The 7 Sacraments

What is a Sacrament?

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 Christs 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 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

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
The full outpouring of the holy Spirit
2. Binding us more closely to the Church
and more firmly to Christ
3. Increasing the gifts of the Holy Spirit in
us, especially his strength to spread the
faith by word and deed
1.

The Holy Spirit:

The One who brings LIFE

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 ones own effort. Only with the Spirit is it
possible to understand what Christianity is
about. (Alan Shreck, 108)

The Holy Spirit

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 persons 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 individuals 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

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

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 Christs

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 Gods food to us

The Bible
3 readings
Highlight is the Gospel
Sermon from the Priest
Try to understand and
apply one thing
Gods Word is alive!
Ps. 51 story

The Eucharist
Bread and wine turn into
Christs 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 storybecoming 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:
Contrition 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)

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

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 Gods people, celebrate the
Eucharist
Bishops servants to Gods people and the
priests in their area
Religious nuns and brothers servants to all of
Gods people. Join orders and take 3 vows:
Poverty, chastity, and obedience

Women & Celibacy

Women
The Catholic Church
doesnt ordain women
because Jesus didnt 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?

Celibacy
Celibacy is the state of
being unmarried that
priests and other religious
choose in order to
dedicate their lives totally
to Jesus and Gods
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

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.