction will build between the couple regarding how they practice their faith or not practice their faith. This may lead to the Catholic falling away from their faith, which is absolutely terrible for that person’s salvation, for their marriage, and for their family. Sometimes this friction may even lead to divorce. Another promise that a couple makes when they are married is that they promise to stay married until one of them dies. The sacrament of marriage is a lifelong bond between the man, the woman, and God. This marriage bond can never be broken. Jesus has told us that “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Student: Can a man and a woman get married in a park or another church or in their beautiful backyard? Normally this is not allowed. The couple must be married in a Catholic Church. In certain circumstances, permission may be given for a couple to be married outside of a Catholic church. Normally, this permission can only be given by the bishop where the couple lives. This special permission is called a dispensation.

Student: I know you said that we’ll talk about the Sacrament of Marriage in a later lesson, but can I ask a few questions about the other parts of this lesson?

Sure, and if you have any questions about marriage, that’s ok too!

Student: Should only those in mortal sin go to confession?
No. It’s very beneficial for you to go to confession often even if you don't have mortal sin on your soul. This could be once a month or even every week. Going to confession often is very pleasing to God as it continues to cleanse your soul and give you the grace to go through life without falling into serious sin.

Student: Do we need to receive communion often? 
We should definitely go to Mass every week and receive the Eucharist at Holy Communion often. The Church says the minimum we should receive the Eucharist is once a year, and that should be during the Easter Season. Think of this though. If you only ate a nourishing meal once a year, you would likely get sick and probably die of malnutrition. The same can be said about only receiving the Eucharist at Holy Communion once a year. Your soul would be severely deprived of the spiritual food and the graces you get each time you receive Jesus in the Eucharist. You would become more and more likely to fall into mortal sin which then could keep you from entering Heaven. If you neglect to receive the Eucharist in a state of grace during the Easter season, this is considered a mortal sin in itself.

Student: Does Holy Communion help us to love God more?
Absolutely! Holy Communion is when we are taking Jesus, body, blood, soul, and Divinity into our body. It's not like we're just praying to Jesus or that we’re in the presence of Jesus at church, which of course are also awesome,  when we go to Holy Communion and take the body and blood of Jesus into our bodies this is a great way that we are able to become closer to God and to love and understand Jesus in a deeper way.

Student: How often are we supposed to confess our sins?
We should confess our sins at least once a year even if we're not in a state of mortal sin. If we are in a state of mortal sin then we should confess our sins to a priest as soon as we possibly can after the time that we do commit a mortal sin. It's a great idea to go to confession often, let's say once every two months, or even once every month will be better. Remember what you tell the priest in confession he is bound never to tell that to anyone else at all. I hope you've had a chance to go to confession recently. If not please do go. You will have a tremendous weight lifted off of your shoulders, believe me.

As we go into the next several weeks we will be talking about the sacraments of the Catholic Church. We’ll talk more about the Holy Eucharist, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders which is becoming a priest or deacon, Baptism, Confirmation, and Extreme Unction which is anointing of the sick or dying.

I hope you’ll join us again next week and every week and I really hope that you're learning a lot from these lessons. I am so very thankful that I'm able to bring these lessons to you through this podcast.

Remember to go to Mass this Sunday and every Sunday and give to the church so they can help the needy and pay their bills. Also, make sure you go to confession if it’s been a while since your last confession. You can thank me later for that one!

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