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Hi Anonymous,
You said:
There are a few questions I'd like to
ask you:
Is my Baptism still valid or would I have to be baptized again
if I wanted to be part of the Catholic Church again?
What the priest or pastor would do is confirm where you were baptized.
Records are kept on this critical issue of salvation. If there is
any doubt, the priest can perform what is called a conditional Baptism.
What's that?
The legal form used for the Sacrament is:
"If you are not yet baptized, I baptize you [ name ], in
the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen."
You said:
Does the Catholic Church endorse a particular translation of the
Bible?
No, not one, but the best is the Revised Standard Version, Catholic
Edition. One of my favorites is the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine or
St. Joseph's. If you're interested in what our group at CPATS/AskACatholic think
are the best ones, check out a previously answered question.
You said:
What happens during a Roman Catholic Mass?
This isn't an easy question, but I'll do my best.
The short
answer: more than what you see. In reality we enter into
that one Sacrifice of Calvary. Jesus, Our Lord, is the incarnate
God-Man who died in 33 A.D. on Calvary, but because God is outside
of time and Jesus is the God-Man Himself, when he died in 33 A.D.,
His death was perpetuated throughout history. When we go to Mass
we enter into that one Sacrifice of Calvary. He is not dying again,
not suffering again, but we enter into that Sacrifice of Calvary
that happened back in 33 A.D., which He continues to offer to the Father
until the end of time.
The long answer: Holy Mass is divided into two
parts: the Liturgy of the Word, which consists of the Written Word, the Holy Scriptures, and the Oral Word, the homily; and the Eucharistic
Liturgy.
During the first portion, we strive to listen to what the Lord is
telling us through the Scriptures and the preacher: hopefully he
is a good one. : ) We use this and preceding teachings from previous
Masses to assist us in growing in holiness ourselves and in bringing
others to the Church. The Catholic Church is a missionary Church
and always has always been one, around the world, since 33 A.D.
During the second portion, we obey the Lord when on the night before
He died when He said,
"Do This In Memory Of Me."
Re-present the Last Supper narrative. The Church and Our Lord call the priest to offer his body as an instrument through which Our Lord can act. In doing so, the priest acts "in the person of Christ" so that Christ can re-present the Sacrifice on Calvary at each and every Mass. The priest represents Our Lord. The Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass is a symbolic act that brings forth a reality. The priest consecrates
the wheat bread, into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.
After that, he consecrates the grape wine into the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Christ. Those two separate consecrations symbolize
death.
- What do I mean?
- If I separated the blood in your body from your body,
would you still be alive? : )
Get the point?
But if we leave it there we are in heresy. Why? Because the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass is also a reality; the symbolic act brings
forth a reality:
The one event that happened in 33 A.D.: Calvary is
made present at every Holy Mass.
Catholics, hopefully in a state of grace, then receive the Body, Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Our Lord in the Eucharist and so partake in
Divine nature. No, we are not divine by nature, but we partake in divine nature.
The Mass ends with the priest saying: Go, the Mass has ended. (Ordo
Mass)
Translation: Now that you
have more instructions on how to live the Catholic
Christian life and have been fed with Divine
nature, go and evangelize the world and bring
them to the fullness of Christianity which can
only be found in the only Church Our Lord established
on St. Peter, the Catholic Church.
This is an "off-the-cuff" answer; you may do better to read the Catechism. :)
Hope this helps,
Mike
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