COMMUNION AMONG HOLY THINGS

Episode #4

Holy Things that United Us Our Catholic Faith is a very beautiful gift from God, and there is always so much we can learn.

In the last episode we have learn much of the Communion of Saints We have learned that the Church is God’s family And all people who follow Jesus are united

whether they are living or death.

When we talk about the Communion of Saints; however, we also mean that we are united in Holy Things

Today we are going to talk about THE HOLY THINGS THAT UNITED US.

Holy Things that United Us

We are united to Jesus, and to all others into God’s family

That’s why we call it Holy Communion

Do you remember the word COMMUNION?

It means that people are brought together & united.

Again , all people who follow Jesus are united whether they are living or death.

In Holy Communion we are united to Jesus, and into all God’s family

The Most Important we Share: “The Holy Eucharist”

We have been learning of the Communion of Saints, and that the fact that we, the members of the Communion o

f Saints, share many Holy things

The most important we share is THE EUCHARIST: The body & blood of Jesus.

THE HOLY EUCHARIST is the most Holy Thing that we share in the Communion of Saints, here in earth.

But there are many things that we share as well, in the Communion of Saints.

We Share One Faith But what other things we share?

First about we share ONE FAITH That means that we members of the Communion of

Saints, believe the same things God has shown us what we should believe

And when we say the CREED, we say what we believe “We believe in God the Father almighty Creator of

heaven and earth.”

And then we say the other things that we all believe

It is the same thing that St. Peter & other Apostles believe1) It is the same that all the saints believe 2) It is the same thing that the Pope Francis I believes

All the members of the Communion of Saints have one same faith

We all believe the same thing!

We Share CHARISMS Next we share something called

CHARISMS?

What Charism?

According to the Dictionary definition: CHARISM is a divinely conferred power or

talent. It comes from

the Greek χάρισμα khárisma, which meansa) "favor freely given" b) or "gift of grace". 

Charisms are gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to different peoplea) And these gifts help other peopleb) And build the Church

Charisms are Gifts to Help Others Here is an example of what Charism

means:

St. Dominic received the Gift of Charism from the Holy Spirit, which made him able to preach: He was really good of telling people about Jesus The way he says things makes people want to follow

Jesus.

St. Dominic charism helps to people around him, more than it helped Dominic God didn’t give him the Charism of preaching, so

Not that he can seat in his room & thought himself…

Noooo!! Saint Dominic preaching was to help other people!

So, the Charisms help to people around us

The Charisms to Help People Around Us

We learned in other episodes that a. What ever wrong we do, affects the whole

communion of Saints.b. And what ever good we do, helps the Whole

Communion of Saints.

CHARISMS- especially do this! Charism helps the whole Communion of Saints We can share all our talents with others and help them.

Besides 1) the Holy Eucharist,2) One Catholic Faith , 3) and Charism

What else the Communion of Saints share?

What else the Communion of Saints Share?

The Bible tells us that the Apostles, and first Christians have everything in common

That means that the first Christians share everything they have

It is like that with us! We have the things we have, so we can help others

God has given us things , not that we can be selfish, and just take care of ourselves; That’s not right!!!

God has given us everything we have, so that we can also share with others who need our help

Everythings Belongs to Us Some times it can be very hard to

share We want to keep things for ourselves We think selfishly, and used to think: “this

is mine, and you can't have it”

Everything we have belongs to God, so we share everything with others.

That’s right! Everything belongs to God!

We make a mistake, when we start to think: “this belong jus to me, and I will do

whatever I want with it”

Everythings Belongs to UsWe have to be very Careful Not to follow in Proud or

Arrogance We always have to be humble and grateful

feeling or showing an appreciation of kindness; Being thankful for all we have, as an opportunity to help

others.

By Claiming that all we have it is because our own efforts, our own hard work, and our own intelligence,

a) It is like denying the fact that God has given us those special abilities and talents to get what we have, in order to help the needy.

b) It is denying the fact that God has blessed us with particular situations or events in our lives, so we can see them as opportunities to help others

Everything Belongs to God

Remember Proud and Arrogance diminish Grace, and without Grace

1) Our intellect or reason is subjected to Error

2) Our flesh is subjected to our Passions

3) Our Will is weaken ,

4) and our tendency to make wrong decisions increases.

God’s reaction to Proud & Arrogance

James 4:6But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Proverbs 3:34He has no use for conceited people, but shows favor to those who are humble.

1 Peter 5:5In the same way you younger people must submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”

God Gives More Grace to the Humble God give more Grace to the Humble, doesn’t

matter if he/she is rich or poor Remember that Grace is God’s Divine Life pours in

our souls

GRACE is also called Sanctifying Grace, because make us Holy:a) It illuminates the intellect or reasonb) Enables us to see things or needs, that no one noticesc) Enable us to love as good lovesd) Strengthen our willse) Enables as to act according to God’s willf) Give us supernatural strength, which we cannt have for our

own.

Thus why those people who are humble, or those who have less but are grateful,are more willing to help those in need, and behave according to God’s will.

Some time the proud or Arrogances don’t even notice the hardness of their hearts, because of the lack of GRACE.

More Grace to the Humble

The Communion of Saints shares “LOVE” God has given us many gifts (abilities, talents,

skills, situations, events, physical attributions, etc.), so that we can share them with others

But God Not give us many gifts, so we can keep them only for our selves.

So see that the Communion of Saints shares LOVE

IT IS GOD’S LOVE that United us all together! whatever good we do, helps the whole Communion

of Saints

When we become Holy, the Communion of Saints becomes holier

In one member suffers, we all suffer together,

We are brought together in LOVE!!!

We are Brought Together in LOVE All Gifts and CHARISMS do not mean

anything, at least we have “Love”

Saint Paul says that: “If I can gave all I have to the poor, but have not

Love, I gain nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3)

Lets read about what Saint Paul wrote about Love:

“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 

it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;…

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends!!!” (1 Cor. 13:4-8)

Love God = Love your Neighbor After all Jesus has thought us that:

1) The 1st Commandment is to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind.

2) And the 2nd Commandment is Love your neighbor as yourself

We cannot separate our Love for God, from our love for other people

The two Go together…!

The Sacraments source of Grace

The Sacraments and Grace THE HOLY EUCHARIST is one of the 7

Sacraments that gave us Grace by the Power of the Holy Spirit. Grace strengths our will, enlightens our reason,

enables us to love. Grace enable us to love as God’s love, to

understand & see things according to God will, and fortify our will to act diligently.

In the Communion of Saints we are united in the Sacraments as well

Jesus gave us the 7 sacraments They were instituted or started by Jesus Christ He comes to us in the Sacraments (By the action &

power of the Holy Spirit) Through the Sacraments we are united to Him—by

the action of the Holy Spirit

Sacraments and Grace All Sacraments have an outward

sing that we can see, touch, hear, taste, or smell.

They are Visible Actions with a Invisible Reality They do some things or actions that

are invisible Through them we share in God’s life of

GRACE And we are united to God and to each

other, by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

The Sacraments Encounter with Christ

Again, the Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ to give us Grace

Each of the Sacraments confers us a special Grace, by the Power of the Holy Spirit

In a very especial Way, Jesus Himself pours Grace over Grace every time we receive Him, present in the HOLY EUCHARIST.

Jesus become present in the Holy Eucharist for the Power of the Holy Spirit

He strengthen those Graces received in the other Sacraments.

And Nourishes our soul

A Small Quiz1. What is the Sacrament that give us

God’s Graces,

and makes us children of God, and members of the mystical Body of Christ—the Church? The Sacrament BAPTISM:

Gives us God’s Grace Makes us Children of God Makes us members of the Body of Christ (The

Church)

2. What’s the Sacrament in which Jesus forgives the sins we commit after Baptism?

This Sacrament is know by 2 or 3 names: PENANCE, RECONCILIATION OR CONFESSION

3. What is the Sacrament which completes the Grace received in Baptism, and brings us more deeply into the Mystical Body of Christ (The Church)?

a) Also this Sacrament helps us to stay strong, and in living the Christian Faith

b) And enable us to show our Faith to others

So what is this sacrament? CONFIRMATION is the Sacrament that

pours in our soul more Grace receive in Baptism

And What is Grace For?

Grace is God’s Divine Life that enable us to love as God loves,

Gives us Empathy toward others Strengthen our will Enable us to act according to God’s

will.

Illuminate our Reason Enable us to see the TRUTH Enable us to see things that we,

don’t believe, didn’t notice, or we used to see as normal.

And this Grace is pour in our souls, by the Power of the Holy Spirit

Jesus Promise of the Holy Spirit

5. In what Sacrament we receive body & blood of Jesus under the appearance of Bread and Wine?

In the HOLY EUCHARIST we receive Jesus blood, flesh, soul & divinity

This is the Sacrament of the Sacraments because is Jesus Himself , pouring Grace over Grace

The others Sacraments give us Grace, but after that Jesus Himself keep nourishing our souls with the Holy Eucharist

So our souls become strengthen with His Grace

6. What sacrament makes a man a Priests and receive special Grace?

THE HOLY ORDERS

a) Ordered for the service of God’s Church , to Build the Body of Christ,

b) It is Directed for the salvation of others, by the gift of Himself to the Church

c) With the help of the Holy Spirit , they receive special Graces to bring us the sacraments.

d) Their mission is to serve, teach, guide , care for the souls of the members of the Church

e) And to help everyone to become Holy to reach his/her final destination: Heaven!

Their mission most essentially (for the most part) must be  sheepherding rather than Administrative

 The implication is that the faithful are the "flock" who have to be tended. 

The shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards herds of sheep .

7. In what Sacrament man and woman receive a special Grace, and become husband and wife for the rest of their life?

HOLY MATRIMONYa) This Sacrament fortify the Marriage with the

Power of the Holy Spirit

b) It pours a special grace that gives them strengthen for self-given love and self-sacrifice

c) It is for the service of the Family and to help each member of the family to become Holy.

d) The Graces received in this sacrament gives them a supernatural power that help the man & woman to love each other, not only by human love, but with God’s love.

Note: this Sacrament like the others must be kept nourishing with the Eucharist in order to keep fortify and in good shape.

7. In what Sacrament we receive special Grace from Jesus to help us when we are very sick, or in old age?

ANOINTING OF THE SICK This Sacrament strengthen us to face

death and give us peace It prepares us to be ready to see God face

to face Or if it is the will of God, it grants us with

some Graces to recover the health as well.

These are the 7 Sacraments of the Church, Jesus gave them to us

They are the way we receive God’s Divine Life (Grace) and many of the gifts God wants to give us

REVIEW:Communion in Holy Things

Review 1. Why should we share every thing we

have?

Everything we have come from God; it really belongs to Him

And God gives us good things (talents, abilities, etc), so we can help those around us.

2. When we say that the Communion of Saints believe the same thing

We mean that the members of God’s family share One Faith

This Faith is summarized in the CREED, which we pray each Sunday in Mass.

REVIEW

3. Jesus gave us 7 special outward sings that give us GRACE

This 7 sings united us to Him and to each other

What do they called?

Jesus come to us in the 7 Sacraments, by the Power of the Holy Spirit

REVIEW God made us in such a way that

we can help each other in many ways:

a) Help others around us with the good things we have

b) And help each other to get to Heaven,

Lets always do as we can to love, help, and pray for each other,

so that we may all be with God in Heaven forever

Any Question???