contraception

"A society which abandons children and the  elderly severs its roots and darkens its future." Pope Francis
The constant tradition of the Church has been the first commandment to Adam and Eve: Be fruitful and multiply.

Sign of the Cross

Is one of the earliest traditions of the Church. It reminds us of the sign with the blood of the lamb on the doorposts the night of the Passover and also reminds us of the sign of our Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit which frees us from sin. We renew our Baptism and our commitment to Christ with the sign of the cross.

Elevated Consecration

The Tradition of elevating the host during consecration began in Pars in 1210. The faithful positioned behind the priest could not see the host being consecrated. Elevating the host at this point allowed everyone to participate in the moment of consecration. Signaling the moment of consecration with ringing bells also became common.

Sabbath

The first Christians changed the Sabbath to Sunday to recognize the centrality of the Resurrection. They also dispensed with circumcision and believed Jesus gave them the authority to do so. "What you bind on earth shall also be bound in Heaven. What you loose on earth shall also be loosed in Heaven." Jesus also made clear that the Sabbath is made for man and not they other way around.

Mass

"Ite Misa est" is the origin of the word Mass. This is a constant reminder of what we do after Mass. We follow the commission given by Jesus to the Church before his Ascension from the Mount of Olives: "Go , therefore, and make disciples of all nations..."

Latin

Jesus and the Apostles spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. The most common language of that time was Greek. Eventually Latin became the most common language, especially in Italy. This is how Latin became the official language of the Church and has remained so. The changing of the liturgy to local language was consistent with the goal of teaching the Gospel to the greatest number of people.

Christmas

Celebrating the Lord's birth was an early Christian tradition but did not have a universally fixed day until the fourth century and then it happened to coincide with a day some pagan sects celebrated the Sun God. The early Christians did not usually celebrate birth days because they believed true birth to true eternal life was the last day of earthly existence. The pagans were accustomed to celebrating birthdays. For Christians the central feast day was still Passover. For the Jews this celebrated freedom from slavery in Egypt and for the Christian freedom from slavery to sin.  For the Christian, Passover concluded with the Resurrection and proceeded toward Pentecost.