Foundation of the Catholic Way of Life The Work of Salvation As we discussed Salvation History is a process by which God reaches down to human beings in order to bring them to True Happiness a life lived with God ID: 393905
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Slide1
The Sacraments
Foundation of the Catholic Way of LifeSlide2
The Work of Salvation
As we discussed, Salvation History is a process by which God reaches down to human beings in order to bring them to True Happiness – a life lived with God.
Jesus is the climax of this history. And Jesus promised that He would always be with His people.
Led by the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church came to recognize certain actions and rituals which became powerful signs of Christ’s
presence
on earth throughout the ages and today. Slide3
The Sacraments
The Sacraments
:
A Sacrament is a special sign, what we call an
EFFECTIVE SIGN
, which has been given to us by Jesus Christ which helps us share in God’s life.
What is an effective sign?
A sign that brings about what it signifies. (glow on the horizon before sunset!)
Each Sacrament relates to a different aspect of the life and ministry of Jesus – thus, brining us into the fold of Christ’s mission in Salvation History.
It only requires that we respond to God’s grace – that’s why we need virtues, so we can respond with a yes! Slide4
The Instruments of Grace
For the Catholic Church, each Sacrament gives grace in a special way.
The Grace we receive from the Sacraments is called
Sanctifying Grace:
this kind of grace enables us to love God, ourselves, and others
Sanctifying means “to make holy” and that’s what happens, we are made holy
–
i.e
we are made ready to enter
heaven.
God
has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments
. (CCC)
This kind of grace infuses us with a special life and character, infusing us with the very life and love of God.
We need only to respond to it! Slide5
The Seven Sacraments:
The Church recognizes seven Sacraments, and these help us respond to God’s work in the world (Salvation History)
The Holy Spirit is the person of the Trinity who works in these, and in a very special way.
However, we should ask ourselves a very important question: is grace limited to the Sacraments?
Are the Sacraments necessary for salvation?
What exactly are the Sacraments and how important are they
?
Remember, we talked about the sacraments being a sure source of Grace – not necessarily the only way to get grace. Slide6
The Life of the Church
The Church in itself has a sacramental character, it is an effective sign which shows us the life and mission of Jesus.
In the Liturgy of the Mass we come to know and understand Christ and the true meaning of the Sacraments.
Liturgy:
the official communal prayer life of the Church, praying and mourning together to better understand what we believe.
NOTICE: the life of the Church requires us to be in community.
WE ARE SOCIAL CREATURES! And we’ll find that the Sacramental and Liturgical Life have ethical and moral aspects to them. Slide7
Receiving the Sacraments
As mentioned, we live the sacraments best when we do so in Community.
But,
first we have to receive them
.
God gives us the grace to respond and receive these gifts, but we still have to prepare our will to make an act of our free will.
The Holy Spirit helps us in the process in a particular way.
We are by nature
concupiscent
– leaning toward sin – so we need extra help! Slide8
Purpose of the Sacraments
CCC reads: “ The Purpose of the Sacraments is to Sanctify [humanity], build up the Body of
Christ,
and to give worship to God.”
Sanctify
: help make us holy
Build up the Church
: help us live in community, but also a call to social justice.
Worshiping God
: by bringing us closer to God, we become better worshipers – giving thanks and praise to God. Slide9
Breaking them Down
Sacraments of Initiation
Baptism
Eucharist
Confirmation
Sacraments of Healing
Reconciliation
Anointing of the Sick
http
://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIpyOBdjeWo
Sacrament of Service
Marriage and Holy Orders
This breakdown corresponds to various stages of Human Life. What are the stages of life represented in the breakdown of the Sacraments?