What have we learned?
• We have an understanding of how particular places and times come to be
significant.
Common Characteristics of Places of Significance
Places of significance have at least three common characteristics:
• They stand for or represent something.
• Certain meaningful events happened there or are associated with them.
• Because of what they represent, people continue to visit these places.
Common Characteristics of Places of Religious Significance
Places of religious significance are set apart because they are places of sacredness.
• They may be the birthplace or the burial place of a religious founder or
leader.
• Apparitions or visions or other events of religious significance may have taken place
there.
• People gather there to pray, to meditate and to celebrate, either alone or through
ritual.
• They are places where people encounter God in a meaningful way, through prayer
and quiet reflection.
What have we learned?
• We can identify elements of worship.
The Elements of Worship in the Sacrament of Baptism
People gather to celebrate:
The members of the community of faith gather together to participate
in the celebration of the sacrament of Baptism.
Rites and rituals:
The priest leads the people through the rite of Baptism, which involves
several different rituals. The main ritual is the actual baptism of the baby
with holy water.
Actions of significance:
During the sacrament of Baptism, there are many actions of significance.
For example, after the priest has baptised the baby with holy water, he
anoints the baby's head with the oil of chrism. The anointing with chrism
signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptised baby.
In a holy place:
The celebration of Baptism usually takes place in a church. This is
a sacred place within the Christian community of faith.
Special events and times of significance:
Baptism is celebrated to welcome a new member into the Christian
community.
Experiencing God and others in a meaningful way:
Participating in an act of worship such as the sacrament of Baptism
gives people the chance to take time out from their ordinary routine
to spend some special time in a special place doing something very
worthwhile and meaningful, i.e. welcoming new members into the
community of faith. During the celebration of Baptism, people
communicate with God and with others through rite and ritual.
Afterwards, they go back to their ordinary routine, renewed and
regenerated as followers of Christ.
What have we learned?
• We have an awareness of the impact of the
experience of mystery in human life.
For example:
We learned of how Anousheh Ansari (the first female space
tourist) felt about her eight-day expedition into space.
‘As I gaze out I thank God once again for helping me be here
and experience this. I have been thanking him for letting my
inner voice carry out to you all and ask him to give me the
vision to see my path in life and the strength to pursue it. These
are the most peaceful moments I have had in my life and I feel a
great source of positive energy. I have a hard time sleeping too
long because I keep forcing my eyes open to just see this beauty
and take it all in… only a second longer…’
• We can identify participation in worship as a response to the
experience of mystery.
Worship as a Response to Mystery
For people of faith, moments of mystery build up their sense of God.
They react with awe and wonder, and they reflect on their experience.
This is also what happens during worship.
Worship is a response to mystery – in this case, the mystery of God.
Through their worship, people give thanks and praise for the gifts of
God, and so their worship becomes an expression of ultimate concern
or love. Acts of worship are a celebration of people's encounter with
God. When people participate fully in rites and rituals (acts of
worship), they are entering into a religious experience with the whole
heart and mind. By so doing, they can encounter God or come face to
face with God in a meaningful way.
Reflection as a
Response to Mystery
Pilgrimage as a
Response to Mystery
Reflection involves
taking time out to
think about and try to
make sense of our
experiences and
actions. It is often only
through reflection that
we can find our
direction in life.
Pilgrimage is another
religious response to
the encounter with
mystery. It involves a
physical, spiritual and
emotional journey of
faith.
What have we learned?
• We are aware of the place of sign and symbol in human life and
in religious traditions.
Sign
A sign can be a word, a drawing or
an action that provides information,
for example, a road sign tells us the
direction we are travelling in and
that the next town or our destination
is a certain number of
kilometres/miles away. Signs should
be easy to recognise and their
meaning should be obvious.
Symbol
Symbols are more powerful than
signs because they affect the way we
feel. Symbols communicate
experience where words are often not
adequate. We don't usually just
decide that something will be a
symbol; it has to work for many
people and draw a response from
them because of the meaning it holds.
Also, for a symbol to have any effect,
its meaning must be understood.
When faced with strong symbols, we
discover new meanings in life.
The Use of Symbols in Religious Traditions
Symbols and symbolic acts are used within religious
traditions. They help people to appreciate and recognise
the depth of their faith because:
• they remind each religious tradition of their story
(their religious history);
• they help each person to encounter the divine in a more
meaningful way, e.g. they can act as aids to prayer or
communication with the divine;
• they enable each person to overcome the limits of
language;
• they bring about a change in the person who responds to
them.
We have an understanding of the power and
meaning of religious symbols.
Christianity – The Crucifix
The crucifix is an important symbol of
faith, hope and love for all followers
of Jesus Christ. It symbolises their
faith in the Trinity.
Judaism – The Menorah
The Menorah is a very old symbol of
Judaism, which was originally used
in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a
seven-branched candlestick. The central
branch represents the Sabbath, the day God
rested after creating the world.
Islam – The Star and Crescent Moon
The five points of the star symbolise
the five pillars of Islam. The moon
and the stars remind Muslims of God,
the creator of everything.
Hinduism
This symbol is the written form of the
sacred sound ‘om’. Om is a Hindu
word used at the beginning of prayer
and meditation. For followers of Hinduism,
Om is a sacred syllable and it represents
Brahma, an important Hindu God.
Buddhism
The wheel is the oldest of Buddhist
symbols. The eight spokes represent
the Eightfold Path to enlightenment.
The circular shape represents the continuous
circle of life and death.
•We are familiar with the Christian understandings of
sacrament and have a detailed knowledge of the place of
sacrament in two Christian denominations.
What have we learned?
• We understand the importance of prayer in the
lives of individuals and in religious traditions.
Prayer – Communication with God
Prayer is a two-way process of communication between the pray-er and
God. God is no longer in the third person, but is now addressed directly.
This is a key characteristic of prayer. Prayer is not talking about God,
prayer is talking to God. In other words, prayer is communication with
God.
The Importance of Prayer in Religious Traditions
Prayer strengthens people's awareness of God in their lives. We know that
all the major world religions communicate with the divine through prayer.
In Section B, we learned of how Jesus taught people to pray. In Section C,
we explored the Shema prayer and the prayer life of the Jewish people.
We also explored the practice of prayer in the Islamic faith.
• We are able to differentiate between different types of prayer.
The Nature and Function of Prayer in the Christian Tradition
Christians divide prayer into four separate types:
Praise
Thanksgiving
Christians praise God through
prayer. Catholics praise God
especially at the Sunday Mass.
Jesus prayed prayers of praise
and thanksgiving: 'At the same
hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy
Spirit and said, “I thank you,
Father, Lord of heaven and
earth”' (Luke 10:21).
To thank God for the blessings
received and for the happiness
life can bring is another form
of Christian prayer. Jesus
prayed: 'I thank you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hidden these
things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed
them to infants‘ (Matthew 11:25).
Penitence
Petition
Penitence is about saying
sorry. Christians say sorry for
the times they have hurt
others or made the wrong
choices. Before asking for
forgiveness they must realise
the wrongdoing and be
prepared to make amends.
'Petition' means to ask for
something. Christians ask God
to help them with problems.
Prayers of petition are also
said during the celebration of
the Eucharist, for people in
need all over the world. Jesus
prayed prayers of petition.
When he was in the garden of
Gethsemane, he asked God to
help him: ‘My Father, if it is
possible, let this cup pass from
me; yet not what I want but
what you want’
(Matthew 26:39).
A Time to Pray
Sometimes people find it hard to pray. Prayer needs practice,
patience and persistence.
Examples of important people in the spiritual traditions
St Ignatius
of Loyola
St Teresa
of Avila