„All those who seek the Lord should rejoice with all their heart“ (Ps 105:3)
Trier, Paulinkirche 2023 during Eucharistic Adoration (Adoratio)
„The Faith is man's response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, and thus in search of the ultimate meaning of his life, bringing light in abundance.„ (KKC S. 47; 2003)
„That The desire for God is written in the human heart, Because man is created by God and for God. God never stops drawing him to himself. Only in God will man find the truth and happiness that he tirelessly seeks.“ (KKC S. 47; 2003)
„…this intimate and vital connection with God… however, can be forgotten by man…“
Causes: „Bad example of the faithful, anti-religious thought currents, and finally the inclination of the sinful person to hide from the fear of God and to flee from the call of the Lord…“ (KKC S. 48; 2003)
Aachen, Cathedral View of the Altar with the Rayed Crown Madonna & Charles Chapel
Why faith helps me!
Tragedy and illness can also be a test of one’s own faith in God, and they can lead a person into a deep and existential crisis. From the deep cry of the crisis, I decided to hold on to even more faith in the Holy Catholic Church. Since then, I have been seeking to communicate with God.
The turning towards God can but mostly one thing in particular No: Damage!
It started in 2014 in Porec after my first pilgrimage (Camino) in 2008 with sporadic church attendance and also church literature. The result for today is a deep relationship with God through meditating on church writings, attending a prayer group, as well as regularly attending church services and receiving all the important sacraments of the Catholic Church (penance & Eucharist).
St. Jerome meditating; Caravaggio, 1605, Montserrat (Wikipedia)
My Path to Faith
„The path to perfection leads through the cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual struggle. Spiritual progress requires asceticism and mortification, which gradually lead to living in peace and the joy of the beatitudes.“ (KKK 2015; 2003)
The path to faith can be diverse and does not have to be based solely on one’s own inner motivation! Starting with socialization from one’s own childhood, role models in the form of people (e.g., parents, grandparents, priests, etc.) can serve as guiding figures, or Holy People, who are generally seen as role models in the Church, can also have an inspiring effect. Relics or icons, as the foundation of the Church from tradition, can also have a healing effect on one’s own faith!
My personal path to faith through inner motivation began as a teenager when I served as a altar server at St. Wendelinus Church in Zellhausen. When you are a teenager, you are more guided by adult role models and perform faith exercises and are less involved with intellectually high-quality literature on self-reflection. This changes as you grow into adulthood. Of course, I was familiar with holy figures at the time (such as St. Martin or St. Nicholas, among others), but I had no autobiographical connection to them.
This gradually began to change during my religious education classes in my high school years in 1997 (10th grade), when our priest from Seligenstadt (Einhard Basilica), Herr Pfarrer Ludwig, gave us the relic and icon:
The tomb cloth was presented to Turin.
The covered tomb cloth from Turin in its own recording from 2022
Fragment of the Turin Shroud in the form of the head of Jesus depicted on the Shroud (Wikipedia)
The gravestone as the first piece of information in the educational reading by my priest Mr. Ludwig helped me in so many of the initial discussions with people of other views to manifest my position as a Catholic. Moreover, it was also a matter of scientific proof at the time that there is a God (Jesus)!
However, this intellectual attitude did not fully answer the question of what happens to us after death (resurrection).
The burial cloth from Turin serves as a counterpoint in my life (counter-evidence 😉) to other views. To top it all off, there are the biblical scrolls from Qumran from the early Christianity.
…over time:
In 2008 I walked the Way of Saint James and did not know that I was setting out to Santiago de Compostela, the pilgrimage site for my namesake, Jakob (Jimmy / James). My own motivation at that time was to process my grief over the loss of my deceased mother (10 / 2007), as well as to distance myself from the new hustle and bustle of home that was now beginning.
Along the way, I had to beg for food and, if necessary, shelter from Switzerland (in Alsace, it could be below 10°C at night).
Presumably the religious people took me in quickly upon my request and gave me something warm to eat, possibly some clothes and a place to stay, and they also made sure I could wash myself, as a boost for the journey that still lay ahead of me!
„For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me;.“(Matt 25,35 EU)
„Break your bread for the hungry and those in need without a home; lead them into the house! If you see a naked person, clothe him…“(Jer 58,7 EU)
The Camino 2023 around Burgos
These great gestures of mercy on my part towards my host fathers led, over time, to a great shift in my thinking and a more focused commitment to my faith. While I was still a clearly historically-oriented Christian in 2008 (Christianity from a historical perspective of power), this thinking and my personal actions changed over the years into true and pure Christianity after the Sermon on the Mount and Christian agape!
However, I believe that one must be able to set boundaries and define one's own point of view!
„All those who want to live their lives consistently according to God’s will in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.“(2 Tim 3,12 EU)
Pope (Pontifex Maximus) Leo XIV on the day of his election (May 8, 2025) in the Loggia of the Vatican (Wikipedia)
Presentation of the sacred sacraments of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church has 7 sacraments ->
– Baptism
– Confirmation
– Eucharist
– Repentance
– Medical care
– Dedication
– Before
The sacraments are arranged in the initiation of life and are strengthened with the believer’s life years in life and, above all, with the depth of their own faith (strengthening throughout life).
In this way, the Sacrament is the Sacrament. .
For all the other sacraments build on this or lead to the Eucharist as their goal. (CCC, 340/341; 2003)
Baptism scene from the early Christian period in the Catacombs of Calixtus in Rome (Wikipedia)
The Sacrament of Baptism
This sacrament is also called the „bath of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit.“.
„… without whom no one can enter the Kingdom of God!“ (KKK S. 341; 2003)
„Anyone who has not yet been baptized is capable of receiving baptism.“ (KKK S. 348; 2003)
„…in an emergency, anyone can even be an unbaptized person who gives the baptism, if he or she has the necessary intention.“ (KKK S. 349; 2003)
The Lord himself says that baptism is necessary for salvation. Therefore, he has given his disciples the task of proclaiming the gospel and baptizing all nations. (KKK S. 350; 2003)
Baptism results from immersion in water, which symbolizes death and purification, but also rebirth and renewal. The two main effects are the cleansing from sin and the rebirth in the Holy Spirit. (KKK S. 351; 2003)
The sign of baptism does not erase any sin and is only given once, so it cannot be repeated. (KKK S. 352; 2003)
„Baptism is the seal of eternal life.“ (KKK S. 354; 2003)
The Holy Water in Catholic churches is used by the faithful to dip their foreheads in it as a reminder of their baptism (an indelible bond with Christ) and the vow of inner change and conversion towards Jesus. However, the latter can only be performed through the Sacrament of Penance.
Holy water is traditionally blessed with the appropriate formula and prayer on Easter night for the entire year. In this process, the Easter candle is partially immersed in the baptismal water three times, while asking for the descent of the Holy Spirit! (Source: Domradio)
2011, Zagreb Pope visit by Benedict XVI with the song: „Queen of Heaven Rejoices“ (Regina Caeli)
The Sacrament of Confirmation
„Together with baptism and the Eucharist, the sacrament of Confirmation forms the ‚The Sacraments of Christian Initiation.‘„ (KKK S. 355; 2003)
„Through the Sacrament of Confirmation [the baptized] will be Fully united with the Church and endowed with the special power of the Holy Spirit; so they are Even more strongly committed to spreading and defending the faith as true witnesses, Christie did so both in word and in deed.„ (KKK S. 355; 2003)
„In the Old Covenant, the prophets announced that on the expected Messiah the Spirit of the Lord would rest because of his ministry of healing.“
...
„Because Jesus was received through the Holy Spirit, his entire life and mission take place in complete communion with the Holy Spirit, whom the Father gives him ‚without measure.‘
(KKK S. 356; 2003)
„To better describe the gift of the Holy Spirit, a anointing with fragrant oil (chrisam) was also given at the hand-over ceremony very soon afterwards. This anointing illustrates the name „Christ“, „the Anointed One“, which is derived from Christ himself, whom God… anointed with the Holy Spirit.“(KKK S. 356; 2003)
That is why this sacrament is called this in the East. Chrismation ... In the West, the designation Confirmation on the one hand, the confirmation of baptism, with which the Christian initiation is completed, and on the other hand, the strengthening of baptismal grace – both are fruits of the Holy Spirit.“
(KKK S. 356; 2003)
„Because one wants to reserve the completion of baptism for the bishop, it comes in West the custom of separating the time of the celebration of both sacraments from each other. The East has received the two sacraments together; Confirmation is given by the priest who baptizes. However, he may only administer it with the ‚myron‘ consecrated by a bishop.“ (KKK S. 357; 2003)
„The anointing is rich in meaning in biblical and ancient imagery: oil is a sign of abundance and joy; it cleanses (anointing before and after bathing) and makes supple (anointing for athletes and wrestlers); it is a sign of healing, because it relieves the pain of bruises and wounds; it also makes the skin beautiful, healthy and strong.“ (KKK S. 357; 2003)
„An important act that precedes the celebration of Confirmation, but in a certain sense belongs to it, is the consecration of Saint Chrisam. On Ash Wednesday, the bishop consecrates Saint Chrisam for his entire diocese during the Saint Chrisam Mass. In some Eastern churches, this consecration is even reserved for the Patriarch.“ (KKK S. 358; 2003)
„In Latin Rite The sacrament of Confirmation is given „by anointing the forehead with chrism under the laying on of hands with the words: ‚Be sealed by the gift of God, the Holy Spirit‚.
In the Ostkirchen After an epiclesis prayer, the most important body parts are anointed with myron. … During each anointing (body part), the formula is spoken:„Seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit„.“ (KKK S. 359; 2003)
„Like baptism, whose completion it is, confirmation is given only once. Confirmation indeed imprints an indelible spiritual mark on the soul, the ‚character‘. (KKK, 360; 2003)
„The Confirmed receives ‚the power publicly to profess faith in Christ as a matter of course with words.'
(Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] p. 360; 2003)
2026, September; Pope Leo XIV's visit to Lourdes, France (Massabielle Cave)
I myself still have a vivid memory of my thorough preparation for the firm (around 1997). We were taught in groups of lay people and were given all the important information in an age-appropriate manner by our then parish priest Fleckenstein in a block seminar in Mainz (Bistumshütte).
My patron saint is the late Cardinal Bishop Karl Lehmann (Bistum Mainz). I still remember very vividly the ceremony in my home church in Zellhausen (St. Wendelinus).
For the Croatian tradition, confirmation is placed higher in the hierarchy of values than the sacrament of First Holy Communion (the Eucharist). However, as described, baptism and the Eucharist, together with confirmation (the confirmation of baptism), complete the sacrament of confirmation (the confirmation of baptism). Sacraments of Christian initiation.
Baptism for adults is once again playing a greater role in baptisms today. When donating for the baptism, the confirmation is also donated afterwards. However, a thorough preparation must be carried out beforehand for the person receiving the baptism (catechumenate) in order to be fully integrated into the Catholic Church.
In comparison, the baptism of a child is initiated by the parents, and confirmation is then received at an appropriate age (e.g., later as a teenager) at the child’s own discretion.
Bishop Karl Lehmann (front row, left in the picture), next to him Bishop Gerhard Schaffran, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and Joachim Cardinal Meisner at the Dresden Catholic meeting in 1987 (Wikipedia)