Gail_Davis

The seven Sacraments

The seven sacraments workshop

Attend and Reflect: But who do you say that I am?

Opening conversation/reflection Have you ever been a transferred teacher to a new school? How did the members of your ‘new’ school come to know you? How did you come to know them? Have you ever welcomed a new student into your class or into your school? How did you do it? What might have prevented you from truly coming to know and welcome a new student? Or prevented her or him from coming to know you? Explain. “Who do you say that I am?”

Read: Scripture: Luke 9:18-20

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.”

Jesus’ question probably did not come as a surprise to his disciples. Their ‘Master’ was attracting great attention and astounding people. Word was being spread that Jesus of Nazareth was a great preacher, teacher and wonder-worker who spoke with authority and possessed a vast knowledge of the law and the Prophets. His teachings, such as ‘love your enemies’, were giving deeper meaning to the Scriptures of ancient Israel, and he was demanding a deeper commitment to the Law and the covenant.

Jesus did and taught all these things at a time in history of the Jews when they were living under the domination of a foreign power. Many knew (or claimed they knew) what the identity of the messiah would be, and they claimed that he would set them free from their oppressors for the final time and re-establish the Kingdom of Israel. Their awareness and hope for this anointed one was at an all-time high. But Jesus did not meet those expectations. Jesus did not match up to the identity of the Messiah whom these Jews were expecting.

Talk it over: Imagine yourself present with the disciples. How do you hear yourself responding to Jesus’

question, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Share your reasons.

Over to you: Identify a time when you ‘encountered’ the risen Jesus. How were you affected by that

encounter? How does that encounter continue to influence your behaviour, thoughts or feelings?

Each of the seven Sacraments brings us into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the sacraments of God. Jesus himself incorporated the use of signs and symbols into his earthly ministry. God created us with five senses that enable us to see, hear, taste, touch and smell. It is through our five senses that

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we first ‘get in touch’ with both the physical world and the invisible ‘otherness’, the mystery of God and other spiritual realities. Jesus used the real stuff of life – mud, saliva, oil, touch and words – to mediate to people the ‘real and wondrous’ healing and sanctifying power at work in the world and in their lives.

Here is one example:

Read: Mark 7:32-35.

Healing the deaf and speechless man:They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

Think Pair Share: Imagine you witnessed the encounter between Jesus and the deaf man. How would Jesus’ use of saliva, word and touch affect your understanding of what was

happening to the deaf man? What do you ‘hear’ from this passage that speaks to your life today? Share your responses with a partner.

Let’s probe deeper:

Read: Luke 7:36-47,

The account of a woman anointing Jesus’ feet while he was eating in the house of a Pharisee.

One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having learned that he was eating in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment. She stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she continued kissing his feet and anointing them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man was a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” Jesus spoke up and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Teacher,” he replied, “speak.” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debts for both of them. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he cancelled the greater debt.” And Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”

Look up and read Luke 7:36-38, the first part of the passage.What are you seeing and hearing?

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Continue and read Luke 7:39-47 What do you learn from both the woman’s actions and Jesus’ response?

What about you personally? What parallels do you find between your experience of the Church’s sacraments and the

Scripture passages from Mark and Luke?

Sacramental RitesThe Church, following Jesus’ example does the same in her celebration of the sacraments. ‘A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols’ (CCC1145).

Central to the celebration of the sacraments are the combination of signs and symbols and symbolic actions (objects, words and actions) that the Church uses to celebrate each sacrament. Signs and symbols communicate more that the concrete, ‘more than meets the eye’. The value of symbols lies in their power to point beyond themselves. They also help to shape our convictions, beliefs and values. We need symbols both as individuals and as communities of faith to express and shape our hearts and souls.

The term ‘ritual’ or ‘rite’ is also used to name ‘the combining of objects, words and actions’ that are employed to celebrate the rite of a sacrament.

Talk it over: Give examples of signs and symbols that the Catholic Church uses in the celebration of Mass

that are:o Concrete objects,o Actions o Sounds

Share with a partner and discuss how each of these helps you encounter Christ.

Meet the Challenge Discuss with a partner: Sacraments are both invisible and visible realities. How do we know the

sacraments really work? Name the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. Choose one symbolic action the Catholic Church uses in the celebration of the Sacrament of

Penance and Reconciliation. Describe how the use of that symbolic action helps you encounter, or connect with Jesus.

Activity: Match the sacrament with its symbolism:

Name of the sacrament What it symbolisesBaptism

Confirmation

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Eucharist

Reconciliation

Holy Orders

Marriage

Anointing of the Sick

Symbolizes all human efforts at healing the ill, sustaining the elderly, and consoling the dying as it celebrates and meditates God’s power to restore people to health- spiritual, physical and psychological – or to give hope for eternal life.

Symbolizes the human spirit of faith, hope and love, and continues to initiate into the Christian community by “sealing” Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, strengthening them to live their faith in the world.

Symbolizes all that reflects vitality and responsibility, peace and justice, care and compassion – everything that fulfils the covenant- as it celebrates the real presence of the Risen Christ, makes “an offering of praise” to God, bonds Christians into community, sustains them with the “bread of life’ , and empowers then “for the life of the world” (John 6:51).

Symbolizes all human efforts at forgiveness, peacemaking, and clemency as it celebrates God’s never-ending mercy for repentant sinners, mediated through a Christian community.

Symbolizes all experiences of friendship and support, all of human intimacy and sexuality, as it celebrates the covenant of life and love between a married couple.

Symbolizes all human experiences of partnership and community, of belonging and vocation, as it initiates people into the Body of Christ – the Church- to live as disciples of Jesus toward the reign of God

Symbolizes the vocation that everyone has to do worthwhile work, as it officially ordains a person to function as a leader in the Christian community’s ministries of preaching, celebrating the sacraments, an enabling the gifts of all to work well together with “holy order.”

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Select one of the following Sacraments:

Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist or Reconciliation

and complete the readings and associated reflective questions.

BaptismBaptism is one of the three Sacraments of Christian Initiation. ‘Christian Initiation is accomplished in three sacraments together: Baptism which is the beginning of new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and the Eucharist which nourishes the disciples.’ (CCC1275)

Scripture References:

Genesis 1:2; 7:1-9:17 Exodus 13:17-14:31 Joshua 3:1-17 Matthew 3:13-17 Mark 1:9-11, 10:35-40 Luke 3: 21-22 John 1:29-34, 3:1-16, 4:1-15

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Acts of the Apostles 16:28-33 Romans 5:18,6:3-4 2 Corinthians 5:17 Galatians 6:15 Philippians 2:6-7 Colossians 2:12

Water is necessary for the very existence of life. Yet, nearly one billion people lack access to clean water. For these people, the issue is not scarcity of water, but ready access to clean water.

Water is both a natural, physical resource and a universal symbol. The sacred authors of Scripture used the symbolism of water to point to God’s life-giving work in the world. The writer of the fourth Gospel uses water as a symbol in the narrative of the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:1-15)

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” —although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Imaginative reading of the Scripture narrative:

Place yourself in the sandals of the Samaritan woman. As you are approaching Jacob’s well, a stranger who is already at the well asks you, “Give me a drink’ (John 4:7).You, in turn question his request, and he replies: ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, as he would have given you living water’ (John 4:10)Even more curious and somewhat confounded, you continue the conversation. The stranger then makes this astounding claim:‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life. John 4:13-14

The sacrament of Baptism initiates us into the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise.

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Baptism is the source of new life in Christ from which the entire Christian life springs forth’ (CCC1254)

Talk it over How does Jesus use water as a symbol in his conversation with the Samaritan woman?

Baptism prefigured in the Old Testament

Let’s Probe DeeperLet us look at and explore briefly each of the OT stories to discover how they prefigure the Sacrament of Baptism and help us understand the meaning and significance of the sacrament for our lives.

1. The first account of creation:

Read: Genesis 1:2

In the book of Genesis we read heat ‘the earth was a formless void…while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters’ (Gen 1:2). The wind represents the Spirit of God bringing forth creation and prefigures the Holy Spirit bringing forth the new creation in Christ through water and the Spirit at Baptism

Over to you:

What formless voids do you recognise in your own life? Where? How might the waters of baptism be an antidote to those ‘voids’ in your life?

2. The story of the Great Flood and Noah’s Ark:

Read Genesis 7

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

6 Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters came on the earth. 7 And Noah with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, and of animals that are not clean, and of birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, 9 two and two, male and female, went into the ark with Noah, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came on the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. 12 The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, 14 they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind—every bird, every winged creature. 15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in

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which there was the breath of life. 16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in.

17 The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. 18 The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. 19 The waters swelled so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered; 20 the waters swelled above the mountains, covering them fifteen cubits deep. 21 And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings; 22 everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. 23 He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark. 24 And the waters swelled on the earth for one hundred fifty days.

God saved Noah and his family from the death-bearing waters of the great Flood, which the Book of Genesis teaches was a consequence of the worldwide pervasiveness of sin. The Church reads this story as prefiguring the saving action of God in Baptism. As the flood waters led to a new beginning of goodness, the water of Baptism conquer the death-bearing power of sin and brings about newness of life in Christ.

Over to you: What insights does the OT story of the Great Flood give you into what God is doing in the Sacrament of

Baptism?

3. The Exodus:

Read Exodus

The Pillars of Cloud and Fire

17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God thought, “If the people face war, they may change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led the people by the roundabout way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[a] The Israelites went up out of the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 19 And Moses took with him the bones of Joseph who had required a solemn oath of the Israelites, saying, “God will surely take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones with you from here.” 20 They set out from Succoth, and camped at Etham, on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

Crossing the Red Sea

14 Then the Lord said to Moses: 2 Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall camp opposite it, by the sea. 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are wandering aimlessly in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.” 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, so that I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so.

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the minds of Pharaoh and his officials were changed toward the people, and they said, “What have we done, letting Israel leave our service?” 6 So he had his chariot made ready, and took his army with him; 7 he took six hundred picked chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt

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with officers over all of them. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out boldly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his chariot drivers and his army; they overtook them camped by the sea, by Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

10 As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites looked back, and there were the Egyptians advancing on them. In great fear the Israelites cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the very thing we told you in Egypt, ‘Let us alone and let us serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. 16 But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground. 17 Then I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them; and so I will gain glory for myself over Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots, and his chariot drivers. 18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained glory for myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his chariot drivers.”

19 The angel of God who was going before the Israelite army moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and took its place behind them. 20 It came between the army of Egypt and the army of Israel. And so the cloud was there with the darkness, and it lit up the night; one did not come near the other all night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. 22 The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 23 The Egyptians pursued, and went into the sea after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and chariot drivers. 24 At the morning watch the Lord in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down upon the Egyptian army, and threw the Egyptian army into panic. 25 He clogged[b] their chariot wheels so that they turned with difficulty. The Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the Israelites, for the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

The Pursuers Drowned

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and chariot drivers.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea returned to its normal depth. As the Egyptians fled before it, the Lord tossed the Egyptians into the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the chariot drivers, the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea; not one of them remained. 29 But the Israelites walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great work that the Lord did against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord and believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

The Exodus is the epic account of God’s liberating the Hebrews from slavery and death in Egypt to freedom and new life in the land God promised them. The biblical account of the Exodus contains two water stories. First, in Exodus 13:17-14:31 we read that the Hebrews, facing certain death at the hands of the fast-approaching pharaoh and his army, cross miraculously between the parted waters of the Red, or Reed Sea. After which they safely continue their forty year journey across the Sinai Desert. Second, in Joshua 3:1-17 we read that after reaching the land God promised them the freed Israelites cross the waters of the River Jordan, enter Canaan, and begin living the new life God promised.

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Joshua 3:1-17

Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped there before crossing over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, 4 so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 To the priests Joshua said, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.

7 The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. 8 You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: 11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan. 12 So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”

14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea,[a] were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

Think Pair Share: Share with a partner how what happened in the Exodus story foreshadowed what happens in Baptism

What about you personally? When have you had an Exodus experience? What impact did it have for your life as a disciple of Jesus? In what ways might you describe your life-faith-life journey as an Exodus journey?

Baptism prefigured in the New Testament

1. The Baptism of Jesus

Read Matthew 3:16-17

Matthew 3:16-17New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

We can deepen our understanding of the significance of Baptism for our lives by exploring the meaning of the baptism of Jesus, as the members of the early Church did. When Jesus was about thirty years old he left Nazareth and travelled about one hundred mile to the place in the River Jordan where John

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the Baptist was inviting people to repent and be baptised. As he approached the banks of the Jordan, Jesus asked John to baptise him. At first John refused, saying that it was Jesus who should be baptising him. Jesus nevertheless persuaded john, entered the Jordan, and John baptised him. Matthew writes what happened next:

And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17

Think Pair Share: What is the significance of the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Jesus? What is the significance of the Father’s declaration, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I

am well pleased?

What about you personally? What difference would it make for you to hear the words ‘This is my child, my beloved, in whom

I am well pleased’ spoken directly to you?

Continuing the conversation Team up with a partner and ask each other, ‘Who do you think I am?’ Do you agree or disagree with each other’s responses? Why or why not?

Over to you Who have you come to know Jesus to be? If Jesus asked you, ‘Who am I?’ , how would you

respond? Why?

The Question of Identity.How we see ourselves – the image we have of ourselves-always impacts our actions and words, our attitudes and vision of life and the way we treat ourselves and others.

Think Pair and Share What three qualities do you see in yourself that identity you as a disciple of Christ? How well do others clearly and easily see these same qualities? How might you make your Christian identity more evident to others?

In the Rite of Baptism four explanatory rites or rituals take place immediately after the essential rites. They are:

Anointing with Sacred Chrism – this is a sign of God’s election of a person for service to God and God’s people. The anointing with Chrism is a sign of the royal priesthood of the baptised and that they are now numbered in the company of the people of God.

Clothing with a white garment – this rite signifies that the newly baptised have become a new creation and have ‘clothed’ themselves in Christ. The clothing with the white garment signifies the new dignity they have received.

Presentation of a lighted candle – the newly baptised receive a candle form their godparents that has been lighted from the Easter candle. The Easter Candle is a symbol of the risen Lord. It is lighted at eh Easter Vigil and remains in the sanctuary during the Easter season as by the baptismal font. The

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lighted baptismal candle is a reminder that the newly baptised have been enlightened by Christ and are to walk as lights in the world’ proclaiming Jesus, the Light of the world.

The optional ritual of Ephpheta or Prayer over the Ears and Mouth – this optional ritual reminds the newly baptised that God nourishes them to proclaim the Gospel. The celebrant touches the ears and the mouth of the newly baptised, saying, in part, ‘May the Lord Jesus soon touch your ears to receive his word and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God.

Talk it over: What are some contemporary rituals that confer both an identity as a mission on someone? Have you

taken part in such a ritual? Describe it. What insights do the four ‘Explanatory Rites’ of baptism give you into your identity? Into how you can

best express that identity?

Journal exercise: Describe what your belonging to Christ says about your identity and the way you live. Come up with some concrete and practical examples of how you can live out your priestly identity( to

offer your whole life to God in praise and thanksgiving by participating in the Liturgy of the Church, to give glory to God by living a holy life marked by love of God and neighbour), your prophetic identity (giving witness to your faith and doing the works of justice, compassion and peace), your kingly identity (to participate in the mission of Christ and his Church by letting God rule your life).

Reflect on your basic baptismal rights and responsibilities. Describe what you can do to explore the meaning of those rights and responsibilities for your life and for the building up of the Church.

Reflect on how you can begin shaping your future in light of your baptism. Describe what you can do to help ensure that our life will continue to be lived in Christ.

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ConfirmationThe Sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the three Sacraments of Christian initiation. ‘The effect of Confirmation is a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit like that of Pentecost (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church no 268) the seven fold gift of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of right judgement and courage, of knowledge and reverence and wonder and awe in God’s presence – strengthens the baptized for living the Christian life and spreading the faith.

Scripture References

Isaiah 11:2, 61:1-2 Matthew 7:15-29, 28:18-20 Luke 4:14, 16-21,30 John 14:6, 15-31, 15:26 Acts of the Apostles 1:12-26, 2:38, 8:15-17, 10:38, 19:5-6 Galatians 5:16-26

The Spirit at work in our life: At baptism we first receive the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit. The celebrant anoints the crown of our head with sacred Chrism. This signifies that we are anointed by the Holy Spirit as disciples of Jesus Christ, priest, prophet and king. The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit

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empower us to come to know and live our discipleship. They are permanent dispositions that move us to respond to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. These seven gifts are wisdom, understanding, and counsel (right judgement), fortitude (courage), knowledge, piety (reverence) and fear of the Lord (wonder and awe).

In the sacrament of Confirmation we are anointed with sacred Chrism a second time. The bishop, or a priest delegated by him says our name and anoints our forehead, saying, ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ This anointing signifies that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are strengthened and perfected to enable us to liv the commitments of our baptism. With the help of the Holy Spirit we are strengthened to give witness to our faith by matching what we believe.

Signs of the Spirit’s work:

When we open our mind and heart to the Spirit we deepen our ability to discern the best ways to live our baptismal promises – to live as children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ. When we do this, the gifts of the Holy Spirit bear fruit in our lives. The letter to the Galatians names nine fruits, or signs, the give evidence that we are listening as responding to the Holy Spirit;. These fruits of the Holy Spirit are ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23)- to which the tradition of the Church has added ‘goodness, modesty and chastity’. Like a plant that continues to grow because of the nourishment it receives, the life of those baptised into Christ is enriched and nourished by receiving Confirmation and the other sacraments.

Think Pair ShareRead Matthew 7:15-29 pause and think about each of the fruits of the Spirit.

A Tree and Its Fruit

1 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Share with a partner instances where you have seen the gifts of the Spirit bear fruit in people’s lives.

Over to you What is an important decision you have had to make in the last week, month, or even year? What are some things that helped you finally decide one way rather than another? What was the value or good at stake in your decision? How was your faith a source of wisdom and guidance?

Journal exerciseHow clearly and consistently do your words and actions show that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are at work in your life? How might you improve?

The Spirit of the Lord in Scripture:

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Have you ever noticed how time flies when you are with a group of friends of involved in something you really enjoy doing? We all need something to live for; we need inspiration; we need the sense and conviction that our life has meaning and is headed in the right direction. People whose lives have a purpose that carries them from day to day seem to approach life with enthusiasm.

Opening Conversation Who are some of the people whom inspire you as fill you with enthusiasm for living? How well are these people giving witness to the values for living and taught by Jesus?

Over to you Who and what inspires you and fills you with enthusiasm for life? Who as what gives your life a

sense of purpose and meaning/ Do you take time to analyse, or discern, whether that person or pursuit is contrary to the life

and teachings of Jesus? What is your response if that person or pursuit is contrary to the life and teachings of Jesus?

Sacred scripture is packed with stories of people inspired by the Spirit of God and filled with passion an enthusiasm for their life with God. The stories of Miriam and Moses, of Mary and Joseph, of Mary Magdalene and Peter and of many others continue to inspire us. These people of faith remind us of the Sprit we received at Baptism who is always at work in our lives.

The Spirit of the Lord in the OT:

God called Isaiah the Prophet to bring hope to the people of ancient Israel during the period of Exile.

Isaiah 11:2

The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,

The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The spirit for counsel and might,

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

In a later passage we read about specific details of the Spirit’s saving mission at work in and through this messiah.

Isaiah 61: 1-2

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me;

He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

To bind up the broken –hearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And to release to the prisoners;

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

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The Spirit of the Lord would be the messiah. The gifts of the Spirit enumerated by Isaiah are the gifts of the Spirit that are strengthened in the baptized at Confirmation.

The Spirit of the Lord in the NT- in the life of Jesus

The Holy Spirit was always with Jesus during his life on earth. After his temptation in the desert, Jesus, ‘filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee’ (Like 4:14), where he entered the synagogue in Nazareth for a Sabbath Day service. The attendant handed him the ‘scroll of the prophet Isaiah’. Jesus unrolled the scroll’ and proclaimed:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

Because he has anointed me

to bring the good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight of the blind,

To let the oppressed go free,

To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Luke 4: 16-21)

The reaction of those who listened was both disbelieving and hostile. They could not bring themselves to accept that one of their own, the son of a carpenter, would claim to be the Messiah foretold and promised in the Scriptures. They rose up and attempted to kill Jesus but ‘he passed through the midst of them and went on his way’ (Luke 4:30)

Talk it over Have you ever experienced rejection for living your faith, or have you witnessed someone else

being rejected for living their faith, for example, by gossiping or bullying? How does the sevenfold Gift of the Holy Spirit guide you to deal with such situations?

The Holy Spirit in the Church

After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples gathered in that locked room in Jerusalem on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, they were set on fire with zeal to fulfil what Jesus had commissioned them to do. They left the room and boldly entered the marketplace. Peter boldly as enthusiastically proclaimed that Jesus was indeed the messiah as he invited all who had gathered to listen, ‘Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts of the Apostles 2;38). The Church’s work of evangelisation, of spreading the Gospel, had begun. Filled with as empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and other disciples would leave Jerusalem and set out by land and by sea to spread the Good News to all, thus beginning their fulfilment of the great Commission the risen Lord had given them.

Evangelisation, the announcing of the gospel, spreading the teachings of Jesus and making disciples of all nations, is the primary mission of the Church. It is the work of all the baptised. The newly baptised are anointed with Sacred Chrism to signify that they have been joined to Christ and have been made sharers in his mission. In Confirmation the baptised are anointed with the same Chrism. They are strengthened and perfected for living the Christian life a spreading the faith to others.

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Think Pair Share Discuss with a partner why the disciples needed strength from the Holy Spirit to live and bear

such bold witness to Christ in difficult times? Identify with your partner ways your school

community is living out the mission of all baptised. What more might you do?

Over to you How boldly and courageously are you willing to

give witness to Christ in difficult times? Ask the Holy Spirit for the strength to give witness

to Jesus –at all times.

EucharistThe sacrament of Eucharist is the third Sacrament of Christian Initiation. The Eucharist, which St Thomas Aquinas described as ‘the sacrament of sacraments’ is the ‘heart and summit of the Church’s life’ (CCC1407)

Hopefully, all of us have experienced the joy of loving and being loved. We know how important it is to spend time with those whom we love- to have them present with us, in our good as our bad times. We also know how it feels to be separated from someone we love.

Opening Conversation Why do you think longing for the presence of a loved one is such a universal human desire? How is being present, face to face, with friends different than seeing a photo of a friend or their image

on your phone? How is speaking with a friend face to face different than texting them?

Over to you Think of a time when you were fully present to someone, and he or she was fully present to you. What

was involved in such ‘presence’?

Jesus promised he would always be present with us. Jesus fulfilled that promise in a unique way by giving his church the gift of his unique presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

In this Sacrament the gifts of bread and wine are consecrated by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of the priest, and the physical bread and wine are changed and become the Body and Blood of Jesus. What still appears to be bread and wine is no longer bread and wine. It is Christ ‘whole and entire, God and Man’. The real presence of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine is a mystery of faith that seems to be contrary to everything science teaches. How can something look, feel, smell and taste like bread and not be bread? How can something look, feel, smell, and taste like wine and not be wine? After all, we cannot scientifically prove that this happens. This mystery of faith cannot be explained by the rules of science. We have to perceive this change through the eyes of faith.

Talk it over Is there more to life than what can be scientifically measured and quantified? How does science and faith, each in its own way, give us insight into ‘reality’?

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Describe the identity of some of your family. Are their outward, physical characteristics or qualities ‘who’ they really are? Why are they more than the colour of their hair, or their height or weight?

How does this reflection give you insight into the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist?

Sharing a meal together is food for both the body and the soul. Sharing meals celebrates and deepens the relationships bonding the people around the table.

The New Testament includes four accounts of the last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. You can read these accounts in Mark 14:22-25, Matthew 26:26-30, Luke 22:14-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

http://www.togetheratonealtar.catholic.edu.au/explore/dsp-content.cfm?loadref=15

The Eucharistic meal, or the Lord’s Supper, is the family meal of the Church. At the Last Supper Jesus transformed the Passover meal of the Old Covenant into the Paschal banquet, or Eucharistic meal, of the New Covenant. Knowing he would soon freely die on the Cross, Jesus promised his Apostles as the Church that after his Death on the Cross he would be with them. Whenever they gathered as obeyed his command, ‘Do this remembrance of me’ (1Corinthians 11:240, he would be present there with them. In the Eucharist Christ unites us with himself and we join our life with his. We join with him and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, give thanks, praise and glory to god. The word ‘Eucharist’ derives from the Greek word eucharistein, which means ‘to give thanks’. Drawing from the central Jewish tradition of offering blessings that proclaim and gave thanks for God’s works, the first Christians celebrated the ‘breaking of bread’ to give thanks for God’s blessings, especially the gift of Jesus.

Opening conversation What special family traditions mark your family’s celebration of Christmas day or birthday meals? How might those traditions echo what happens in celebrating the Eucharist? When have you been invited to a celebration and just sat there bored and wondering what comes next,

or when it will be over? What is the difference between going to mass or attending mass and participating in mass? With a partner, brainstorm and discuss what you already know about the parts of the mass.

Over to you How would you describe your own attitude toward participating in the celebration of the mass? What are some things that might bring you to enter more fully into the celebration?

The basic structure of the Mass as we celebrate it today was present in the early Church from her beginning. The risen Jesus Christ is present in and with his Eucharistic assembly from the very beginning of Mass. He is present in the Word of Scripture, in the person of the priest who acts in the person and name of Christ, in the worshipping assembly, and in a unique way in the consecrated bread and wine.

The two main parts of the mass are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist which are preceded by the Introductory rites and followed by the Concluding Rite. Understanding these rites and rituals can help the faithful move from attending to participating fully, consciously and actively in mass.

http://www.togetheratonealtar.catholic.edu.au/receive/dsp-content.cfm?loadref=39

Over to You What opportunities might you have to take part in mass as a reader, an extraordinary minister of Holy

Communion, a musician, a welcomer at your parish? How might they benefit your own participation in mass?

What gets you out of bed in the morning? o Sometimes it’s just another routine day so you turn and hit the snooze button.

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o On other days you’re up before the alarm goes off.

Opening Conversation What gets you up and out of bed in the morning and eager to run out of the door? Why? Have you ever felt eager after mass?

We receive the grace of God in the Eucharist to take up the challenge outlined by St Augustine and St John Paul ll. The fruits of receiving Holy Communion include: deepening our union with Christ, a union that was begun in baptism, separating us from sin and strengthening us to build a more human world. We are to give witness to Jesus, the bread of life, in the marketplace of our life. We are to work to heal divisiveness within the Church and within the human communities of which we are members. We are to share Jesus and his gifts of peace and justice, compassion and forgiveness for which everyone hungers.

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Penance and ReconciliationIn the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation we can receive forgiveness for sins we have committed after Baptism and can be reconciled with God and the Church. By the power of the Holy Spirit this sacrament also offers the gift of peace of conscience and strengthens our efforts to resist temptation and to live as a disciple of Jesus.

Throughout his public life and ministry Jesus constantly invited his listeners to repent-‘to be of the same mind’ as God, to believe in the Gospel and live for the reign of God. The Greek word metanoia, which has been translated ‘repent’ in this passage, literally mans to ‘be of the same mind’. Jesus’ invitation to ‘repent’ is an invitation to ‘repent’ is an invitation to change our way of thinking and living, to a life of conversion and transforming our lives. Jesus outlined that transformation in the Sermon on the Mount.

Our baptism is the celebration of the beginning of our life of conversion. The conversion of the baptised is the lifelong process of accepting the Holy Spirit’s invitation to get up and turn our face back toward God, take on ‘the mind of God’ and live as his faithful people. True conversion requires a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is vital to the process of lifelong conversion to Jesus Christ.

There is an adage that goes something like this, “falling flat on your face is not the tragedy, staying down and not getting up is!”

Opening Conversation What wisdom do you take from the above adage? Can you recall the Gospel narrative of Peter ‘falling on his face’? If so, share what happened. If not, look up Matthew 26:69-75. What happened when Jesus looked Peter in the face?

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

69 Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A servant-girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” 70 But he denied it before all of them, saying, “I do not know what you are talking about.” 71 When he went out to the porch, another servant-girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”[a] 72 Again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” 73 After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” 74 Then he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment the cock crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.

What does this passage tell us about Peter, the ‘rock’ upon whom Jesus chose to build his Church?

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Over to you Have you ever ‘fallen on your face’, literally or figuratively? How did you respond? How easy or difficult did you find it to get up and back on the track? What do you find helpful or unhelpful for removing yourself when you ‘fall on your face’?

St Paul seems to have had many experiences of ‘falling on his face’. For example, he wrote, ‘I do not understand my own actions. For I do not want, but I do the very thing I hate’. (Romans 7:15) No doubt, every Christian could describe their life in a similar way. There is a lot of Paul and Peter in each of us.

Jesus assured Peter that he understood his weakness and he offered this ‘rock’ forgiveness and confidence. Jesus does the same to each one of us. Rather than beating ourselves up or continuing to lie down on our face, we need to stand up and look Jesus in the face and accept his offer of forgiveness and reconciliation, as Peter did that night in the garden after denying him three times.

God’s ways are not our ways. Jesus revealed that God’s way of forgiving is certainly a mystery beyond our full comprehension; Peter once asked Jesus whether forgiving ‘seven times’ another member of the Church who had sinned against them would be enough. Jesus responded, ‘Not seven times but seventy-seven times.’ (Matthew 18:21-22)

So that we do not get caught up in a numbers game, we need to know that the number seven had significant symbolism in the Scriptures of ancient Israel, which Jesus and the Twelve knew very well – the number seven is a symbol for perfection or completeness. In other words, Jesus was telling Peter and the other disciples that they were to place no limits on their forgiveness of those who sinned against them.

Talk it over What was Jesus teaching when he commanded us to forgive ‘seventy-seven times’? Share stories of people who have offered such forgiveness to others.

The Catholic Church uses three rites to celebrate this sacrament. They are:

The Rite of Reconciliation with Individual Penitents which is known as the Individual Rite. The Rite of Reconciliation with Several Penitents with Individual Confession and Absolution, which is

also known as the Communal Rite. The Rite of Reconciliation with Several Penitents with General Confession and Absolution which is also

known as General Absolution.

The Individual and the Communal Rite of Reconciliation are the common and ordinary rites used to celebrate this sacrament. The Third rite, or General Absolution, is reserved for extraordinary circumstances that have been determined by the Church. The reason why the third rite is extraordinary is that the individual confession of sins and the absolution of individual penitents constitute the sole, ordinary means for a member of the faithful who is conscious of serious sin to be reconciled with God and the Church. Let’s take a look at the celebration of the Rite of Reconciliation:

The Rite of Reconciliation with Individual Penitents consists as does the Communal Rite, of three actions of the penitent which are

1. repentance, 2. confession of sins, 3. the intention to make reparation and the priest’s absolution.

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Talk it over Discuss what is involved in each step of the Rite of Reconciliation with individual Penitents. What do you recognise as some of the great benefits of receiving the Sacrament of Penance and

Reconciliation regularly?

Peace and serenity of conscience are among the effects, or graces of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. This sacrament assures us that all is right between God and us and between us and his Church. Having experienced God’s generosity, we approach others with the same generosity. We forgive others as God forgives us. We offer forgiveness to those who have trespassed against us. We forgive and accept forgiveness seventy times seven times. We seek and accept forgiveness from others. Reconciled with God and the Church, we have a deep inner feeling of relief!

While the graces of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation heal past wrongs to make for a better present, they also shape our future. We encounter Christ face to face in this sacrament.

Meet the Challenge How would you respond to someone who asks, ‘I don’t really get why we need to go to confession.

Can’t God forgive us directly when we are sorry for our sins?’

Talk it over Is accepting another person’s forgiveness and offering a person your forgiveness essential to the life of

a disciple of Christ? Why or Why not? In what ways is the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation an ‘opportunity’ to find the

encouragement and strength you need to live your life so that you will put your best foot forward to meet Christ when he comes to ‘judge the living and the dead’?

Journal Exercise Do you see your participation in this sacrament as an encounter with Christ himself? Why or why not?

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