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What is the importance of confirmation
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To me, confirmation is about continuing my faith journey, not completing it. I believe that St. Perpetua’s illustration of love, friendship, loyalty, faith, and bravery can assist me in this important sacrament. By following her example, I may become a more faithful, a more loving, and a fairer catholic. She lived out the last days of her life braver than most can hope to live out in a lifetime, and it was all in the name of God. St. Perpetua was, and continues to be, a prime example of how every Christian should strive to love and serve God. Not much is known about the early life of St. Perpetua. In fact, most of what we know about her comes from a diary that was kept in her last days on earth. However, what we do know about her life before …show more content…
Perpetua was twenty-two when she was arrested and thrown in prison for her catholic faith. It was the year 203 A.C., and at the time Perpetua was studying to be baptized. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus had declared it illegal to be baptized into the Catholic Faith, and so Perpetua, along with four others including her slave Felicitas, were thrown in prison for their faith. Perpetua was baptized by another inmate in prison, after which her father came to her cell and begged her to renounce her faith. Perpetua replied, “Father, do you see this water jar, or whatever it is standing there? Could you call it by any other name than what it is? Well, in the same way, I cannot be called by any other name than what I am – a Christian” (Glavich Pg. #28). They were tried by the governor Hilarianus and sentenced to …show more content…
During this time, Felicitas gave birth to a baby girl, who was taken away from her hours after her birth. The day before they were to be martyred, Perpetua had a dream of her battling a “savage Egyptian”, and proclaimed that she would battle the devil himself. The day of their execution, the soon-to-be martyrs are led into the amphitheater where they are to be killed by beast. They are first scourged by Gladiators, and then a boar, a bear, and a leopard are set on the men, a wild cow on the women. After the two were wounded by the animals, Perpetua and Felicitas gave each other the kiss of peace before they are put to the sword. Both are beheaded, and both became martyrs for their faith. St Perpetua was brave until her death. She continued loving and praying to God in the days leading to her execution, and when asked to do so to save her life, never renounced her faith. I want to be confirmed so that I can continue my faith journey in a way that pleases and serves God, and I think than St. Perpetua can help me in this. I know it won’t be easy, but I also know that it could never be as hard as what St. Perpetua withstood for her faith. I will try my hardest every day to live up to her example, and by God’s grace let my faith overrule my fear in times of
They thought that the Christians were stubborn when they denied worshiping the Roman gods. Stubbornness and inflexibility were both punishable crimes. “For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy surely deserve to be punished”(Pliny, paragraph 2). The Romans try to understand why the Christians are so stubborn and what it means. They do this by torturing two female slaves who were deaconesses. The Romans take what they hear as excessive superstition.
The novel The Natural is written by Bernard Malamud. Bernard was a famous author mainly known for writing short stories and novels. He was considered one of the great American Jewish authors of the 20th century. Bernard was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were Russian Jewish immigrants and he had a brother named Eugene. Unfortunately, Malamud entered his adolescence when the Great Depression began. The Natural is one of his more famous books, which was written in 1952. This novel is about a baseball prodigy named Roy Hobbs. He has a bat that he made himself, which he calls Wonderboy. Roy plans to join the major leagues and break all the records. However, his plans are put on hold when a woman he meets shoots. After fifteen years after the tragedy Roy goes back to baseball and is drafted to the New York Knights. Along his journey to becoming a superstar he is distracted from his goal by the women in his life. The Natural is very much similar to the mythological story of Perceval, the Story of the Holy Grail. Roy Hobbs is comparable to Perceval, Pop Fisher to the Fisher King and the pennant to the Holy Grail.
Patria goes on a pilgrimage with her mother and sisters. When she prays to Virgencita, Patria feels as if she was looking up to God and heaven when really she needed to be looking at the people behind her. She is still questioning her faith. She does blame her third child’s death on God. Patria long after realizes that going to church isn’t for her anymore.
Perseus was born to Danae and the Greek god Zeus. Acrisius, the father of Danae, was told by the oracle of Apollo that Danae’s son would kill him. After finding out that Danae had her son, Perseus, Acrisius shut Perseus and Dane up in a large chest cast the chest out to sea. After a while out in the sea, they landed on the island of Seriphos, where they were saved by the king Polydectes’s brother, Dictys. Polydectes, after hearing about Danae, wanted her to marry him. In order to get rid of Perseus, so that no one would be able to stop him from marrying Danae, Polydectes came up with a plan. He pretended to be marrying the daughter of one of his friends and required everyone to bring him a wedding gift. Polydectes knew that Perseus, being very poor, would arrive empty-handed. Perseus vowed that he could bring Polydectes anything that he wanted and so Polydectes demanded Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa, hoping that he would be killed. Perseus set off on his adventure to kill Medusa and while stopping to rest one night in an unknown land, Perseus realized how hopeless the adventure seemed to be. “Gorgons were horrible, instead of hair they had black serpents that writhed on their head, they had brazen hands that could...
Montresor, fifty years after it happened, confesses to the murder of his foe, Fortunato. He justifies his actions by saying that Fortunato caused him a thousand injuries and therefore is seeking revenge.... ... middle of paper ... ... He tempts her by offering to give her independence from them, saying he is her lover, playing into her weakness of men.
The study of religion is often a rigorous process because the central tenets of the subject: image, ritual, and myth are often copious in their complexity. For example, consider the multiple meanings that are inherent in the image of a crucifix. Some Christians might view it as an image of suffering, whilst others would reject that notion and instead perceive it to be one of love. These differences may seem inconsequential at first, but they can overtime shape the beliefs of an individual and by extension a community. To understand this dynamic better one only has to analyze the Christo Aparecido (Christ Appeared), an authentic Mexican crucifix with a fascinating history from the colonial era to the present. This history is made known by the text, Biography of a Mexican Crucifix: Lived Religion and Local Faith from the Conquest to the Present by Jennifer Hughes, from which I contend that over the life of the Christo Aparecido there continues to be an understanding among devotees that this crucifix is sacred because it displays animus while being a vestige for the sacred to occupy. To support my position I will attempt to relate the moments where the Christo Aparecido is said to show signs of life, in particular his stay in Mexico City during the colonial era and his role in more modern times with rival groups clashing over its efficacy in the village of Totolapan.
The act of pilgrimage is scared to the devoted followers of any faith as it requires a commitment to religious obligations and the utmost sacrifice to an unseen deity. As one takes part in a religious journey, he or she renounces worldly obligations in efforts to fulfill the greatest form of piety.
The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity The document, “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity,” shows just how mighty and fearless the faith of the martyrs were in Rome around 203 A.D. in which our story takes place. During the rule of Diocletian, Christianity was not the religion of popular belief. Many of Romans practiced polytheism. As a result, numerous Christian believers were persecuted for their divine faith in God.
Every year, the statue of the Infant King “is carried into the cell of every Carmelite on Christmas.” A decree of the National Assembly confiscated all church goods, including the crown and the scepter of the Infant King. Regardless, the Carmelites carried on the tradition. The statue came to Blanche’s room, and she was moved to tears as she saw the poor Infant King, clad only in a handmade cape. She held the statue and said, “Oh so small and so weak”, Sister Marie corrected her saying, “No, so small and so powerful.” Blanche’s misconception was that the Infant King was only powerful if he was wearing his crown, and as she bent over to kiss it, she noticed his crown was missing. At the same moment, she heard Carmogle being sung in the streets. She immediately dropped the statue and its head broke off. She cried, “Oh, the Infant King of Glory is dead!” From that moment on, Blanche’s demeanor changed, as her hope was shattered, like the Infant King. She now realizes that the good Infant King was not protected from suffering. In fact he embraced suffering to sacrifice for the good of others. She began to accept her condition. Mother Teresa asked Blanche if she still hoped to overcome her weakness, and Blanche replied, “No Reverend Mother… Consider the secret of my name.” Blanche was referring to her religious name bestowed on her by the bishop: “Jesus in the
She found out about this saint when her sister told her one day: “keep praying to Saint Peregrine”. She was not aware of whom this person was, but nevertheless, she took her sister’s word and continued to pray to him. Then suddenly one day, she received a small book with a picture of Saint Peregrine on the front, from my cousin Jonalyn. Inside was the story of Saint Peregrine’s upbringing and the miraculous tale of how his cancer was cured. Ever since then, my mother continued to learn about the saint and she acquired many pictures, statuettes and other little memorabilia that had any relation to this particular saint. She adored Saint Peregrine and what the stood for. My mom was able to turn to him whenever she was in need of help and eventually, her state became better. She is currently almost completely cancer-free, but until that day, she says she will continue to pray to Saint
Legends are diverse in their explications and interpretations. A different explanation of this myth describes that Hades raped and then kidnapped Persephone. Ceres turned this world barren just like what happens in winter .After some time she found her daughter, but until then Persephone ate the seven seeds of pomegranate and that turned her into a fertile woman ready to continue the circle of life on this world. Tatjana Pavlov writes in this context
The time is the sixth century, the place is Rome and the person is Lucretia, a woman who contributed to one of the biggest parts of Roman history: the creation of the Roman republic. The rape of the virtuous Lucretia by Sextus Tarquinius, the son of Tarquinius Superbus' (an Etruscan king) was the final straw for the Roman people and pushed them to want to change from a monarchy to a republic. From the accounts of the rape of Lucretia from ancient historians like Livy, Cicero and Dionysius, it is clear that Lucretias rape not only spurred the roman people to want to get rid of the Etruscan King and his family, but also revealed the important role of virtue in women in roman society.
Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent
Furthermore, I also explained that it was troublesome for me to believe in something that wasn’t physical. Physical proof was vital for me to understand something completely. Consequently, being able to see, hear, feel or calculate something is essential for me to believe it is true. I told her I that I always focus on finding absolute answers to everything I come in contact with. By the end of our conversation, she realized that her amount of hope amazed me the most. I marveled at her optimism and how she readily waited for something positive to happen out of everything. She always stayed alert for whatever was going to come her way. The belief that God provided aid to promote her success,