Gregorian Chant
Gregorian Chant is monophonic chant in Latin Vulgate for worship. It was dedicated to St. Pope Gregory The Great, and its soothing tone and tempo is able to temper anxious emotions. Greogorian Chant is sung by Monks, and it has had resurgence in recent years, helping people with Autism and is featured in popular Video Game Series, Halo. The sound of Gregorian Chant is unlike any in the world, it sounds earth real, celestial, and like it came from the holy of holies in heaven. In fact, Gregory called it the "Hymns of the Angelos." Gregorian Chant unlike modern day worship does not grate on the nerves, but soothes and lets the soul know The Savior is near. This form of chant is perhaps the greatest contribution of the Catholic Church, and its effects are even being felt by secular people around the world.
The Latin Vulgate Bible
St. Jerome in his lifetime translated the Holy Scripture, Old and New Testaments from Hebrew and Greek into Latina language. At the time Latin was primary language of the Roman Empire, and the task was quite an undertaking. Jerome's translation while rejected by many Reformed translators, has been the model for all modern translations of the Bible. While most Bible translations used the Greek Septuagint, and Greek (Coine) New Testament, Jerome decided to go with Hebrew Old Testament, which was far younger and less trusted. While Eastern Orthodox and myself find this to be foolish, because of inaccuracies, tampering, and late date of the Hebrew Old Testament (circa 1200 A.D.), there is no question this had a major impact on the Church as a whole and is still leaving a mark today.
The Crucifix
Christian Crosses began being used in 200 A.D. as the official symbol for Christianity. Until then the cross was a rather offensive symbol of Romans and Jews. For Romans like Cicero commented, "the cross is an offense to a Roman, may not the word ever be on a Roman's tongue." The Jews felt equally disgusted by the barbaric form of death that many of their people were subjected to. In fact they often quoted, "cursed is the man who hangs on a tree." (Deuteronomy 21:23, see Galatins 3:13 for further explanation). But for Christians it was a badge of honor, "but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."(1 Corinthians 1:23-34). Perhaps the first Crucifix was made in honor of this verse, or ones like it. Crucifixes are considered to be late invention of the 13th Century, and only became universally connected to Catholic Church in 15th-17th centuries when they became more affordable. The Crucifix is "One fixed to cross," and it depicts Jesus crucified. Many Protestants reject it, claiming it does not potray the Risen Christ, but Martin Luther and other Protestants preferred it because it fixates the person on Christ rather than a plain cross. While Crucifix has mistakenly become the symbol of Catholic Church after the Madonna, it is in wide use by Eastern Orthodox in Icon form (two demensions), Lutherans, Anglicans, and other denominations. While crucifix as aforementioned is used in many churches, Roman Catholic Churches always have crucifix visable in a chapel, cathedral, and church.
While the agreement of the Trinity, Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit was something bishops of East and West agreed on during The First Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.), the Roman Church has been emphatic about the theology of the Trinity. During Baptism, blessings, and Mass the words, "In Nomni et Patria et Filia et Spirtus Sancti, Amen: In Name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." Catholic artists often will depict The Father, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit together, with the Father behind Christ crucified holding His Son, and Holy Spirit on the cross beam or below it. Michelangelo even painted a Trinity scene that hangs in the Sistine Chapel. The Bible affirms the Triune Nature of God, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," (Matthew 29:19), "And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," (Matthew 3:13-17), "But I will send you the Advocate--the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me," (John 15:26), "I and the Father are one," (John 10:30), "Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22). Roman Catholics are adamant that all three parts of Trinity are represented somewhere in churches wither in iconography or rite, something not common in Eastern Orthodoxy, which prefer Christ Pantocrator and Enthroned, nor do any Protestant Churches typically depict the Trinity in art or mention Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in services. I applaud the Catholics for not budging on Doctrine and Theology of Trinitarianism and making sure the Godhead is fully represented in some way.
Friars
Monasticism is not Roman Catholic, but originated in Eygpt with Anthony The Great. However, the idea of Mendicant orders, monks and nuns who went out among society and people, ministering, preaching, offering medical aid, and pastoral help was uniquely Catholic. Most monks were isolated to cloister, and allowed only to live in their private cell and congregate in monastery with other brother monks. Friars in contrast were allowed to live in metropolitan areas and among the rural farmers, helping them spiritually. Friars were more like Pastors, but they often did take Holy Orders, vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. A famous Medicant friar St. Dominic who went and preached among the Muslims in Spain and taught the common people. Monks did not preach, or seldom did, while Friars were known for preaching. Before there were Tent Revivals or Gospel Tracks, there was Friars standing on stumps or at town gates sharing the Good News. Once again, Friars came from the Catholic Church.
Codes of Ethics
For 1600yrs of history, The Roman Catholic Church provided the Western World with ethics. Abbot Cluny created a code for the knighthood called Chivalry, and morality was taught and modeled in the ecclesia. Had it not been for the Popes, when Rome in the West fell, there would have been complete chaos, but the Bishop of Rome kept order and people moral through canons (teachings) of the Church. Stiff penalties came to oath breakers, lands were seized, people's reputations were lost, and those who were Excommunicated from the Church could not be housed, fed, or even acknowledged by any Catholic; this shunning forcing a person to either recant and repent of their errors or wander into the East to the alien Church of Byzantines, should they get past the Crescent warriors with their curved swords. If the Bishop pronounced an Interdict, a city and even country was not allowed church services (masses), the communion (Eucharist), Confession, and the most punishing of all no weddings! This kind of strict punishment for wicked behavior kept many wild monarchs like King Henry II of England in check. Excommunication was a powerful tool at Roman Church's disposal to deal with disorder and dissension, and it had its roots in this Scripture, "Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns." (1 Corinthians 5:5).
The Crusades
While much controversy surrounds the Crusades and if they should be labeled a contribution of the Roman Catholic Church. One thing is certain, had not the Milites Christi (Soldiers of Christ) taken up the cross and become signed with it (Crucinatius, Crusader) Europe and the West might very well have fallen to the Crescent of Islam. Muslims had already invaded most of Spain and taken lands in Southern France, Southern Italy was being carved by Scimitar, while Africa was in hands of Almorhads and then the Almorvids. These conquests by the Muslims happened in 622-720 A.D, long before Christians responded with The First Crusade in 1095-1101 A.D. Many historians attest that the Crusades kept the Muslim advance in High Middle Ages in check, and they went on to inspire later Christian warriors to defend against the Ottoman Turk invasions. Christendom stuck back at crucial times, especially at Battle of Lepanto (1571 A.D.), The Great Siege of Malta (Sept 11th 1565), and The Husburg Wars (1526-1791 A.D.). While these battles were not part of a genuine crusade, the history and legacy of Crusades inspired the Knights and soldiers of Malta, Rhodes, Lepanto, and Husburg Wars to defeat The Ottoman Turks and thus keep Europe from falling beneath shadow of Islam's Scimitar. Even Martin Luther, a major critic of the Crusades rejoiced when The Battle of Lepanto was won. While many Protestants would like to point to the Crusades and their legacy as blemish on the body of Christ, those same Protestants would not exist had it not been for Crusaders and Soldiers of Christ who spilt blood and spilt their own blood to save Christendom in those crucial moments in history. It is possible that Fidei Defensors (Defenders of Faith) in our own times may need to look to Crusaders and Soldiers of Christ for inspiration as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other Mujahedeen take up the sword of Jihad Akbar. Secular scholars are starting to see the light, that the Crusades were not religious campaigns for loot, land, and bloodlust, but rather sacrifices of devout Catholics wanting to rescue pilgrims, liberate the Holy Land, and serve Christ with a sword (Luke 22:36).
The Credit Card and Traveler's Check
The Knights Templar (1101-1312 A.D.) developed a voucher, a document that if monies were put in a Templar bank in Paris, one could withdrawal them from a Templar bank in Palestine. This made it so bandits could not rob pilgrims and travelers on the road. The document if stolen was not sufficient, the person was examined and the knight with deposit could tell if it was a true credit holder. We owe out entire credit system, checks, and even advent of credit card to Catholic Knights fighting in holy land! Sadly, the very contribution The Poor Soldiers of Jesus Christ of The Temple would be their downfall, for greedy kings like Phillip IV of France and impotent popes like Clement V had these Knights of Christ tortured, and burned at the stake, starting on Friday 13th, 1307. Perhaps that's why banking unnerves people sometimes.
College
The first colleges were created by Catholic Church in form of Monasteries and schools in Rome, and France. A devout Catholic named Charlemagne, or Charles the Great proposed the idea. It was the Monks who preserved all the works of antiquity, philosophy, history, and literature in their libraries. These same men would even hand copies texts, which makes them the first copy machines (lol). In the colleges of the Church students would learn Canon Law, Roman Law, Philosophy, Reason, Literature, and even the works of pagans like Plato and Sophocles. Sadly, knowledge of Holy Scriptures was not often an aim or goal, but St. Benedict did change this when he made as part of his rule Lectio Divina, which required monks in the order to read the Scriptures and let God's Spirit speak through them. Benedict schedule time for all monk brothers to study the Bible, which makes him probably one of earliest Bible School founders in the West (in East Origen and others had taught theology and Scripture).
Art
Some of greatest pieces of artwork, by the greatest painters like Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and more were Biblical scenes or close ups of Christ and saints. The entire Sistine Chapel which features the famous Adam and God touching fingers was commissioned by Pope Pius II, and Michelangelo spent a long period painting it, inventing a new art form that had three dimensions, a feat surprising in that Michelangelo was a sculpture and statue artists, and yet he gave life to artwork that had been two dimensional for ages. Da Vinci painted "The Last Supper" the seminal work of his next to "Mona Lisa." The Catholic Church has hired great painters, but also produced them. Artwork from Middle Ages to the High of Renaissance features themes, motifs, scenes, and spiritual messages that are Catholic and Christian. Seek to find the best depiction of Crucifixion, and it will be either Catholic or Catholic Commisioned. Want the Baptism of Christ, The Last Judgement, Paul preaching, The Trinity, David, and Goliath, and more? The greatest artwork will no doubt be by a Catholic artist or commissioned by the Catholic Church. With the exception of ancient carving in catacombs and the Eastern Orthodox Ikons (Icons), the Catholic Church possses the oldest and most brilliant potrayals of the Life of Christ, moments like The Annunciation and Ressurection, and more.
The Charismatic Catholic Renewal
The Azusa Street Revival found a counterpart in the Catholic Church. One day during a meeting, a priest and his congregation experienced the Holy Spirit falling down on them and they received tongues and wonders as the Apostles had in Acts (Acts 2:1-13). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has awakened in the Roman Church a desire for closeness with God among the congregation. While mystical experiences had been known, particularly in cases of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Benedict of Nursia, it was unusual for entire masses of people at Mass to experience the supernatural in this way.
Codes of Ethics
For 1600yrs of history, The Roman Catholic Church provided the Western World with ethics. Abbot Cluny created a code for the knighthood called Chivalry, and morality was taught and modeled in the ecclesia. Had it not been for the Popes, when Rome in the West fell, there would have been complete chaos, but the Bishop of Rome kept order and people moral through canons (teachings) of the Church. Stiff penalties came to oath breakers, lands were seized, people's reputations were lost, and those who were Excommunicated from the Church could not be housed, fed, or even acknowledged by any Catholic; this shunning forcing a person to either recant and repent of their errors or wander into the East to the alien Church of Byzantines, should they get past the Crescent warriors with their curved swords. If the Bishop pronounced an Interdict, a city and even country was not allowed church services (masses), the communion (Eucharist), Confession, and the most punishing of all no weddings! This kind of strict punishment for wicked behavior kept many wild monarchs like King Henry II of England in check. Excommunication was a powerful tool at Roman Church's disposal to deal with disorder and dissension, and it had its roots in this Scripture, "Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns." (1 Corinthians 5:5).
The Crusades
While much controversy surrounds the Crusades and if they should be labeled a contribution of the Roman Catholic Church. One thing is certain, had not the Milites Christi (Soldiers of Christ) taken up the cross and become signed with it (Crucinatius, Crusader) Europe and the West might very well have fallen to the Crescent of Islam. Muslims had already invaded most of Spain and taken lands in Southern France, Southern Italy was being carved by Scimitar, while Africa was in hands of Almorhads and then the Almorvids. These conquests by the Muslims happened in 622-720 A.D, long before Christians responded with The First Crusade in 1095-1101 A.D. Many historians attest that the Crusades kept the Muslim advance in High Middle Ages in check, and they went on to inspire later Christian warriors to defend against the Ottoman Turk invasions. Christendom stuck back at crucial times, especially at Battle of Lepanto (1571 A.D.), The Great Siege of Malta (Sept 11th 1565), and The Husburg Wars (1526-1791 A.D.). While these battles were not part of a genuine crusade, the history and legacy of Crusades inspired the Knights and soldiers of Malta, Rhodes, Lepanto, and Husburg Wars to defeat The Ottoman Turks and thus keep Europe from falling beneath shadow of Islam's Scimitar. Even Martin Luther, a major critic of the Crusades rejoiced when The Battle of Lepanto was won. While many Protestants would like to point to the Crusades and their legacy as blemish on the body of Christ, those same Protestants would not exist had it not been for Crusaders and Soldiers of Christ who spilt blood and spilt their own blood to save Christendom in those crucial moments in history. It is possible that Fidei Defensors (Defenders of Faith) in our own times may need to look to Crusaders and Soldiers of Christ for inspiration as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and other Mujahedeen take up the sword of Jihad Akbar. Secular scholars are starting to see the light, that the Crusades were not religious campaigns for loot, land, and bloodlust, but rather sacrifices of devout Catholics wanting to rescue pilgrims, liberate the Holy Land, and serve Christ with a sword (Luke 22:36).
The Credit Card and Traveler's Check
The Knights Templar (1101-1312 A.D.) developed a voucher, a document that if monies were put in a Templar bank in Paris, one could withdrawal them from a Templar bank in Palestine. This made it so bandits could not rob pilgrims and travelers on the road. The document if stolen was not sufficient, the person was examined and the knight with deposit could tell if it was a true credit holder. We owe out entire credit system, checks, and even advent of credit card to Catholic Knights fighting in holy land! Sadly, the very contribution The Poor Soldiers of Jesus Christ of The Temple would be their downfall, for greedy kings like Phillip IV of France and impotent popes like Clement V had these Knights of Christ tortured, and burned at the stake, starting on Friday 13th, 1307. Perhaps that's why banking unnerves people sometimes.
College
The first colleges were created by Catholic Church in form of Monasteries and schools in Rome, and France. A devout Catholic named Charlemagne, or Charles the Great proposed the idea. It was the Monks who preserved all the works of antiquity, philosophy, history, and literature in their libraries. These same men would even hand copies texts, which makes them the first copy machines (lol). In the colleges of the Church students would learn Canon Law, Roman Law, Philosophy, Reason, Literature, and even the works of pagans like Plato and Sophocles. Sadly, knowledge of Holy Scriptures was not often an aim or goal, but St. Benedict did change this when he made as part of his rule Lectio Divina, which required monks in the order to read the Scriptures and let God's Spirit speak through them. Benedict schedule time for all monk brothers to study the Bible, which makes him probably one of earliest Bible School founders in the West (in East Origen and others had taught theology and Scripture).
Art
Some of greatest pieces of artwork, by the greatest painters like Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Raphael, Donatello, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and more were Biblical scenes or close ups of Christ and saints. The entire Sistine Chapel which features the famous Adam and God touching fingers was commissioned by Pope Pius II, and Michelangelo spent a long period painting it, inventing a new art form that had three dimensions, a feat surprising in that Michelangelo was a sculpture and statue artists, and yet he gave life to artwork that had been two dimensional for ages. Da Vinci painted "The Last Supper" the seminal work of his next to "Mona Lisa." The Catholic Church has hired great painters, but also produced them. Artwork from Middle Ages to the High of Renaissance features themes, motifs, scenes, and spiritual messages that are Catholic and Christian. Seek to find the best depiction of Crucifixion, and it will be either Catholic or Catholic Commisioned. Want the Baptism of Christ, The Last Judgement, Paul preaching, The Trinity, David, and Goliath, and more? The greatest artwork will no doubt be by a Catholic artist or commissioned by the Catholic Church. With the exception of ancient carving in catacombs and the Eastern Orthodox Ikons (Icons), the Catholic Church possses the oldest and most brilliant potrayals of the Life of Christ, moments like The Annunciation and Ressurection, and more.
The Charismatic Catholic Renewal
The Azusa Street Revival found a counterpart in the Catholic Church. One day during a meeting, a priest and his congregation experienced the Holy Spirit falling down on them and they received tongues and wonders as the Apostles had in Acts (Acts 2:1-13). The outpouring of the Holy Spirit has awakened in the Roman Church a desire for closeness with God among the congregation. While mystical experiences had been known, particularly in cases of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Benedict of Nursia, it was unusual for entire masses of people at Mass to experience the supernatural in this way.
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