Mystery Quest:
From sacramentality
to Sacraments
By Christina Semmel
Purpose
This session helps participants explore the mystery of the sacraments through a
brief overview of Catholic teaching beginning with the concepts of mystery and
sacramentality, through Jesus as The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament, to the
Church as the Foundational Sacrament and the reason the Church can celebrate
the seven Sacraments, concluding with the recognition that we, as Church, are
called to be sacrament. The session is designed for a typical size of 12-24
participants, but can easily be adapted for smaller or larger groups. The session
would work best with high school youth.
Component: Catechesis
Correlation to the U.S. Bishops’ Adaptation: Course 5: A-3: Introduction to
Sacraments (Catechism of the Catholic Church #774, 775, 776, 1088, 1089, 1111)
Session at a Glance
7:00 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions
7:05 p.m.
So What’s the Big Mystery?
7:15 p.m.
sacramentality
7:30 p.m.
Definition of Sacrament
7:40 p.m.
The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament
7:50 p.m.
The Foundational Sacrament
8:00 p.m.
Why We Can Celebrate the Seven Sacraments
8:10 p.m.
Called to be Sacrament
8:15 p.m.
Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament
8:30 p.m.
Announcements/Refreshments/Good Night!
Suggestions are given within the session for extending the time 15-30 minutes.
Materials Needed
 Nametags, for each participant
 Markers
 Masking tape (or blue painters tape)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 1











Recording of “Pink Panther” or “Mission Impossible” theme song
o Pink Panther may be found on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gT4OTYUS-c (save as MP3 if
you just want the audio)
o Mission Impossible may be found on YouTube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qck6WzVq9d0 (save as MP3
if you just want the audio)
Large dictionary
30 inexpensive envelopes (not necessary that they be of the same size)
Handout 1, Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament, one for each
participant
Resources 1 through 6 (see #3 in Prepare in Advance)
Resource 7, Signs for Diagram, for the leader to construct the diagram
illustrating the path indicated by the clues; consider laminating the signs
Resource 8, Placement of Signs and Suggestions for Alternative Ways to
Display Diagram, for the leader
Inexpensive paper 3D glasses, for all participants, or simply buy some
colored cellophane at a craft store and cut into rectangles large enough to
hold over eyes. Possible sources for inexpensive paper glasses are:
o 3D glasses –OT http://www.orientaltrading.com/d-glasses-a214_1361.fltr?prodCatId=388639&tabId=1&Ne=90000 12 for $.99
IN14/1361
o Design your own 3D glasses—Oriental Trading, #IN-48/8043
http://www.orientaltrading.com/design-your-own-d-glasses-a248_8043-12-1.fltr?Ntt=colored+lens+glasses, 12 for $5.25
o Laser Prism glasses—Windy City Novelties, Item #GLS002UN 50
for $19.50 http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6233p/fireworksusa-lazar-prism-glasses.html
Nativity set (really just need the Holy Family figures) or picture of Jesus
Parish Pictorial Directory or collection of photos of parishioners (at a
parish event) in a folder or photo book.
Note to Leader: These should not be pictures of the church building but of
people. It doesn’t matter if the directory or photos are old. If you are
creating a photo collection, label it “our parish” or the name of your
parish.
Symbols of Sacraments for prayer table (see #3f in Prepare in Advance)
o Bowl with water
o Container or small bowl with oil
o Unlit candle and matches or lighter
o Unconsecrated hosts or small roll on plate
o “7” birthday candle (or VII or 7 in large print on a piece of paper)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 2




“Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/ We are the Body of Christ” by Jaime Cortez
(spiritandsong.com)
“One Spirit, One Church” by Kevin Keil and Maryanne Quinlvivan
(spiritandsong.com)
Instrumental music
CD or MP3 player and speakers
Prepare in Advance
1. Set up the room with a prayer table that will be easily accessible from all
sides. Choose a large, blank wall (or large window or white board) on
which you can post the signs for the diagram (see Resource 8) as the
session progresses. In addition, you or another adult leader, will be taping
the clues from the envelopes under the signs, so be sure there is enough
room on the wall.
2. On a sheet of newsprint, write: We’re going on a Mystery Quest!
3. Prepare for the Mystery Quest.
a. Dictionary: Copy Resource 1, Clues to Be Hidden in Dictionary, and
cut the clues apart. Number five envelopes 1 through 5. Place the
numbered clue in the corresponding numbered envelope. Seal the
envelopes and stick them in various pages in the dictionary.
b. Glasses: Find a box large enough to hold all the 3D glasses you need for
the group. Label the box “High Tech Vision Enhancement Device” and
put all the glasses (or strips of colored cellophane) inside. Copy
Resource 2, Clues to Be Hidden in Box for Glasses. Cut the clues
apart and put each one in a sealed envelope (it is not necessary to
number them), and put the envelopes in the box with the glasses.
c. Copy Resource 3, Three Definitions of Sacrament. Cut the definitions
apart and keep them with you for later use.
d. Nativity Set: Copy Resource 4, Clues to Be Hidden in Nativity Set or
with Picture of Jesus. Cut the clues apart and put each one in a sealed
envelope (it is not necessary to number the envelopes).
e. Pictorial Directory/Photo Collection: Copy Resource 5, Clues for Pictorial
Directory or Photo Collection. Cut the clues apart and put each one in
a sealed envelope.
f. Seven Sacraments: Place the sacramental symbols on the prayer table.
Copy Resource 6, Seven Sacraments. Cut the clues apart and put each
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 3
one in a sealed envelope. Place the envelopes around the prayer table
with the sacramental symbols.
g. Hide—in plain sight—the dictionary, box of glasses, nativity set or
picture, and pictorial directory of photo album in various places in the
room. For example, hide the dictionary by placing it on a cluttered
desk or the photos on the counter where the snacks are served or put
the nativity set on a window ledge.
4. Invite eight participants to be readers for the closing prayer. Give them a
copy of Handout 1, Church as Sacrament, with their part highlighted.
5. Set up tables for refreshments and sign-in. Have one or two people at the
sign-in table with check-in sheet and nametags. Hospitality is important!
As the leader, spend the arrival time moving among the participants,
greeting and speaking with them.
Session Outline
Welcome and Introductions (5 minutes)
Have the theme song from Mission Impossible or the Pink Panther movies playing
while youth enter the room. Welcome them by saying:
Have you ever heard someone try to explain (or get out of explaining)
something by saying “It’s a mystery!” What do you think that means? What
makes something a mystery? (Elicit a few answers from the group.)
Point to the sign you made ahead of time and ask if anyone else has an idea what
a mystery is. Say:
Tonight we’re going to go on a “Mystery Quest” by going on a search for
items that will give us some clues about the mystery called sacrament. And
when we finally put all the clues together, we should have a better idea of
what a sacrament really is.
The clues are hidden with items that relate to what they are about. The clues
are statements from Doctors of the Church, Church documents, famous
theologians, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Bible.
As we find the hidden objects and put together the pieces of a diagram, we
should be able to better understand the concept of sacraments and why the
Church can and does celebrate sacraments.
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 4
So What’s the Big Mystery? (10 minutes)
Ask the participants whose birthdays are in January, February, or March to look
for an item (hidden in the room) “where you can find meaning and origin… in
alphabetical order.”
Note to Leader: The item they are searching for is the dictionary with clues in
sealed envelopes inside it.
While they are looking for the item, tape the sign “Mystery” on the wall. Follow
Resource 8, Placement of Signs and Suggestions for Alternative Ways to
Display Diagram.
Only give the searchers a few minutes to look for the item. If needed, give them a
much more obvious clue, like “a book with the pronunciation, derivation, and
origin of words.”
When they find the dictionary, instruct them to look for the clues placed in it.
Have them divide the envelopes among those that searched. Ask them to open
the envelopes in numerical order and read the clues inside out loud to the rest of
the participants.
After each clue is read, tape it under the Mystery sign on the wall. The clues are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
“Mystery” applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less strictly to
whatever resists or defies explanation. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
We do not find the word sacrament in the Bible. Sacrament is a Latin word. The Scriptures
were originally written in Greek.
The Word for sacrament we find in the Bible is the Greek word mysterion, “mystery.”
The word sacramentum (sacrament) was applied by Tertullian around 200 AD to the
Christian mysteries, by which man became closer to God. The word sacrament thus
acquired the same implication as the Greek word mysterion (mystery).
Eastern Orthodoxy sometimes calls the seven traditional sacraments the seven
“mysteries.”
After the clues are posted, say:
The Greek word for mystery was translated into the Latin word for sacrament.
So the first thing we must recognize about sacrament is that it begins with
and is a mystery (and as such, we can never fully explain it).
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us “…a sacrament is a visible
sign of a hidden presence (CCC 774) – somehow through things we can
perceive with our senses, we can recognize something we cannot see, hear,
smell, taste, or touch – God. It’s a mystery!
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 5
Sacramentality (10 minutes)
Ask participants whose birthdays are in April, May, or June to search for an item
in the room that can “enhance their clarity of focus or vision.”
Note to Leader: They are searching for is the box labeled “high tech vision
enhancement device” with the glasses strips or colored cellophane in it. If time
permits you can take the group outside before you give them the glasses, or even
hide the box outside, and let them have a wider view of creation.
When they find the box, invite them to distribute the glasses (or cellophane
strips) to the participants. Say:
These glasses are highly sophisticated devices and will allow you to see things
they are otherwise invisible. But, in order to activate the glasses, you must
close your left eye.
Note to Leader: This allows them to see out of only one color. This instruction is
not necessary if you are using colored cellophane strips as they are all one color.
Now tell everyone:
Look around the room, look at each other, and look out the windows. These
special vision enhancement devices will let you see the invisible in the visible.
Everything you see that is red (or green) is filled with the presence of God!
While the group still has their glasses on, invite those that found the box to read
the clues in the envelopes. They may have to take off their glasses to read. Tape
the sign “Sacramentality” on the wall next to the sign labeled Mystery, leaving
enough room for a sign to be taped between them. As each clue is read, tape it on
the wall below the “Sacramentality” heading.
The clues are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The things of this earth are not obstacles to God but are intended to be windows to the
divine. The magnificence of creation enables us to see something of wonder, the
multiplicity, the superabundance of God… Creation draws us into the very life of the
Creator (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)
The heavens announce the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork
(Psalm 19)
Nothing is a vacuum in the face of God. Everything is a sign of God (St. Irenaeus)
If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a
book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so mean as not to show forth and
represent the goodness of God. (Thomas à Kempis)
God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant
evidence of himself in created realities… (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #54)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 6
OPTIONAL—Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a
partner where they see God. For example: They might see God in the mighty
ocean waves, in the mountains, a sunset, or a quiet forest path. They may see
God in a friend, a laughing child or in the wisdom of the elderly. They may have
recognized God in the forgiveness of someone, in the compassion of someone, or
in the courage of someone.
The ability to see God in all of creation is called sacramentality. It recognizes
what we were all taught as small children—that “God is everywhere!” As the
poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning so eloquently put it, “Earth’s crammed with
heaven, and every common bush afire with God…”
Sacramentality is a very Catholic view of the world—to be able to see God in
the people, places, and events of our lives. (Some other faith traditions
certainly see God in the material world, but not nearly to the extent that
Catholics do. And some faith traditions actually view the world as inherently
evil.)
Catholics embrace material objects in our celebrations, prayers, and liturgies
because they are sacred—in that they are visible signs of the invisible God.
The concept of sacramentality is important to understanding the mystery of
sacrament.
Defining Sacrament (5 minutes)
Tape the sign “+”on the wall between the Mystery and Sacramentality signs. Tape
the sign with the “=”on the wall after the Sacramentality sign. Then tape the sign
“Sacrament” after that.
Given what we know have found out about mystery and sacramentality, we
can see how various people came up with their definitions of what a
sacrament is.
After each clue is read, tape it below the Sacrament sign. The clues are:
1.
2.
3.
St. Augustine said sacraments were “visible signs of invisible grace.”
The old Baltimore Catechism said “A sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ
to give grace.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls a sacrament an “efficacious sign of grace.”
(#1131)
Sacrament is such a complex, dynamic reality that no one is going to be able
to really define it adequately. A sacrament is the encounter with God when
something of the material world becomes a conduit, a door to the sacred. It is
something that recognizes the sacramentality of the signs, symbols, and
gestures—and also acknowledges the mystery that is present when it is
celebrated—because a sacrament is something which manifests the presence
of God in a real way. A sacrament allows us to become conscious and aware
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 7
of God’s greatest gift: the creative, sustaining, loving presence of God. That’s
called “grace.”
The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament (10 minutes)
Point to the first line of the diagram and say:
So, if this is our understanding of sacrament, then what would be ULTIMATE
SACRAMENT? A visible, physical presence that would be the closest encounter
with God we could have? Let’s search for the answer!
Ask participants whose birthdays are in July, August, and September to try to
find a representation of ”the Word made flesh and dwelt among us.”
Note to Leader: They are searching for the Nativity figures or picture of Jesus with
clues hidden with it. Depending on where you are meeting and what decorations
are normally part of that space, it is possible that the searchers may identify a
crucifix or other representation of Jesus that is present. Affirm that choice but
invite them to keep looking for something that more specifically symbolizes the
Incarnation or the humanity of Jesus, and which has clues hidden with it.
When they find the Nativity figures or picture, invite them to place it on the
prayer table. Tape the sign with a triangle of dots and the word therefore on the
wall next to the sign labeled Sacrament. Next to Sacrament, tape the sign “Jesus:
The Ultimate Sacrament.”
Invite those that found the item to open and read the clues in the envelopes out
loud to the rest of the group. As each clue is read tape it below the sign “Jesus:
The Ultimate Sacrament.”
Clues are:
1. It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known
2.
3.
4.
5.
the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father,
through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in
the divine nature. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #51)
The invisible God, whom no eye has seen, was seen in the humanity of Jesus. God,
whose wonder and love are beyond our imagination, wished to become visible and
close to us. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)
In the wonder of the Incarnation your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith a
new and radiant vision of your glory. In him we see our God made visible and so are
caught up in love of the God we cannot see” (Christmas Preface I, read at Christmas
Mass)
The man Jesus, as the personal visible realization of the divine grace of redemption,
is the sacrament, the primordial sacrament, because this man, the Son of God himself,
is intended by the Father to be in his humanity the only way to the actuality of
redemption (Edward Schillebeeckx, theologian, pronounced “skill-e-beck”)
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9).
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 8
An important step in enriching our understanding of sacrament is to see Jesus
himself, in his humanity, as the first and original sacrament. It all starts with
Jesus.
If we look at our understanding of sacrament or any of our definitions of
sacrament (point to the definitions under the heading “Sacrament”), we
can see that Jesus fits those descriptions. Jesus himself is the ultimate
sacrament—what theologians call the primordial sacrament. Through the
Incarnation (through the Word becoming flesh), Jesus is a visible sign of the
invisible God. Jesus is an embodiment of the incredible love of God. Because
Jesus and the Father are one, when we encounter Jesus, we are becoming
closer to God.
OPTIONAL—Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a
partner how they are like one of their parents—that is, how could someone know
something about their father or mother by knowing them. For example: Someone
could understand their Mr. Smith’s sense of humor by experiencing Janet’s sense
of humor or someone could recognize Mrs. Smith’s creativity in Janet’s creative
abilities. Explain that this is similar, but not exactly like how Jesus helps us know
God. The biggest difference is that while they are not their father or mother, but
only like them in some aspects, Jesus is one with the Father and so when we
encounter Jesus we are encountering God.
The Foundational Sacrament (10 minutes)
For the last search of the evening, invite participants whose birthdays are in
October, November, and December to search for something that depicts the
concept that “We are many parts but all one body.”
Note to Leader: They are searching for the pictorial directory or photo album of
parishioners. Again, searchers could be quite creative and may even pick each
other or the group as a whole as the symbol. Once again, affirm that choice but
invite them to keep looking for the clues hidden with a symbolic object.
While they are searching, tape the sign with the greater than symbol (>) on it
next to Jesus. Then, tape the sign “Church: The Foundational Sacrament” on the
wall.
Once they find the pictures, invite them to place them on the prayer table with
the sacramental symbols and nativity set or picture of Jesus. Ask them to open
the envelopes and read the clues out loud to the whole group. Tape the clues on
the wall below “Church: The Foundational Sacrament” after each clue is read.
Clues are:
1.
[Jesus] rising from the dead, sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples and through
this Spirit has established his body, the Church, as the universal sacrament of
salvation. (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #48)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 9
2.
3.
4.
5.
To say that the Church is a mystery, or sacrament, means, in the words of the late
Pope Paul VI, that it is “a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God.”
Now the Church is the continuance, the contemporary presence, of that real,
eschatologically triumphant and irrevocably established presence in the world, in
Christ, of God’s salvific will…By the very fact of being …the enduring presence of
Christ in the world, the Church is truly the fundamental sacrament, the well-spring
of the sacraments in the strict sense (Karl Rahner, theologian)
The Church is a mystery, since it is the mystical Christ, Head and members. Vatican
II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. (Dolin B. Donovan, STL)
…the church, in Christ, is a sacrament – a sign and Instrument, that is, of communion
with God and of the unity of the entire human race… (Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of
the Church and Catechism of the Catholic Church, #775)
Jesus is the original ultimate sacrament—the visible presence of God in the
world and the ultimate means by which we experience God’s life and love
(grace.) But, we, the Church, are the continuing presence of Christ in the
world today. We are the Mystical (mysterious) Body of Christ. Today we are
called to be the visible presence of the invisible God. We, the People of God,
are sacrament—instruments of grace called to be Christ present in the world.
So, we can rightfully call the Church “the Foundational Sacrament.”
And it is from the Ultimate Sacrament, Jesus, that the Foundational
Sacrament, the Church, can celebrate the liturgical rituals we call the seven
sacraments!
Why We Can Celebrate the Seven Sacraments (10 minutes)
Walk over to the prayer table where there are the symbols of the sacraments and
the envelopes with the final clues (along with the nativity set or picture of Jesus
and the pictorial directory or photo album placed there during the session). Pick
up the envelopes and distribute them to some participants who may have not
read one yet. Tape the sign with this symbol <-> next to the Church sign. Then
post the “Seven Sacraments” sign on the wall.
Invite the participants to open the envelopes and read the clues, telling them that
these final clues finish our line of reasoning and explain why the Catholic
Church can celebrate the seven sacraments. Tape the clues below the “Seven
Sacraments” sign as they are read.
These are the final clues:
1.
2.
…Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical celebrations. He is
present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of the minister,… but
especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the
sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes…
(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7; Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1088)
Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental because his mystery of salvation is made
present there by the power of the Holy Spirit; because his Body, which is the Church,
is like a sacrament (sign and instrument) in which the Holy Spirit dispenses the
mystery of salvation; and because through her liturgical actions the pilgrim Church
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 10
3.
4.
5.
already participates, as by a foretaste, in the heavenly liturgy. (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, #1111)
…theologians have called the Church the “fundamental” or “root” sacrament
because the seven liturgical sacraments receive their power through the Church,
which, rooted in the mystery of God, receives power from Christ. Each liturgical
sacrament brings about a specific grace proper to its physical sign; the Church is the
sign of Christ’s enduring presence in the world. (David Bonagura, Jr., adjunct
professor of theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Diocese of
Rockville Centre)
The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads
the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church
then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies…(Catechism of
the Catholic Church, paragraph #774)
Today we Americans usually (nearly always) use numbers as quantities. Numbers
tell us how much or how many…But numbers can also be used as qualities…
Numbers as qualities have often been used in religion. Seven, for example,
symbolizes totality. This is an important factor in the Church’s speaking of seven
sacraments. Four is the number for earth and three is the number for heaven. (There
are four elements: earth, air, fire and water. There are three persons in God.) When
we join earth and heaven, the material and the spiritual, the created and the divine,
(4+3) we have “all that is.” And so, seven means universal, completeness, totality…. We
have all the sacraments we will ever need. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)
Jesus is the ultimate sacrament. He is the most incredible visible sign of God’s
love and the total revelation of who God is. When Jesus ascended into heaven
he promised to send the Holy Spirit to help the apostles continue his work on
earth. With the Holy Spirit working through those first followers of Jesus, we
have the Church.
The Church is the Body of Christ in the world today. She is the visible sign of
God’s love now. To help us understand and experience the love of God, to
help us be “graced,” the Church established the seven sacraments.
Each sacrament [which we will learn about in a different session] has its own
way of drawing us closer to God and helping us experience His love and
grace. But together they are a complete set.
Sacraments are not “magic moments,” nor does the priest or deacon have
some kind of “special power.” It is not the minister of the sacrament or those
who receive it that makes them “work.” The Catholic Church has the power to
celebrate the sacraments because it is really Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, who
is the minister of each of the Sacraments.
When we open our minds and hearts to the sacramentality of the signs,
symbols and rituals of the sacraments, we recognize the presence of God
right here. When the Church invites us to celebrate the sacraments together
she is inviting us to experience the power and presence of God in a unique
and awesome way!
OPTIONAL: Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a
partner a time when they participated in the celebration of one of the seven
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 11
sacraments and experienced feeling particularly close to God. For example:
perhaps they felt close to God after a reconciliation experience, or perhaps they
were anointed before an upcoming surgery. Maybe they felt the presence of God
at a wedding they attended, or they can remember feeling very holy on the day
of their First Communion. Be sure to comment on how close we can all be to God
every time we receive Holy Communion.
Concluding Remarks: Called to Be Sacrament (5 minutes)
Point to the completed diagram and comment:
If you have been a Catholic since you were a very small child, you may have
taken the sacraments for granted or thought you understood what they were
all about. Actually, as I hope you have learned, sacraments are very complex,
dynamic realities that are difficult to describe adequately. They can honestly
be called a “mystery.” In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the section on
the sacraments is actually called “The Celebration of Christian Mystery.”
Some theologians have suggested that it is better to understand the concept
of sacrament as a verb rather than a noun—we do not receive sacraments (a
thing) but are sacramented (an action). Through each sacrament we are
mysteriously drawn into an experience with the Transcendent God!
So, even after all this diagraming and describing, perhaps we are ultimately
left with having to say “You just have to be there!” To really understand
sacrament you have to be open to experiencing it!
Through the symbolic signs and actions of the seven Sacraments of the
Catholic Church we can come to recognized God’s saving love for us. Through
the celebration of the Sacraments our attention is focused on God and we can
come to recognize his real on-going presence in our world.
The Sacraments also call us to make a response. Through the Sacraments we
are called to become closer to God and to one another. In a real way, if we
understand the concept of sacramentality, with the grace of the Sacraments
we, who are the Church, are called to become sacrament—a visible sign of
God’s presence—to the world.
Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament (15 minutes)
Invite participants to stand in a circle around the prayer table. Distribute copies
of Handout 1, Church as Sacrament. Play instrumental reflective music. Follow
the outline on the handout.
Websites and links in this session were accessed successfully on May 29, 2012.
This session was written by Christina J. Semmel, Director of Youth Ministries, SS
Peter & Paul Parish, Cary, Illinois. Chris is the author of YMA’s Seasonal
Connections, teaches Evangelization & Catechesis and Practices of Youth Ministry in
the Certificate Program, and is on the Executive Committee of the National
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 12
Association for Catholic Youth Ministry Leaders (NACYML). Fr. Roy Shelly,
Ph.D., served as the theological consultant on this session. Fr. Roy is pastor of St.
Joseph Parish in Spreckels, California.
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 13
Handout 1
Church as Sacrament
Gather
We will sing the refrain from “One Spirit, One
Church” twice.
Prayer Leader:
As Catholics, we are comfortable with mystery and sacramentality. We
profess that God is everywhere and we realize that the entire created world is
filled with the presence of God. This is how we understand the concept of
sacrament.
As Catholics, we acknowledge the mystery of the Incarnation, where the Word
was made flesh, and believe that Jesus is the Ultimate Sacrament of God’s
love made present in the world. We recognize the mission of the Church to be
Christ in the world today and appreciate the amazing gift of the Seven
Sacraments as a means to continue to encounter God today.
In our growing appreciation and understanding of sacrament, as young
Catholics we also recognize that we are the young church now and we have
been called to be sacramental—to be signs of God’s love and presence in our
world today.
Listen
Reader 1:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. (John 1:1)
Reader #2:
And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and
we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace
and truth. (John1:14)
Reader #3:
To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of
God, to those who believe in his name. (John 1:12)
Prayer Leader:
Through the power of Jesus, working with the Holy Spirit, the Church
sanctifies ordinary objects and gestures into encounters with the living God.
Let us bring to mind some of the Sacraments as we bless ourselves with some
of these sacramental items.

A volunteer lights the candle.
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 14

We dip our fingers in the bowl of water and make the Sign of the Cross.
(Pass the bowl to the person on your right. The last person places the bowl on the
prayer table.)

Put a bit of oil on your index finger and make the Sign of the Cross. (Pass
the oil to the person on your right. The last person places the oil on the prayer
table.)

Take an unconsecrated host/piece of bread and eat it. (Pass the plate to the
person on your right. The last person places the plate on the prayer table.)
Second Reading
Reader 4:
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever
you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father
loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love…
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed
you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask
the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you, love
one another. (John 15:7-9; 16-17)
Respond
Prayer Leader:
Today the church is called to be Christ to the World—to make manifest the
presence and love of God to all humanity. We, who are the Church, are called
to be sacrament to the world. So, let us pray, that we the Church, may truly
be a living sacrament.
Reader 5:
All:
Reader 6:
All:
Reader 7:
All:
Reader 8:
All:
Let us be a church where those willing to change take delight in
their call to conversion.
Lord, make us a sacrament of birth and growth.
Let us be a church where broken hearts are mended through the
courage of forgiveness.
Lord, make us a sacrament of reconciliation and healing.
Let us be a church where all are welcome and the homeless, the
challenged, the hungry, and the homebound come to be satisfied.
Lord, make us a sacrament of communion.
Let us be a church where the poor and the rejected receive what is
good and right.
Lord, make us a sacrament of justice.
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 15
Reader 5:
All:
Reader 6:
All:
Reader 7:
All:
Reader 8:
All:
Let us be a church where those who trustingly hold out their hands
to each other grow in the daily living of family life.
Lord, make us a sacrament of commitment and fidelity.
Let us be a church where those who minister within the
institutional church serve with humility and compassion.
Lord, make us a sacrament of servant leadership.
Let us be a church where the infirm, the elderly, and the dying are
treated with gentleness and dignity.
Lord, make us a sacrament of comfort and companionship.
Let us be a church where those longing for rootedness can celebrate
coming home.
Lord, make us a sacrament of ritual, symbol and tradition.
Send Forth
Prayer Leader:
We are and we become the sacrament of Church for one another. We are
called to be for others what Jesus is for us.
To close, we will sing “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/ We are the Body of Christ.”
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 16
Resource 1
Clues to Be Hidden in
Dictionary
1. Mystery applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less
strictly to whatever resists or defies explanation. (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary)
----------------------
2. We do not find the word sacrament in the Bible. Sacrament is a Latin word.
The Scriptures were originally written in Greek.
----------------------
3. The Word for sacrament we find in the Bible is the Greek word mysterion,
“mystery.”
----------------------
4. The word sacramentum (sacrament) was applied by Tertullian around 200
AD to the Christian mysteries, by which man became closer to God. The
word sacrament thus acquired the same implication as the Greek word
mysterion (mystery).
----------------------
5. Eastern Orthodoxy sometimes calls the seven traditional sacraments the
seven “mysteries.”
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 17
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 18
Resource 2
Clues to Be Hidden in
Box with Glasses
1. The things of this earth are not obstacles to God but are intended to be
windows to the divine. The magnificence of creation enables us to see
something of wonder, the multiplicity, the superabundance of God…
Creation draws us into the very life of the Creator (Thomas Richstatter
OFM, theologian)
----------------------
2. The heavens announce the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his
handiwork (Psalm 19)
----------------------
3. Nothing is a vacuum in the face of God. Everything is a sign of God (St.
Irenaeus)
----------------------
4. If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a
mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so
mean as not to show forth and represent the goodness of God. (Thomas à
Kempis)
---------------------5. God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men
with constant evidence of himself in created realities… (CCC, #54)
---------------------Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 19
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 20
Resource 3
Three Definitions of Sacrament
Visible Signs of Invisible Grace (St. Augustine)
----------------------
An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace (Baltimore Catechism)
----------------------
An efficacious sign of God’s love (CCC)
----------------------
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 21
Resource 4
Clues to Be Hidden in
Nativity Set (or with Picture of Jesus)
1. It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to
make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have
access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy
Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature. (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, #51)
---------------------2. The invisible God, whom no eye has seen, was seen in the humanity of
Jesus. God, whose wonder and love are beyond our imagination, wished
to become visible and close to us. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)
---------------------3. In the wonder of the Incarnation your eternal Word has brought to the
eyes of faith a new and radiant vision of your glory. In him we see our
God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see”
(Christmas Preface I, read at Christmas Mass)
---------------------4. The man Jesus, as the personal visible realization of the divine grace of
redemption, is the sacrament, the primordial sacrament, because this man,
the Son of God himself, is intended by the Father to be in his humanity the
only way to the actuality of redemption (Edward Schillebeeckx,
theologian)
---------------------5. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 22
-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Resource 5
Clues to Be Hidden with
Parish Pictorial Directory or Photo Album
1. [Jesus] rising from the dead, sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples and
through this Spirit has established his body, the Church, as the universal
sacrament of salvation. (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #48)
2. To say that the Church is a mystery, or sacrament, means, in the words of the
late Pope Paul VI, that it is “a reality imbued with the hidden presence of
God.”
3. Now the Church is the continuance, the contemporary presence, of that real,
eschatologically triumphant and irrevocably established presence in the
world, in Christ, of God’s salvific will…By the very fact of being …the
enduring presence of Christ in the world, the Church is truly the fundamental
sacrament, the well-spring of the sacraments in the strict sense (Karl Rahner,
theologian)
4. The Church is a mystery, since it is the mystical Christ, Head and members.
Vatican II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. (Dolin B.
Donovan, STL)
5. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in his Church,
especially in its liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the
Mass, not only in the person of the minister,… but especially under the
Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that
when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in
his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read
in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for he
promised, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20) (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7)
6. …the church, in Christ, is a sacrament – a sign and Instrument , that is, of
communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race… (Lumen
Gentium: The Mystery of the Church and Catechism of the Catholic Church, #775)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 23
Resource 6
Clues to Be Placed on the
Prayer Table with the Sacramental Symbols
1. …Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical
celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the
person of the minister,… but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By
his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it
is really Christ himself who baptizes… (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
#7; Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1088)
2. Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental because his mystery of
salvation is made present there by the power of the Holy Spirit; because
his Body, which is the Church, is like a sacrament (sign and instrument) in
which the Holy Spirit dispenses the mystery of salvation; and because
through her liturgical actions the pilgrim Church already participates, as
by a foretaste, in the heavenly liturgy. (Catechism of the Catholic Church,
#1111)
3. …theologians have called the Church the “fundamental” or “root”
sacrament because the seven liturgical sacraments receive their power
through the Church, which, rooted in the mystery of God, receives power
from Christ. Each liturgical sacrament brings about a specific grace proper
to its physical sign; the Church is the sign of Christ’s enduring presence in
the world. (David Bonagura, Jr., Seminary of the Immaculate Conception,
Diocese of Rockville Centre)
4. The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy
Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which
is his Body. The Church then, both contains and communicates the
invisible grace she signifies…(Catechism of the Catholic Church, #774)
5. Today we Americans usually (nearly always) use numbers as quantities.
Numbers tell us how much or how many…But numbers can also be used
as qualities… Numbers as qualities have often been used in religion.
Seven, for example, symbolizes totality. This is an important factor in the
Church’s speaking of seven sacraments. Four is the number for earth and
three is the number for heaven. (There are four elements: earth, air, fire
and water. There are three persons in God.) When we join earth and
heaven, the material and the spiritual, the created and the divine, (4+3) we
have “all that is.” And so, seven means universal, completeness, totality….
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 24
We have all the sacraments we will ever need. (Thomas Richstatter OFM,
theologian)
Resource 7
Signs for Diagram
The following signs are on the next 11 pages:











Mystery
+
Sacramentality
=
Sacrament
.
. . (therefore)
Jesus
Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament
>
Church
Foundational Sacrament
<->
Seven Sacraments
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 25
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 26
MYSTERY
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 27
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 28
+
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 29
SACRAMENTALITY
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 30
=
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 31
SACRAMENT
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 32
(therefore)
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 33
JESUS
Ultimate
(Primordial)
Sacrament
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 34
>
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 35
CHURCH
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 36
Foundational
Sacrament
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 37
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 38
<->
Seven
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 39
Sacraments
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 40
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 41
Resource 8
Diagram
Mystery
Sacramentality
+
=
Sacrament
.
..
Jesus:
Ultimate
Sacrament
>
Church
<->
Seven
Sacraments
Suggestions and ideas for possible alternate ways to display diagram:
1. You might want to laminate the signs for ease of taping and to be able to re-use at a later date.
2. If the room you are using has a large wipe off board, you might want to consider printing the signs on magnetic printer paper
(and the “clues” as well) as wipe off boards will hold magnetics.
3. Put the first five signs on one wall and the remaining six signs on an adjacent wall.
4. Instead of using pieces of paper for signs; simply write headings on a blackboard or dry-erase board.
5. If space is an issue, just post the signs of the diagram and not add the “clues.”
6. Make PowerPoint Slides of the progression of the diagram (i.e., slide #1 would only be the first sign, slide #2 would be the
sign the first 3 signs; slide #3 would be the first 5 signs; slide #4 would be the first 7 signs; slide #5 would be the first 9 signs;
and slide #6 would be the complete diagram.
7. If the visual diagram doesn’t seem helpful to your group, and you clearly summarize after each segment, you can forgo
posting the signs.
Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments
Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.
Page 42