#cathechism

Reverend Father, what visible and invisible effects can a believer's participation in the holy services of the Church have on them?

The goal of humanity is the sanctification of life, according to Saint Paul: "God wills that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." Elsewhere, the same apostle says: "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

From the church, a person receives these two things: peace and holiness, through which they have the possibility to see God. The impact of the services, of the works carried out in the church, on a person is much broader and more profound. In church, a person partakes of the grace of the Holy Spirit. In church, a person participates in the Last Supper and thus fulfills the Savior's testament: "Do this in remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."

"In the Divine Liturgy, the Works of the Devil Are Destroyed"

For example, Saint Ignatius of Antioch says: "If you often gather to celebrate the Eucharist of God, the works of the devil are destroyed. And the common confession of your faith prepares for the devil his ruin." Therefore, in the Divine Liturgy, the works of the devil are destroyed, and the ruin of his works is prepared.

People today are very afraid of spells, charms, and other things related to magic and occultism, and they are almost morbidly preoccupied with these aspects. But they do not know that in the Divine Liturgy there is the power of God, by which all these malevolent powers of the devil are thwarted, marginalized, and scattered. People so morbidly seek all sorts of exorcisms and special prayers, but Saint Ignatius tells us that the most powerful work against the devil is the Divine Liturgy.

And if we participated wholeheartedly in this service, we would feel that the fear of these malevolent powers would be replaced by our trust in God.

"Through the Holy Services, We Are Led Towards the Kingdom of God"

For example, the role of the Divine Liturgy, besides its sacramental aspect, is also catechetical. Even if no sermon were given, during the Divine Liturgy there are readings from the Epistles of the Holy Apostles and readings from the Holy Gospel. For instance, at Vespers, there are readings from the Old Testament, called paremias.

All these have a didactic role, and if we were attentive, we would have much to learn. Indeed, even during the ektenias (litanies), we can learn many things. "Let us commend ourselves and each other and our whole life to Christ our God." How much this single expression says: "our whole life to Christ our God!" Or "Let us lift up our hearts!" And again: "Let us give thanks to the Lord!"

Then, during the services, we partake of the grace of God, a grace without which our salvation is not possible.

In conclusion, the purposes of participating in the holy services are partaking of God's grace, partaking of the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ, and, ultimately, partaking of the very Body and Blood of the Savior. Through these, we are led towards the Kingdom of God, and in this way, He imparts His salvation to us.

[Image description: Inside cover of a book that reads “Catechism of the Catholic Church for Personal Computers User’s Guide. Windows DOS Macintosh. English Español Français.” End quote. There is a small illustration of a shepherd. End description.]

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I was talking with a family member, as one does, and the topic of religion and cults came. I recently watched an online spiritual retreat titled, "Brujería y Hechicería, ¿qué poder tienen de verdad?" (roughly translated as, Witchcraft and Wizardry, what power do they really have?) I asked her if she was interested in watching it, and she said yes.

We sat in silence during the duration of the video. After it ended, there were a few more moments of silence. I could tell something was on her mind. When I asked her what she thought about it, she gave me a shocker of a revelation.

Turned out, an acquaintance of ours is a santera (something I had no idea about) and due to circumstances in my relative's life, our acquaintance had offered to do a job for her: she only needed a photo. Now, my family member is a devoted Catholic and refused, but the temptation was there as the santera apparently reminded her of it every now and then.

And it looked like she was inclined to accept the offer, until she saw the spiritual retreat's video. Needless to say, she rejected witchcraft and felt renew in her faith.

This shows we never know fully what's going on in people's lives, and we have to show love and kindness. I truly believe this was The Holy Spirit's doing between us.

CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

𝑨𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆, 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚: 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅

No. 2447 The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God:

He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise. But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?