MONTHLY CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERIES FOR ADULTS

MONTHLY CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERIES FOR ADULTS Parish of the Holy Eucharist The Treasures of our Faith January 7, 2016 MONTHLY CATHOLIC EDUCATION SERIES FOR ADULTS 2015-2016 SERIES Parish of the Holy Eucharist Schedule November 5, Triune God and the Creed December 3 Praying my Faith January 7 Treasures in the Catholic Storehouse February 4 Living my Faith, Morality March 3 Mass: an Encounter with Jesus 1

4 Pillars of the Faith Doctrine Morality Worship Prayer Worship The first commandment: I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me. It is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve Matthew 4:10. God s first call and just demand is that man accept him and worship him CCC 2084. There is a call to worship God as the creator. We, as creatures, created by God and held into existence by God, have a duty and a privilege to worship God. 2

You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matthew 4:10 The first commandment requires us to nourish and protect our faith and to reject everything that is opposed to it. There are various ways of sinning against faith: Voluntary doubt - disregards or refuses to hold as true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief. Incredulity - the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matthew 4:10 Hope is the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God; it is also the fear of offending God's love and of incurring punishment. There are various ways of sinning against hope: Despair when the person ceases to hope for his personal salvation from God, for help in attaining it or for the forgiveness of his sins. Presumption. 1. When the person presumes upon his own capacities, (hoping to be able to save himself without help from on high) 2. When a person presumes upon God's almighty power or his mercy (hoping to obtain his forgiveness without conversion and glory without merit). 3

You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. Matthew 4:10 Charity is the call to love God above everything and all creatures for him and because of him. One can sin against God's love in various ways: 1. indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power. 2. ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for love. 3. lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity. 4. acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness. 5. hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments. and him only shall you serve Serve the Lord - Adoration - Prayer - Sacrifice 4

You shall have no other gods before me. Sins against this commandment - Superstition, perverse excess of religion - Irreligion, vice that is a defect to the good of religion Superstition Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition (CCC 2111). 5

Idolatry Condemns polytheism. We do not believe in or venerate other divinities other than the one true God. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, You cannot serve God and mammon. Divination and magic God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. 6

All forms of divination are to be rejected: 1) recourse to Satan or demons, 2) conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to unveil the future, 3) consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, 4) interpretation of omens and lots, 5) the phenomena of clairvoyance (ESP) Recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone - CCC 2116. Irreligion 1. Tempting God 2. Sacrilege 3. Simony 7

Tempting God Tempting God consists in putting his goodness and almighty power to the test by word or deed. Thus Satan tried to induce Jesus to throw himself down from the Temple and, by this gesture, force God to act. Jesus opposed Satan with the word of God: You shall not put the LORD your God to the test. The challenge contained in such tempting of God wounds the respect and trust we owe our Creator and Lord. It always harbors doubt about his love, his providence, and his power (CCC 2119) Sacrilege Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us (CCC 2120). 8

Simony Simony is defined as the buying or selling of spiritual things. To Simon the magician, who wanted to buy the spiritual power he saw at work in the apostles, St. Peter responded: Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God s gift with money! One can receive them only from him, without payment. The minister should ask nothing for the administration of the sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always being careful that the needy are not deprived of the help of the sacraments because of their poverty. The competent authority determines these offerings in accordance with the principle that the Christian people ought to contribute to the support of the Church s ministers. The laborer deserves his food. THE GREAT TREASURES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH 9

The Greatest? The Greatest. 10

What is a Sacrament? What is a Sacrament? Sacraments are signs and symbols that effect what they symbolize. They are exterior signs of an interior grace 11

How many Sacraments are there? How many Sacraments are there? 3 Sacraments of Initiation Baptism Confirmation Eucharist 2 Sacraments of Service or Vocation Marriage Holy Orders 2 Sacraments of Healing Penance Anointing of the Sick 12

Sign Points to One meaning Sign Points to One meaning Symbol Points to Many Meanings 13

Sign Points to One meaning Symbol Points to Many Meanings Sacrament Not only Points to Many Meanings, it effects what it symbolizes Why Sacraments? Why a Sacramental Church? 14

Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social being, man needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with God CCC 1146. God speaks to man through the visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man s intelligence that he can read there traces of its Creator. Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness CCC 1148. 15

Inasmuch as they are creatures, these perceptible realities can become means of expressing the action of God who sanctifies men, and the action of men who offer worship to God. The same is true of signs and symbols taken from the social life of man: washing and anointing, breaking bread and sharing the cup can express the sanctifying presence of God and man s gratitude toward his Creator (CCC148). How do Sacraments Work? 16

Words and Actions both communicate A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God s children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit; this meeting takes the form of a dialogue, through actions and words. Admittedly, the symbolic actions are already a language (CCC1153). Words themselves are symbols. DOG 3 Singing and Music The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art CCC1156. 17

What are Sacramentals? Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of 1) Certain ministries of the Church, 2) Certain states of life, 3) A great variety of circumstances in Christian life, 4) and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include 1) a prayer, 2) often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism). 18

Holy Images The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new economy of images. All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the cloud of witnesses who continue to participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations (CCC1159, 1161). Sacraments vs. Sacramentals Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church s prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. 19

Among sacramentals, blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father with every spiritual blessing. This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ. Popular Piety Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church s sacramental life, such as 1) the veneration of relics, 2) visits to sanctuaries, 3) pilgrimages, 4) processions, 5) the stations of the cross, 6) religious dances, 7) the rosary, 8) medals 20

The place of Sacramentals in the life of the Catholic These expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it. They should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some way derived from it and lead the people to it, since in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them. Jubilee Year In the Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every twenty-fifth year, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. In Christianity, the tradition dates to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII convoked a holy year, ordinary jubilees have generally been celebrated every 25 or 50 years; extraordinary jubilees in addition depending on need. Christian Jubilees, particularly in the Catholic tradition, involve pilgrimage to a sacred site, normally the city of Rome. The Catholic Church has declared the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy for 2015 2016. Ordinary Jubilees 1300 Boniface VIII 1350 Clement VI 1390 Urban VI 1400 Boniface IX 1423 Martin V 1450 Nicholas V 1475 Sixtus IV 1500 Alexander VI 1525 Clement VII 1550 Julius III 1575 Gregory XIII 1600 Clement VIII 1625 Urban VIII 1650 Innocent X 1675 Clement X 1700 Innocent XII - Clement XIV 1725 Benedict XIII 1750 Benedict XIV 1775 Clement XIV - Pius VI 1825 Leo XII 1875 Pius IX 1900 Leo XIII 1925 Pius XI 1950 Pius XII 1975 Paul VI 2000 John Paul II Because of political events, the Jubilees of 1800 (Pius VI and Pius VII) and 1850 (Pius IX) were not celebrated; the 1875 Jubilee was held without ceremony. Extraordinary Jubilees The first one was declared by Leo X in 1518, to help Poland in its war against the Turks. The number of these is uncertain: the 1,900th and 1,950 anniversaries of the Redemption in 1933 (Pius XI) and 1983 (John Paul II) are well known. 21

Holy Doors The Announcement of a Jubilee usually includes the opening of the Holy Doors. Doors always have had a special meaning for the Catholic Church, The door of a church marks the divide between the sacred and profane, separating the church's interior from the outside world. The door also is a symbol of Mary the mother, the dwelling of the Lord and she, too, always has open arms and is ready to welcome the children of God home. But the door especially represents Christ Himself the one and only way to eternal life. As Jesus said, according to the Gospel of John (10:9), "I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture." The Holy Year traditionally begins with the opening of the Holy Door to represent a renewed opportunity to encounter or grow closer to Jesus, who calls everyone to redemption. Jesus knocks on everyone's door; he yearns to accompany and nourish everyone. "If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me," Holy Doors The Announcement of a Jubilee usually includes the opening of the Holy Doors. Passing through a Holy Door is part of a longer process of sacrifice and conversion required for receiving an indulgence granted during a Holy Year. A plenary indulgence, The remission of temporal punishment due to sin, is offered for pilgrims who also fulfill certain other conditions: 1. reception of the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist, 2. visits and prayers for the intention of the pope 3. performing simple acts, such as visiting the sick. This spiritual process of encounter and conversion is made tangible in the elaborate rituals developed over time for the opening of the Holy Door. 22

To receive a plenary indulgence To receive a plenary indulgence It is necessary that the faithful be in the state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed. A plenary indulgence can be gained only once a day. In order to obtain it, the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace: have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin; have sacramentally confessed their sins; receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required); and pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Holy Doors in the Diocese Cathedral in Portland Sts. Peter and Paul in Lewiston St. John s in Bangor St. Luce in Frenchville It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope's intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20). Holy Doors in the Diocese Cathedral in Portland Sts. Peter and Paul in Lewiston St. John s in Bangor St. Luce in Frenchville 23