Q&A Potpourri #4
Question:
Does First Communion come before Confirmation?
Answer:
It depends on when your diocese has chosen to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation. In the United States, Confirmation can be celebrated anywhere between the age of reason (7 yrs) and age 16. So, if your diocese celebrates Confirmation in the second or third grade, then it will come before First Communion. But, if your diocese celebrates Confirmation in the eighth grade, then it would come after First Communion.
Question:
What is the mystical process in which the bread and wine become Jesus?
Answer:
That “mystical process” is called transubstantiation.
Question:
What is man’s earthly purpose?
Answer:
According to the old Baltimore Catechism, man was made to know, love, and serve God in this life, and to be with him in the next.
Question:
Who was the first Catholic bishop?
Answer:
The Catholic Church believes that the first bishops were the 12 apostles themselves. It’s difficult to say which, from among the 12, became a bishop first. Perhaps it is Peter, who Jesus built His Church upon (cf. Mt 16:18).
Question:
When did the Holy Spirit originate?
Answer:
The Holy Spirit is God. This means that He has no beginning or end. Thus, there is no point in time in which we can say that the Holy Spirit first came to be and there is no point in time in which we can say that the Holy Spirit did not exist.
Question:
When did Roman Catholicism begin?
Answer:
The Catholic Church considers Her origin to be on the day of Pentecost, around 33 AD, when Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit upon the apostles and disciples in the Upper Room. It was this Spirit that gave the Apostles the courage to preach the Gospel with boldness and to establish local churches wherever they traveled.
Question:
Who was the first one to call the Church “Catholic”?
Answer:
The first instance that historians have found of someone referring to the “Catholic Church” is in Ignatius of Antioch’s Letter to the Smyrneans, where he writes, “Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he ordains [i.e., a presbyter]. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
Peace of Christ to you,
Nicholas Hardesty,
WIMM Board Member Director of Religious Education,
Blessed Mother Catholic Church
Feel free to email your questions to nicholashardesty@gmail.com