2. Our Catholic Faith Living What We Believe
CHAPTER 6
The Sacraments of Initiation
 Our Need for Signs and Symbols
 Baptism
 Confirmation
 Eucharist
 The Liturgical Year

3. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Our Need for Signs and Symbols
Christ left his Church the sacraments: special symbols of God’s love and important signs of grace and divine friendship
A sacrament is a “visible sign of an invisible reality, a visible sign of invisible grace.” (St. Augustine of Hippo)

4. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Our Need for Signs and Symbols
The three Sacraments of Initiation
 Baptism brings new life in Christ
 Confirmation strengthens the new life
 Eucharist nourishes Catholics with Christ’s Body and Blood
They “gather in” God’s people and make us members of Christ’s Body, the Church
They give us the life of Christ and bestow the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can be Christ for others

5. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Our Need for Signs and Symbols
Initiation in the Early Church
Most converts were adults and initiation was seen as a journey that took place in stages
Sponsors helped them prepare through a three-year period of prayer, fasting, and self-denial
After a forty-day period of prayer and formal instruction in the faith during Lent, they received all three Sacraments at the Easter Vigil
The bishop was the main celebrant
Catechumens were questioned and anointed with oil

6. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Our Need for Signs and Symbols
Initiation in the Early Church
They were plunged into the baptismal waters three times
The five senses were anointed and the Holy Spirit invoked (Confirmation)
The neophytes received white garments to symbolize a new life in Christ
The neophytes received candles to remind them of their new vocation to be the light of Christ
The Eucharist was celebrated and they received their first Holy Communion

7. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Our Need for Signs and Symbol
Initiation today
After AD 313, most Catholics were baptized in infancy
Holy Communion is typically received at age seven
The Second Vatican Council restored the ancient way of initiating adults into the Church
The Catechumenate has distinct steps, consisting of four periods and three stages and are found in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA)

8. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Baptism
Baptism is foreshadowed in the Old Testament accounts of creation and the Great Flood
In the New Testament Jesus himself was baptized and commanded:
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you.
Mt 28:19-20

9. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Baptism
Infant Baptism
The practice of infant Baptism shows that Salvation is a pure gift of Christ’s grace that extends even to children.
It shows that that the Church relies on the faith of the parents, godparents, and all the Church to ensure that infants are baptized in a faith-filled environment
The essential rite is when the minister pours water on the head of the child three times and pronounces the words, “N., I baptized you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

10. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Baptism
Symbols of Baptism
Symbol
Water
Oil
White
garment
Candle
Meaning
cleansing, death to an old life of sin and rebirth into new life with Christ
anointing with Christ (the “anointed one”), we belong to him, we receive the Holy Spirit who protects, guides, strengthens
purity, happiness, and a new identity of living in union with the Lord
Christ is the light of the world and his followers should be Christ’s light to others

11. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Baptism
Effects of Baptism
Baptism initiates and incorporates us into Christ’s Body, the Church
Baptism seals Christians with and indelible spiritual character that marks us as belonging to Christ
Baptism gives us birth into a new life in Christ
Baptism gives us birth into a new life in Christ
Baptism forgives both Original Sin and personal sin and remits all punishment due to sin

12. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation completes the sacramental grace of Baptism
Today Confirmation is often received in the teen years to help represent a teen’s increasing personal commitment to the faith
Prayer and the Sacrament of Penance are part of the preparation for the sacrament
A sponsor accompanies the candidate in preparation for the rite

13. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Confirmation
The effects of Confirmation
The full outpouring of the Holy Spirit
Binding us more closely to the Church and more firmly to Christ
Increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us, especially his strength to spread and defend the Christian faith by word and deed
Like Baptism, Confirmation imprints an indelible spiritual mark on the soul and so can be received only once

14. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Confirmation
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came (down) to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, them, "Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.“ He said, “How were you baptized?" They replied, "With the baptism of John.“ Paul then said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.“ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid (his) hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
Acts 19:1-6
Roots and history of Confirmation
In the Old Testament, the prophets promised the Spirit would rest on the Messiah
In the New Testament, the origin is found in the apostolic laying on of hands
In the Western Church the custom grew of the bishop “confirming” the baptismal commitment of those baptized as infants
Eastern Rite Churches administer all three initiation sacraments at the same time

15. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Confirmation
The Rite of Confirmation
Renewal of baptismal promises and profession of faith
The bishop extends hands over the confirmands and invokes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
The minister anoints the forehead with Chrism, lands on his hand, and recites the words: “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.”
The sign of peace concludes the rite

16. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Eucharist
Sacrament of the Eucharist
Completes a person’s Christian initiation
Is foreshadowed when:
● the priest Melchizedek offered God bread and wine
● God gave manna to the Chosen People
● Jesus’ multiplied the loaves and fishes
● Jesus changes water into wine at Cana
● Jesus declared the importance of eating his body and drinking his blood
● Jesus celebrated the Last Supper

17. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Eucharist
Breaking the Bread
Names for the Eucharist
Eucharist “thanksgiving”
Holy Communion
Eucharistic Assembly
Most Blessed Sacrament
Holy and Divine Liturgy
Lord’s Supper
Holy Sacrifice
Holy Mass

18. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation Eucharist
The Celebration of the Mass
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Entrance & Greeting Penitential Rite
Gloria Opening Prayer
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading Responsorial Psalm
Second Reading Alleluia or Acclamation Gospel
Homily
Creed
General Intercessions
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Offertory
Eucharistic Prayer
Communion Rite
CONCLUDING RITE
Blessing
Dismissal

19. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation The Liturgical Year
Advent – prepares for Christ’s coming
Christmas Season – a feast that proclaims Emmanuel
Ordinary Time 1
Lent – prepares us for the solemn and joyful feast of Easter
Triduum – celebrates our Redemption in Christ
Easter Season
Ordinary Time 2 

20. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation The Liturgical Year
Sacramentals
Sacred signs that resemble sacraments
Help us become aware of Christ’s presence
Prepare us to received the sacraments
They include:
objects: candles, holy water, statues, icons, rosary beads, relics, scapulars, church buildings
actions: blessings, genuflections, the Sign of the Cross
places: the Holy Land, Rome, Lourdes, chapels
prayers: grace before meals
sacred time: holy days, feasts of saints, Fridays in Lent

21. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation VOCABULARY
Friendship (160)
Sacrament (160)
Catechumen (161)
Neophytes (161)
RCIA (161)
Essential rite (163)
Chrism (163)
Christ (164)
Confirmands (167)
Myron (167)
Rite (168)
Eucharist (170)
Liturgy (171)
Sacrifice (171)
Transubstantiation (171)
Preface (173)
Epiclesis (174)
Anamnesis (174)
Emmanuel (175)
Lent (176)
Triduum (176)
Sacramentals (176)
Icons (177)

22. Chapter 6 The Sacraments of Initiation
Dear Jesus,  help me to spread your fragrance wherever I go.  Flood my soul with your spirit and life.  Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly  that my life may only be a radiance of yours.  Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me, but only Jesus!  Stay with me and then I will begin to shine as you shine,  so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you; none of it will be mine.  It will be you, shining on others through me.  Let me thus praise you in the way which you love best,  by shining on those around me.  Let me preach you without preaching, not by words but by example,  by the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what I do,  the evident fullness of the love my heart bears for you.  Amen. 
The Jesus Prayer of Cardinal Newman