UNIT FIVE The Church is Sacrament 5 1

UNIT FIVE The Church is Sacrament

5. 1 A Sign and Source of God’s Grace

Forgive Us • The truth is, despite its imperfections, the Church has been a sign and source of hope and healing during the very worst situations

Sacrament • A sign and instrument of God’s presence in the world • Jesus is the first sacrament • Jesus is the sign of God’s presence n history and the means or instrument through which God’s presence in history is made accessible to human beings

Sacrament • The Church is the first sacrament of Christ • The Church is the sign and instrument of Christ's continuing presence in the world • Church itself has seven sacraments through which it makes the grace of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension available and accessible to the faithful

Grace • The free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God and partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life

Christ Is The First Sacrament • We believe that God interacts with us through the physical world • God chooses to be present to us through things which we can comprehend • God uses everything around us to draw us into the relationship of the Trinity • In Jesus God is fully present to us

Jesus is a Sacrament • He is the sign of God’s love and care for us • He is also the instrument of God’s love • All who encounter Jesus have encountered God

The Church is the First Sacrament of Christ • The Church is the continuing presence of Christ on earth and in history • Jesus has ascended to the Father, but in his body the Church he continues to be accessible to us and to work with us • The Church makes God’s actions in the world both visible and tangible

The Liturgical Life of the Church • Focal point of God’s action in the world • Eucharist is the source and summit of all of the Church’s activity • In the liturgy, all that Christ has done, is doing, and will do for us is made part of the present moment – It is the sign of the redemption and transformation of the world

Liturgy • The public worship of the Church which includes the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments and the liturgy of the hours • Word literally means “public work” • The participation of the People of God in the work of God

The Church: the “workshop of the world” • The place to which we bring the activity of the world so that it may be reshaped by the mystery of Christ and then returned to the world as something new

The Liturgical Life of the Church • All of the basic elements of our life together take on new meaning, they are all transformed in the presence of Christ • Helps us to see and understand that transformation; what is more it gives us the grace to live that transformation in the world

What happens in Liturgy • What we do in our worship is a sign of the people we are becoming; Liturgy is the sign and source of our new identity in Christ • What we do at our liturgy reminds us that unless our lives are lived in the name of the Trinity, unless all that we do is done with an awareness of God’s presence and an acceptance of God’s guidance, we will never find true fulfillment

What happens in Liturgy • We confess our sins and ask forgiveness • We pray for the world because Christ is transforming us into a people who accept responsibility for one another • We eat from one loaf and drink from one cup and God transforms us into one body

Liturgy is the Work of the People • God acts through liturgy, so when we do something ritually we receive the grace to do that same thing in our everyday lives • Sacraments cause what they signify • As we participate in the sacramental life of the Church, we are enabled to participate in the work of God in the world

The Sunday Obligation • Thing which we must do in order to participate with God in the transformation of the world • Every liturgy has the power to transform us, and through us to transform the world • One goes to Mass in order to come face to face with, and be transformed by, the living God

Paschal Mystery • Christ’s passion, resurrection, and ascension • Christians participate in the Paschal Mystery through Baptism Eucharist, and the other sacraments

The Sacraments Shape the Church • Jesus is the focal point of God’s activity in history • The Church is the focal point of Jesus’ continuing presence on earth • The Eucharist is the focal point of the Church’s work – When we receive the body of Christ in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ

How the Sacraments Transform the Community • The sacraments are acts of God and therefore they are always effective • The power of the sacraments to transform individuals depends on the disposition of the individual • Power of the sacraments to transform the community is NOT dependent on any human act or attitude

How the Sacraments Transform the Community • Each time a sacrament is celebrated, the Church becomes more fully the community which makes Christ’ presence tangible. • Without the sacraments, grace might be present, but we could not take hold of it in the same way.

The Power And Lasting Effect Of The Sacraments • Each sacrament is to be thought of on three different levels: Sign alone Event or rite by which grace is transmitted Something with a lasting effect

Christ and the Sacraments • Christ instituted the sacraments • Christ himself is at work in the sacraments • Christ acts in the sacraments in order to communicate the proper grace each sacrament signifies • Christ promised to always act and be present in the sacraments

All of the sacraments represent the saving works of Christ • Time and space are transcended • Christ is as present to us as he was to his apostles • When the sacramental celebration is over, Christ remains with us in some tangible form

Each Sacrament Has A Lasting Effect • Eucharist: real presence of Christ in the consecrated elements of bread and wine • Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders: “indelible spiritual mark” or “character” – God has changed his or her identity • Marriage: permanent bond between husband wife, also the living symbol of the bond between Christ and the Church

Each Sacrament Has A Lasting Effect • Reconciliation: Complete reunification of the sinner with the Church community and with God; Revitalization of the Church itself • Anointing of the Sick: Deeper union between the one who is suffering and the suffering of Christ

Church as a sacrament: Understood on three levels As a community that is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic the Church is a sign of God’s plan for the world. As a community which celebrates the Eucharist and the other sacraments; the Church is the means by which God gives grace and transforms the world. As the body of Christ on earth, the Church is the continuing presence of Christ in history.

In Conclusion • God chooses to be present to us through the people, events, and things of this world • Sacrament is a sign and instrument of God’s presence in history • Jesus is the first sacrament • The first of the sacraments of Christ is the Church

In Conclusion • The Church is the sign and instrument of God’s presence because the Church is the body of Christ – It is also the tool which God uses to remake the world in his image • The Eucharist is the source and summit of all the Church’s activity

In Conclusion • All the other sacraments are part of the one sacrament of the Church • The seven sacraments all enable the Church to act as the body of Christ in the world • Each sacrament is to be thought of on three different levels