RE Catholic Christianity Practices

• Prayer


  Communication with God
• Types of prayer


  • To support the different stages of life
  • To support the different experiences that a Catholic meets on a day to day basis
• Prayer


  • Must be heartfelt
  • Must be sincere
  • Must be private
• Piety


  Devotion, non-liturgical worship. The different ways of worshipping God.
• Popular Piety


  Celebration or worship of God which is NOT part of the official public liturgy of the Church. Inspired by people's culture rather than by the Church's liturgy. May have elements of public liturgy but does not follow a strict pattern or order of worship set out by the Church.
• The Catholic Church encourages Catholics to take part in practices that express spiritual life and offer worship to God
• They can be done in private or in public and can be led by a priest or deacon but they are NOT part of official liturgical worship of the Church
• Rosary


  A string of prayer beads that help the person to count the prayers making up the devotion, in the shape of a circle/crown.
• Rosary


  • Used in private prayer at home, in church, or walking to school
  • Used with others in church or elsewhere
  • Sometimes said on the evening before a funeral Mass, when the coffin is brought into the church
• Rosary


  1. One Lord's prayer

  2. Ten Hail Marys

  3. One Glory be
• Mysteries of the Rosary


  Particular events in the life of Jesus or Mary that the person focuses on while praying each decade
• The Rosary helps Catholics meditate on the grace of God and think about the elements of Jesus' life
• Catholicism encourages praying the Rosary as a way of honouring Mary, but the Rosary is ultimately viewed by the Church as a way of going 'to Christ through Mary'
• Stations of the Cross


  A series of prayers and meditations that honour the Passion (the suffering) and death of Christ. Also known as the Way of the Cross, or the Via Crucis in Latin.
• Stations of the Cross


  • Often erected on the walls of a Catholic church
  • Consist of a wooden cross and images representing the scene being recalled
• The Stations of the Cross might be used in a Catholic church on Fridays (recalling the day Jesus was crucified), especially in Lent, and even more so, on Good Friday itself
• Eucharistic Adoration


  The Blessed Sacrament itself is adored and worshipped. Catholics believe Christ is truly present within the consecrated bread and wine.
• Eucharistic Adoration


  • The consecrated host is placed in a monstrance and adored
  • Used as a way of focussing people in prayer in a parish, or on retreat
  • Used as a way of praising and thanking God for something, or praying in times of emergency/war/disaster
  • There will be Eucharistic Adoration after the Mass celebrating the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday until midnight
• Vatican II recommends that Catholics genuflect on the knee before the Eucharist (although some genuflect on both knees when the Eucharist is on the altar)
• Pilgrimage


  Journeys made to religiously significant places with a spiritual purpose
• Pilgrimage


  • The believer makes a physical journey but it is also a spiritual journey towards God
  • An act of worship and shows the believers devotion to God
• Pilgrimage sites


  • Places connected to events in the life of Jesus
  • Places connected to the life of one of the saints
  • Places where visions have taken place
• Reasons for pilgrimage


  • Grow closer to God and strengthen your faith
  • Express sorrow for sin and be forgiven
  • Reflect on their lives
  • Prayer for something or thank God for a blessing
  • Seek a cure for an illness
  • Help other pilgrims who are disabled or ill
  • Experience a holy place
  • Meet others who share their faith
• Holy Land/Jerusalem


  • Place connected to Jesus' birth, ministry, miracles, Transfiguration
  • Where the Christian faith began
  • Allows people to pray at the sites and better understand the Gospels
  • Place of Jesus' death & resurrection
• Rome


  • Vatican City is the centre of the Catholic Church
  • Home of the Pope
  • Possible to see the Pope on a regular basis
  • Historically important for Christians
  • Colosseum - many early Christians were martyred there
  • The catacombs under the city are where early Christians met to pray and celebrate mass in secret, and were also buried
• Lourdes


  • Linked to Mary's apparitions to Bernadette, a young girl
  • Place for the sick and injured to visit
  • Water is said to have healing powers
  • Pilgrims pray, light candles, bathe in the water, take part in processions
  • HCPT take disabled and disadvantaged children each year
  • Annually over 6 million people visit
• Funeral Rite


  Ceremonies and liturgical celebrations carried out when a Catholic dies
• The Funeral Rite is seen as a celebration as, though sorrowful, it recognises that it is part of the pilgrimage (or journey) towards eternal life with God
• The liturgies recognise that the person is part of the Church who, as our Mother, is seen as handing the person back to our Heavenly Father God
• The Vigil of the Deceased

  1. Takes place in the home of the deceased or the church the evening before the funeral

  2. Normally led by a priest or deacon

  3. Service includes Bible readings, homily and prayers

  4. Relatives spend time with the deceased
• The funeral liturgy


  1. Priest is usually in purple or white vestments

  2. Maybe a Mass (Requiem) or Liturgy of the Word at the Church

  3. Welcome and sprinkling of holy water on the coffin

  4. Liturgy of the Word including eulogy - readings will link to resurrection

  5. Liturgy of the Eucharist (Recalls the Paschal Mystery) is encouraged

  6. Incense is waved over the coffin - rising smoke represents the prayers of the faithful being offered to God

  7. Ends with the priest saying a prayer asking for any sins committed by the deceased to be forgiven
• The Farewell (or commendation)


  1. Takes place in the cemetery or crematorium

  2. Final farewell to the deceased

  3. The deceased is placed into the hands of God (commended) in the afterlife

  4. The Our Father is said to reflect the person is a child of God who is now being received back into his care
• Aims of the funeral rite


  • Communion with the deceased - Prayer (especially the Eucharist prayer) can support the deceased, the deceased makes the journey of death alone but prayer can support them, Catholics remember and celebrate the life of the deceased through prayer and forgive them of any wrongdoing
  • Communion of the community - Funeral rite reassures Catholics that they are connected with one another, particularly when they all pray together and take part in the Eucharist (receiving the body and blood of Jesus) together, this helps remind them that they are not alone in their grief and that they can connect to one another, and to the person who has died, through the Eucharist and prayer
  • Proclamation of eternal life - The funeral rites give hope to Catholics for the life after death that awaits them, it helps reinforce belief and faith, it is also an opportunity to refocus on our own life and priorities
• Sacraments


  Rites through which God can communicate his grace to an individual
• Catholic Christians believe that the sacraments are channels for God's grace - every time they take part in a sacrament, they receive more grace
• Baptism


  • Normally performed when someone is an infant and involves the pouring of water on their forehead
  • Represents the moment someone enters the Church
  • Cleanses people from original sin and welcomes a Christian into God's family
• John the Baptist was the first Jew to use baptism to symbolise the forgiveness of sins
• After his resurrection, Jesus told his followers that they too should be baptised
• Baptism is practised by nearly all Christian denominations
• Confirmation


  • Typically takes place in early teenage years, when a child starts to be seen as an adult member of the Church
  • The bishop lays his hands on each candidate's head as a sign that they are now full members of the Church
  • The bishop also puts chrism on the forehead of each candidate in the shape of the cross, which is considered a sign of strength and reminds the candidate of their commitment to follow Christ