Section 1 Introduction to the Sacraments Notes

1. What is a sacrament?
a. Recap
i. Created and loved; original communion.
ii. Original Sin; Lack of Grace
iii. Jesus dies and resurrects; makes a way for us.
b. 3 Definitions of Sacrament
i. Catechism “Four Points”
1. Efficacious sign of grace
a. Efficacious: effective; the visible rites by which the sacraments
are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each
sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the
required dispositions.
2. Instituted by Christ
3. Entrusted to the Church
4. By which divine life (grace) is dispensed to us through the work of the
Holy Spirit
ii. Privileged encounter with Jesus Christ
1. We come face to face with Jesus In every sacrament
iii. Visible signs of invisible realities
c. What is grace?
i. Catechism Definition: Favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to
respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the
divine nature and of eternal life
1. Gift.
2. Helps restore our nature.
3. God’s life within us.
ii. Types of Grace
1. Sanctifying grace- saves us; restores out human nature.
2. Actual grace- helps us to do good things.
3. Sacramental grace- receive in the sacraments.
iii. What is the relationship between grace and nature?
1. God created humans good.
2. Original sin weakens human nature.
3. Grace heals weakened human nature.
2. How do Sacraments work?
a. Sacraments give grace.
b. Sacramental Economy – how grace is distributed.
c. Jesus is ultimate sacrament because his he is the invisible God made visible.
d. All sacraments flow from Jesus Christ
e. The church is a sacrament of Jesus.
 f.
i. How would you describe this picture?
g. Jesus died so that we can receive sacramental grace and grow closer to him. The sheep
are drinking the water because God is our shepherd, and we are the flock; we need this
grace to survive just as a lamb needs water to survive.
3. What are sacraments for?
a. Ultimate goal: redemption
b. Each sacrament is distinct in the particular way it aids us.
i. Initiation
ii. Healing
iii. Service to Communion
c. The sacraments are given to us at times that are fitting to what we need.
d. Christ and the church recognize our needs in the spiritual and natural journey, the
sacraments “meet us where we are” and give us what we need.
e. With the help of the sacraments, we can make spiritual progress toward what we need to
be more and more like Christ.

Baptism
 Baptism
o The purpose of baptism is so we can be in communion with God.
 Why is it called baptism?
o Baptize means to plunge.
o Die and resurrect with Christ.
 Our old ways die, and we are born into new life.
o The gateway to life in the spirit (and all other sacraments)- the first step we take.
 Baptism in Scripture
o Prefiguration in the Old Covenant
 Prefiguration- to show, suggest, or announce by and antecedent type image or
likeness.
 Examples of water in the Old Testament:
 Noah’s Arc
 Crossing the Red Sea
 Crossing the Jordan river
 o Institution
 Jesus’ baptism
o Sacrament in the Early Church
 The Great Commandment
 How is the Sacrament Celebrated
o Essential Rite (the necessary components)
 Matter: water
 Form: “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit.”
 Minister: Typically, a deacon or priest, but any baptized Christian can administer
baptism
o Who can receive?
 Anyone who isn’t already baptized.
 Symbols of Baptism
o Oil- anointing
o White garment- cleansed from sin and putting on Christ.
o Candle- receiving the light of Christ.
o Water- Dying to sin, rising to new life, cleansing from sin.
o Cross- Being united to Christ.
 Effects of Baptism
o Die and rise with Christ
o Freed from OG sin
o Adopted children of Christ
o Indelible character
o Members of the church
o Holy spirit and discipleship
 Is Baptism necessary.
o You can be baptized by desire or by blood.
 Implications of Baptism
o Members of the church (the body of Christ)
o Members of priesthood
o Rights and duties
o Call to mission
o Ecumenical aspect
 Sacrament Summary
o An efficacious sign
 The waters of baptism cleanse us or original sin.
o Instituted by Christ
 Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
o Entrusted to the Church
 Christ commissioned his Apostles to baptize all people.
o To give us grace

Baptism is the gateway of

Eucharist
 What is the Sacrament?
o The celebration of the holy eucharist represents in the mass the sacrificial Death of
Christ and his Resurrection making it possible for us to eat his body and drink his blood.
o Source and summit of the Christan Life
 Scriptural Basis
o Pre-figurement in the Old Covenant
 Old Testament: Passover foreshadows the Eucharist and Jesus institutes the
Eucharist at a Passover celebration.
o Bread of Life Discourse
 Passover foreshadow Eucharist.
o Sacrament in the Early Church
 Shared Meal?
 Theology of the Sacrament
o Symbols of the Eucharist
 Bread, Wine, Lamb, Altar
o Institution
 Last Supper celebrated- Passover meal.
 We use the same words that Jesus used.
o “In Memory”
 Jesus said to have this meal in memory of him.
 Sacrificial memory
o Thanksgiving and Praise
 We offer praise and thanksgiving to God through the sacrifice of the mass.
 Eucharist=thanksgiving
 We praise God the father though the Son.
o Sacrificial Memorial
 Anamnesis=memorial
 Efficacious memorial: the sacrifice Christ offered once and for all on the cross
remains ever present.
o Ecclesia de Eucharista
 An encyclical by JP II on the Eucharist
 Christ’s Real Presence
o Metaphysics and Aristotle
 Metaphysics: a branch on philosophy that addresses the abstract principles of
physical nature
 Substance: The Whatness of a thing
 Accidents: the observable nature of a thing (the senses)

o Transubstantiation
 Changing the substance of bread and wine
 The accidents of bread and wine remain by the substance is now the body, soul,
blood, and divinity of Jeus Christ.
o Worship of the Eucharist
  Effects of the Eucharist
o Union with Jesus and the Church
 With Christ- literally united to him in the body and soul
 With Church- creates unity in the body of Christ
o Separates us from sin.
 Cleanses us from Venial sins.
 Preserves us from moral/serious sin.
 Commits us to the poor.
 Implications of Eucharist
o Ecumenical- bringing unity in the church.
o Love of God, neighbor, and poor
o Nourishing Christs life within us
 Preserves, increases, and renews graces of Baptism so we can grow in our
Christian life.
 Strengthens out charity.
 How is the Sacrament Celebrated
o Parts of the Mass
o Roles of Priests and Deacons
o Roles of Faith Community
o Essential Rite
o Matter:
o Form:
o Minister:
o Who can receive?
o Other Receptions
o Role of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion
 Appropriating and Living this Sacrament
 Sacrament Summary
o An efficacious sign
o Instituted by Christ
o Entrusted to the Church
o To give us grace

Mass in the Early Church

1345 As early as the second century we have the witness of St. Justin Martyr for the basic lines of the
order of the Eucharistic celebration. They have stayed the same until our own day for all the great
liturgical families. St. Justin wrote to the pagan emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161) around the year 155,
explaining what Christians did:
On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same
place.
The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits.
When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges
them to imitate these beautiful things.
Then we all rise together and offer prayers* for ourselves . . .and for all others, wherever they
may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the
commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.
When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.
Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over
the brethren.
He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian)
that we have been judged worthy of these gifts.
When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by
saying: 'Amen.'
When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call
deacons give to those present the "eucharisted" bread, wine and water and take them to those who
are absent.
Vocab Word Definition
Sacrament An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and
entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is
dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit
Grace The free and underserved gift that God gives us to
respond to our vocation to become his adopted
children.
Efficacious Effective, the visible rites by which the sacraments
are celebrated are celebrated signify and make
present the graces proper to each sacrament; “it does
what is says its going to do”
Matter What is required to be present
(the what)
Form What is said and done in the sacrament (the how)
Water Signifies the holy Spriit’s action in Baptism, since
after the invocation of the Holy Spirit it becomes the
efficacious sign of the new birth.
Fire Signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the
Holy Spirit; symbolizes the transforming energy of
the Holy Spirit’s actions.
Oil Symbolizes anointing and the Holy Spirit, to the
point of becoming a synonym for the Holy Spirit.
Baptism The first of the seven sacraments and the door which
gives access to the other sacraments
Eucharist The ritual sacramental action of thanksgiving to God
which constitutes the principal Christian liturgical
celebration of communion in the paschal mystery of
Christ
Confirmation One of the ensembles of the sacraments of Initiation
into the Church, together with Baptism and Eucharist
RCIA A catechumenate goes though a period of time with a
series of preparatory rites, which were liturgical
landmarks along the path.
Baptismal Promises Promises/vows the reject sin and Satan and profess
faith in the Triune God made at Baptism either by the
adult being baptized or by the Parents and
Godparents on behalf or the child
Pentecost The 15th day at the end of the seven weeks following
Passover. It marks the beginning of the new age of
the church when Christ lives and acts in and with his
church
Real Presence The unique true presence of Christ in the Eucharist
under the species or appearances of Bread and Wine
Transubstantiation The scholastic term used to designate the unique
change of the Eucharist bread and wine in the body
and blood of Christ.