Catholic Bible 101
21st Century Catholic Apologetics for Mary's Spiritual Warriors
One of the things that makes the Catholic Church unlike Protestant Churches is the Seven Sacraments. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about them:
"The seven sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions."
These seven signs of Jesus that the Church dispenses convey the free gift of sanctifying grace to the recipient. The amount of grace given is infinite; The amount of grace received depends on the state of our soul. The purer our soul, the more sanctifying grace gets through. It's like having a 500,000 watt radio station next to your house, but having a faulty radio - If the antenna is broken, or if there is no power for the radio, you cannot receive the signal coming from right next door. That's why frequent confession and penance are so necessary - These two things wash off the dirt on our souls that naturally accumulates over time in this very sinful world we all live in. Washing off this dirt allows more sanctifying grace to get through to our souls, and makes us more like Jesus. The sacraments are like a portal or gateway into heaven. They act as a semipermeable membrane, where God's grace flows into us, and we are allowed into heaven for a short while.
Sanctifying grace is a share in divine life, freely given by God to His children, you and me, through the sacraments. And since God is "Our Father" AND the "King of Kings", we are all capable of being His children right now, as well as later on in heaven; We are therefore of royal lineage, so be sure to keep that in mind the next time you are tempted to sin.
To learn more about the Seven Sacraments, click on each one of the links below:
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God."
Gospel of John 3:5
"Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for it had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit."
Acts of the Apostles 8:14-17
"I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh. The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."
Gospel of John 6:51-58
"Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father who sent me, even so I send you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them,"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained. "
Gospel of John 20:21-23
He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
Gospel of Matthew 19:4-6
"for I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
1 Corinthians 11:23-25
"Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."
James 5:14
