The Church
Sacrament of Salvation
The Church
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
The Church in the
Lives of the Faithful
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
• Our proper response
to the gift of faith
• The People of God
• The common and
ministerial priesthood
• The vocation of the
laity
• The universal call
to holiness
• The liturgy
• The liturgical year
• Sacraments and
human nature
• Baptism
• Confirmation
• The Eucharist
• Penance
continued
Chapter Objectives
The student will be able to understand:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anointing of the Sick
Holy Orders
Matrimony
Prayer
Types of prayer
Mortifications
Evangelization
Vocations in the Church
• The Christian family
• Sanctification and work
• The apostolate of
the laity
• The responsibility of
the laity in public life
• The main forms of
consecrated life today.
Keys to Chapter 6
• Every Christian is called to holiness.
• In the liturgy, we participate in the mysteries of
Christ’s life
• The Sacraments are God’s way of giving us his
divine life in a very human way.
• Holiness is to be lived in all the ordinary details of
our everyday lives.
• Some Christians are called to live as if they were not
in this world, by means of the evangelical counsels.
For Discussion:
•
•
•
•
•
What is the common priesthood of the faithful?
What is the role of the laity in the Church?
How do we respond to the call of Christ?
What is the universal call to holiness?
What is our basis for stating that Christ instituted
the Seven Sacraments?
• What is the meaning of the Latin term
ex opere operato?
For Discussion:
•
•
•
•
What is the role of prayer in the Christian life?
What is the liturgical year?
What does it mean to be an apostle?
How can we participate in the missionary activity
of the Church?
• What is the consecrated life?
The Priesthood of
the People of God
Lesson Objectives
•Our proper response to the gift of faith
•The People of God
•The common and ministerial priesthood
•The vocation of the laity
The Priesthood of
the People of God
Basic Questions
What is the proper response to the gift of faith?
Our proper response to God’s gift of faith is to trust
in him and believe in the truths he has revealed,
because God can neither deceive nor be deceived.
The Priesthood of
the People of God
Basic Questions
Who are the People of God?
The Church is the People of God, the communion
of all the faithful in Christ, composed of men of
every race and nation, on a pilgrimage of holiness
and redemption.
The Priesthood of
the People of God
Basic Questions
What is the difference between the common
and the ministerial priesthood?
All members of the Church share in the common
priesthood of the faithful and are called by virtue of
their Baptism to offer their lives to God. Some
members of the Faithful are ordained to the
ministerial priesthood for the service of the rest.
The Priesthood of
the People of God
Basic Questions
What is the vocation of the laity?
The vocation of the laity is to seek the Kingdom of
God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering
them according to the plan of God.
Focus Question
Are the relationships among the members of
the Church essentially equal or unequal?
The Christian faithful are truly equal in regard to
dignity and activity, according to each one’s condition
and function.
Focus Question
What is the reason that Christians fall short of
their calling?
Concupiscence, the human inclination to sin that
results from Original Sin, often clouds our
discernment, distorts our intellect, and weakens our
will. Thus, all people sin and fall short of our call
to holiness.
Focus Question
How do we live our faith faithfully?
By conscientiously devoting ourselves to personal
holiness in service to God and neighbor.
Focus Question
What was the source of St. Peter’s faith in
Jesus Christ?
It was a gift from God, coming not from “flesh
and blood” but from Christ’s “Father, who art
in heaven.”
Focus Question
What is the response that the gift of faith
requires of us?
God’s gift of faith requires from us the human act
of trust in God and believing in the truths he
reveals.
Focus Question
On what authority should we believe what
God reveals?
We believe not because “revealed truths appear as true
and intelligible in the light of our natural reason.”
Rather, we believe “because of the authority of God
himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor
be deceived.”
Extension: This is not to say that revealed truths are
in any way opposed to human reason.
Focus Question
What does St. Peter mean when he says that the
new People of God would be born “not from
flesh, but from water and the Holy Spirit”?
He means that they would not be God’s people because
they are natural descendants of Abraham but because
they would receive the Sacrament of Baptism.
Focus Question
Why are the People of God a pilgrim Church?
The Church is a group of believers on a journey
toward God, seeking holiness and redemption.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to clearly articulate the three
distinct vocations.
Vocation
Laity
Religious
Holy Orders
Description
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
What is the relationship between
the Church as the People of God and
the Church as a hierarchical body?
Focus Question
What is the Magisterium?
The Magisterium is the teaching authority given by
Christ to his Apostles and now vested in their
successors, the Pope and the bishops in union with
him, who teach the truths of the Faith on the basis
of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
Focus Question
What is the simplest meaning of the Church
as the People of God?
The Church as the People of God means the
communion of all the faithful in Christ.
Focus Question
What is the Old Testament counterpart to the
Church as the People of God?
In the Old Testament, the Israelites were God’s
Chosen People.
Focus Question
Where is the New Testament teaching of the
Church as the People of God found?
It is taught in the First Epistle of St. Peter.
Focus Question
Ethnically, who makes up the New Covenant
People of God?
It is a race of Jews and Gentiles unified by the Holy
Spirit in Jesus Christ.
Extension:
In other words, any human being can be a member.
Guided Exercise
Free write on how the following quote of
Christ (quoting Isaiah) can apply to you.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and
recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those
who are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18-24)
Focus Question
What were the two priesthoods found in the
Old Testament?
In the Old Testament, God said that all of Israel
would be “a kingdom of priests.” He also
established elders and an order of priests, the
Levites, to offer sacrifices on behalf of this people.
Focus Question
According to Hebrews, what is the “job” of a
priest?
Priests are called by God “to act on behalf of men in
relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.”
Focus Question
What are the two levels of the priesthood in
the Church?
There is a common priesthood shared by all the
faithful and a ministerial priesthood of ordained
leaders at the service of the faithful.
Focus Question
What is the basis of the priesthood in
the Church?
Both the common priesthood of all the faithful and
the ministerial priesthood participate in the one
priesthood of Christ.
Focus Question
How do we live out the common priesthood
of the faithful?
We live as priests by offering our lives as a
living sacrifice to God for the salvation of
others and ourselves.
Focus Question
According to the Catechism, what is the
relationship between the common priesthood
and the ministerial priesthood?
The common priesthood is the unfolding of one’s
own baptismal grace. The ministerial priesthood is
the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all
Christians by which Christ builds up and leads his
Church.
The Universal Call
to Holiness and
the Liturgy
Lesson Objectives
•The universal call to holiness
•The liturgy
•The liturgical year
The Universal Call to Holiness
and the Liturgy
Basic Questions
What is the universal call to holiness?
All Christians in every state of life are called to
holiness, which is the fullness of the Christian life
and the perfection of charity.
The Universal Call to Holiness
and the Liturgy
Basic Questions
What is the liturgy?
The Liturgy is the Church’s official public worship—
the worship of God by the People of God.
The Universal Call to Holiness
and the Liturgy
Basic Questions
What is the liturgical year?
The liturgical year is the calendar of observances that
celebrates the entire life of Christ, beginning in
Advent and ending the last Sunday before Advent.
Focus Question
What is the universal call to holiness?
It is God’s call to each member of the Church,
regardless of the circumstances of his or her life,
to become a saint.
Focus Question
When Jesus said, “Be perfect, as your heavenly
Father is perfect,” what did he mean?
He meant that we are to aspire to greater and greater
holiness. All Christians in any state or walk of life
are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the
perfection of charity.
Focus Question
Does the universal call to holiness mean
lay people should do more Church-related
activities?
To seek holiness as a member of the laity includes
Church-related activities but also refers to our
everyday, secular activities.
Graphic Organizer
Brainstorm reasons why some people might say that
St. Gianna should have had an abortion.
Reasons to abort her child How Gianna might have responded
Focus Question
What was Gianna’s vocation?
It was to be a wife, mother, and doctor, especially
one serving mothers with young children.
Focus Question
What dilemma did Gianna face in 1961?
She was pregnant and discovered she had cancer.
Her doctors recommended she have an abortion so
she could have surgery to save her own life.
Focus Question
What was Gianna’s response to this “problem?”
She opted to try to save the life of her unborn baby
rather than her own if it was really going to be
either one or the other.
Focus Question
What was the result of Gianna’s decision?
She died soon after giving birth to her
healthy daughter.
Focus Question
How was St. Gianna’s life a martyrdom?
She laid down her life for another, just as Christ did.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
According to Avery Cardinal Dulles,
how does Christ exercise his threefold office as
prophet, priest, and king in the liturgy of the Mass?
Focus Question
What are two basic types of prayer practiced in
the Christian life?
1. Christians gather for communal, liturgical prayer
and worship; and
2. They participate in personal, individual prayer.
Focus Question
What is the etymology and original meaning of
the word “liturgy”?
It is derived from the Greek words ergos (“work”)
and leiton (“of the people”), meaning essentially,
“public work,” or any work performed for the
common good.
Focus Question
What was the meaning of leitourgia in the Old
Testament Septuagint?
It designated the worship led by the Levite priests of
the Temple on behalf of the people.
Focus Question
What does “liturgy” mean in the Church?
Since the days of the early Church, liturgy has
come to mean the Church’s public and official
worship of God, including the Mass and all its
official rites and ceremonies—the worship of God
by the People of God.
Focus Question
Why did Adam and Eve need a mediator after
they had sinned?
They were no longer in communion with God and
needed someone to restore that relationship.
Focus Question
What in the nature of Jesus Christ makes him a
perfect mediator between God and humanity?
The fact that Christ is perfect man and perfect God
makes him the perfect mediator.
Focus Question
What aspect of Christ’s life was mediatory?
Christ’s entire life—in particular, his Passion, Death,
and Resurrection—reflected one uninterrupted,
priestly action.
Focus Question
How does Christ’s priestly work continue today?
It continues in the liturgy of the Church, particularly
in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or Divine Liturgy,
where Christ brings about the effects of salvation and
accomplishes the perfect worship of God.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table on the liturgical year in the
ordinary form of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.
Season
Advent
Christmas Time
Lent
The Triduum
Easter Time
Ordinary Time
The Proper of Saints
When it occurs
Its significance
The Sacraments in
General and Baptism
in Particular
Lesson Objectives
•Sacraments
•Sacraments and human nature
•Baptism
The Sacraments in General
and Baptism in Particular
Basic Questions
What is a Sacrament?
A Sacrament is an efficacious sign of grace, instituted
by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which
divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the
Holy Spirit.
The Sacraments in General
and Baptism in Particular
Basic Questions
How do Sacraments correspond to
human nature?
One reason God uses Sacraments to confer grace to
humanity is because they use visible signs to confer
invisible graces and thus correspond to human nature,
which is a composite of a visible, material body and
an invisible, immaterial soul.
The Sacraments in General
and Baptism in Particular
Basic Questions
What is Baptism?
Baptism is the first Sacrament received by a Christian,
involving immersion or the pouring of water on the
recipient’s head while pronouncing the invocation of the
Blessed Trinity. It forgives sins, including Original Sin,
begins a new life in Christ, and incorporates the new
Christian into the life of the Church, the Body of Christ.
It is the first of the three Sacraments of Initiation.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a focused reading
of the paragraph beginning,
“As Latin increasingly…” (p. 191).
How does the Roman soldier’s sacramentum
correspond to the idea of a Christian Sacrament?
Focus Question
What is a Sacrament?
“The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace,
instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church,
by which divine life is dispensed to us”
(CCC 1131).
Focus Question
What did the early Church and what do Christians
in the East still call the Sacraments?
They call each Sacrament Mysterion (Greek for
“mystery”), which is “a sign of something sacred
or hidden.”
Focus Question
What is the origin of the English word
“sacrament”?
The Latin sacramentum means “oath.”
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to clearly articulate the
meaning of “Sacrament.”
Term
Sign
Sign of grace
Efficacious sign
of grace
Instituted by Christ
and entrusted to
the Church
Explanation
Focus Question
Define “ex opere operato.”
It means, “from the work performed,” or
automatically.
Focus Question
Under what circumstances does a Sacrament give
grace ex opere operato?
The minister has to intend to convey the Sacrament and
the participant must intend to receive it. According to the
teachings of the Council Fathers at the Ecumenical
Council of Trent, the Sacraments “confer grace on those
who do not place an obstacle thereunto.”
Focus Question
What do the Sacraments dispense?
They dispense sanctifying grace, which is a share in
divine life.
Focus Question
When did the Church begin celebrating
the Sacraments?
All seven Sacraments were part of the practice of the
Church from the very beginning and were understood
as having been instituted by Christ.
Guided Exercise
Write a paragraph about how the
Sacraments correspond to human nature.
Focus Question
How was the baptism of Christ a “theophany”?
When Christ came up out of the water after
St. John’s baptism, there was a divine manifestation
of all three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. The voice
of the Father spoke, God the Son was visible in the
Person of Christ, and God the Holy Spirit
descended upon Christ “like a dove.”
Focus Question
How was St. John’s baptism different from the
one Christ instituted?
St. John’s baptism signified repentance from sin but
did not forgive sin. The Sacrament of Baptism is
sacramental and efficacious.
Focus Question
When during his public ministry did Christ speak
of his Sacrament of Baptism?
He told Nicodemus that one must be born of water
and the Spirit to enter the kingdom of God.
Focus Question
When did Christ institute his Sacrament
of Baptism?
At his Ascension, Christ commanded his Apostles,
“Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19).
Focus Question
What is one example of Baptism after Pentecost?
St. Peter baptized the centurion Cornelius.
Focus Question
What are the effects of Baptism?
It removes all sin, Original and actual; unites the
recipient to the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of
Christ; and incorporates the recipient into the
Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.
Focus Question
What is the catechumenate?
It is a process by which people who wish to become
members of the Church are instructed in the Faith
and prepared for the Sacraments of Initiation.
Focus Question
What is the current form of the catechumenate?
It is the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
(RCIA).
Focus Question
What particular symbol does Baptism by
immersion make explicit about the theology
of Baptism?
It strongly symbolizes the recipient’s sharing in the
Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ as he or
she is immersed and then rises to a new life.
Focus Question
How is the administration of the Sacraments of
Initiation different from the Eastern and the Latin
Rites of the Catholic Church?
In the Eastern Rites of the Catholic Church, the three
Sacraments of Initiation are given in the same
celebration, even to an infant.
continued
Focus Question
How is the administration of the Sacraments of
Initiation different from the Eastern and the Latin
Rites of the Catholic Church?
In the Latin Rite, they often are conferred simultaneously
on an adult or older minor at the Easter Vigil but are
usually separated, receiving Baptism as an infant and the
Eucharist and Confirmation after he or she has reached
the age of reason (about seven years old).
Focus Question
Why does the Church teach that the Sacrament of
Baptism is necessary for salvation?
The Church does not know of any means other than
Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude.
Focus Question
What is Baptism of Blood?
Those who die for the sake of the Faith but have
not yet received sacramental Baptism “are baptized
by their death for and with Christ.”
Focus Question
What is Baptism of Desire?
An uncatechized person of good will, under
certain conditions, can receive what is called a
Baptism of Desire because such a person would
have desired Baptism explicitly if he or she had
known its necessity.
Focus Question
What is the fate of unbaptized infants and unborn
babies who die?
Though God has not revealed this, we have good hope
that God has a way for unbaptized infants, who can
neither willfully die for the faith nor implicitly desire
Baptism, to be saved without having received the
waters of Baptism.
The Sacraments
of Confirmation
and the Eucharist
Lesson Objectives
•Confirmation
•The Eucharist
The Sacraments of Confirmation
and the Eucharist
Basic Questions
What is Confirmation?
Confirmation is the Sacrament that completes the
grace of Baptism by a special outpouring of the Holy
Spirit that “confirms” the baptized in union with
Christ and equips them for active participation in the
worship and apostolic life of the Church; one of the
three Sacraments of Initiation.
The Sacraments of Confirmation
and the Eucharist
Basic Questions
What is the Eucharist?
The Eucharist is the Sacrament by which bread and
wine are consecrated by a priest and become the true
Body and Blood of Christ, which the faithful consume
in Holy Communion.
Focus Question
When was the Sacrament of Confirmation
instituted?
The Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles on the
day of Pentecost.
Focus Question
How is the Sacrament of Confirmation usually
described in the New Testament?
It is referred to as the “laying on of hands.”
Focus Question
With what other Sacrament was Confirmation
usually associated?
It is associated closely with Baptism. When the
Apostles baptized a convert, they also laid their
hands on (i.e., administered Confirmation to) the
new believer.
Focus Question
How does Confirmation “complete” Baptism?
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit received in
Confirmation completes the initiation that was
begun in Baptism.
Focus Question
How do we know that Baptism and Confirmation
are distinct Sacraments?
When the Apostles were not present, and other
believers had baptized the new followers of Christ,
then the Apostles would “lay hands on,” or confirm,
the newly baptized when they visited that area.
Focus Question
Who is the ordinary administrator of
Confirmation?
A bishop, who is a successor of the Apostles, is the
ordinary minister of Confirmation in the Latin
Rite of the Catholic Church.
Focus Question
How is Confirmation celebrated differently in the
East and West today?
In the West, the desire to reserve the completion of
Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal separation
of the two Sacraments. The East has kept them
united in time by having Confirmation conferred by
the priest who baptizes; he does so with the Myron,
or Sacred Chrism, consecrated by a bishop.
Focus Question
What are the signs of the Sacrament
of Confirmation?
They are the laying on of hands and the anointing
with Sacred Chrism (called Myron in the Eastern
Rites of the Catholic Church). An anointing was
an act added in the early Church to better signify the
gift of the Holy Spirit.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a focused reading on the
paragraph beginning, “From these
two accounts…” (p. 198), including
CCC 1290, using the following question:
How has the relationship between the celebration of
Baptism and Confirmation changed over the centuries?
Focus Question
What Old Testament miracle foreshadowed
Christ’s feeding of the five thousand?
In the Old Testament, God fed the whole nation of
Israel manna from heaven. In the New Testament,
Jesus fed five thousand persons with only a few
loaves and fishes.
Focus Question
How did the feeding of the five thousand
foreshadow the institution of the Eucharist?
Christ related the multiplication of the loaves and
fishes with the manna in the wilderness, which was
bread from Heaven. Christ said he, himself, was the
living bread which came down from Heaven, which
would give eternal life. He also said he would give
his flesh for the life of the world.
Focus Question
How do we know that Christ was not speaking
symbolically or that he was not being misunderstood?
When some in the crowd objected to this teaching, Christ became
more direct, declaring “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” At this
point, many of his disciples who had followed him up to this
point left him and Christ did nothing to dissuade them of their
understanding that he was speaking literally of eating his flesh
and drinking his blood, an act they associated with cannibalism.
Focus Question
When did the actual Institution of the Sacrament
of the Eucharist occur?
Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper,
a Passover meal.
Focus Question
How did Christ give the Passover meal a
new significance?
Using some of the unleavened bread and wine that
was a part of the Passover celebration, Christ broke
bread, said it was his Body, and told his disciples to
eat it. He also took a cup of wine and told them to
drink it because it was his Blood, the Blood of the
New Covenant.
Focus Question
What is the relationship between the sacrifice of
Christ on the Cross and in the Mass?
They are the same sacrifice, although the sacrifice of
Christ in the Mass is an unbloody sacrifice.
Focus Question
What does the word Eucharist mean?
It means “thanksgiving.”
Focus Question
What is transubstantiation?
It is the term that the Church uses to explain that
while the bread and wine used do not change in
appearance or in any other observable property, they
are transformed into the substance of the Body and
Blood of Christ.
Focus Question
What does the term Real Presence mean?
It is the term used to describe Christ’s true and
substantial presence under the appearance of bread
and wine.
Guided Exercise
Based on the writings of the early Church
Father St. Justin Martyr, develop an
apologetic for the Mass showing how the
same Mass that the Church celebrates
today was celebrated in the first century.
Use three concrete examples.
Focus Question
When was the Eucharist instituted?
Christ instituted it at the Last Supper.
Focus Question
Why does the Church celebrate the Eucharist?
Christ commanded his Apostles,
“Do this in memory of me.”
Focus Question
How is the Eucharist referred to in the
New Testament?
It is called the breaking of the bread.
Focus Question
On what day did the Apostles celebrate
the Eucharist?
On Sunday, the day of Christ’s Resurrection.
Focus Question
What are the effects of receiving the Eucharist?
Holy Communion increases our union with Christ;
it forgives our venial sins and strengthens us against
future temptations to commit mortal sins. Because the
Eucharist unites us more closely to Christ, it also
unites us to the entire Mystical Body of Christ, the
People of God, our fellow members of the Church.
continued
Focus Question
What are the effects of receiving the Eucharist?
It “identifies us with [Christ’s] heart, sustains our
strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us
long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the
Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and
all the saints.”
Focus Question
What are the requirements to receive the
Eucharist worthily?
One must be in full communion with the Church and
free from mortal sin.
Focus Question
Why does the Church require her members to
attend Holy Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days
of Obligation and to receive the Eucharist at least
once a year?
Because communal or liturgical worship and prayer and
receiving the Eucharist are vital to the spiritual life.
Focus Question
How is the Eucharist the source of the
Church’s life?
The Eucharist is the real, though sacramental,
presence of Christ, and Christ is the source of
all grace for the Church.
Focus Question
How is the Eucharist the summit of the
Church’s life?
The faithful bring to the Eucharistic celebration all
their prayers and good works, their joys and sufferings.
These modest offerings are united to the perfect Sacrifice
of Christ in the Mass and are thus sanctified and lifted
up to God in an act of perfect worship.
The Sacraments
of Penance and the
Anointing of the Sick
Lesson Objectives
•Penance
•Anointing of the Sick
The Sacraments of Penance
and the Anointing of the Sick
Basic Questions
What is the Sacrament of Penance?
Penance is the Sacrament of God’s forgiveness, which
includes contrition, confession of sins, and satisfaction
or reparation, together with the prayer of absolution
by the priest.
The Sacraments of Penance
and the Anointing of the Sick
Basic Questions
What is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the
Sick?
The Anointing of the Sick is the sacramental anointing
with oil, administered by a priest to a baptized person
who is in danger of death because of illness or old age.
It provides the recipient with grace for healing, strength,
and forgiveness of sins and prepares the recipient for
death and eternal life in Heaven.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to identify the elements
behind the various names of the Sacrament of Penance.
Name
Penance
Reconciliation
Confession
Significance
Focus Question
What is the difference between Original and
actual Sin?
Original Sin is the weakened human nature that
we inherit because of the sin of Adam and Eve.
Actual sins are the personal sins we freely commit.
Focus Question
What is concupiscence?
It is the inclination to sin that we suffer from because
of Original Sin.
Focus Question
When did Christ institute the Sacrament
of Penance?
Christ instituted this Sacrament when he appeared
to his Apostles on the evening of the day of his
Resurrection and told them, “If you forgive the sins
of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of
any, they are retained.”
Guided Exercise
Discuss the following prompt:
Some non-Catholics object to telling their sins
to a priest in Confession. How does Christ’s
gift of the power of forgiveness of sins to
the Apostles imply oral confession of sin?
Focus Question
What is the distinction between venial and
mortal sin?
Venial sins are lesser offenses that harm our
relationship with God, while mortal sins break our
communion with God and his Church.
Extension:
“Venial” literally means “slight and pardonable,”
while “mortal” means “subject to death.”
Focus Question
What are the conditions for committing a
mortal sin?
A mortal sin is a sin regarding a grave matter that we
commit with forethought and full consent of the will.
Extension:
In other words, it is an act that is seriously wrong,
which we know is wrong, and which we freely choose
to commit anyway.
Focus Question
Should a person who is conscious of having
committed a mortal sin receive Holy Communion?
No. That is, not before it has been confessed and given
absolution in the Sacrament of Penance.
Focus Question
Can the Sacrament of Reconciliation be seen in
Scripture and Tradition?
Yes. Sts. John and Paul mention it in the New
Testament. It is also taught in the Didache, which
was written during the first century.
Focus Question
What does binding and loosing mean in relation
to the Sacrament of Penance, according to the
Catechism, no. 1445?
The power Christ gave to St. Peter and the Apostles to
bind and loose means those they exclude from their
communion will be excluded from communion with God
and those they welcome back into communion with them
will be welcomed back into communion with God.
Focus Question
How can a person restore communion with God
and the Church?
Through the Sacrament of Penance.
Focus Question
What is the unchanging fundamental form of the
Sacrament of Penance?
Interior conversion, contrition, confession, absolution,
and satisfaction.
Focus Question
What are the two main forms of celebrating the
Sacrament of Reconciliation that we have seen in
the history of the Church?
In the early Church, public confession and severe penance
for grave sins was practiced. Later, private and frequent
confession was introduced that made it possible for the
Sacrament of Penance to be a regular part of the
devotional lives of the faithful.
Focus Question
Who is the minster of the Sacrament of Penance?
Only a priest who has received authority from the
Church can pronounce the forgiveness of sins in
Christ’s name.
Focus Question
What was the role of physical healings in
Christ’s ministry?
It was an integral part of what Christ did, a
foreshadowing of the coming of the Kingdom
of God, and a proof of Christ’s messiahship.
Focus Question
What was the role of physical signs in
Christ’s healings?
Christ often used concrete physical signs to heal,
such as the laying on of hands, mud, washing,
even his own spittle.
Focus Question
Did Christ share the power to heal with
his Apostles?
Yes. He gave them the power to heal the sick and cast
out demons.
Focus Question
When did Christ institute this Sacrament
of Healing?
We do not know when he did, but we know that he did.
During his public ministry he sent his disciples out to
heal. In the Acts of the Apostles his Apostles continue
this healing ministry; in his Epistle St. James tells the
elders, or priests, to pray over the sick person and anoint
him with oil in the name of the Lord to heal him and
forgive his sins.
Focus Question
How does the Church celebrate the Sacrament of
Christ’s healing today?
It is celebrated through the ministry of a bishop or
priest, who confers the Sacrament by the laying on of
hands and an anointing with the Oil of the Sick.
Guided Exercise
Write a bullet-point summary of the many
benefits of the Sacrament of Anointing of
the Sick, based on the paragraph beginning,
“There are several spiritual benefits..” (p. 207).
Focus Question
Why was this Sacrament until recently called
Extreme Unction?
Following the Apostolic era, the anointing became
more and more associated with imminent death.
Extension:
The term “extreme unction” refers to an anointing
“in extremis”, that is, at the point of death.
Focus Question
What are the conditions for receiving the
Sacrament of Anointing?
The Sacrament can be celebrated with any illness or
condition, even prior to surgery, where there is danger
of death.
Focus Question
Why does the Sacrament not always physically heal
its recipient?
Physical healing is not always part of God’s plan.
For example, Christ would not heal St. Paul of his
“thorn,” even though St. Paul could heal other people.
The Sacraments
of Holy Orders
and Matrimony
Lesson Objectives
•Holy Orders
•Matrimony
The Sacraments of
Holy Orders and Matrimony
Basic Questions
What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders?
Holy Orders is the Sacrament by which the mission
entrusted by Christ to his Apostles continues to be
exercised in the Church through the laying on of
hands in ordination; the Sacrament has three distinct
levels—bishop (episcopate), priest (presbyterate), and
deacon (diaconate)—and confers an indelible character
on the ordinand’s soul.
The Sacraments of
Holy Orders and Matrimony
Basic Questions
What is the Sacrament of Matrimony?
The Sacrament of Matrimony raises natural
marriage to the dignity of a Sacrament. It is a
lifelong and exclusive bond between a man and a
woman, recognized by the Church.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to understand the three
characters which ordination confers.
Character
Service
Collegiality
Personal
Explanation
Focus Question
When did Christ institute the Sacrament of
Holy Orders?
When he called together the Twelve Apostles and
made St. Peter their head.
Focus Question
How did the hierarchy develop during the era of
the New Testament?
It developed into the three orders of episcopate,
presbyterate, and diaconate—or bishop, priest,
and deacon.
Focus Question
What sacramental powers and obligations did
Christ confer upon his Apostles during his
public ministry?
He gave them his power and obligation to baptize,
forgive sins, anoint the sick, and celebrate the
Eucharist, i.e., to celebrate the Seven Sacraments.
Focus Question
What is the origin of marriage?
It was part of God’s plan from the beginning.
Focus Question
What was the effect of Original Sin on marriage?
Original Sin broke the communion between man
and woman, opening the way for actual sins of lust,
domination, disrespect, and discord between men
and women.
Focus Question
What are the common sins against marriage?
Adultery, fornication, prostitution, homosexual
behavior, and acts of bestiality are some of the sins
against marriage.
Focus Question
How can married couples restore God’s original
intent?
They can cooperate with God’s grace.
Focus Question
Was marriage restored to its original dignity under
the Law of Moses in the Old Testament?
No. Polygamy and divorce were tolerated in some cases,
which were not part of God’s plan for marriage from
the beginning.
Focus Question
How does the Old Testament prepare the way
for the restoration of God’s original vision for
marriage, according to CCC 1611?
The prophets portrayed the covenant between God and
Israel as an image of exclusive and faithful married love;
the books of Ruth and Tobit contain an elevated sense
of marriage, fidelity, and tenderness between spouses,
and the Song of Solomon is a unique expression of
human love as a reflection of God’s love.
Focus Question
What does the vocation to the Sacrament of
Matrimony entail?
Like the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the Sacrament
of Matrimony is a vocation of service; husbands and
wives are to assist each other in living the faith,
helping each other to grow in sanctity with the goal of
someday entering eternal life. If blessed with children,
they are called to raise them lovingly in the Faith.
Focus Question
Why does the Church only ordain men to
Holy Orders?
Christ chose only men to be his Apostles, the Church
is bound to continue this example.
Focus Question
How can a man know with certainty if he has a
vocation to receive Holy Orders?
A man who believes that he may have a vocation to
receive Holy Orders will go through a process of
discernment. His bishop will make the final decision
whether to ordain him or not.
Focus Question
How is Holy Orders conferred?
The bishop lays his hands on the ordinand and prays
that the Holy Spirit will bestow the gifts that will be
needed for ministry.
Focus Question
In whose person does a priest act?
A priest acts in the Person of Jesus Christ, who is the
Head, Shepherd, and Bridegroom of his Church.
Focus Question
What is the grace conferred by the Sacrament
of Matrimony?
This grace assists the couple in perfecting their love
and unity and in helping each other to become holy
and to welcome and educate children.
Focus Question
Who are the ministers of the Sacrament
of Matrimony?
In the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, the man
and woman themselves are the ministers of the
Sacrament. The whole Family of God—represented
by a bishop, priest, or deacon—serves as a witness to
the Sacrament.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
Why do some marriages end in divorce?
Focus Question
What did Christ teach about the permanence
of marriage?
He taught that “from the beginning” marriage was to
be a lifelong covenant and that divorce was not God’s
plan for man and woman.
Focus Question
How did St. Paul portray married love?
He compared the love between husbands and wives to
the relationship of Christ and his Church. According
to St. Paul, marriage is made in the image of Christ
and his Church.
Focus Question
What does the Church teach about marriage
between Christians?
The Church considers Christian natural marriage to be
elevated by Christ to the dignity of a Sacrament.
Prayer and
Sacrifice
Lesson Objectives
•Prayer
•Types of prayer
•Mortification
Prayer and Sacrifice
Basic Questions
What is prayer?
Prayer is an essential part of the Christian life in
which God helps us raise our hearts and minds to
him in conversation.
Prayer and Sacrifice
Basic Questions
What types of prayer are there in the
Christian life?
Just as Christ prayed in many ways, the ways a
Christian can pray are myriad.
Prayer and Sacrifice
Basic Questions
What is mortification, and what is its value?
Just as an athlete must train himself to compete
successfully, mortification or self-denial is also an
essential part of pursuing the goal of Christian life.
Focus Question
What is a basic definition of prayer, according to
St. John Damascene?
Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God
or the requesting of good things from God.
Focus Question
According to Pope Bl. John Paul II, when we pray,
who should get the most credit?
God is the true protagonist when we pray; he is taking
the initiative to get us to pray.
Graphic Organizer
Create a table that lists and defines or explains what you
consider the ten most important forms of prayer.
Type
Definition or Explanation
Guided Exercise
Come up with reasons to support the ideas
of St. Thomas Aquinas and Tertullian that
the Lord’s Prayer is “perfect” and a
“summary of the whole Gospel.”
Focus Question
What should be the main subject of
Christian prayer?
The mysteries of Christ, so we can get to know him,
to love him, and to be united to him.
Focus Question
What was the role of prayer in Christ’s life?
Christ was devoted to prayer, especially before the
great events in his life.
Focus Question
What is the most important prayer in the life of
the Church?
The Lord’s Prayer is most important.
Focus Question
What forms of prayer did Christ practice?
The formal or traditional prayers of Judaism;
spontaneous prayer; personal prayer alone in silence;
communal prayer with friends; prayerful reading of the
Scriptures; prayer using the Psalms; celebration of holy
days; pilgrimages; attendance at the synagogue and
Temple liturgies; and fasting as “prayer of the senses.”
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to identify everyday forms of
self-denial that teens can practice.
Type of Sacrifice
Avoiding a sin
Avoiding a near occasion
of sin
Sacrificing an
innocent pleasure
Offering up an
unwanted suffering
Joining a sacrifice
with charity
Example
Focus Question
What does mortification literally mean?
It means “dying to the flesh.”
Focus Question
What is mortification?
It is a means of seeking holiness through self-discipline
and self-denial.
Focus Question
What is the purpose of mortification?
Its purpose is to avoid sin and to subdue the body so
as to strengthen the soul.
Focus Question
How can mortification help us avoid
“near occasions” of sin?
If we see an immodestly dressed person, it takes an
effort not to look, but that effort helps us avoid what
could easily turn into a sin.
Extension:
To give up looking at what could lead us to sin is a
kind of small “death.”
Focus Question
What is the point of denying oneself an
innocent pleasure?
It helps us grow in self-control and it can be offered to
God for a myriad of reasons, for example to say
thank you, to say one is sorry for something, and to
benefit someone you care about who needs God’s grace.
Focus Question
To what should self-denial be united?
Self-denial will be more precious if it is united to
charity, for example if we fast and offer it for someone
who is suffering.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a focused reading of the sidebar
“The Role of Youth in the Church” (p. 215)
using the following question:
What do you think are the two top reasons
the Church values young people today?
Seeking Holiness
in Daily Life
Lesson Objectives
•Evangelization
•Vocations in the Church
•The Christian family
•Sanctification of work
Seeking Holiness in Daily
Life
Basic Questions
How do we evangelize?
We carry out Christ’s mandate to evangelize by the
witness of our Christian lives and our ability to
explain our Faith at the right time.
Seeking Holiness in Daily
Life
Basic Questions
What are the various Christian vocations?
The three primary vocations to the Christian life are
Holy Orders, religious life, and the lay state.
Seeking Holiness in Daily
Life
Basic Questions
How does family life contribute to holiness
of life?
Marriage and family life provide special opportunities
to grow in holiness.
Seeking Holiness in Daily
Life
Basic Questions
How can we sanctify our work?
By offering up our work and all of our daily
activities, we can sanctify others and ourselves.
Focus Question
What is the basis of the Church’s
missionary work?
Christ instructed his Apostles, “Go… make disciples
of all nations” (Mt 20:19).
Focus Question
What is the evangelical call today, according to the
Council Fathers of Vatican II?
The Church today is “urgently called upon to save and
renew every creature, that all things may be restored in
Christ and all men may constitute one family in him
and one People of God” (Ad Gentes, 1).
Focus Question
Whose responsibility is missionary work?
While it is organized by the institutional Church, it is
part of the baptismal vocation shared by all Christians.
Focus Question
What is the first and foremost method of carrying
out missionary activity?
It is Christian witness in the midst of society, in which
the followers of Christ show understanding and
acceptance of others and a willingness to share their lives
in solidarity with all that is good and noble. This witness
shows non-Christians that God’s values surpass the
values of the world and it raises questions in their hearts
that only Christ can answer.
Focus Question
What is the second thing the Christian must
possess to evangelize effectively?
A person must also know the Faith and be prepared
to explain it if they are to effectively transmit the
message of Christ.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
According to the sidebar
“Evangelizing Truths” (p. 217),
why should the Church evangelize others?
Focus Question
What is a vocation?
It is a specific, permanent state of life to which God
calls one.
Focus Question
What is the most common vocation in
the Church?
The vast majority of the members of the Church are
the laity, both married and unmarried, who are called
to live as Christ’s witnesses in every activity according
to their state of life—in family life, in ordinary daily
work, in the lay apostolate, and in the public square.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to identify the three major
Christian vocations.
Type
Holy Orders
Religious life
The laity
Description
Focus Question
What is the vocation of married couples?
Husbands and wives “find their proper vocation in
being witnesses to the Faith and the love of Christ to
one another and to their children.”
Focus Question
Who are the primary educators of children?
Parents are the primary educators of their own children.
Focus Question
What is the most important job of parents?
They are called to raise their children in the Faith
through example and word.
Focus Question
What are some virtues children can learn in
family life?
Children can learn endurance, the joy of work,
fraternal love, generous—even repeated—forgiveness,
solidarity, tenderness, respect, fidelity, disinterested
service, self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery.
Focus Question
What are some duties of children toward
their parents?
Children living at home are to regard their parents
with love, gratitude, and respect. Grown children must
look after their sick or aging parents and provide both
material and moral support to them.
Focus Question
Should parents force their children to adopt a
particular profession or state in life?
No. They may give advice and encourage vocations, but
a particular vocation is the decision of their children.
Focus Question
Why is work able to be made holy?
Work can be sanctified because it is the vocation God
has given man from the beginning.
Focus Question
How can we sanctify our work, ourselves, and
others when we work?
By performing our duties well, maintaining a cheerful
and positive attitude, and exercising Christian virtues,
we can sanctify our work, ourselves, and those who
may find in us inspiration and exemplary behavior.
Focus Question
What are some virtues we can develop through
our work?
Work helps people develop the virtues of fairness,
ethics, courtesy, kindness, and friendship.
Extension:
Nearly the natural human virtues can be developed
through work, including the Cardinal Virtues of
justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude.
Focus Question
How can our work draw others to Christ?
If we are Christ-like in our work, others will be
drawn to us and wonder why we are this way. This
provides an opportunity to be a witness for Christ.
Focus Question
How can work be redemptive?
We can offer the difficulties of our work in union with
the life of Christ, both his own work and his Passion.
Responsibilities of the
Laity: Consecrated Life
Lesson Objectives
•The apostolate of the laity
•The responsibility of the laity in public life
•The consecrated life
•The main forms of consecrated life today
Responsibilities of the Laity:
Consecrated Life
Basic Questions
What is the apostolate of the laity?
The lay apostolate is the laity’s work of building up
the Church, according to their gifts and talents, in the
family, the workplace, the Church’s formal work, and
culture and politics.
Responsibilities of the Laity:
Consecrated Life
Basic Questions
What is the responsibility of the laity in
public life?
In public life, the laity have the responsibility of
promoting the common good.
Responsibilities of the Laity:
Consecrated Life
Basic Questions
What is the consecrated life?
Some persons are called to live the evangelical counsels of
chastity, poverty, and obedience in the consecrated life.
Responsibilities of the Laity:
Consecrated Life
Basic Questions
What are the main forms of consecrated
life today?
The three main types of consecrated life today are
religious orders and congregations, societies for
apostolic life, and secular institutes.
Focus Question
What was St. Thomas More’s state in life?
He was a layperson who was married and had a family.
Focus Question
What were some of St. Thomas More’s
religious practices?
He was a Secular Franciscan and a Benedictine oblate.
He attended daily Mass, prayed, fasted, and wore a hair
shirt under his splendid robes as a mortification.
Focus Question
What were some of St. Thomas More’s “crimes”?
He refused to sign the Act of Succession, which said
that the children of Henry VIII and his second wife,
Anne Boleyn, were rightful heirs to the throne, and he
refused to acknowledge Henry VIII as the supreme
head of the Church in England.
Guided Exercise
Free write on the following prompt:
The Church teaches that every follower of Christ
is called to live chastity, poverty, and obedience
appropriate to his or her state in life. How can
Catholic teenagers carry out this responsibility?
Guided Exercise
Identify ways in which the lay faithful
are to promote the common good.
Focus Question
What is apostolate?
It is the task of building up the Church, shared by
all her members according to the gifts and talents God
has given them.
Focus Question
What is the basis of a fruitful apostolate?
The fruitfulness of a person’s apostolate depends on
his or her union with Christ.
Focus Question
What is the source of the various gifts Christians
possess to help build up the Body of Christ?
Their origin is in the Holy Spirit.
Focus Question
How will non-Christians recognize disciples of
Christ according to Christ himself ?
They will recognize Christ’s disciples by the love they
have for one another.
Focus Question
Based on Pope Bl. John Paul II’s words, what
has the Church done better than any other
religious society?
No religious society has ever inspired as many works
of charity as the Catholic Church.
Guided Exercise
Conduct a think/pair/share
using the following question:
If it is true that God’s will is that each person’s
apostolate consists primarily in carrying out the duties
of his or her state in life (“the fulfillment of those
duties proper to our own God-given vocation”),
then how can you best do apostolate now?
Focus Question
What Sacraments give each members of the Body
of Christ the right and duty to work so that the
divine message of salvation may be known and
accepted by all men throughout the earth?
The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation confer
this right and duty.
Focus Question
What is a work of service or charity?
It is any good done to or for a person in need.
Focus Question
How do Christians make their works of
charity unexceptionable?
A Christian’s work of charity will be beyond criticism
in appearance as well as in fact if he or she considers
his or her neighbor as a person made in the image of
God and as another Christ.
Focus Question
What are the four areas of life, which the laity
have the responsibility to share according to the
will of God?
1.
2.
3.
4.
They are the family,
the workplace,
the apostolate, and
culture and politics.
Focus Question
What is the difference between the duties of the
clergy and the laity when it comes to public
policy?
The bishops and clergy address issues of public policy
insofar as they involve questions of morality and the
common good. The laity are involved in the political
and policy-making process at every level of
government and society.
continued
Focus Question
What is the difference between the duties of the
clergy and the laity when it comes to public
policy?
Extension:
The Magisterium teaches principles; the laity help to
put them into effect in secular society.
Focus Question
According to Catholic social teachings, what is the
legitimate political authority?
Legitimate political authority is that which is committed
to the common good of society and seeks to attain this
common good by “morally acceptable means.”
Focus Question
What are the common good and its three
essential elements?
The common good is the sum total of social conditions that
allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and more easily. Its three essential
elements are respect for and promotion of the fundamental
rights of the person; prosperity, or the development of the
spiritual and temporal goods of society; and the peace and
security of the group and of its members.
Focus Question
Whose responsibility is the promotion of the
common good?
It is the responsibility of the government and every
individual member of society.
Graphic Organizer
Complete the following table to identify the three major
forms of consecrated life.
Type
Religious orders
Societies for apostolic life
Secular institutes
Description
Focus Question
What is the consecrated life?
It is a permanent state of life characterized by the
profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty,
chastity, and obedience.
Focus Question
What are some examples of consecrated life?
Women religious (often referred to as sisters or nuns),
religious brothers, clergy who are members of a
religious order or institute, and consecrated virgins.
Focus Question
What do the different forms of consecrated life
have in common?
They share a commitment to a radical imitation of
Christ that bears witness to the Gospel and serves the
Church’s mission.
Focus Question
How does the consecrated life give prophetic
witness of the life in Heaven according to the
Catechism, no. 933?
The consecrated state of life reveals more clearly to all
believers the heavenly goods that are already present in
this age, witnesses to the new and eternal life that we
have acquired through the redemptive work of Christ,
and preludes our future resurrection and the glory of
the heavenly kingdom.
Focus Question
What kind of life did Christ embrace in obedience
to his father?
He embraced material poverty, chastity, and obedience
to the Father.
Focus Question
What kind of life do those who follow the
evangelical counsels embrace?
They promise to embrace poverty, chastity, and celibacy
for the sake of the Kingdom of God.