Religion-New testament

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Question 1
Catholic is one of the oldest denomination in the world. I visited St. Michael’s Catholic
church in old town, Illinois and I enjoyed the new experience. The church was founded in the
year 1852 to minister immigrant from Germany. The physical appearance of the church reflected
Christianity with a cross on the entrance door. Although I had some challenges to follow all the
Catholic rituals, I learned a lot about the Catholics.
Question 2
The environment around the church displayed holiness. The follower exhibited
humbleness as they followed the rituals of the Catholic church. The church service followed a
particular pattern, and specific songs were sung in different times of the procession. The crucifix
was hanging in front of the altar and choir was located in the first seats of the church. The songs
that were played sounded cool and religious. The choir used musical instruments such as piano,
guitar among other to make the songs sound appealing and service looked better. The priest was
escorted and served by the altar boys during the mass service. The microphone was used to make
the voice louder and clear. The mass had four readings namely 1st, psalms, 2nd (from acts of
apostles) and 3rd reading (Deharbe 23). Also, time for the offering was allocated where the
members of the church had to bring forward their offerings. The Catholic church also includes

the act of sharing the holy communion where the priest blessed it and then shared it with the
church members who are allowed to take it.

One thing that I noted about the Catholic church is that they have a set program of their
service. The program is usually uniform in all the Catholic church worldwide. The songs sang
during the service had a consistent tone and evenly divided throughout the church service. The
church had displayed some range of authority with the leaders being independent. The church
reflected some form of unity as they carry out the procession. They have some ethics and rituals
that they abide to strictly such as bowing down as the members enter and leave the church. I
observed that not all people who are supposed to go and take the holy communion (Evans 54).
As a visitor in the church, I got to understand the importance of having a good program for a
church service. The humbleness of the Catholics attracted my attention: I admired it.

From my experience, I got to understand that rituals differ from one religion to another.
The Hinduism rituals differ from the Christianity rituals just as the book tried to posit that rituals
differ from diverse denominations and churches. Moreover, I gained varied experience on
religious matters pertaining Catholics, their service program and their ethics and rituals.
Question 5
Some things contrasted with my expectations. First I did not expect the Catholic church
to have a regular program that saved time and made the service smart. Secondly, I did not expect
the church to have such a short and precise procession. I was surprised with the holy communion
service since it is not common to our religion. Also, I did not expect the church to be well
decorated with musical instrument and dancer made the procession marvelous. I liked the calm environment around the church and the whole service. The crucifix that was hanging in front of
the alter puzzled me. I did not understand why it should be hanging and Jesus was removed from
the cross, resurrected and ascended into heaven (Steck 76). The experience was a milestone in
my education career. I gained new experience from a different religion and visualized the reality
of different rituals and ethics of various denomination.

 

Works Cited

DEHARBE, JOSEPH. Full Catechism of the Catholic Religion: Translated from the German
(classic Reprint). FORGOTTEN BOOKS, 2016.
Evans, Mary A. Rituals. Poisoned Pen P, 2014.
Steck, Christopher. "CATHOLIC ETHICS AS SEEN FROM PADUA." Journal of Religious
Ethics, vol. 39, no. 2, 2011, pp. 365-390.