1. The Church is Sacrament
UNIT FIVE
The Church is Sacrament

2. 5.1 A Sign and Source of God’s Grace

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. What happens in Liturgy
We confess our sins and ask for 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

16. 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

17. 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

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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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 and wife, also the living symbol of the bond between Christ and the Church

26. 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

27. 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.

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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