We Remember

"War is all hell."

--William Tecumseh Sherman

See also Mansions of the Lord, at Cinema Catechism
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On Resistance to Evil

This weekend, we remember and honor those who have given their lives to defend and protect us from threats to our lives and liberties.

In that light, over at Cinema Catechism, there is an interesting discussion about Sophie Scholl, the anti-Nazi White Rose German resistance group, and us -- What does one do, what should one do, what can one do, when faced with evil?
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The Theology of the Body is a Theology of the Fullness of Love

While Blessed John Paul II, in his addresses on the Theology of the Body, spoke often of human sexuality, it is not so limited as to be a theology of sexuality. Rather, as Pope Benedict explains, it is more properly understood as a Theology of Love, which applies not only to sexuality, but the whole of understanding of who we are as human persons, beings made to love and be loved in fruitful communion in a multitude of relations, and especially with God.

Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
On the Occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family
May 13, 2011

. . . The new Blessed, John Paul II, who as we recall was the object of an assassination attempt 30 years ago today, entrusted to you for study, research and dissemination his "Catecheses on Human Love," with his profound reflections on the human body.

Conjugating the theology of the body with the theology of love to find the unity of man’s journey: This is the theme that I would like to indicate as the horizon of your work.

Shortly after the death of Michelangelo, Paolo Veronese was called before the Inquisition, accused of having painted inappropriate figures in depicting the Last Supper. The painter replied that there were nude bodies with little reverence even in the Sistine Chapel. The Inquisitor who came to the defense of Michelangelo made the famous reply: "Don't you know that there is nothing but spirit in those figures?"

As modern men, we find it difficult to understand these words because the body appears to us as inert matter, almost dead weight, compared to knowledge and freedom which pertain to the spirit.

But the bodies painted by Michelangelo are inhabited by light, life, splendor. He wished to show in this way that our bodies conceal a mystery: that the spirit manifests itself and works in the body. And that physical bodies are called to become spiritual bodies, as St. Paul says (1 Cor. 15:44).

We can therefore ask ourselves: Can this destiny of the body illuminate the stages of its own journey? If our body is called on to be spiritual, should its story not be that of an alliance between body and soul?

In fact, far from being opposed to the spirit, the body is the place where the spirit may dwell. In light of this, it is possible to understand that our bodies are not just inert, heavy matter, but that they speak, if we know how to listen, the language of true love.

The first word of this language is found in the creation of man. The body speaks to us of an origin that we did not confer on ourselves. "You knit me together in the womb of my mother," says the Psalmist to the Lord (Ps 139:13).

We can affirm that the body, in revealing the Origin to us, bears in itself a filial meaning because it reminds us of our generation, which is derived through our parents, who transmitted life to us, from God the Creator. Only when he acknowledges this Original Love that gave him life is man able to accept himself - only then can he reconcile himself with nature and with the world.

The creation of Adam was followed by that of Eve. Flesh, received from God, makes possible the union of love between man and woman, and thus, to transmit life. The bodies of Adam and Eve, before the Fall, appeared to be in perfect harmony. Their bodies had a language they did not create, an eros rooted in their nature which invited them to receive each other mutually, from the Creator, so that they could give reciprocally.

We understand then how, in love, man is "re-created." Incipit vita nuova (a new life begins), Dante wrote (Vita Nuova I,1), the life of the new union of two in one flesh.

The true fascination of sexuality is born from the grandeur of this horizon which opens: that of integral beauty, the universe of the other person and the "we" which is born from union, the hidden promise of communion, the new fruitfulness, the path which love opens towards God, the source of love. Union in one flesh thus becomes union with life so that man and woman also become one spirit. In this way, a path is opened in which the body teaches us the value of time, of the slow maturation in love.

In this light, the virtue of chastity receives a new meaning. It is not a "no" to the pleasures and joy of life, but the great "yes" to love as the profound communication between persons, which requires time and respect, as a journey together towards fullness, and as love which becomes capable of generating life and generously welcoming the new life which is born.

Of course, the body also has a negative language. It speaks to us of oppressing the other, of the desire to possess and to exploit. Nonetheless, we know that this language does not belong to God's original plan, but is a fruit of sin.

When the body is detached from its filial meaning, from its connection to the Creator, the body rebels against man, it loses its capacity for communion and becomes the ground for appropriating the other. Is this not perhaps the tragedy of sexuality today, which remains enclosed in the narrow confines of the body and the emotions, but which really can only fulfill itself in a call to something greater?

In this regard, John Paul II spoke of the humility of the body. A character in Paul Claudel’s play “The Satin Slipper” says to his lover: "I am incapable of fulfilling the promise that my body has made to you." And the response was, "The body is broken, but not the promise." (Day 3, Scene 13).

The power of this promise explains how the Fall is not the last word on the body in salvation history. God also offers man a way of redemption through the body, whose language is preserved in the family. If, after the Fall, Eve received the name "Mother of the living," this testifies that the power of sin has not succeeded in cancelling the original language of the body - the blessing of life that God continues to offer when man and woman unite to be one flesh.

The family - that is the place where the theology of the body and the theology of love intersect. Here one learns the goodness of the body, its witness of an origin in goodness, the experience of love that we receive from our parents. Here is lived the gift of self in one flesh, in the conjugal charity that joins the spouses. Here one experiences the fruitfulness of love, and life is interwoven with that of other generations. It is in the family where man discovers his relationality, not as an autonomous individual who is self-actualized, but as a child, spouse, parent, whose identity is based on being called to love, to receive it from others and give himself in love to others.

This path of creation finds its fullness in the Incarnation, with the coming of Christ. God took on a body - He revealed Himself in a body. Here the upward movement of the body is integrated into a more primordial movement - the humble movement of God who brings Himself down towards the body in order to elevate the human body toward Himself.

As the Son, He has received a filial body in gratitude and obedience to the Father. He then gave His body for us, to thereby generate the new body of the Church. The liturgy of the Ascension sings this story of the flesh, which was sinful in Adam, then assumed and redeemed in Christ. It is flesh that becomes increasingly full of light and the Spirit, full of God. Here appears the profundity of the theology of the body.

This, when read with the whole of Tradition, avoids the risk of superficiality and allows us to grasp the grandeur of the vocation to love, which is a call to communion of persons in two forms of life - virginity or matrimony.

Dear friends, your Institute was placed under the protection of Our Lady. Dante wrote words about Mary that are illuminating for a theology of the body: "In your womb, love is rekindled." (Paradiso XXXIII, 7). In her woman's body, that Love which generates the Church took flesh. May the Mother of the Lord continue to protect your journey and make fruitful your study and teaching in the service of the Church's mission for the family and society.

My Apostolic Blessing goes with you, which I impart with all my heart. Thank you.

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The Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell

Adult Confirmation Class Four

The Last Things - Salvation . . . or Not (CCC 988-1065)

In Love and in Truth, God created us. The meaning of life, the purpose for which we were made and the reason we exist, is to live in and for truth and love. In God, who is Love and Truth, all things are possible. Love and Truth can even defeat death and, so, part of our purpose for being is to live with and in God's love for all time. Thus, we proclaim our faith and hope in "life everlasting."

Our life on this earth is not the "be all and end all," but is a preparation for eternal life with God. The eternal life can even begin now if we definitively choose to respond to God and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. The problem is that many of us do accept God, but not definitively, and we then go on to be unfaithful to Him. But, we must return to Him while there is still time. Indeed, the time for making a definitive choice to accept the grace of salvation is during this life -- it ends upon death, which, as Jesus reminds us, could come at any moment. At the moment of death, each person is subject to a "particular judgment," whereby if you die in mortal sin and unrepentant, having failed or refused to seek and accept God's mercy and forgiveness, then you will have necessarily not chosen eternal life, but eternal death instead.

Hell exists as an actual state of being, although precisely what Hell is like is a mystery. Given that we are bodily creatures who experience things by our senses and understand things in a physical manner, scripture describes Hell in various physical terms, such as physical pain from fire or coldness and darkness. Whatever else Hell may be like, the worst aspect of it is eternal separation from God. And it is not God who sends us to Hell, we necessarily send ourselves there.

Why would anyone choose Hell?

Well, by rejecting God, by saying "I don't want God, I never want God," by dying in mortal sin, which separates us from Him, one necessarily chooses to be separate from God. And since true love is never imposed upon someone, God being Love, He does not impose Himself on anyone against their will. He does not save them against their will. He does not force them to spend eternity with Him against their will. One need not actively hate God or directly reject Him; by choosing to remain in mortal sin, by choosing not to be restored to a state of grace, one necessarily chooses to be apart from God, and that is what Hell really is in its essential aspect, that is what damnation is -- eternal separation from God -- God who is Love and God who is Truth, in Whom is Life itself -- eternal separation from love and truth and life. But God does not cause that separation, God does not cause that damnation out of a petulant fit of pique, He does not use His divine boot to crush, like ants, those that tick Him off. That is not who or what God is.

God is Love, and He remains Love whether you are a saint or a sinner, whether you love Him in return or whether you hate Him. God does not return hate for hate, or anger for rejection. He will always remain faithful to you and offer love in return for your infidelity, but He will not make you take His love. If you are willing to accept His love, including seeking and receiving the sacraments, including the Sacrament of Confession, such that, upon death you are not in a state of mortal sin, God will always extend to you mercy, forgiveness, redemption, and the joyous gift of eternal life with Him in Heaven. The Lord delights not in the death of anyone, He is a God of the living and desires that all be saved and reconciled to Him.

Now, in order to be able to enter the perfection of Heaven, we must ourselves be in perfect grace, or made perfect. If we are not already totally pure when we leave this world, if we are not in a perfect state of grace, we must be purified. If you die in the grace of the Lord, but with the stain of some "venial" sin, if you sincerely seek to conform yourself to God's will, yet die without full healing and repentance from sin, then the fire of the Holy Spirit must purge that imperfection from you. However, purgatory is not a "second chance" to choose to be saved after death. The time for choosing is here and now.

Although we must choose God to be saved, we must be clear that our mere choice is not the cause of salvation. We are not our own saviors (that is the error of the fruit of the Tree), we cannot earn salvation, and we cannot justly demand salvation as a right. Nothing we do, think, or believe, merits forgiveness and salvation. Only Christ is our Savior, and redemption is a completely gratuitous gift. But salvation, like love and forgiveness, is not a unilateral action. It is a transaction. The graces of salvation and forgiveness are something that is offered and given, but to be complete, they must be accepted. We must choose to accept and then actively accept forgiveness and the salvation of being with God eternally. If someone is disposed to reject what is offered, and not make that choice of being with God, then they have necessarily chosen to be apart from God. And He will respect and grant that choice.
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The Holy Church

Adult Confirmation Class Three and Four

To help accomplish His mission of reconciling man to God, to redeem us and sanctify us, our Savior and Lord established the Church as His Holy Bride, two become one, and He gave us the sacraments, which are administered by the Church. Man was created as a social creature, intended to exist in relationship, not in solitude. Thus, Jesus also established the Church so that we might fulfill our purpose of being in communion with each other, as well as Him. To be one with Jesus, who is the one and only savior, means to be one with the one holy Church, which is also the Body of Christ. Accordingly, we see that both Jesus Christ and the Church are absolutely necessary for salvation.

To guide and protect the Church and us, Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit, thereby assuring that He will be with us to the end of time. By His Holy Spirit, Jesus provides us graces, both sanctifying and actual, including the graces of the sacraments. We are not merely. spiritual, but also bodily creatures, who experience things and know things by the senses of our bodies. To help us understand the reality of the provision of certain graces, Jesus instituted the sacraments. A "sacrament" is an outward visible sign of the invisible reality of grace being imparted. A sacrament is also an efficacious sign, that is, a sign that brings about that grace. By the use of certain words and matter upon the body, we are thus able to know and understand that the Holy Spirit of Christ is acting upon us. Without such an outward, tangible sign, we might not fully realize or appreciate that God has done anything or that we have actually received these graces.

Jesus gave the authority to confer the sacraments on the Church. However, it is Christ who acts in the sacraments and communicates through the Holy Spirit the sanctifying grace they signify, not the priest or bishop administering them. Thus, the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the personal holiness, or lack thereof, of the minister. On the other hand, the fruits of the sacraments do depend on the dispositions of the one who receives them.

(1) Sinful man is redeemed and saved from death by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. In Baptism, one is immersed into this death of Christ, so as to rise again with Him. This baptism of the Triune God gives us sanctifying grace, so that the stains of Original Sin and individual sin are wiped away, and we are initiated into the communion of the Church. (Mt. 28: 19) As Abraham was marked with the sign of the covenant, so too is the soul of the baptized person marked with the indelible seal of Christ.

(2) In Confirmation, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ in love and truth. The Holy Spirit descends upon us, completing and bringing an increase and deepening of baptismal grace. Just as when the Spirit descended upon the faithful at Pentecost, we too are given the strength and grace and perseverance to go out and spread the Good News and even endure persecution. (Acts 1:8; 2: 11) If even only as a seed, the Holy Spirit, if you accept Him, will dwell within you and graces will grow within you, and, like the Apostles, disciples, martyrs, and saints, you will be able to do that which is impossible to do on your own. The water and chrism oil of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are sanctified by Jesus and the Cross. The very being of recipient is radically altered as he or she is anointed and joined with the Christ, which means "anointed one."

(3) While Baptism cleanses us of Original Sin, it does not abolish the weakness of our impaired human nature nor our inclination to personal sin. If we examine our conscience and confess our personal sins with a contrite heart and a determination to avoid further sin, through the Sacrament of Penance, by the Crucifixion and Resurrection, we are absolved of our individual sins and reconciled to God. Furthermore, grace is given, if we accept it, to avoid further sin. (Jn. 20:22-23)

(4) While He was present amongst us, Jesus healed many who were sick. After Pentecost, Peter and the other Apostles similarly healed the sick. The Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing, if not physically, then spiritually. Mostly, the Sacrament prepares us for the final journey in order to join God in heaven. (James 5:14-15) This sacrament confers a special grace which unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ. It gives comfort, peace, courage, and even the forgiveness of sins if the sick person is not able to make a sacramental confession.

(5) Man, male and female, is not merely a relational creature, but a spousal creature made in the image of the Triune God, who exists as a loving communion of persons in one being. Similarly, in the Sacrament of Matrimony, a man and woman are two made one in a communion of persons by the power of the Christ's Holy Spirit of Love. (Gn. 1:28, 2:24; Mt. 19:4-6) This communion of persons is not only unitive, but fruitful and procreative, just as the love that is God is unitive, fruitful, and procreative.

(6) Those who do not marry are still, by human nature, called to love. We all exist to love and be loved in truth. We are made complete only by and in love. Thus, if we are not called to marry, we may receive a calling to follow Christ, who is the fullness of Love. By the Sacrament of Holy Orders, instituted by Jesus calling His apostles, the Church is passed on to the generations throughout time. (Mt. 16:18-19; Jn 15:16) The one priesthood of Christ is made present in this ministerial priesthood. The anointing by the Spirit in ordination to this priesthood seals the priest with an indelible, spiritual character that configures him to Christ the priest and enables him to act in the name of Christ the Head. Episcopal ordination of a bishop as a successor of the Apostles confers the fullness of the Sacrament on him, including the offices of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling.

(7) Before ascending to heaven, Jesus said that He would be with us always, to the end of the age. In the most obvious sense, Jesus is with us in the Eucharist. (Lk 22: 19-20; Jn 6:48-58) The Eucharist as the source (beginning) and summit (end) of the Faith, inasmuch as this Blessed Sacrament is the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus, even though under the appearance of bread and wine. In the Eucharist, the substance is transformed, that is to say, the fundamental basis of its being. This genuine transformation is called transubstantiation. As described by Pope Benedict, Christ takes possession of the bread and the wine, and He lifts them up out of the setting of their normal existence into a new order. Even if, from a purely physical point of view, they remain the same, they have become profoundly different.

Through the Eucharist in the one Mass, according to His Word, Jesus is with us, not merely spiritually or theoretically or as a philosophy, but physically, such that we, as bodily creatures who experience things through our senses, can be united with Him bodily as well as spiritually.

In a profoundly intimate way, we take His glorified Body and Blood into our bodies. The encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist is not the encounter of a friend or a mentor or a teacher. It is a parental and spousal encounter. It is because the Eucharist is the Real Presence that such an encounter is the most intimate of intimate touchings. The person literally takes Christ within him- or herself both bodily and spiritually, so as to become one with Him in a mystical fashion, as in marriage, which also involves entering into another bodily and spiritually so as to become one in a communion of persons (unitive) and so as to receive life (procreative).

Only in this way is the totality of our person, body and spirit, able to be one with Him, Body and Spirit, fully and completely. Again, because we are creatures of both spirit and body, to receive Him in the entirety of our person, it is essential that we also experience the Body and Blood of Christ, which can be received only at Mass, in addition to His Spirit, which can be experienced at home. In this way, the Eucharist can truly be called Holy Communion.

The consecration of the bread and wine at Mass to become the Blessed Sacrament is not a re-sacrificing of Jesus. There is only One Mass, and there is only One Sacrifice, which is re-presented, that is, presented again. Remember, God transcends time and space, so that, not only does He extend across our concept of linear time, but for Him, specific points in time continue to exist forever. Thus, the Passion and Crucifixion were not isolated events in some distant past. Rather, His sacrifice is an on-going event. He is not crucified again and again, but is one sacrifice. He is perpetually being scourged, eternally on the Cross. In the Mass, in some mystical but true way, we transcend space and time and are made present at the Last Supper, we are made present at the foot of the Cross. And because we partake of His glorified Resurrected Body and Blood, so too are we made present at the Resurrection, and made One with He who rose to eternal life.

In establishing His Church, Jesus called certain men as apostles, from the Greek word for "emissary." To the Apostle Peter, who was the first Pope, Jesus gave a special supreme authority. The original Apostles later appointed successors, whom we know today as bishops, and assistants, such as priests, who have the authority and power of administering the sacraments in persona Christi. Each bishop is the spiritual shepherd for a specific area, which is called a diocese, and he in turn delegates certain authority to pastors over a smaller area, which is called a parish.

The Church was established not only to confer the sacraments, but to teach and proclaim the Faith to the faithful and the entire world. For example, at Mass, we also celebrate the Liturgy of the Word, and thereafter receive, in the homily, a teaching on the readings. Jesus not only calls certain men to be priests and bishops, who sustain and hand on the Faith, He also calls some to be religious sisters, who dedicate themselves to the Lord like Mary and Martha. And while bishops and priests have a special authority to preach, lay catechists are given authority to teach, and all the faithful are called to be a light of Jesus to the world.

Jesus told his apostles and disciples to spread the Good News and convert all nations, and He sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to guide and protect this apostolic Church always, so that not even the gates of Hell would prevail against Her -- One Holy Church that exists universally, that is, "catholic" -- not only in history, but eternally and transcendent, not only horizontally, across nations, but vertically, a communion of the faithful in this world with the faithful in purgatory, and God and interceding saints in heaven above.

The Church, as Bride of Christ, who abides with us always, is protected by the Holy Spirit and is necessarily perfect, just as Her Spouse, Jesus, is perfect. And like Jesus, the Church does not hate; She has only love for all, including sinners. Members may and do sin, and in doing so, they may cause scandal, leading others to question the Faith or the Church, or to fall away from the Church. As members of the Body of Christ, we must be very careful in our words and actions, so that we do not reflect poorly on the Church and cause scandal.

The Church is Mother and Teacher (CCC 85-87; 2030-2051)

The Church is also Mater et Magister (Mother and Teacher), where the successors of Peter (the pope) and the apostles (bishops) are guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Faith is protected from error. That is, Jesus conveyed teaching authority upon the Apostles and their successors, commanding them to go and preach the Good News, while promising that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide and protect His Bride, the Church, from error.

The teaching office of the Church is known as the Magisterium. The teachings of the Magisterium, be they on matters of faith or morals, are not the personal opinions of the pope, and they are not the "policy positions" of the Church, although they are often erroneously described as such in the media. Because God is Love and Truth, the pope and the Church are bound in their moral teachings by love and truth. Moreover, because She was founded by Christ, we are not free to change the Church as we wish. Not even the pope is free to change the Church to suit his own tastes. Faith and Truth are not arbitrary, and they are not matters of opinion to be decided by majority vote. The Church is His Church before it is ours. She is the One, Holy, Catholic (universal), and Apostolic Church of Christ, not the "Church of do your own thing."

The Magisterium provides the authoritative interpretation of Divine Revelation, both Holy Scripture and Tradition, and assures the truth of the Faith by use of Revelation and right reason, i.e. truth, as guided and protected by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus calls us to holiness, to live a moral life of love of God and love of one another. Thus, in addition to helping to form our faith, another function of the Magisterium, as guided by the Holy Spirit, is to teach us and assist us in the formation of our consciences, which involves an act of reason, not feeling. That is, moral conscience, present in the heart of the person, is a judgment of reason which at the appropriate moment enjoins him to do good and to avoid evil. Whereas the natural law discloses the objective and universal demands of the moral good, conscience is the application of the law to a particular case. In helping us to properly form our moral consciences, the Church does not really teach anything new, anything that was not previously revealed by God or is not already written as the natural law on men's hearts and therefore discoverable and knowable by reason. Under the natural law, the concepts of truth, justice, good and evil, and values of right and wrong are deemed fundamental, absolute, and transcendent. As a component of transcendent truth, morality is objective, not subjective, relative, or situational.

However, this call to holiness is a voluntary one. The Lord does not force it or the grace of the Holy Spirit upon us. We have the free choice of the will to decline His offer to provide a light to guide us on our way. But if we insist on doing things our own way, insisting that we can choose our own truth instead of that which is lovingly given to us by the Holy Spirit through the Church, we will find it much more difficult to find our way through life in the darkness. And if we resist the Light too long, if we do not turn back to Love and Truth before it is too late, we will find ourselves in the darkness forever.

Next - The Last Things
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The Call to Universal Holiness

Adult Confirmation Class Four

The Holy Spirit and Sanctification of Man (CCC 1691-2051)

Jesus calls us to universal holiness, to be perfect in love and truth, just as His Father in heaven is perfect. For this reason, so that we might not only be saved, but that we might become more like God ourselves, Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation.

The teachings of Christ and His Church to be holy and perfect are very simply this - we are called to love and be loved in truth. (1) Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and (2) Love one another, as Jesus loves us, so we should love one another. Those are the teachings of Christ and His Church in a nutshell. This is our general vocation.

So what does that mean in practical terms?

(1) Love the Lord thy God. God is Truth, God is Transcendent, God is Reason (Logos), and God is Love, and we ourselves are not gods. So we should be humble; admit and know that there are things greater than ourselves. We should follow Truth; take love into our heart; take Christ and the Holy Spirit into our very being, spiritually and bodily, through the sacraments.

We should remain in communication with God, pray to Him in thanks for what we have and ask Him for what we need. We can do some of this ourselves, but it is on ly by prayer and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit that we humans can do the impossible and be perfect like God.

We must pray to God, especially in the liturgical prayer that is the Holy Mass, wherein we participate in the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and receive Him through the Eucharist.

God does not force Himself on us; He does not save us against our will or without our consent. Thus, when we do wrong, we should be contrite and formally ask his forgiveness, generally and in the Sacrament of Confession. The only unforgiveable sin is the refusal to ask for or accept forgiveness, and thereby "blaspheme" the Holy Spirit. God will not force forgiveness on us and, thus, it is not He who sends us to Hell, which is separation from God; rather, we choose it by our own will.

(2) Love one another. We should love - truly love as God loves, for His is the most perfect and complete kind of love. The Latin word for the kind of love that God is is caritas, from which we get the word "charity." Such a love is more than an emotional feeling, more than an attraction or desire for personal happiness. Such true and total love is a conscious act of the will to subordinate oneself and unconditionally and selflessly seek the good and welfare of the other, including the gift of self for the other's benefit, whether that love is returned or not and whether or not the other "deserves" to be loved.

The command that we should love "one another" means that we should acknowledge that we are not alone in the world -- there are other people, brothers, sisters, neighbors. Instead of being selfishly focused inward, our love must be selflessly turned outward. And because they too are children of God, we are all equal. If we wish to be forgiven our sins, we must forgive others when they injure us.

In all things, we should do good and avoid evil. To do good and avoid evil is to think and act in a manner which is consistent with truth and love. This is part of the natural law that is written on men's hearts. We should endeavor to live a life of virtue, rather than vice, embracing virtues like the theological virtues of faith, hope, charity, and the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, while rejecting vices and capital sins like undue pride, covetousness, lust, vengeful anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth.

In charitable love, we should affirm and respect the inherent dignity of every human person, no matter how seemingly insignificant, undesirable, or useless, from the very beginning of his or her creation, from the instant of existence. Love seeks the good of the other, including the good which is truth, namely, the truth of the other as a "person," and not as a thing to be used for our amusement, a subject and not an object, an end in his or herself, and not merely a means to be exploited by us or used up and then tossed aside or thrown away as if they are trash. We all have intrinsic meaning, everyone of us.

Charity means that we should give of ourselves to others, not take from them, help others, not hinder them. We should be willing to show compassion toward others, that is, to suffer with them, and not abandon them. We should also be merciful, that is, have compassion for, and, if possible, alleviate another's misfortune or misery (the Latin word miserere means "have mercy"), including the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. For example, we should feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, bury the dead, counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear wrongs patiently, and pray for the living and the dead.

These are not harsh prohibitions or restrictions on our freedoms, but instead are truths that lead us to authentic freedom. Freedom necessarily is dependent and contingent upon truth. Thus, it is necessarily limited by truth, including moral truth. That is, authentic freedom is the ability to do what is right, and not the ability to do as one pleases. This is because one ought to do good, and what is good and right is that which is consistent with truth. And to do that which is inconsistent with truth is not freedom, but is instead being confined and controlled by error. Error causes disorder and leads to more error. The consequence of sin is that, by embracing a false and counterfeit "freedom," we necessarily become a slave to error, even if we erroneously continue to insist that we are still free.

These truths are already written on our hearts, but because our ability to reason and discover these truths ourselves has been corrupted by sin and the temptations of the world, in order to help, the Holy Spirit guides the Church in teaching us and explaining these truths. And to help individuals overcome that temptation to sin and to attain sanctification, the Holy Spirit provide us grace - if we seek it and accept it. At times, it may be very difficult to love or forgive, it may seem to be impossible, but whatever may be lacking in our own will or power, God will give by grace to those who ask. These graces or powers of the Holy Spirit include wisdom, counsel, understanding, knowledge, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord, charity, generosity, kindness, gentleness, patience, goodness, faithfulness, chastity, modesty, self-control, joy, and peace.

Now, a gift -- any gift -- is not completed and is totally useless unless it is accepted by the recipient. If a gift is returned to sender, or is simply put in a closet, unopened, it is as if it was never received. Thus, it is necessary that you accept the gifts that are the graces of God.

Grace presupposes nature, it does not replace it. God does not simply wipe out our humanity in offering us his grace. He does not impose Himself upon us against our will and treat us as puppets. Rather, grace builds on and works within our nature to heal it, to perfect, elevate, and transform it. We must pray to God and say "yes" to Him, as Mary said "yes" to Him. We must allow the Holy Spirit and gift of grace to come into our hearts, and not simply set that grace aside and ignore it. And we must allow the fruits of that grace to grow within us. If we do, we will be not only redeemed, but sanctified.

If we resist and ignore those graces, if we shut ourselves off from the Truth and Love which are the Holy Spirit, then life becomes much harder and unsatisfactory. If we turn away from the Light, it is much more difficult to find our way through life in the darkness. And if we resist too long, we will find ourselves in the darkness forever.

Next - The Holy Church
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Preparation for Adult Confirmation 2011: Class Four

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)
Preparation for Adult Confirmation

Class Outline for May 14, 2011

IV. The Holy Spirit and the Universal Call to Holiness
– our Heavenly Father and Jesus both call us to holiness, to be perfect, but God does not tell us to do something and then not give us the power to do it

A. The Holy Spirit – the Lord, the Giver of Life

1. Who and What is the Holy Spirit?

(a) The Third Person of the Trinity

• Spirit of Love and Truth in Person who proceeds from and between the Father and the Son
• called “Holy” because He consecrates and sanctifies
• the Holy Spirit first gives us life, then through His grace, even though He is the last of the persons of the Trinity to be revealed, He is the first to awaken faith in us and to communicate to us the new life with and in God
• He is the Spirit of the New Covenant who, as promised by the Father, is poured out on mankind – the New Covenant is (i) a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; (ii) a law of grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of faith and the sacraments; and (iii) a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity
• He is the Spirit of Truth, the Paraclete promised by Jesus to guide and protect His Church
• the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father in the name of the Son, and by the Son from the Father
• although the Holy Spirit was not poured out on mankind until Pentecost, He has been at work from the beginning, including speaking through the Prophets

(b) Titles of the Holy Spirit

• Lord, the Giver of Life
• Sanctifier
• Spirit of Truth, Spirit of Love
• Paraclete, a Greek word which means advocate, counselor, comforter

2. Symbols and Manifestations of the Holy Spirit or His presence

• water, which cleanses and both destroys and maintains life – water is sprinkled in Ezekiel and Psalms to purify God’s people; the water of Baptism, recalling the Flood and Red Sea, making us dead to sin and reborn to new life; and the living water that springs from the side of the Crucified Jesus
• fire, which transforms, purges, and purifies – the burning bush; fire on Mt. Sinai; column of fire at the exodus from Egypt; tongues as of fire descending at Pentecost
• dove – at the end of the Flood, a dove is released by Noah; at His Baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, thereby anointing Him and consecrating Him in His humanity
• breath and wind – the word "Spirit" is from the Hebrew word ruah and the Latin word pneuma, which means breath, air, wind – at Creation, a mighty wind swept over the waters; God gave man life by breathing into him; Jesus breathed on the Apostles; at Pentecost, there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind
• cloud – reveals the presence of God in the Old Testament; a cloud overshadows the mountain of the Transfiguration; Jesus ascends to heaven on a cloud
• hands and fingers – the law is written on tablets of stone and human hearts by the finger of God; Jesus heals by laying on of hands; the Apostles and their successors confer the Sacraments by imposition of hands; the priest at Mass holds his hands over the bread and wine
• chrism (anointing oil) – a symbol of consecration, dedication to God, and sanctification

3. The Actions and Mission of the Holy Spirit

• the Spirit gives life and grace, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are permanent supernatural qualities that are given so that the faithful might bear the fruit of the Spirit
• as the Spirit of Love, He restores to the baptized the divine likeness that was lost through sin and gives them a rebirth into the Church – “Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children, given confidence to call God ‘Father’ and to share in Christ's grace, called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.” – St. Basil, De Spiritu Sanctu
• the Spirit acts to convince the world concerning sin
• the Spirit builds, animates, and sanctifies the Church – He inspired the human writers of the scriptures; He inspired the oral teachings (Tradition) of the Church; He guides and protects the Church from doctrinal error throughout history; He is the principal agent of the Church’s mission of evangelization
• the Spirit is communicated by Christ through the Sacraments
• the Holy Spirit is the agent of the Confirmation duty of the faithful to be a witness for Christ and to serve the Church in her mission

4. The Holy Spirit and Grace

• Jesus says to be holy and perfect, to be true to our being man and woman made in the image and likeness of God, as He originally intended, and so that we imperfect humans might be able to be perfect, He gives us the grace of the Holy Spirit
• justification by the grace of the Holy Spirit is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior person
• grace is the Spirit poured into our hearts – it is a form of divine favor, assistance, help, or power so that we are able to be or do or attain something
• all grace is completely gratuitous, a gift that is not earned by us or demanded as of right, but given to us by God as a matter of love and truth
• the types of graces include (i) sanctifying (or habitual) grace, which purifies and perfects the state of the soul and provides a stable and supernatural disposition to live in holiness and attain salvation; (ii) sacramental graces, the various gifts that are proper to the different sacraments; (iii) special graces, also called charisms; and (iv) actual grace, the transient everyday forms of help to act in a given situation
• the quintessential models of grace and righteousness are the Blessed Virgin Mary, full of grace, and Joseph

5. The Holy Spirit at the Annunciation and Pentecost

• fifty days after the Resurrection, at Pentecost, the glorified Jesus Christ poured out the Spirit in abundance and, on that day, the Holy Trinity is fully revealed
• the Church was born at Pentecost by virtue of her anointing by the Holy Spirit, and the mission of Jesus and of the Spirit became the mission of the Church
• what took place in Mary’s womb when the Holy Spirit came upon her at the Annunciation happens again at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descends upon the people and the Body of Christ comes into the world
• by His coming, which never ceases, the Holy Spirit causes the world to enter into the “last days,” the time of the Church, the Kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated

6. The Unforgiveable Sin – Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

• “I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” – Mt. 12:31-32
• God loves us and seeks our love in return, but love, by its very nature, is something that must be freely given and freely received
• God does not force His love or forgiveness on us, He does not save us against our will or without our consent – “He who made you without your participation does not justify you without your participation. He has made you without your knowledge; He justifies you if you will it.” – St. Augustine
• the gifts of God’s forgiveness and salvation, like any gift, must be actually accepted, if we refused to accept a gift, it is necessarily not received
• the refusal or failure to ask for or accept forgiveness for sin – whether out of obstinance, an erroneous belief that God lacks the power to forgive, or from a claim that one has a “right” to persist in sin – is to “blaspheme” the Holy Spirit, and such rejection of God and His forgiveness is, by its very nature, an unforgiveable sin
• if one refuses to be forgiven, he cannot be forgiven; if one fails to accept the salvation offered to him, he cannot be saved – “The inner rejection of the Holy Spirit is the rejection of the very source of life and holiness.” – Pope John Paul II
• God does not send anyone to Hell, which is eternal separation from God; rather, we choose it by our own will by not seeking or accepting His merciful love and forgiveness
• by dying in a state of mortal sin, which separates us from God, one necessarily chooses to be separate from God – to be with Him eternally in Heaven, we must affirmatively choose to return to Him and be restored to a state of grace

B. The Sacrament of Confirmation – the Outpouring of the Spirit as at Pentecost

1. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” - Acts 1:8

• The Sacrament of Confirmation is probably the least understood sacrament other than Anointing of the Sick, in part because of its breadth, such that its description is not easily reduced to a single phrase, as are the others, but this statement of Jesus from Acts comes as close to summing up Confirmation as we might find in scripture
• In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as was promised by God the Father in the Old Testament (Jer. 31:31-34; Joel 3:1-5; Ez 36:25-28) and by Jesus in the Gospels (John 14:15-26, 15:26-27, 16:13-14), and as happened to the faithful at Pentecost (Acts 1:8-9, 2:1-33)
• In the Sacrament, by the visible outward sign of the laying on of hands, anointing, and the words, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” the recipient (confirmand) receives the invisible reality of the grace of the Holy Spirit in order to be sanctified and made perfect in love and truth, as our Father in heaven is perfect, including being a better servant and witness for the Son, and joining in the redemptive mission of Christ and His Church
• Confirmation completes what began at Baptism – making us complete Christians – uniting us more firmly to Christ and binding us more perfectly to the Church
• By Confirmation, instead of being merely passive members of the Church, we are called to actively participate in the redemptive mission of the Church to be a witness for Jesus. Instead of being merely concerned with our own personal welfare and salvation, we are concerned with the welfare and salvation of others, helping Jesus in the work of salvation

2. The Who of Confirmation

• the Holy Spirit – the Sanctifier and Paraclete promised to us by Jesus
• the bishop or priest acting in persona Christi
• the confirmand and sponsor
• the communion of the entire faithful of the Church

3. The Where of Confirmation

• in and by the Holy Catholic Church
• preferably in the Mass, although those in danger of death may be confirmed outside of the Mass

4. The When of Confirmation

• after Baptism, while the confirmand is still in a state of grace
• in the Western Latin Church, Confirmation is conferred after the age of discretion and after a period of catechetical preparation (children in danger of death should be confirmed even if not yet at the age of discretion)
• although Confirmation is received only once, it is not a one-time Sacrament, but is instead an everyday Sacrament – the graces received in Confirmation can and should be used in our everyday lives

5. The How of Confirmation – “the Holy Spirit has come upon you”

• the minister first extends his hands over the whole group of confirmands (imposition of hands) while invoking the outpouring of the Spirit with prayer
• the minister anoints the forehead of the confirmand with sacred chrism oil saying, “be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit,” while the sponsor lays his or her right hand on the right shoulder of the confirmand
• the rite is concluded with a sign of peace signifying ecclesial communion with the bishop and all the faithful
• a gift – any gift – is not completed and is totally useless unless it is accepted by the recipient and then actually used, so that for us to fully benefit from Confirmation, we must allow the Holy Spirit and gift of grace to come into our hearts and grow within us, and then utilize those graces in our everyday lives

6. The What of Confirmation – “you will receive power”

• In Confirmation, we receive power, that is, certain graces from the Holy Spirit, to help us participate in the mission of the Church to be a witness for Jesus. The recipient of Confirmation is given whatever power (grace) is needed in order to be an effective witness to others on behalf of Christ – the right tool for the job at hand.

(a) Sacramental Graces

• alters our very being in a fundamental way by imprinting on the soul an indelible spiritual seal and character, which marks us as belonging to Christ and perfecting us in the common priesthood of the faithful to profess faith in Christ publicly

(b) Sanctifying Graces

• an increase and deepening of sanctifying graces completing what began in Baptism and uniting the recipient more firmly to Christ
• provides the strength, fortitude, and perseverance that are necessary to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ – we are made “soldiers of Christ” in order to fulfill our duty of witnessing to and defending the Faith and fighting against evil
• the Spirit of Love and Truth dwells within us, even if we do not immediately perceive Him, planting graces in our heart which, if we nourish them, will grow and bear such fruit as to permit us to be perfect and do that which otherwise might be impossible to do on our own

(c) Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit (Is. 11:1-2)

• wisdom, counsel, knowledge, and understanding
• wisdom helps us to evaluate things properly; counsel helps us to solve moral problems and choose rightly; knowledge helps us to know truth and perfect our faith; and understanding gives us insight to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary
• fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord
• fortitude gives us strength and courage to persevere in the faith and do what is right even in the face of hardship; piety inspires us with a tender and filial confidence in God; and fear of the Lord, far from meaning making us afraid of God, helps us understand His greatness, so as fill us with a reverential awe and concern to avoid being unfaithful to Him
• the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit are specifically intended for the sanctification of the recipient – they are used by Isaiah to describe the Messiah, the Christ, and we too are anointed with them in a special way in Confirmation so as to be made a complete Christian
• these gifts bring the virtues to perfection and help us share in the life and nature of God

(d) The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in turn lead to the Twelve Fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23)

• charity, generosity, kindness, gentleness, and patience
• goodness, faithfulness, chastity, modesty, and self-control
• joy and peace
• the fruits of the Holy Spirit have the character of both qualities and acts, they are the effect of grace, but also give us a greater ability to do virtuous acts

(e) Actual Graces and Virtues

• grace presupposes nature, it does not replace it – grace builds on and works within our nature to heal, perfect, elevate, and transform it
• we should strive to do what we can, but whatever may be lacking in our own will or power, God will give by grace to those who ask – “God does not command what is impossible; but when He commands, He exhorts you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot do” – St. Augustine
• actual grace is granted by God for the performance of specific salutary acts and is present and disappears with the action itself
• the Spirit of Truth and Love in Confirmation helps us to recognize and know the moral truths that God has written on our hearts and thereby properly form our consciences and overcome temptation to sin
• a virtue is an habitual and firm disposition to do the good, and the graces of Confirmation strengthen us in living a virtuous life and thereby be a more perfect witness for Christ, including –
• the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love (charity) (1 Cor. 13:13)
• the cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice

(f) Examples of the Effects of Receiving the Holy Spirit in Confirmation

• after the arrest and Crucifixion of Jesus, the Apostles were afraid to go out in public, but after the Spirit descended upon them at Pentecost, they had the fortitude and perseverance to come out of hiding and immediately go out and loudly proclaim the Good News and even endure persecution and martyrdom
• prior to receiving the Holy Spirit, the Apostles and other disciples often struggled with understanding the teachings of Jesus, but afterward, they began for fully comprehend what He taught them so that they could faithfully preach the Gospel to the world
• by the power of the Spirit, the martyrs of the Church, like Saints Lawrence, Polycarp, Perpetua, and Felicity have been able to joyfully accept and endure the suffering of martyrdom for the sake of Christ
• with God, all things are possible and, with His grace, we can do that which otherwise would be very difficult or impossible for us to do on our own, including the power to –
• endure and withstand hardship, carry those crosses which are far too heavy for humans to carry, and accept suffering so as to transform it by the love and redemptive power of the Cross
• love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us
• forgive those who have committed “unforgiveable” and unspeakable crimes against us
• love our families, neighbors, and strangers as God loves, truly, perfectly, and fully, without conditions or the selfishness that stems from our fallen nature
• choose Christ, rather than the world, when we are pressured to do something which is contrary to the Faith or else suffer some sanction, such as the loss of a job

7. The Why of Confirmation – “you will be my witnesses”

• we receive the anointing and graces of Confirmation in order to fully become a “Christian” and be able to join in the mission of the Church to serve and witness for Christ
• to be a witness for Jesus means to (i) testify to the truth of the faith and (ii) to share the love of Christ with others

(a) Testifying to the Truth


• Testifying to the truth of the faith means, first, learning the deposit of faith and, secondly, spreading that Good News of Jesus Christ to the world – being a light of truth and love in a dark world and making disciples of all nations. (Mt. 28:19)

(b) The Commandments of Love – Summation of the Whole Law and Prophets (Mt. 22:36-40)

• You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind
• Jesus asks us for complete and total love, but He will accept a lesser love if that is all we think we can give, and He will offer us the grace to perfect that lesser love to a complete and total love
• You shall love your neighbor as yourself – as Jesus loves us, so too should we love one another
• love can be “commanded” by God because it has first been given to us by God – the commandment to love is no more than a command to be true to ourselves inasmuch as we are made to love and be loved in truth

(c) What is Love?
(i) Types of Love
• “Fundamentally, ‘love’ is a single reality, but with different dimensions; at different times, one or other dimension may emerge more clearly” – Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas Est, 8
• eros – a joyous, passionate, ascending, intimate kind of love, longing to be with the other
• philia – love between family, close friends
• agape (caritas) – unconditional, outward-looking, subordinate love that seeks the good of the other and is prepared and willing to sacrifice oneself for the other
• genuine (true) love is necessarily consistent with truth, including the truth of the other as a human person, and not that counterfeit “love” which seeks to possess, use and/or objectify the other

(ii) Perfect and Complete Love
• authentic, pure love involves the whole person, body and soul, and it embraces and transcends the whole of existence in each of its dimensions, including time and space
• God is Love and God is Truth, so the highest, truest, and most perfect and complete kind of love is God’s love – to love perfectly and truly, we must love as God loves
• God’s relationship with His chosen people, and Christ’s relationship with His Bride the Church, is repeatedly described in scripture in terms of betrothal and marriage, an elective, personal, monogamous eros-type of love
• God’s love for mankind, especially as shown by Christ on the Cross, is also described as the unconditional, gratuitous, and sacrificial love of agape (caritas) – “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends”
• mankind has given God little more than rejection and infidelity throughout history, and yet, He continues to love us fully, completely, and unconditionally – He refuses to stop loving us, even when we torture Him and murder Him
• “God loves, and His love may certainly be called eros, yet it is also totally agape” – Pope Benedict, Deus Caritas Est, 9
• God’s love is both (a) a purified and supremely ennobled eros, a joyous, wanting, ascending, passionate kind of love, even a spousal/conjugal kind of love, a communion of two become one that is both unitive and fruitful, and (b) agape (caritas), a conscious, everlasting, merciful, radically oblative gift of self
• genuine love is not merely a human sentiment, which comes and goes, or may not happen at all; rather, love is an action, it is a choice
• love in its truest and fullest sense is a conscious act of the will to subordinate yourself, and to unconditionally and selflessly seek the good and welfare of the other, including the gift of yourself for the other’s benefit, including the ultimate sacrifice of your life, whether or not the other “deserves” it, and without concern for what you may or may not receive in return, although there is great joy when it is reciprocated
• if we find that such complete love is difficult, if we cannot find the strength within ourselves to do this, then we must choose to ask God for help, we must ask for grace
• we most become like God, not by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, but by eating from the Tree of Love, and true happiness in love is paradoxical because it is obtained, not by seeking happiness for yourself, but by giving of yourself

(d) Love of God and Neighbor Necessarily Means Sharing with Them the Truth and Love of Christ

• it is part of God’s plan to depend on His people to help Him in the salvation of mankind – whether He is dwelling in the womb of Mary, growing up as a child, or now, Jesus has chosen to need our assistance in His redemptive mission, including building up the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation
• Jesus calls those in the Church to be His witnesses –
• to go out and testify to the Truth and proclaim the Good News
• to make disciples of all nations
• to be a light of truth and love to the world – the light does not come from us, but comes from Jesus and is reflected by us, and from the Holy Spirit which dwells within us
• Jesus promised us that, in being His witness, the world would hate us and persecute us, but that He would send the Spirit to give us strength, consolation, and perseverance
• Jesus calls us to be perfect in love and truth as our heavenly Father is perfect
• the most fundamental way to be a witness for Him is to love Him and love one another in truth as He has loved us

(e) Our Vocation to Beatitude – Life in the Spirit (Mt. 5:3-10)

• the Beatitudes are paradoxes, a transformation of worldly values, they bring hope and joy amidst affliction and hardship
• the Beatitudes are words of both promise and spiritual direction, indicating the way of conversion and reform of life – teaching how to love God and one another and thereby be a light of truth to the world
  
  (i) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
  • the “poor in spirit” are not those who are spiritually deficient, but those who humbly are in need of God, who are detached from worldly things and rely on Him, unlike those who have no want or need for God
(ii) Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted

• those who “mourn” are sorrowful, they have compassion for, and therefore suffer with, others and, in comforting others, they receive comfort as well
(iii) Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (the land)

• one who is “meek” is humble and, as with the descendents of Abraham, their inheritance is the promised land of a secure home in which to live and worship God in peace
(iv) Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied

• those who look for good, who seek true justice, will find it in Christ
(v) Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy

• to be forgiving and merciful to others is to show our love for the Lord who is Divine Mercy
(vi) Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God

• we see God with the eyes of the heart, not the eyes of the head – if we humbly seek Him, with love and truth in our heart, only then can we see and hear God
(vii) Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God

• those who help overcome enmity, especially with God, are reconciled to Him, such that, just as the Prince of Peace is the Son of God, so too are we allowed to be called children of God
(viii) Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

• in steadfastly keeping the faith and being one with the Crucified Christ, we will be one with Him in heaven
(ix) Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of Jesus, rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven

• Jesus invites us to follow Him, even to the Cross

(f) “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” – the only acceptable sacrifice is sacrifice of the human heart

• charity (love) for others includes being merciful – as the Crucified Jesus in His mercy loves us, so too should we love one another
• mercy is also an act of justice, giving others what they are due as children of God and doing unto others as we would have them do to us
• God, who is “rich in mercy,” wants us to receive His mercy and let it flow through us to others, He wants us to extend love and forgiveness to others just as He does to us
• the Church’s mission is a mission of mercy – “the Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word” – Pope Benedict XVI
• mercy is a virtue influencing one's will to have compassion for, and, if possible, to alleviate another's misfortune or misery (the Latin word miserere means “have mercy”)
  • the three ways of exercising mercy toward others is by deed, by word, and by prayer
• we should do works of mercy because even the strongest faith is of no use without works of love

The Corporal Works of Mercy (Mt. 25:31-46)

• feed the hungry
• give drink to the thirsty
• clothe the naked
• shelter the homeless
• visit the sick
• visit the imprisoned
• bury the dead

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

• counsel the doubtful
• instruct the ignorant
• admonish sinners
• comfort the afflicted
• forgive offenses
• bear wrongs patiently
• pray for the living and the dead

“Charity begins today. Today somebody is suffering, today somebody is in the street, today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today, yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come—today, we have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered, etc. Today — do not to wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow might not come. Tomorrow we will not have them if we do not feed them today.”
– Blessed Mother Teresa

Blogger is back up

The blogging platform is back up, after having been down for quite a while, but it appears that some of the comments were lost.

UPDATE --

Word to the wise blogger --
Because we all know that computers like to crash and burn, it is a good idea to periodically save the webpages of your own blog/website.

Why God Became Man

In our Lord Jesus Christ, God became man -- Jesus is fully God, yet fully man.

Why did God become man?

In his book, The Belief of Catholics, Msgr. Ronald Knox writes, "God became Man in order that, dying, he might atone for our sins, and win us the graces normally necessary to the attainment of salvation."

This is one hundred percent, absolutely fundamental, true Church doctrine. To be sure, the name Jesus (Joshua or Yeshua in Hebrew) means "God saves."

That being said, if Adam and Eve had never sinned, if all of mankind was still totally innocent, even frolicking fancy free in the Garden (with no shame), would God still have become man?

Certainly He would not do so for salvation purposes, there would be no need to, but could there be another reason that God became man?

Despite the "what if" and highly speculative nature of the question, there are good reasons for thinking that He would have. Salvation is not the only reason for Emmanuel, God with us. It seems that He because man also because He loves us and wanted to join us to Him more fully.

Pope Benedict speaks of the Annunciation as a marriage proposal. There is something in that -- that Jesus wanted to "marry" humanity. God wanted to establish, not merely a parental relationship with us, but a spousal relationship as well, the fullness of love in a communion of persons that is both unitive and fruitful. In love, He wanted to join fully with humanity, not merely spiritually, which is only partially, but in the fullness of our being, spirit and body, two become one, wholly apart from the issue of salvation. (See also CCC 456 et seq.)

We have need of a savior, of course, because of mankind rejecting God. Early on, Adam and Eve, not satisfied with being mere creatures, ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge because they wanted to be like gods themselves. It was this Original Sin that ushered in death -- real death, not merely death of the physical body, but eternal death -- because the very nature of sin is to separate us from God, who is Life itself. Consequently, because He loves us, God sent us His only Son, Jesus Christ, who is the salvation of the world.

The irony of Adam and Eve sinning by wanting to be like gods (which ultimately is the root of every sin that we commit) is that it didn't have to be that way. It did not have to be a sin. The irony is that God Himself wants us to be like gods! (CCC 460)

As St. Athanasius wrote, "The Son of God became man so that we might become God." (De Incarnatione Verbi Dei 54, 3: PG 25, 192B) Likewise, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that He, made man, might make men gods." (Opusc. 57, 1-4)

The problem is that we (mankind) wanted and want to be gods on our own terms. We want to be gods by our own will, by our own doing. We want our divinity to be self-actualized, without the involvement of He who is already God.

God does want us to be "gods," but He wants us to be gods on His terms, He wants us to be gods by His doing. Not because He is a "jealous God" who can't bear to have competition, but because He is Truth. He is the One and only God, thus, only He can make us like "gods."

For us to be gods on our own, by our own doing (or for us to be our own saviors, to attain salvation all by our own merits) would not be consistent with truth, it would be a lie, it would be contrary to the very idea of God. No, to be true, man can become gods only by the action of the God who is Truth.

We can become gods only by God joining us to Himself, by Him taking us unto Himself in the entirety of our being -- our soul joined to His Spirit, our body joined to His Body -- so that we are in Him and He is in us to such a degree that we truly are a loving communion of persons, no longer separate and apart, but two become one, not merely in a symbolic or poetic sense, but in a very real, authentic and true sense.

"Be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect," Jesus said. Only God is perfect, but by joining fully in communion with Him, in allowing ourselves to be truly sanctified by the Spirit of Sanctification, we can be made perfect as commanded by Jesus. The Lord does not demand the impossible of us, He makes the "impossible" possible. He makes us imperfect humans perfect, He -- and only He -- makes us like gods.
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Jesus Christ - God Become Man

Adult Confirmation Class Three

Jesus Christ – God become man (CCC 422-682)

Just as the question of whether or not God exists is unavoidable, so too are the questions of who is Jesus? What is Jesus?

At His trial, Jesus was asked if He is the Messiah, the son of the Blessed One? In response, Jesus echoed the words of God in telling Moses His name, “I AM.” (Mk 14:53-64) On other occasions, Jesus similarly declared “I AM.” (e.g. Jn. 8:58)

With these words, there are only three possibilities -- either (1) Jesus was rightfully condemned as a criminal for committing blasphemy by wrongfully taking the Lord’s name in vain and equating Himself with God; (2) Jesus was delusional and insane, thereby mitigating His alleged blasphemy; or (3) He is, in fact, the “I am,” that is, God.

Faith informs us that Jesus is the Christ, which is Greek for “the anointed one,” the one anointed by God. Jesus is the Son of God – God Himself – the Word (Logos) made flesh through whom the world was made. He is not only God in a spiritual sense, He is God incarnate, God become man. Fully God, yet fully human, united in one. He is one divine person with two complete natures, both human and divine, and two wills, with fully human freedom. Like us in all ways except for sin. He is Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.” (Mt. 2:23) He is not merely a pleasant story, he is not merely a nice philosophical idea, but an actual historical event. He is God entering into time and taking tangible physical and bodily form. And, as fully man, Jesus knows fully our human pain, suffering, fear, anguish, and sadness.

Why did He do this? Because God is Love and God is Truth.

(a) Because He loves us, as the name Emmanuel suggests, He wanted to be “with us,” like us, and among us – not only at a single point in time, but always and forever.

(b) He wanted to teach us, to give us a deposit of faith, and be a Light for us -- the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

(c) He wanted to “save” us -- to redeem us and repair the rift. Indeed, the Greek name “Jesus” (Yeshua or Joshua in Hebrew) means “God saves.” As the Son, consubstantial with the Father, Jesus wanted to reconcile Fallen Man to God, to bridge the gap that man had created and reunite us. Jesus is the culmination of salvation history.

(d) He wanted to sanctify us, to make us sharers in His divinity. Jesus assumed our nature so that He, made man, might make men gods.

The Transfiguration, which gave the Apostles a glimpse of His glorification, shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

And after fully revealing God’s love and truth, Jesus, the Son of God, gave us the grace of salvation and eternal life by becoming the spotless lamb who was sacrificed for sins, and whose blood would be sprinkled so that death would pass over, and we would be led from the bondage of sin and death to freedom and life. He is the innocent righteous man, the suffering servant, upon whom the Spirit of the Lord has descended, who is pierced for our iniquities, and who pays the ransom with His own life. By the transformative power of His love on the Cross and His resurrection, Jesus, the Son of Man, has defeated suffering and death and established His kingdom of salvation.

Because God transcends time and space, for Him specific points in time continue to exist forever. The Passion and Crucifixion were not isolated events in some distant past. Rather, His sacrifice is an on-going event. He is not crucified again and again, but is one sacrifice. He is perpetually being scourged, eternally on the Cross. Every sin of ours is another lash on His flesh, it is another pound of the hammer, driving nails deeper into His hands.

At the same time, to be one with Jesus means to be one with Him on the Cross. Although Jesus is fully man, and thus suffered greatly, He is also united with the Father of Love -- as He calls us all to be, and as we all can be -- and so that fully human and excruciating pain and suffering are transformed and overcome, and therefore made bearable. Through the Cross, even death is overcome, and He makes all things new. By uniting our sufferings with His, by offering them up to Him on the Cross, they obtain redemptive meaning. The martyrs could truly smile in joy amidst the flames and beasts that tore at their bodies because they too were one with Him, and so their agonies were transformed by love.

God’s plan for man does not stop at his redemption and salvation, that is, reconciling man to God, but continues toward our sanctification, that is, making men more like God. Jesus calls us to be holy and perfect in love and truth, just as His Father in heaven is perfect. He calls us to be true to the purpose for which we are made, to love and be loved in truth. To love God and love one another as Jesus has loved us, including extending forgiveness and mercy to others. And to help us attain that perfection, to help us love in truth, Jesus, promising to be with us always, to the end of the age, has established His Church and sent us His Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church (CCC 748-962; 1113-1134)

Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, that no one could come to the Father except through Him. (Jn. 11:25-26; 14:6) Jesus not only taught, He established the Church as His Holy Bride, two become one, and He gave us the sacraments, which are administered by the Church, so as to help us come to the Father and be redeemed and sanctified.

Man was created as a social creature, intended to exist in relationship, not in solitude. Thus, Christ also established the Church so that we might fulfill our purpose of being in communion with each other, as well as Him. To be one with Jesus means to be one with the one holy Church, which is also the Body of Christ. Accordingly, we see that Jesus Christ and the Church are absolutely necessary for salvation.

In establishing the Church, from the Greek word Kyriake, meaning “what belongs to the Lord,” which is also called an ecclesia in Latin, “an assembly set apart,” Jesus called certain men as apostles, from the Greek for “emissary.” To the Apostle Peter, who was the first Pope, Jesus gave a special supreme authority. The original Apostles later appointed successors, whom we know today as bishops, and assistants, such as priests, who have the authority and power of teaching and administering the sacraments in persona Christi. Each bishop is the spiritual shepherd for a specific area, which is called a diocese, and he in turn delegates certain authority to pastors over a smaller area, which is called a parish.

The Eucharist

Before ascending to heaven, Jesus said that He would be with us always, to the end of the age. In the most obvious sense, Jesus is with us in the Eucharist. (Lk 22:19-20; Jn 6:48-58) The Eucharist is the source (beginning) and summit (end) of the Faith, inasmuch as this Blessed Sacrament is the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus, even though under the appearance of bread and wine. In the Eucharist, the substance is transformed, that is to say, the fundamental basis of its being. This genuine transformation is called transubstantiation. As described by Pope Benedict, Christ takes possession of the bread and the wine, and He lifts them up out of the setting of their normal existence into a new order. Even if, from a purely physical point of view, they remain the same, they have become profoundly different.

Through the Eucharist in the one Mass, according to His Word, Jesus is with us, not merely spiritually or theoretically or as a philosophy, but physically, such that we, as bodily creatures who experience things through our senses, can be united with Him bodily as well as spiritually.

In a profoundly intimate way, we take His glorified Body and Blood into our bodies. The encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist is not the encounter of a friend or a mentor or a teacher. It is a parental and spousal encounter. It is because the Eucharist is the Real Presence that such an encounter is the most intimate of intimate touchings. The person literally takes Christ within him- or herself both bodily and spiritually, so as to become one with Him in a mystical fashion, as in marriage, which also involves entering into another bodily and spiritually so as to become one in a communion of persons (unitive) and so as to receive life (procreative).

Only in this way is the totality of our person, body and spirit, able to be one with Him, Body and Spirit, fully and completely. Again, because we are creatures of both spirit and body, to receive Him in the entirety of our person, it is essential that we also experience the Body and Blood of Christ, which can be received only at Mass, in addition to His Spirit, which can be experienced at home. In this way, the Eucharist can truly be called Holy Communion.

The consecration of the bread and wine at Mass to become the Blessed Sacrament is not a re-sacrificing of Jesus. There is only One Mass, and there is only One Sacrifice, which is re-presented, that is, presented again. Remember, God transcends time and space, so that, not only does He extend across our concept of linear time, but for Him, specific points in time continue to exist forever. Thus, the Passion and Crucifixion were not isolated events in some distant past. Rather, His sacrifice is an on-going event. He is not crucified again and again, but is one sacrifice. He is perpetually being scourged, eternally on the Cross. In the Mass, in some mystical but true way, we transcend space and time and are made present at the Last Supper, we are made present at the foot of the Cross. And because we partake of His glorified Resurrected Body and Blood, so too are we made present at the Resurrection, and made One with He who rose to eternal life.
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Preparation for Adult Confirmation - Class Three (Part Two)

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)

Class Outline for May 11, 2011

III. The Holy Catholic Church – the Universal Sacrament of Salvation
-– the sign and instrument both of the reconciliation and communion of all of humanity with God and of the unity of the entire human race
--the English word “church” is derived from the German word "kirche," which in turn is derived from the Greek word “kyriake,” meaning “what belongs to the Lord,” which is also called an “ecclesia” in Latin, “an assembly set apart”

A. The Church – Children of the Father, Body of Christ the Son, Temple of the Spirit

1. The Christian Faithful – People of God, Family of God

• the origin of the People of God is the Heavenly Father, and it is His plan to save and sanctify men and women, not in isolation, but as part of a people that are gathered together, in their diversity and multiplicity, by the unity of the Trinity
• they participate in Christ's priestly office insofar as the baptized are consecrated by the Holy Spirit to offer spiritual sacrifices
• they share in Christ’s prophetic office when with a supernatural sense of faith they adhere unfailingly to that faith and deepen their understanding and witness to it
• they share in his kingly office by means of service, imitating Jesus Christ who as King of the universe made himself the servant of all

2. The Body of Christ

• the faithful united to Christ by the Holy Spirit form one Body, the Church, which lives from Him, in Him and for Him
• Christ and His Bride the Church are one, making up the “Christus totus” (whole Christ)
• the mystery of the nuptial union of Christ and the Church is both unitive and fruitful – two different persons, yet one in the conjugal union
• to be one with the nuptial union of Christ and His Bride is to one with that everlasting loving communion
• Jesus, the Head of the Body, calls other parts of His Body to perform different roles

3. The Holy Spirit Makes the Church the Temple of the Living God

• the Holy Spirit inspires and sanctifies the Church – “What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the members of Christ, that is, the Body of Christ, which is the Church.” - St. Augustine
• the Holy Spirit builds up the Church in charity, by the Word of God, the sacraments, the virtues, and charisms (special graces which benefit the Church)
• the Spirit confers different kinds of spiritual gifts for the various parts of the Body, including both the hierarchy and the lay faithful

B. The Four Marks of the Church – One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic
– these four characteristics are inseparably linked to each other and they indicate essential features of the Church and her mission

1. The Church is One – One God, One Truth, One Church, One Faith

• the Church is one because of her source in and communion with the Trinity
• visible bonds of communion of the Church on earth include (a) profession of one faith received from the Apostles, (b) common celebration of worship, especially the Sacraments, (c) apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders and under the leadership of the Pope, as successor of Peter, to whom Jesus entrusted the pastoral care of the Church
• schisms, divisions, and dissensions have wounded this unity of Christ’s Body
• while elements of sanctification and truth may be found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church, the one Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the bishops in communion with him

2. The Church is Holy

• Christ gave Himself up for the Church, so as to sanctify her, joining her to Himself as His Body and endowing her with the gift of the Holy Spirit
• the Holy Spirit inspires the Church (gives her life) with charity, guiding and protecting her, and it is the Holy Spirit who is the principal agent of the Church’s mission
• it is in the Holy Church, by the grace of God, that we acquire holiness and salvation – each of us is called to be holy and perfect in love and truth, just as God is perfect
• the pilgrim Church on earth is endowed with a sanctity that is real, even though individual members are imperfect sinners ever in need of conversion and purification

3. The Church is Catholic (Universal)

• the Church is universal, existing as a communion of the faithful both horizontally across the world and throughout time and vertically with God, the angels, and saints in heaven, and the faithful in purgatory
• the Church is universal because Christ is present in her and because she has been sent out by Him on a mission of love to proclaim the truth of the Good News to the whole world
• particular local churches (dioceses) under the care of a bishop as their shepherd are fully catholic (universal) through their being in communion and accord with the Church of Rome, whose bishop is the Pope

4. The Church is Apostolic

• the word “apostle” is from the Greek for delegate, envoy, or emissary
• the Church was and is built on the foundation of the Apostles – Jesus Himself is the Father’s emissary
• the original Apostles took care to appoint successors and assistants, who are today’s bishops and their priests and deacons, so that the Church and her divine mission would continue to the end of time
• the apostolic ministry of the Church is a continuation of the mission of Jesus
• Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, which dwells in the Church, to guide, teach, and sanctify the Apostles and their successors

5. The Structure of the Pilgrim Church

• in calling certain men to be Apostles and giving them special authority, together with special charisms of the Holy Spirit, Jesus established a certain structure for His Church, with a diversity of ministry, but unity of mission
• to the Apostles and their successors, Christ entrusted the office of teaching, sanctifying and governing in His name and by His power
• the essential nature of ecclesial ministry is humble service
• individual bishops exercise their pastoral office as shepherds of that portion of the People of God assigned to them, such as a diocese
• Jesus named Peter the rock of His Church and instituted him as shepherd of the entire flock, and the Pope, as his successor, shares that primacy and pastoral office of Peter
• the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, and as pastor of the entire Church has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church
• the Magisterium, the authoritative teaching office of the Church, is guided and protected by the Holy Spirit, and it includes authoritative interpretation of Divine Revelation, defining dogmas, discernment of moral truth, and assistance in the formation of the individual consciences of the faithful
• Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so closely united with each other that one of them cannot stand without the others
• the task of the Magisterium is to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error
• the Pope possesses the charism of infallibility when he proclaims by a definitive act a doctrine pertaining to faith or morals, acting either in virtue of his office as Supreme Pontiff, or together with the college of bishops in union with him, especially in an Ecumenical Council
• in the exercise of his magisterial authority, the Pope is not free to simply impose his opinion or personal preferences, but is necessarily bound by and to love and truth
• even when not making a formally infallible pronouncement, the teachings of the Magisterium should be given our religious assent as presumptively true
• as successors of Peter and the other Apostles endowed with the Spirit, the Pope and his fellow bishops are owed our respect, harmony, Christian obedience in charity
• Jesus established the Church: It is His Church, not ours – we are not free to reinvent it or the faith in the way that we would prefer it to be

6. There is No Salvation Outside the Church

• Jesus Christ is the one mediator and redeemer of mankind – no one can be saved by his or her own efforts and no one can be saved except by the Crucified and Risen One through His Body, the Church
• the fullness of grace and truth, including the fullness of the means of salvation, was entrusted by Jesus to Peter and the other Apostles, their successors, and the faithful who make up the Catholic Church
• there are some who, through no fault of their own, are separate from the One Church – such non-Christians and Christians not in communion with the Catholic Church might still be saved in God’s infinite mercy, but lacking the fullness of truth, it is more difficult and any such salvation is nevertheless by Jesus through the Catholic Church
• God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth and those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation
• mere membership in the Catholic Church does not guarantee salvation – one who does not persevere in charity or take advantage of the benefit of the graces of the Sacraments is not saved, one must have Jesus in his or her heart, not merely in the head or on the lips

7. Vocations – the Universal Call to Holiness

• a vocation (from the Latin vocare, to call) is a particular state of life or occupation to which one is especially drawn or called
• we are each called by God to a life of holiness, a common vocation to love God and love one another
• there are two specific ways to realize, in its entirety, the vocation to love – either marriage or the religious life, e.g. the priesthood or religious brother or religious sister (nun)
• in the Sacrament of Confirmation, our vocation is to be a complete Christian, to be an active participant in the mission of the Church to be a witness for Jesus to the world

C. Liturgy and the Sacraments Generally

1. Liturgy – Public Worship and Celebration of the Mysteries of the Lord

• the entire Holy Trinity is at work in the liturgy – the Father is the source and the Son acts through the power of the Holy Spirit
• liturgy is an action of the entire Church – God, angels, and all the faithful on earth and in heaven
• the liturgy is celebrated particularly in making present Christ’s paschal mystery in the Mass
• it is the whole Christ, as High Priest, who acts in the liturgy, with the bishops and priests acting in persona Christi
• liturgy includes the Word, prayer, signs, symbols, and the Sacraments

2. The Paschal Mystery in the Sacraments of the Church

• a Sacrament is (i) an outward visible sign (ii) instituted by Christ (iii) to convey the invisible reality of sacramental and sanctifying grace, so that we might be redeemed and sanctified
• the “outward sign” is composed of the matter (e.g. water) and form (words) together with the right and proper intention of the minister, that is, celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church
• since we are bodily creatures who experience and come to know things through our bodily senses, the Sacraments offer us a way for us to know the reality of being provided certain graces
• In his Theology of the Body, in a catechesis on the creation of mankind in the Book of Genesis, Pope John Paul II said of marriage, “there is constituted a primordial sacrament, understood as a sign that transmits effectively in the visible world the invisible mystery hidden in God from time immemorial. And this is the mystery of Truth and Love, the mystery of divine life, in which man really participates. In the history of man, it is original innocence which begins this participation and it is also a source of original happiness. The sacrament, as a visible sign, is constituted with man, as a "body," by means of his "visible" masculinity and femininity. The body, in fact, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden since time immemorial in God, and thus be a sign of it.” (February 20, 1980)
• the Sacraments were instituted by Jesus and entrusted to the Church, which has the authority to confer them or withhold them
• it is Christ who acts in the Sacraments through the Holy Spirit
• by virtue of the saving work of Christ, the Sacraments are efficacious ex opere operato – they convey the particular grace by the very fact that the sacramental action is performed
• because it is Christ who is acting, the efficacy of the Sacraments does not depend upon the personal holiness of the minister
• “sacramental grace” is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament
• the recipient must necessarily have the right disposition to receive the graces to be conferred
• Baptism and Confession/Penance give sanctifying grace
• the other Sacraments increase sanctifying graces in our souls, such that one must already be in a state of grace (rather than a state of sin) to receive them
• additional ceremonies or actions are used in the rites in order to increase our reverence and devotion for the Sacraments and to explain their meaning and effects
• the seven sacraments include --
• the Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist)
• the Sacraments of Healing (Confession/Penance and Anointing of the Sick)
• the Sacraments at the Service of Communion and Mission (Matrimony and Holy Orders)
• just as Abraham was marked by circumcision with the sign of the covenant, so too is the soul of the recipient of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders marked with a permanent, indelible seal, so as to configure him or her to Christ and the Church, such that these Sacraments cannot be repeated

D. The Seven Sacraments

1. Baptism – Passage through the Water from Death to Life
• in Baptism, one is immersed into the death of Christ, so as to rise again with Him
• the water of Baptism is sanctified by Jesus and the Cross
• Baptism by water in the name of the Triune God gives us sanctifying grace, so that the stains of Original Sin and individual sin are wiped away
• in Baptism, by water and through the Spirit, we are reborn as children of God and thereby initiated into the communion of the Church
• the ordinary ministers of Baptism are the bishop, priest, or deacon, although any person can baptize in case of necessity, provided he or she has the intention of doing what the Church does


2. Confirmation – Consecrated and Sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit


• brings an increase and deepening of sanctifying grace so as to join us to the mission of the Church and thereby complete what was begun in Baptism
• in being anointed with chrism oil, sanctified by Jesus and the Cross, the recipient is joined more intimately with the Christ, which means “anointed one”
• in Confirmation, we receive the power of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Christ in love and truth, including the strength and perseverance to go out and spread the Good News and even endure persecution
• the original minister of Confirmation is the bishop, as a successor of the Apostles, but if authorized by him, a priest may also confer the Sacrament


3. The Eucharist – the Blessed Sacrament


• before ascending to heaven, Jesus said that He would be with us always, to the end of the age – in the fullest and most obvious sense, Jesus is with us in the Eucharist, which is His Real Presence, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity
• in the Eucharist, we have not only spiritual communion with Jesus, as we might praying at home, we have full communion with Him in the totality of our being, body and soul
• reception of Holy Communion is both unitive and fruitful/procreative, that is, in the profoundly intimate encounter with Jesus that is the Eucharist, we are joined in a mystical fashion so as to become one in a communion of persons and to receive life
• the ministers of the Eucharist are the bishop and priest
• the power and authority of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion is limited to assisting in the distribution of the Eucharist


4. Penance/Confession/Reconciliation


• while Baptism cleanses us of Original Sin, it does not abolish the weakness of our impaired human nature nor our inclination to personal sin
• through a sacramental confession, by the Crucifixion and Resurrection, we are absolved of our individual sins and reconciled to God
• the penitent should first make a careful examination of conscience and, to be a “good” confession, one must confess all serious and grave sins (because they would be mortal if not so confessed), and there must be an interior penance, that is, a contrite heart and determination to avoid further sin
• in addition to expressing contrition, the penitent is obligated to perform the acts of penance given to him or her
• in addition to absolution, grace is given, if we accept it, to avoid further sin
• the ministers of Penance are a bishop or priest, although the forgiveness of certain grave sins that incur excommunication may be reserved to the Pope or particular bishop (except in case of imminent death)


5. Anointing of the Sick


• Jesus healed many who were sick, as did Peter and the other Apostles
• anointing of the forehead and palms of the sick with chrism oil is a sacrament of healing, if not physically, then spiritually, including the forgiveness of sins if the recipient is not able to make a sacramental confession
• a special grace is conferred which unites the sick person more intimately to the Passion of Christ
• the Sacrament prepares us for the final journey in order to join God in heaven, offering us comfort, peace, and courage
• the ministers of the Anointing of the Sick are the bishop and priest


6. Matrimony – as it was “in the beginning” and the blessing of Jesus at Cana


• Marriage is the primordial sacrament – "All the sacraments of the new covenant find in a certain sense their prototype in marriage" – Pope John Paul II
• the entirety of Salvation History can be seen as a kind of spousal relationship between God and mankind
• at the Creation, God said that it is not good for Man to be alone
• Man, male and female, is not merely a social creature, but a spousal creature made in the image of the Triune God, who is a loving communion of persons in one being
• God made us to love and be loved and, in creating man and woman for each other, He gave us the ability to share in His creative power, telling us to be fruitful and multiply
• in Matrimony, a man and woman are two made one in a communion of persons by Christ through the power of the Spirit of Love, and spouses should love each other as Christ loves the Church
• the Sacrament is conferred upon the giving of matrimonial consent, that is, when a man and a woman manifest the will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love
• such matrimonial consent is sealed by God, and the Sacrament establishes a perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses
• this communion of persons in marriage is not only unitive, such that it is indissoluble, but fruitful and procreative, just as the love between Christ and His Bride, the Church, is unitive, fruitful, and procreative
• a special grace is conferred to give the husband and wife the ability to maintain their union in accord with the original divine plan, even in the face of threats to the unity and fruitfulness of marriage
• the ministers of Matrimony are the man and woman to be married, with the priest receiving that consent in the name of the Church and giving her blessing to the union


7. Holy Orders


• those who do not marry are still, by human nature, called to love in communion and, if we are not called to marry, we may be called to follow Christ, who is the fullness of Love
• Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to His apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time, and the Church is passed on to the generations throughout time
• some men may be called to follow Jesus in the ministerial priesthood, in which the one priesthood of Jesus Christ is made present, while other men and some women may be called to the religious or consecrated life
• the Sacrament is conferred by the laying on of hands, anointing with chrism oil, and the consecratory prayer proper to each grade of the Sacrament: deacon, priest, or bishop
• anointing by the Spirit in ordination to the priesthood seals a baptized and confirmed man with an indelible, spiritual character that configures him to Christ the Bridegroom of the Church and Christ the High Priest, enabling him to act in His name (in persona Christi), especially in the Sacraments
• the Sacrament of Holy Orders makes one an alter Christus - just as Jesus is espoused to the His Bride the Church, so too is the priest, in a sense, “married” to the Church
• episcopal ordination of a bishop as a successor of the Apostles confers the fullness of the Sacrament on him, including the offices of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling
• the minister of Holy Orders is the bishop

E. Sacramentals and Forms of Popular Piety


1. Sacramentals


• sacred signs instituted by the Church to sanctify different circumstances of life, including
• blessings, which are the praise of God and a prayer to obtain his gifts
• the consecration of persons
• the dedication of things for the worship of God
• sacramentals always include a prayer, often accompanied by a physical sign, such as the sign of the cross, laying on of hands, or sprinkling water


2. Forms of Popular Piety


• expression of the religious sense of the Christian people in various forms of devotion which accompany the sacramental life of the Church
• such forms of piety include the rosary and other Marian devotions, stations of the cross, veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, and processions
• these expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it

F. Prayer – a Personal and Living Relationship with God
– prayer is our response to God’s revealing of Himself to us – our ongoing friendship with God requires ongoing communication with Him
– a dialogue, not a monologue – we must allow God to speak to us also
– the ultimate aim of prayer should be love and fidelity to God


1. Types of Prayer


• blessing and adoration – we bless God for having blessed us and we pay homage to He who made us
• thanksgiving and praise – showing gratitude and giving glory to God for His own sake, sharing in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart
• petition and intercession – entreating God for assistance for ourselves or others on earth or in purgatory, often extemporaneously and, if made in humility, is already a turning back to Him
• may include asking others, such as saints in heaven, to intercede on our behalf
• the Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of prayer


2. Expressions of Prayer


• vocal – prayer with words, both aloud and interior, personal or communal
• written and traditional prayer allows one to pray in communion with the whole Church
• the model vocal prayer is the one Jesus taught us – the Our Father
• meditation – a fairly active engagement of thought, imagination, emotion, and desire to discern and respond to what God is saying to us
• contemplative – a fairly passive communion with the Holy Trinity and gaze of faith, fixed on the Lord, illuminating and purifying the heart
• we pray with the entirety of our being, but it is most important to involve our heart in prayer


3. Sources of Prayer


• God Himself – Jesus’ prayer on the Cross, “I thirst,” reminds us that we thirst for God and that God also thirsts for us
• sacred scripture and spiritual reading
• Liturgy of the Hours, the official daily prayer of the Church
• Lectio Divina
• the liturgy, which proclaims, makes present and communicates the mystery of salvation
• the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love
• everyday situations

G. The Church in History


1. Persecutions of the Church – the On-Going Trial and Passion of Christ


• the testimony of witnesses who have spread the Good News throughout history, especially during the early Church
• testimony of Apostles and disciples who personally saw the Risen Christ, most of whom were killed, including St. Peter, the first pope, who was crucified in Rome and was the first of many martyred popes, and Paul, who was beheaded in Rome
• testimony of other witnesses in the history of the Church who likewise submitted to tortures and death during various persecutions
• the Greek word for “witness” is “martyr”
• “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church” – Tertullian
• If they were not certain that Jesus existed, and that He was the Christ, why would they submit to tortures and death?


2. The Spread of Christianity, Followed by New Challenges


• Roman persecutions ended with the legalization of Christianity by the Edict of Milan by the Emperor Constantine in A.D. 313
• the Christian faith flourished and the Church spread throughout the Mediterranean and much of Europe
• following the death of Mohammed in 632, Muslim armies conquered Christian lands in the Middle East and Northern Africa before passing into Europe and marching midway into France, where they were turned back in 732 by Charles Martel
• after the Great Schism split Christendom in two, Muslim armies increased their siege of Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Church, and in response to a request for assistance, Pope Urban II in 1095 called what has been called the first Crusade, additional crusades were held over the next few hundred years
• military conflict existed between Christendom and Islam from the 7th century until the 17th century, when the forces of the Ottoman Empire were defeated in the Battle of Vienna


3. Theological Issues within the Church


• various disputes and heresies arose concerning such matters as application of the Jewish Law, the person and nature of Jesus Christ, etc., and ecumenical councils of bishops were held to definitively resolve these questions, e.g. Councils of Nicea and Constantinople
• sometimes disputes led to schism, such as the Great Schism, which split the Church between East and West in 1054
• in compiling the New Testament, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Church discerned which of various writings were, in fact, authentically apostolic and inspired, and which were spurious and false
• the canon of the Bible was formalized in the Vulgate produced by St. Jerome under the direction of Pope Damasus I at the end of the 4th century, and the Vulgate Bible was affirmed in the Council of Trent (1545-1563) as the sole, authorized Latin text of the Bible
• in about the early 16th century, some rejected the authority of the Pope and the Catholic Church, including denying the sacraments, Tradition, and the Magisterium, resulting in another major split in the Church, the Protestant Reformation
• the Council of Trent was held in response to the Protestant Reformation