Catholic Identity

At the heart of our Catholic life is our encounter with Jesus Christ. This is only made possible through our life in the Spirit. This same Spirit brings us into communion in the Catholic Church.
This section offers a taste of some of the aspects of our faith that are significant to us.

Seven Sacraments

• Baptism
• Eucharist
• Confirmation
• Penance/Reconciliation
• Marriage
• Holy Orders
• Anointing of the Sick

Seven Gifts Of The Holy Spirit(from Isaiah 11:2-3 )

• Wisdom
• Understanding - Plainly put as common sense, "whereby self-evident principles are known".
• Right Judgement - Also known as "Counsel". The gift of being able to pick between good and evil.
• Fortitude - Courage.
• Knowledge - Being able to know the path you are on and to be able to stay on Christ's path.
• Reverence - Kindness, being able to keep peace.
• Fear of the Lord - Wonder and awe in the mystery of God.

Twelve Fruits Of The Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22-23 )

• Charity
• Joy
• Peace
• Patience
• Kindness
• Goodness
• Generosity
• Gentleness
• Faithfulness
• Modesty
• Self-control
• Chastity

Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Greatest Commandment(see Mk 12:28-34 )

• You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength;
• you shall love your neighbour as yourself.

The Ten Commandments ( Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21)

1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have no other gods besides me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day
4. Honour your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
9. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour's goods.

The Stations Of The Cross - Traditional

1. Jesus is condemned to death
2. Jesus takes up the cross
3. Jesus falls a first time
4. Jesus meets His mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus bear the cross
6. Jesus's face is wiped by Veronica
7. Jesus falls a second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls a third time
10. Jesus is stripped of His garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus' body is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb

The Stations Of The Cross - Scriptual

1. The Last Supper
2. The Garden of Gethsemane
3. Jesus before the Sanhedrin
4. Jesus before Pilate
5. Jesus is whipped and crowned with thorns
6. Jesus carries his cross
7. Jesus is helped by the Cyrenean
8. Jesus speaks to the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus is stripped and nailed to the cross
10. Jesus and the good thief
11. Jesus speaks to Mary and John
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is buried
14. Jesus is raised from the dead

Liturgical Seasons (and there Colours)

• Advent (Purple)
• Christmas and Christmastide (White or Gold)
• Lent (Purple) and Holy Week (Purple)
• Easter and Eastertide (White or Gold) - including Ascension (white) and Pentecost (red)
• Ordinary time (Green)

• White (or Gold) is used during the seasons of Christmas and Easter, and on the feastdays of Mary and the Saints (other than martyrs).
• Purple is used during the penitential seasons of Lent and Advent; it is also the most appropriate colour for other penitential celebrations, such as the Sacrament of Reconciliation and funerals.
• Green is a sign of new life and is used during the ordinary season of the year.
• Red is used on the feast days of Martyrs, for Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Pentecost, and for Masses of the Holy Spirit.

Holy Day Of Obligation

• Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, 1 January (note 1)
• Ascension, 6th Thursday after Easter (only, since 1999, in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, Newark, Omaha, and Philadelphia. The others have transferred this celebration to the following Sunday.)
• Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 15 August (note 1)
• All Saints' Day, 1 November (note 1)
• Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December
• Christmas, 25 December

Note 1: However, when 1 January (Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God), 15 August (Feast of the Assumption), or 1 November (Solemnity of All Saints) falls on a Saturday or on a Monday, the precept to attend Mass on that date is abrogated. The result is that in most years the obligation applies to only two of the three dates (i.e. If 1 January falls, in non-leap years, on a Tuesday; and it applies only to 1 November, if 1 January is a Saturday in a non-leap year). However, it applies to all three if 1 January is a Sunday

Expositions Of The Blessed Sacrament (Adoration)

A religious devotion in which the consecrated host is displayed for the worship of the faithful. The host is usually in a monstrance placed upon the altar...The devotion arose from the desire of the faithful to focus their eyes and attention upon the host as a means of fostering interior communion with the Lord and of contemplating the mystery of Christ's presence.
Source: Harper Collins, Catholic Encyclopedia of Catholicism

Benediction

Benediction (Blessing) has been a popular tradition since the Middle Ages when people no longer received communion frequently. A large consecrated host is placed in the monstrance so that the faithful may adore the Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. After a period of adoration, the monstrance is incensed, while hymns are sung... then the people are blessed by the priest or deacon with the Blessed Sacrament.