The Roman Catholics remain the largest church in the world with a population of over 1.2 billion followers. It is one of the oldest traditional churches with roots going back to the New Testament. Just like families have traditions, the Roman Catholic Church can be distinguished because of its wide range of traditions. Most of the Catholic traditions might appear odd to non-Catholics.

The first step towards understanding the Catholic Church is to understand their traditions and the reasons behind them. Traditions are usually handed down from one generation to the next. The Roman Catholic Church believes their traditions were handed down from Christ. You can consider the Catholic Church tradition as the normal mode of transmitting the faith.

Nobody understands the importance of the Catholic traditions better than Father George Rutler. The Father believes following these traditions is continuing on the mission passed to them from Christ. Rutler strongly believes the Catholic Church traditions are firmly rooted in the Apostles. These traditions are whole gifts from Christ to the church. The Apostles dedicated themselves to the mission from Christ and so should the Roman Catholic Church.

Why Are Catholic Traditions Important?

The Protestants say the Roman Catholic Church looks more into traditions than the scripture itself. However, Catholic traditions are important since they stand with the scripture forming a single deposit of faith.

These traditions are important for Catholics since they complement the scripture and confirm it. The sacred traditions of the church take the word of God that is entrusted in Christ the Lord and passed to the Apostles through the Holy Spirit. This is then handed over to successors who are the church.

Baptism

Baptism in the Roman Catholic Church is a promise by the believer to God and his or her followers about his faith in God. In Catholicism, the words baptism and christening are used interchangeably but are not the same. Christening is the naming ceremony of children while baptism is when the child is received by the church. In the Catholic Church, baptism rituals involve sprinkling water over the person’s head. This symbolizes the acceptance of Christ, the church, and catholic traditions.

First Communion

In the Catholic Church, the first communion is when a person receives the sacrament of Eucharist. This is an essential tradition in the Catholic Church focusing on the sacramental life of the church, parish community, and family. The first communion is given to baptized children of 8 years and older. Preparation for the first communion starts at the age of 7 where catechetical instructions are given.

Confession

Father George Rutler and the Catholic Church believe in confessions where believers confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. All our sins, past, present, and future and forgiven once we become Christians. The church believes in the bible teaching where if we confess our sins we are forgiven.

Confessions in the Catholic Church start by saying, forgive me father, for I have sinned. Confessions happen at least once a week in Catholic churches.

The traditions in the Catholic Church are strongly derived from the scripture. Catholics view these traditions as a passage from the Lord Christ to the apostles and the church. They complement the scripture and in most cases confirm what the scripture says.