I try not to get into too much religion but I am a Christian and a Roman Catholic Christian at that. Yes, I belong to the largest Christian denomination which we believe is the first Christian church founded by Jesus Christ and led by the Pope.
We have many rituals and spirituals ceremonies which were instituted by Jesus beginning with the celebration of the Eucharist which we call The Mass. For many Catholics we believe that that bread and wine are transposed into the body and blood of Christ by the priest consecrating both bread and wine. Now, for some, this is a hard thing to believe. However, our faith believes it and that is what matters.
There are other things that we put our faith into and those are called sacramental. The Rosary is one of them. This is a string of beads gathered in segments of prayer. Candles, prayer cards, crucifix, and anything that will bring us to prayer are sacramental. Those are holy to us and we can’t just throw them away. We hold on to them and pass them down generation to generation.
One of the most abused item is the Rosary beads. We’ve seen them worn around the neck in various colors by gang members to signify their membership in that gang or as adornments. Prayer beads are used in different religions in various ways. Catholics were asked by Mary, mother of Jesus in an apparition in Fatima, Portugal, to pray the Rosary. This type of prayer was instituted way before the apparitions and we carry the beads to remind us to pray. A few years back, we were urged to pray special prayers in the morning, noon and night. We had church bells which rang at various times to remind us. You might say that we followed the Muslim time of prayer but in our own way.
Before we get into a debate about the first Christian church, remember that Catholics are Christians and so are the Lutherans, Baptists and other denominations. The non-denomination churches are also Christian unless they profess not to be. Whether our rituals and traditions are different from each other we pray to the same Lord, our God and it is time for all Christians to pray with an attitude of forgiveness and love. Yes, the Corona Virus is upon us and we are doing what we can. We are now self-quarantined. So, as a family we can pray more for the end to this virus.