Catholic Traditions
Tradition is typically a custom or some kind of belief that has been passed down from generation to generation. Catholic churches have many traditions, for example, events like Lent, Baptisms, First Communions, and Confirmations.
Lent is the season of fasting, prayer, and penitence. Penitence is the feeling of sadness from doing wrong. This season usually lasts 40 days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and does not conclude until sundown on Holy Thursday. Since the number of days between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday is more than 40 days Sundays are not counted instead, the church celebrates Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.
Some standards for Lent are; People who are 14 years old or older have to refrain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays of the season. Although they are not allowed to eat meat during Lent, they can eat fish instead. Those who are between the ages of 16 to 59 are to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Eating two small meals to keep their strength and one full meal is allowed on these days. If their health or work interferes with these standards they do not have to fast on these days. A person is may want to serve penance for not fasting on those days. Many Catholics were taught to give up a bad habit for Lent, these sacrifices serve as penance as well. Some Catholics even add something to their routine that serves as good instead of giving up.
Baptisms are very important in the Catholic Church. These usually happen on Sundays, either during Mass or in the early afternoon after all the Masses have finished. Priests or deacons are usually in charge of these rituals. The child or adult are usually baptized in oils and blessed water. They pour these liquids over the person's head not once but three times.
The person who is being baptized usually dresses in all white to symbolize purity and the power of cleanliness from the Baptism. Babies and younger children might wear a special gown that has been passed down and an adult usually puts on a white gown also known as an alb.
Every person that is baptized must have a sponsor or a Godparent. Every person must have at least one sponsor, babies usually get one of each gender and from each side of the family. The role of a Godparent used to be to take over for the parents if the children's parents die prematurely. Today, being a Godparent has no legal right to have authority over the minors. They give the child birthday and Christmas presents every year and they also serve as a prime religious role model by regularly and faithfully practicing their religion as much as they can.
The First Communion is one of the holiest and important celebrations in a Catholic’s life. This person has received the Sacrament of the Eucharist or the Holy Communion where the person has taken the Body and Blood of Christ upon themselves by eating wafers and drinking wine. Most Catholic children have a First Communion when they are about 7 or 8 years old. Other people can receive their Communion when they meet all of the church's requirements.
The rules to receive communion are that the person must be without sin and in a state of poise. Before their Communion, they must make their first confession, or make a Sacrament of Penance a week before their Communion. The child will tell the priest their sin or misdeed they’ve committed in detail in exchange for a penance. There are more Sacraments a child has to make before they have their communion; the Sacrament of Eucharist and Baptism must be received as well. The Sacrament of Baptism is another requirement for a child. If the person is not baptized, they cannot have their Communion. Children start studying for communion when they’re in 1st grade, those who do not attend Catholic school need to go to instructional classes either after school or on the weekends. Most times children take two or more years of instruction classes before they go through with Communion. While Communion is not just about having a party with family, it is a celebration of how hard children have studied and worked to understand what the Catholic Church is and why they celebrate Communion.
On the day of the Communion, out of respect for the church, the child must withstand eating an hour before the event. Taking water and medicine is excused but anything other than that is unacceptable. After the event, the young children have to attend their church every Sunday and they are motivated to receive communion (taking the bread and wine given by the priests) every week. If a kid misses a Sunday without good reason, they are seen as making a mortal sin and must go to confession before they go to mass and receive communion again. Most Catholics go to confession once a year, usually during the season of Lent.
These few events are one of the most important times in a Catholics life. They dedicate their lives to God and by going through these events they believe they are proving themselves to Him. Being a Catholic does not mean you have to do all of these events to be seen by the Catholic Church. You can still participate in Lent even though you may not go to church every week, but to really understand these events and why the Catholics do them then you might want to try and ask some friends who go church.
