The 7 Sacraments

What is a Sacrament?  A Sacrament is a physical sign of a spiritual reality  There are 7 sacraments  The first 3 are known as the sacraments of initiation  They are baptism, confirmation, and eucharist  A catechumen is an unbaptized person who is preparing to receive all of the sacraments of Christian initiation (Janice)

Why Baptism? Because Jesus did.

Baptism  Comes from the Greek word that means “to plunge” or “to immerse”  The symbolic plunging and rising up again from the water reminds us that a new Catholic enters into Christ’s death and then rises to a new life of grace  It is the sign of joining the Christian family (was formerly circumcision)  Both for men and women and children

Symbols of Baptism  Water – water represents cleansing  Oil – in ancient world, oil was used to anoint kings and queens to show they were set apart  White garment – Purity, means putting on Christ, similar to a bride  Candle – Christ is the light of the world and so should we

Confirmation  Happened in the early Church and in Acts  Is the completion of baptism  You are saying that this is your faith not just your parents if baptized as an infant  To be done when one has reached the “age of discretion”

Effects of Confirmation 1. The full outpouring of the holy Spirit 2. Binding us more closely to the Church and more firmly to Christ 3. Increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, especially his strength to spread the faith by word and deed

The Holy Spirit: The One who brings LIFE  The Holy Spirit brings life to everything that Christians do and believe and reveals their true meaning. Without the Holy Spirit, prayer is nor more than meditation…, the sacraments are empty, meaningless rituals, the Bible is just another great literary work, and the Christian life is observing a set of rules, fulfilling certain ideals by one’s own effort. Only with the Spirit is it possible to understand what Christianity is about. (Alan Shreck, 108)

The Holy Spirit  The Church has never exclaimed that the work of the Holy Spirit is limited exclusively to baptism.  The Bible, especially in the book of Acts, implies that it may be necessary to pray that a baptized person receive a greater outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Confirmation is the official prayer for the Holy Spirit to empower a person to spread the gospel, to live a fervent Christian life, and to share more fully in the mission and ministry of the Church.

The Holy Spirit  The Catholic Church also teaches that the Spirit of God can enter a person’s life in a new way if the person simply prays for this with expectant faith.  Prayer with the sisters

The Gifts of the Spirit  Every Christian who has received the Holy Spirit has also received gifts of the Spirit.  The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not given primarily for the individual’s own spiritual growth, but for the good of the whole body of Christ.  They must be used in love.  See handout for list of gifts.

The Ministries of the Spirit Ephesians 4:11  Apostles – you are gifted in starting new things, entrepreneur  Prophets – you are gifted in speaking the truth into the lives of people  Evangelists – you are gifted in sharing your faith and values with people  Pastors – you are gifted in leading and counseling people  Teachers – you are gifted in helping people understand faith and values and how they can apply them to their lives

The Fruit of the Spirit  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control… (Galatians 5:22)  A tree is known by its fruit.  If you have the Spirit of Christ then you will be showing or growing in the above things in your life. Is this true for you?  If not you may need to ask for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit  We may have an opportunity to do this this week.

Eucharist  Read John 6  It unites the new Catholic to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross  Transubstantiation – the transfer of the substance of bread and wine at Mass to the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Graces in Eucharist  Spiritual life and nourishment  Cleansing from sin and empowerment to overcome  Greater commitment to the poor  Increase in virtue  Spiritual energy for our pilgrimage  LOTR

Mass: The Bible & Eucharist Both represent God’s food to us  The Bible  3 readings  Highlight is the Gospel  Sermon from the Priest  Try to understand and apply one thing  God’s Word is alive!  Ps. 51 story  The Eucharist  Bread and wine turn into Christ’s Body & Blood. This is called transubsantiation.  It means the transformation of substance but not of appearance.  Jesus feeds our hungry heart  Quebec and Dinos story

Last comments  Friends who said they have gone to church  But church is boring?  Many things we do in our lives can be boring yet still essential— like breakfast.  Personal story—becoming one with Jesus in the Eucharist  Food as strength for my soul

Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation  We discussed this when talking about the forgiveness of sins in the creed.  It is a sacrament of healing through which Christ extends his forgiveness to sinners, bringing about reconciliation with God and the Church.  James 5 speaks of healing coming through confession

Involves:  Contrition – feeling sorry for your sins  Confession – admitting our faults  Absolution – the priest forgives us in the name of Christ Jesus  Satisfaction – or penance, something to make repair for the harms our sins have caused (i.e. breaking window with a ball)

Forgiveness…

Forgiveness painting by Rembrant Questions:  What is your first impression of this painting?  What is it saying to you?  How can you respond to its message?

Anointing of the Sick  Sacrament offered to those who are suffering from serious illness, for the elderly, for those facing major surgery, and for the dying.  Primarily lead by priests or bishops.  They anoint the persons body and pray for them.  Praying for my mom when she was sick  Praying for my Nana and my Papa

Holy Orders  All of us are called to serve others as part of a common priesthood, but the Church also has those who minister to us:  Deacons – helpers to priests  Priests – servants to God’s people, celebrate the Eucharist  Bishops – servants to God’s people and the priests in their area  Religious nuns and brothers – servants to all of God’s people. Join orders and take 3 vows:  Poverty, chastity, and obedience

Women & Celibacy  Women  The Catholic Church doesn’t ordain women because Jesus didn’t and because the priest is sign or in the place of Christ who was male.  Women can become nuns and serve like Sister Clem and Vicki  Spiritual significance?  Female Messiah?  Celibacy  Celibacy is the state of being unmarried that priests and other religious choose in order to dedicate their lives totally to Jesus and God’s people  In the Latin rite of the Church priest cannot marry  This may change one day as it is only a doctrine of the church

Matrimony  A wonderful sign of God calling a man and woman to holiness through ordinary married life.  God is the source of marriage.  Marriage is meant to be a covenant.  The Church teaches that there are two primary purposes of marriage: 1. Procreative – be fruitful and multiply 2. Unitive – become one body

Till Death Do Us Part…  The Catholic Church does not permit the divorce of a valid marriage  Annulments can be given. An annulment is an official Church declaration that what appeared to be a Christian marriage never existed in the first place.  Marriage should be taken seriously  “The family that prays together stays together.”