Transcript THE S ACRAMENTS

THE SACRAMENTS
SESSION 1: THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY
Session themes:
 God’s “Sacramental Economy”: ongoing communication of
Christ’s Paschal Mystery through the Sacraments
 The Liturgy: the “work” of the Blessed Trinity
 Paschal Mystery: Christ’s passion, death and Resurrection
God’s Self Revelation
& Our Faith Response
I. Profession of Faith
II. Celebration of the
Christian Mystery
IV. Christian Prayer
III. Moral Life in Christ
Session Schedule
 Opening Prayer
 Paired Activity
 Theme #1: The Liturgy
 Standing Activity
 Theme #2: The Sacraments
 Small Group Activity
 Closing Prayer
WHAT DO THE
LITURGY AND THE
SACRAMENTS HAVE
TO DO WITH MY LIFE
--AND WITH THE
MISSION OF THE
CHURCH?
Opening Prayer:
The Road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-35)
“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him…”
(Lk 24:31)
Paired Activity: Pair, Share, Compare
(Session Question: What do the Liturgy and the Sacraments
have to do with my life--and with the mission of the Church?)
 What role have the Sacraments played
in your own spiritual growth?
 What difference does the liturgy make
in your daily life?
Theme #1:
The Liturgy—Work of the Holy Trinity
“The Church celebrates in the
liturgy above all the Paschal
Mystery by which Christ
accomplished the work of
our salvation.” (CCC, n. 1067)
“The liturgy as the sacred action
par excellence is the summit toward
which the activity of the Church is
directed and from which all her
powers flow.” (Comp., n. 219)
I. What is the Liturgy?
 “The word ‘liturgy’ originally meant a ‘public work’ or a
‘service in the name of/on behalf of the people.’ In
Christian tradition it means the participation of the
People of God in ‘the work of God’.” (CCC, n. 1069)
 The liturgy celebrates Christ’s Paschal Mystery;
in it, Christ continues the work of our redemption.
Liturgical Realities “101”
 In the liturgy of the Word and the
liturgy of the Eucharist, Christ
personally speaks to each member of his body.
 The whole Body of the Church—head and members—
offer the public worship which is due to God.
 “Through the liturgy Christ continues the work
of our redemption in, with and through his Church.”
(Comp., n. 218)
II. How is the Liturgy the Work
of the Most Holy Trinity?
 Father: shares his overflowing
love as the source of the
liturgy’s blessings.
 Son: communicates his grace
to the faithful of all times and
places, through the Apostles
and their successors.
 Holy Spirit: recalls and
manifests Christ to the faith
of the assembly.
Son:
Blue/divinity,
over Brown/humanity
Touching with two
fingers—both D & H
Holy Spirit:
Green/time,
Over Blue/eternity
Touching with one
finger--divinity
Father:
Gold/eternity,
over Blue/divinity
Not touching the
table/earth
Trinity, by Andrei Rublev
The Liturgy & the Trinity
 The "earthly liturgy"
participates in the
liturgy of Heaven.
 "Christian liturgy not
only recalls the events
that saved us, but it
actualizes them, makes
them present"
(CCC, n. 1104).
III. Celebrating the Liturgy of the Church
A. Who celebrates?
 “Mother Church earnestly desires that
all the faithful should be led to that full,
conscious and active participation
in liturgical celebrations which is
demanded by the very nature of the
liturgy…” (CCC, no. 1141).
“Liturgy is an action
of the whole Christ….”
(CCC, n. 1136)
The Liturgy: The Body of Christ at Prayer
B. How is the Liturgy celebrated?
C. When is it celebrated?




The Lord’s Day
Liturgical Year
Cycle of saints
Liturgy of the Hours
D. Where is it celebrated?
IV. The links between liturgy and life
 At divine worship, we receive the grace that
helps us be formed ever more closely to Christ.
 “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.”
The Liturgy and the
“Day of the Lord”
 Reclaiming Sunday as the first day of the week
 Reclaiming the Liturgy as the center of Sunday
 Reclaiming the Eucharist as the
“Sacrament of Sacraments”
Bringing Christ to the Streets
Standing Activity:
Reclaiming and Celebrating Sunday
Discuss and prepare “talking points”:
I.
⁻
⁻
II.
In a culture focused on the "weekend,“
how can we help others reclaim Sunday
as the "day of the Lord"—a day dedicated to God?
What are the obstacles and/or challenges that
prevent people from “Keeping Holy the Sabbath Day,”
and how can we help people overcome them?
Consider role-playing a conversation which
addresses the questions and challenges people face.
Theme #2:
The Sacraments—
Celebrating the
Paschal Mystery
Seven Sacraments…one redemptive act of love for all.
I. A Sacramental World View:
Rooted in Scripture and Tradition
 A sacramental world view flows from doctrines of
Creation—Incarnation—Redemption (Re-creation).
 Physical signs convey the realities they represent.
II. The Paschal Mystery
in the Sacraments of the Church
 Instituted by Christ, the
Sacraments are visible and
perceptible signs of God’s
invisible and imperceptible
grace.
 Sacraments do not depend
upon the personal holiness of
the minister, since Christ
himself acts in them and
communicates the grace they
signify.
 Fruits of the Sacraments
depend upon the dispositions
of those who receive them.
Christ’s Work in the Sacraments
 St. Leo the Great wrote, "What was visible in our
Savior has passed over into his mysteries."
 Sacraments confer: grace, forgiveness of sins, adoption
as children of god, conformation to Christ the Lord,
and membership in the Church.
 The Church initiates people into the mystery of Christ
“by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from
the sign to the thing signified, form the ‘sacraments’
to the ‘mysteries’.” (CCC, n. 1075).
III. The Grace of the Sacraments
Though all of the Sacraments "form
an organic whole" in which each particular
sacrament has its own vital place,
"the Eucharist occupies a unique
place as the ‘Sacrament of
Sacraments’: ‘all the other sacraments
are ordered to it as to their end’.”
(CCC, n. 1211)
Mission-Essential Terminology
 Sacrament: An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by
Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life
is dispensed to us by the work of the Holy Spirit.
 Grace: The help God gives us to respond to our vocation
to become his adopted sons and daughters; the divine
initiative of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits our free
response in faith and commitment.
 Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift of God’s own divine
life, a stable and supernatural disposition that enables us
to live with God and to act by his love.
The Skit Guys on Grace
 The gift of God’s grace
 Jesus’ lessons for Peter—
and for us??
 The revelation of the
Cross and Resurrection
IV. Overview of the Seven Sacraments
 Three main groupings?
Initiation-Healing-At the Service of Communion
 Effects?
Heal & Strengthen
Communicate the H.S.
Unite us to Christ
Make us children of God
Give sacramental grace
Unite Christians
Small Group Activity:
“Sacrament Stations”
Create a "Billboard" in miniature for your Sacrament:


Use a sign or symbol to represent it
Create a slogan or motto to get people’s attention
Consider how you could get your audience
to (re)discover the grace hidden within
this outward sign.
Review & Reflection:
What do the Liturgy and
the Sacraments have to
do with my life--and with
the mission of the
Church?
Follow-up Reflection and Resources
1) Session Evaluation & Feedback
2) Recommended follow-up:
US/CCA, ch. 14,
“The Celebration of the Paschal
Mystery of Christ”
Catholicism, Episode VI:
“The Mystical Union of Christ & His
Church”
3) For Catechists & Catholic School Teachers:
“Record of Formation,” including
required reflection & documentation
4) Session powerpoint and additional resources:
www.dioceseofjoliet.org/layformation
Closing Prayer
 Consider the ways you encounter God each day,
particularly through the Liturgy and Sacraments
of the Church.
 Pray with (and sing along with the refrain,
if the Spirit so moves you): Everyday God.