Chapter 8- 9- 10 The Sacraments
Chart of the Sacrament on Page 114
I God uses signs to show his power and love.
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2.
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4.
The seven sacraments begin with signs we can see, feel or hear.
God acts through the ordinary to make our lives extraordinary.
Through signs we see the invisible God in visible ways.
Jesus is God’s greatest gift from God in a very visible way.
A. In Jesus we see, hear, and touch God.
B. Jesus is the second person in the Blessed Trinity, Son of God who became man.
II The Church is a sign and instrument of God’s life and Love among us.
1. The church continues what Jesus began, the mission of service to others.
2. The Church offers the Sacraments as a necessary part of achieving Salvation.
3. The church shows signs of God’s Grace through acts of worship and community
celebrations, known as Sacraments.
4. Sacraments are signs through which we share God’s life.
5. God acts through the Sacraments to make happen the very thing that the
signs stand for.
6. Sacraments help us grow in holiness, build up the church, and give praise to God.
III Through the Seven Sacraments we share in God’s Grace.
1. Christian Initiation – The process of becoming a member of the Church.
A. Sacraments of Initiation – Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist
B. Sacraments of Healing – Reconciliation or Penance, Anointing the Sick
C. Sacraments at the Service of Communion – Holy Orders, Matrimony
IV Sacraments of Initiation welcome its members into the church
1. Baptism
A. The first and foundational sacrament.
B. We are welcomed into the church and we become children of God and members
of the Body of Christ.
C. We receive the Holy Spirit which gives us new life and rebirth.
D. Baptism breaks the ties to sin by freeing us from original sin.
E. Water is essential in Baptism and one must be baptized with the words, “I
baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit”.
F. We participate in the Paschal Mystery: Christ’s suffering, death and
resurrection.
G. We are marked with an indelible character of spiritual mark that claims us
belonging to Christ.
H. Holy oil is used, but it is not consecrated by the Bishop
I. Baptism is a-once-in-a-lifetime sacrament. It cannot be repeated.
J. For infants, parents profess their own faith on the child’s behalf.
K. For adults, they may receive all 3 sacraments of Initiation at Easter Vigil.
2. Confirmation
A. We receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit, what God promised to send to guide us.
B. Candidate must be prepared to be a disciple and witness of Christ.
C. Confirms and strengthens the Baptismal Grace we have already received.
D. Chrism- holy oil consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese. Oil is a sign of being
sealed or confirmed, with the Holy Spirit. Bishop lays hands on the candidate.
E. Gifts of the Holy Spirit – Holy Spirit strengthens each candidate with 7 special
gifts.
1. Wisdom –knowledge and ability to follow God’s will.
2. Understanding – ability to love others as Jesus calls us to.
3. Counsel, or Right Judgment – ability to make good choices.
4. Fortitude, or Courage – Strength to give witness to the faith.
5. Knowledge – ability to learn more about God and his plan.
6. Piety, Reverence – A love and respect for all that God has created.
7. Fear of the Lord, Wonder and Awe – recognition that God’s presence and
love fills all creation.
F. Like Baptism, Confirmation marks us with an indelible character and cannot be
repeated.
G. Candidate must be in a State of Grace - free from unconfessed mortal sins.
H. In the east, ancient tradition is Confirmation is completed immediately after
Baptism. Western churches reserve Confirmation so one is mature enough to
understand its significance.
3. Eucharist – The Sacrament of His Body and Blood
A. Eucharist completes the initiation into the Church.
B. Called The Most Blessed Sacrament.
C. Jesus gave us the Eucharist at the Last Supper.
1. Last Supper was a Passover feast with Jesus and his disciples.
2. Passover celebrates Moses’ freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
D. At the supper, Jesus explained that his life would be sacrificed, and that all who
believed would be saved from sin and death.
E. Through Jesus there would be a new and everlasting covenant.
1. Covenant : A solemn agreement between God and his people.
F. Bread and Wine – looks and tastes like its properties but is the very Body and Blood
of Jesus. Transubstantiation : Transformed in all by appearance.
G. Eucharist – means “to give thanks to God”. Celebration of the Eucharist is
the Mass.
H. Only a priest or bishop can consecrate the Body and Blood, he is Acting in the
Person of Christ, Himself.
V. Sacraments of Healing - Strengthen and restore our life of Grace
1. Reconciliation or Penance
A. The Church experiences God’s loving forgiveness.
B. We are subject to sin, suffering illness and death, yet through this Sacrament our
relationship with God and the Church is restored.
C. We examine our conscience quietly and prayerfully
D. Four main parts of Penance
E. Contrition – sorrow for sins with a firm purpose not to repeat sin. Sadness for sin
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J.
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and desire to sin no more must be genuine.
Confession – Speaking to a priest individually or communally. Seal of Confession
means the priest cannot tell what you have confessed.
Penance – Priest gives us an act of penance to perform, either saying a prayer or
doing a good deed.
Absolution – The Priest, through the power of the Holy Spirit, absolves (forgives)
your sins.
Mortal Sin – a very serious sin that turns us completely away from God. We must
freely choose and fully consent to this serious evil.
Venial Sin – Sins that causes damage to others, to ourselves, and to our relationship
with God.
Conscience – our ability to know the difference between right and wrong, good and
evil.
2 Anointing the Sick
1. Sacrament calls upon the whole Church to cares for its sick and aged
members for them to return to health or die in God’s friendship.
2. We are all united to the suffering of Christ through this sacrament.
3. Holy oil anoints the sick on their hands and forehead, and laying of hands.
VI
Sacraments at the Service of Communion – for the salvation of others
1. Holy orders
A. Baptized men are ordained to service the Church as bishops, priests or
deacons.
B. Only bishops receive the fullness of Holy Orders, becoming a member of
the body of Successors of the Apostles.
C. Ordinary minister is a bishop, who administers the Sacrament.
D. As in Confirmation, Chrism is used for anointing the newly ordained.
E. As in Confirmation and Anointing the Sick, there is the laying on of
hands.
2. Matrimony
A. Marriage celebrates the kind of friendship that mirrors God’s love for us.
B. It is a permanent covenant to be faithful to each other and live holy lives
in service of each other.
C. They welcome children into their lives and raise them in the faith.
D. The man and woman married act as the ordinary ministers because they
E. The exchange of wedding rings is essential elements in completing the
sacrament.