MEETING JESUS IN

THE SACRAMENTSCHAPTER 2

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE SACRAMENTS

Celebrating our Redemption

Redemption: “to recover ownership by paying a sum; to set free or ransom”

Redemption is the action of Jesus Christ whereby he paid the price of his own death on the cross to save us from sin

In the liturgy (the work of the people) we actually participate in the events of the Paschal Mystery—the power of the Holy Spirit makes these events (which

happened only once historically) present and real for us.

The liturgy is the way Christ communicates the fruits of the

Paschal Mystery, our Redemption, until he comes again.

Christ Acts Through the Sacraments

Pentecost forever changed the

Apostles.

After the Holy Spirit came to them, they became enlivened, rejuvenated, and

filled with courage.

Christ Acts Through the Sacraments

The Apostles entrusted others to carry on their

work of teaching, baptizing, serving, and building up the

Church.

Through an unbroken chain of this apostolic

succession, today’s Church can trace a continuous line

of leadership back to the days of the Apostles.

God the Father: Source and Goal

of the Liturgy

God the Father is the source of the

blessings—divine life-giving actions that are both word

and gift—we receive from the liturgy.

God acts first—we act in response by giving him worship and accepting his Word as the truth.

The Work of Christ in the Liturgy

Christ acts through the sacraments to

communicate his grace and is always present in

the Church:

In the minister of the sacrament.

In the Word, since it is Christ who speaks when the Scriptures are read at

the liturgy.When the Church prays

and sings and is gathered in his name.

In the Eucharistic species, his own Body and Blood.

The Holy Spirit Prepares Us to Meet Christ in the Liturgy

The Holy Spirit prepares us for Christ

He enables the Church to understand the Old Testament as

the preparation for the New.

He prepares us to encounter Jesus in the

liturgy.He serves as “living

memory” of the Church—anamnesis.

Introducing the Seven Sacraments

The Church’s entire liturgical life revolves around the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and the other sacraments

Baptism

Confirmation

Eucharist

Penance and Reconciliation

Anointing of the Sick

Holy Orders

Matrimony

Introducing the Seven Sacraments

Christ instituted each of the sacraments while he was on earth.

Each sacrament is rooted in and based upon the Paschal Mystery.

Christ gave the Church authority to determine which rituals would be sacraments and what the rituals themselves would consist of.

The Sacraments of Faith

The mission of the Church to evangelize—to bring the Good News

of Jesus Christ to others—was always a

sacramental one.

The faith of the Church—saying “yes”—comes before the faith of the

believer.

“Lex orandi, lex credendi”

Graces of the Sacraments

The sacraments confer the grace they signify—ex opere operato, “by the very action being performed.”

The fruits of the sacrament depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

Marana tha: “O Lord, come”

Union with the Trinity, which we will only experience fully after death, begins to live in us now through the sacraments.

Celebrating the Church’s Liturgy

We “celebrate” the sacraments because they are acts of divine worship.

Sacraments are celebrations that are “woven from signs and symbols.”

Who Celebrates

the Liturgy?

THE LITURGY IS AN ACTION OF THE “WHOLE

CHRIST”—HEAD AND BODY

IT IS THE WHOLE COMMUNITY

UNITED WITH ITS HEAD THAT

CELEBRATES

How Is the Liturgy Celebrated?

Signs and Symbols

Words, actions, and objects that express the meaning of each sacrament

FORM MATTER

How Is the Liturgy Celebrated?

People saying and doing the same thing at the same time is a

sign of unity.

Word of God, especially in the Liturgy of the WordLiturgical singing and

musicSacred images, or icons

Liturgical Traditions

The mystery of Christ is so rich that it is

celebrated by several liturgical traditions

Certain elements of the liturgy are adapted to the

cultures of diverse peoples

Earthly Signs Used by Jesus

WATER

BREAD

OIL

HUMAN TOUCH

When Is the Liturgy Celebrated?

The liturgy is structured around Sunday—the first day of the week.

Catholics are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on Sundays and other holy days of obligation.

When we celebrate the liturgy, we are brought into the presence of the Paschal Mystery.

Preparing for the Incarnation of Jesus Christ

The Incarnation is marked during Advent and Christmas.

Advent: “coming”

We remember the centuries of people who waited with faith and hope that God’s promise to send a Savior would one

day be fulfilled.

We celebrate our own anticipation of the Second

Coming of Christ at the end of time.

Christmas on December 25—Jesus is the true Son of God

and Light of the World

Focusing on the Paschal Mystery

The Paschal Mystery is marked during Lent and Easter

Lent: “springtime”

Easter Triduum: most sacred days of the Church Year—Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy

Saturday

Easter: “passover”

During the season of Easter, the Church reads accounts of the Resurrection appearances

of Christ

Celebrates the Ascension and ends with Pentecost

Marking Ordinary Time

Ordinal: “numbered”

The liturgical periods between Easter and

Advent, and Christmas and Lent

The purpose is to teach Christians how

to follow Jesus in everyday, ordinary life

Mary

The Church Year also includes the feasts of

Mary—the perfect model of Christian

discipleship

“Advocate”

“Helper”

“Benefactress”

“Mediatrix”

The Sanctoral Cycle

The feasts of saints found throughout the year on the Church’s

liturgical calendar

They “have suffered and have been

glorified with Christ”

Liturgy of the HoursThe public prayer of the Church that makes holy the

entire course of the day and night; also called the Divine Office

The Church at Prayer

What is prayer?“the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or

the requesting of good things from God”

Prayer is founded on humility and comes from the heart, our “hidden center . . . the place of decision . . . the place of truth . .

. the place of encounter . . . the place of covenant”

Vocal PrayerMeditation

Contemplative Prayer

Where Is the Liturgy

Celebrated?

Churches have an eschatological—“last things”—significance

Jesus is not limited to one place—the whole earth is

consecrated to Jesus

However, Catholics construct buildings for

divine worship—churches

In churches, you will most likely find:

Altar table

Tabernacle

Chair—“cathedra”

Ambo

Aumbry

Baptistery

Reconciliation room

St. Katharine Drexel

Founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

Her true mission: to evangelize Native

Americans and African Americans into the Catholic Church for the Salvation of

their souls

“My sweetest joy is to be in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”