“What is the significance and tradition of the candle burning continuously in the Sanctuary ?”
In the Old Testament God commanded that a lamp filled with the purest oil of olives should always burn in the Tabernacle of the Testimony without the veil (Exod.,xxvii, 20,21). The Church prescribes that a light should continually burn before the tabernacle (Rit.Rom.iv,6), not only as an ornament of the altar, but for the purpose of worship. It is also a mark of honor. It is to remind the faithful of the presence of Christ, and is a profession of their love and affection. Mystically it signifies Christ, for by this material light He is represented who is the “true light which enlighteneth every man” (John, i,9).
“How should we dispose of our old palms?”
Palms, since they are blessed, are considered a sacred symbol. As such, they are to be treated with respect. When it is time for them to be removed from our homes or our churches because of their age, it is appropriate to either burn them or to bury them in a place where they will not be trampled. Traditionally people have brought their old palms to the church and the church has used them to make ash for the Ash Wednesday services. This is something we hope to encourage this coming
“Why does the Catholic Church have certain colors for certain seasons?”
As human beings we relate to the world through our five senses. We see, hear, touch, smell and taste. It is through our senses that we learn and interact with our world. It is also through our senses that we come to know our Lord. We hear the Word of God being proclaimed. We touch the cross. We smell the incense burning. We taste the Body and Blood of Jesus. We see the symbols of our faith that tell us the story of God or remind us of something that is important in our life.
The colors of the seasons reflect certain truths of our faith. Green is the color of life and reminds us that God is the source of all life. White is the symbol of purity and holiness and reminds us how we were washed clean of sin through baptism. Purple is the color of royalty that Jesus was clothed in before his resurrection and now is the symbol of his passion and our need for mourning. Red is the color of fire that reminds us of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and it is the color of blood that reminds us of our Lord’s death and the death of the martyrs. The color of violet or blue is used in Advent to reflect the reality of our life that we are a people waiting for the return of our Lord.
Of the several sacred monograms of Christ, the Chi Rho is one of the most ancient. It is generally formed of the Greek letters chi (X) and rho (P). These are the first letters of the Greek word "XPICTOC" (pronounced Christos), which means "Christ." The monogram has been styled in a
variety of imaginative ways over the centuries. Other symbols are sometimes added to the monogram to call to mind a particular attribute of our Lord.
Why do we need a Youth Program?
With over 2600 students between Lake Stevens and Granite Falls High Schools, there is a tremendous need to reach out and to serve our youth. With a minimum of 10% being Catholic, that means there are at least 260 youth of High School age and the equivalent number that are in Middle School.
In recent years many parishes have been adding Sunday night Masses to their schedule as a way of reaching out to their youth. It seems to be the best time without distractions from sports and other events for youth to come together. A typical youth program today will have a dynamic youth liturgy with homilies and music that reflect where they are in life. Youth Ministry will also include a strong faith formation program, outreach and service opportunities, food and fun. Confirmation preparation will also be needed as we invite the Archbishop to come and celebrate this sacrament with us. This program will need the support of our whole community. We will need volunteers and we will need the financial support as well.
Please explain the bonfire on Easter Vigil and why we carry candles?
The night vigil of Easter signifies Christ's passage from the dead to the living by the liturgy which begins in darkness (sin, death) and is enlightened by the fire and the candle representing Lumen Christi the Light of Christ just as the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the community of believers, is led from spiritual darkness to the light of His truth.
The Paschal candle represents Christ, the Light of the World: "I am the light of the world. He that followeth me walketh not in darkness" [John 8:12]. The pure beeswax of which the candle is made represents the sinless Christ who was formed in the womb of His Mother. The wick signifies His humanity, the flame, His Divine Nature, both soul and body. Five grains of incense inserted into the candle in the form of a cross recall the aromatic spices with which His Sacred Body was prepared for the tomb, and of the five wounds in His hands, feet, and side.
During the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night the priest or deacon carries the candle in procession into the dark church. A new fire, symbolizing our eternal life in Christ, is kindled which lights the candle. The candle, representing Christ himself, is blessed by the priest who then inscribes in it a cross, the first letters and last of the Greek alphabet, (Alpha and Omega `the beginning and the end') and the current year, as he chants a prayer; then affixes the five grains of incense.
Devotion to Mary must be regarded as a practical application of the doctrine of the Communion of Saints. The communion of saints is the spiritual solidarity which binds together the faithful on earth, the souls in purgatory, and the saints in heaven in unity with Christ. The participants in that solidarity are called saints by reason of their destination and of their partaking of the fruits of the Redemption. St. Thomas teaches that the angels, though not redeemed, enter the communion of saints because they come under Christ's power and receive of His gratia capitis. The solidarity itself implies a variety of inter-relations: within the Church, not only the participation in the same faith and sacraments, but also a mutual exchange of examples, prayers, merits, and satisfactions; between the Church on earth, purgatory, and heaven. There is a spiritual solidarity between all the children of God.
We honor the saints as examples of what it means to follow Jesus. We look to them for inspiration and as role models for our life. We also see them as friends and as part of our own family united in Christ. Just as we may ask a friend to pray for us, to help us, or to remember us, we are able to ask a saint to also help us by their prayers to God. It is God who answers our prayers. Death may separate us from the living in a physical way, but we are still joined in Christ and are able to help one another. Death has no power over us and death can never separate us from the love of God. By our union with God, we are also united with those who have gone before us to be with God. We are all one family, a communion of saints.
Purgatory (to make clean, to purify) is a condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. The faith of the Church concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by the Council of Florence, and in the decree of the Council of Trent.
The belief in Purgatory is based on Scripture. In the Bible we see that the temporal punishment is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been pardoned by God. God brought us out of our first disobedience and gave us the power to govern all things (Wis. x, 2), but still condemned us "to eat our bread in the sweat of our brow" until we returned unto dust. God forgave the incredulity of Moses and Aaron, but in punishment kept them from the "land of promise". The Lord took away the sin of David, but the life of the child was forfeited because David had made God's enemies blaspheme His Holy Name. In the New Testament as well as in the Old, almsgiving and fasting, and in general penitential acts are the real fruits of repentance.
All sins are not equal before God. Daily faults of human frailty will not be punished with the same severity that is meted out to serious violation of God's law. On the other hand whosoever comes into God's presence must be perfectly pure for in the strictest sense His "eyes are too pure, to behold evil" (Hab., i, 13).
At the beginning of the Reformation there was some hesitation especially on Luther's part as to whether the doctrine should be retained, but as the breach widened, the denial of purgatory by the Reformers became universal. Modern Protestants, while they avoid the name purgatory, frequently teach the doctrine of "the middle state," and Martensen ("Christian Dogmatics," Edinburgh, 1890, p. 457) writes: "As no soul leaves this present existence in a fully complete and prepared state, we must suppose that there is an intermediate state, a realm of progressive development, in which souls are prepared for the final judgment" (Farrar, "Mercy and Judgment," London, 1881, cap. iii).
Did God die for our sins also? (asked by a 5 year old)
Part of the nature of God is that God is eternal. There is no beginning or end of God. God is not able to die. When Jesus died on the cross, it was his humanity that died. His divine nature could not die.
The practice of making the sign of the cross goes back to the earliest times of the Church. Tertullian said, "In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in and going out, in putting of our shoes, at the bath, at the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, in sitting down, whatever employment occupieth us, we mark our foreheads with the sign of the cross".
St. Cyril of Jerusalem in his "Catecheses" remarks: "let us then not be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the cross our seal, made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in every thing; over the bread we eat and the cups we drink, in our comings and in goings; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are traveling, and when we are at rest".
The series of three small Crosses made by the thumb of the right hand -- one small Cross on the forehead, one small Cross on the lips, and one small Cross on the breast -- just before the Gospel reading at Mass signify three things: the sign on the forehead is to show that we believe the Gospel, the sign on the lips is to show that we respect the Gospel and desire to spread the Good News, and the sign on our breast is to show that we love the Gospel and want it kept in our hearts.
What is the reason why there is not shared communion between the churches?
The Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches have a closed communion. The policy of a "closed Communion" goes back to the earliest Christians. The Didache, a book of Church discipline dating back to the late first century A.D., states that only Christians can receive the Eucharist:
"But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanksgiving, but they that have been baptized into the name of the Lord". -Didache 9:10-12
This text only explicitly excludes non-Christians from the Sacrament. Back then the Church was united; there were no "denominations" to exclude. However, as tragic divisions started to form within Christianity, it soon became necessary to close access to the Lord's Table even to some baptized Christians. The main reason for this was that the Eucharist is understood as the Sacrament of our unity in Christ. Those who receive it must have unity in the Faith. Those who are not in unity cannot receive.
Even back then some Christians were excluded from the Sacrament, as the following quote from the Didache indicates:
And on the Lord's own day gather yourselves together and break bread and give thanks, first confessing your transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure. And let no man, having his dispute with his fellow, join your assembly until they have been reconciled, that your sacrifice may not be defiled; for this sacrifice it is that was spoken of by the Lord; "In every place and at every time offer Me a pure sacrifice; for I am a great king, saith the Lord and My name is wonderful among the nations". -Didache 14:1-5
Any Christian who had a dispute with a fellow Christian was not allowed to receive the Eucharist with the rest of the community until the dispute was reconciled.
This was based on the Scripture passage where Jesus said,” If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23-24).
This is why Catholics and non-Catholics who are separated from the church are not permitted to receive communion. Until there is reconciliation, one cannot partake in the Sacrament of Unity.
Of course with any rule there may be exceptions. The Church would allow an Eastern Orthodox Christian to receive in an emergency situation. Members of the Polish National Catholic Church, an Old Catholic communion, are also allowed by the Vatican to partake in our Eucharist if they have no recourse to their own Communion. And a Protestant may be given permission to receive the Eucharist, but only if he or she:
1. has a serious spiritual need (ie, is sick, dying or under persecution);
2. is unable to receive in his/her own church for a long time;
3. is living a genuine Christian life, not a life of sin;
4. agrees with the Church's teaching on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist; -and-
5. gets permission from his/her own church to receive Communion in another.
For Catholics to receive communion in another tradition, the above would apply but also one more requirement. The non-Catholic Church must also have valid sacraments. A Church has valid sacraments if they have kept the apostolic succession from Bishop to Bishop all the way back to the apostles. A Church may believe in the Real Presence but not have kept the Apostolic Succession and thus their sacraments may be seen as invalid by the Catholic Church. So to the question of whether a Catholic may receive communion in another Christian Church, all of the above requirements would have to be met.
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