Sacramentalism Case Study

1. When the ships Christopher Columbus came to the New World, they came under the flag of Catholic Spain. Describe two missionary efforts of the Spanish and tell what their goals were for these missionary efforts to the Indians.

The Roman Catholics were one of the first Europeans to disembark in the New World. In addition, there were the Spanish Catholics. There were two missionary efforts of the Spanish that attempted to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. One of their attempts revolved around the priests and their ability to spread the faith. This attempt did not work for several years, until finally, in 1595, the Franciscans were able to progress with their plans. Furthermore, another attempt was when the Spanish used force to enforce their Christian belief. They were outnumbered by the Indians and therefore brought weaponry and soldiers to keep them at bay. Their reason behind the missionary efforts was that they were ordered to spread Christianity to the Native Americans by a holy spirit.

2. What is Catholic sacramentalism and how did Catholicism develop its sacramental sense?

The first is that of the priest, who delivers the messages of Jesus during Mass. The priest becomes a symbol for the Catholics because otherworldly spirits are able to pass through and are amid the living for a short period of time. Furthermore, the pope of Rome is similar to the priest in that he becomes the embodiment of God. Though they are similar in this way, the pope of Rome is the head of the church and his words are equivalent to the words of the Bible. This representation provided an additional belief to the Catholics, both being in scripture and in church. In addition, the church became a symbol of belief, “Indeed, Catholic tradition put spirit and matter together by understanding the church as the Mystical Body of Christ” (pg. 66). With all these together, there is a functioning society within