The 7 Sacraments
What is a Sacrament?
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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 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
 Water
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.
2.
3.
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 the
faith by word and deed
The Holy Spirit:
The One who brings LIFE
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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:
– 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)
 Contrition
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
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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
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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?
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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
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1.
2.
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:
Procreative – be fruitful and multiply
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.”