Mystery Quest: - Our Lady of Peace Churcholp.org/.../2-mystery-quest--christina-semmel-(final).docx · Web viewMystery Quest: From s. acramentality . to S. ... Recording of “Pink

Mystery Quest: From sacramentality to SacramentsBy Christina Semmel

PurposeThis session helps participants explore the mystery of the sacraments through a brief overview of Catholic teaching beginning with the concepts of mystery and sacramentality, through Jesus as The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament, to the Church as the Foundational Sacrament and the reason the Church can celebrate the seven Sacraments, concluding with the recognition that we, as Church, are called to be sacrament. The session is designed for a typical size of 12-24 participants, but can easily be adapted for smaller or larger groups. The session would work best with high school youth.

Component: Catechesis

Correlation to the U.S. Bishops’ Adaptation: Course 5: A-3: Introduction to Sacraments (Catechism of the Catholic Church #774, 775, 776, 1088, 1089, 1111)

Session at a Glance7:00 p.m. Welcome and Introductions7:05 p.m. So What’s the Big Mystery?7:15 p.m. sacramentality7:30 p.m. Definition of Sacrament7:40 p.m. The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament7:50 p.m. The Foundational Sacrament8:00 p.m. Why We Can Celebrate the Seven Sacraments8:10 p.m. Called to be Sacrament8:15 p.m. Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament8:30 p.m. Announcements/Refreshments/Good Night!

Suggestions are given within the session for extending the time 15-30 minutes.

Materials Needed Nametags, for each participant Markers Masking tape (or blue painters tape)

Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to SacramentsCopyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.

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Recording of “Pink Panther” or “Mission Impossible” theme songo Pink Panther may be found on YouTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gT4OTYUS-c (save as MP3 if you just want the audio)

o Mission Impossible may be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qck6WzVq9d0 (save as MP3 if you just want the audio)

Large dictionary 30 inexpensive envelopes (not necessary that they be of the

same size) Handout 1, Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament, one for

each participant Resources 1 through 6 (see #3 in Prepare in Advance) Resource 7, Signs for Diagram, for the leader to construct the

diagram illustrating the path indicated by the clues; consider laminating the signs

Resource 8, Placement of Signs and Suggestions for Alternative Ways to Display Diagram, for the leader

Inexpensive paper 3D glasses, for all participants, or simply buy some colored cellophane at a craft store and cut into rectangles large enough to hold over eyes. Possible sources for inexpensive paper glasses are:

o 3D glasses –OT http://www.orientaltrading.com/d-glasses-a2-14_1361.fltr?prodCatId=388639&tabId=1&Ne=90000 12 for $.99 IN14/1361

o Design your own 3D glasses—Oriental Trading, #IN-48/8043 http://www.orientaltrading.com/design-your-own-d-glasses-a2-48_8043-12-1.fltr?Ntt=colored+lens+glasses , 12 for $5.25

o Laser Prism glasses—Windy City Novelties, Item #GLS002UN 50 for $19.50 http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6233p/fireworks-usa-lazar-prism-glasses.html

Nativity set (really just need the Holy Family figures) or picture of Jesus

Parish Pictorial Directory or collection of photos of parishioners (at a parish event) in a folder or photo book. Note to Leader: These should not be pictures of the church building but of people. It doesn’t matter if the directory or photos are old. If you are creating a photo collection, label it “our parish” or the name of your parish.

Symbols of Sacraments for prayer table (see #3f in Prepare in Advance)

o Bowl with watero Container or small bowl with oil


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http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6233p/fireworks-usa-lazar-prism-glasses.html

http://www.windycitynovelties.com/6233p/fireworks-usa-lazar-prism-glasses.html

http://www.orientaltrading.com/design-your-own-d-glasses-a2-48_8043-12-1.fltr?Ntt=colored+lens+glasses

http://www.orientaltrading.com/design-your-own-d-glasses-a2-48_8043-12-1.fltr?Ntt=colored+lens+glasses

http://www.orientaltrading.com/d-glasses-a2-14_1361.fltr?prodCatId=388639&tabId=1&Ne=90000

http://www.orientaltrading.com/d-glasses-a2-14_1361.fltr?prodCatId=388639&tabId=1&Ne=90000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qck6WzVq9d0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gT4OTYUS-c

o Unlit candle and matches or lightero Unconsecrated hosts or small roll on plateo “7” birthday candle (or VII or 7 in large print on a piece of

paper) “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/ We are the Body of Christ” by Jaime

Cortez (spiritandsong.com) “One Spirit, One Church” by Kevin Keil and Maryanne Quinlvivan

(spiritandsong.com) Instrumental music CD or MP3 player and speakers

Prepare in Advance1. Set up the room with a prayer table that will be easily accessible

from all sides. Choose a large, blank wall (or large window or white board) on which you can post the signs for the diagram (see Resource 8) as the session progresses. In addition, you or another adult leader, will be taping the clues from the envelopes under the signs, so be sure there is enough room on the wall.

2. On a sheet of newsprint, write: We’re going on a Mystery Quest!

3. Prepare for the Mystery Quest.a. Dictionary: Copy Resource 1, Clues to Be Hidden in

Dictionary, and cut the clues apart. Number five envelopes 1 through 5. Place the numbered clue in the corresponding numbered envelope. Seal the envelopes and stick them in various pages in the dictionary.

b. Glasses: Find a box large enough to hold all the 3D glasses you need for the group. Label the box “High Tech Vision Enhancement Device” and put all the glasses (or strips of colored cellophane) inside. Copy Resource 2, Clues to Be Hidden in Box for Glasses. Cut the clues apart and put each one in a sealed envelope (it is not necessary to number them), and put the envelopes in the box with the glasses.

c. Copy Resource 3, Three Definitions of Sacrament. Cut the definitions apart and keep them with you for later use.

d. Nativity Set: Copy Resource 4, Clues to Be Hidden in Nativity Set or with Picture of Jesus. Cut the clues apart and put each one in a sealed envelope (it is not necessary to number the envelopes).


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http://www.spiritandsong.com/compositions/2468

http://www.spiritandsong.com/products/98488

e. Pictorial Directory/Photo Collection: Copy Resource 5, Clues for Pictorial Directory or Photo Collection. Cut the clues apart and put each one in a sealed envelope.

f. Seven Sacraments: Place the sacramental symbols on the prayer table. Copy Resource 6, Seven Sacraments. Cut the clues apart and put each one in a sealed envelope. Place the envelopes around the prayer table with the sacramental symbols.

g. Hide—in plain sight—the dictionary, box of glasses, nativity set or picture, and pictorial directory of photo album in various places in the room. For example, hide the dictionary by placing it on a cluttered desk or the photos on the counter where the snacks are served or put the nativity set on a window ledge.

4. Invite eight participants to be readers for the closing prayer. Give them a copy of Handout 1, Church as Sacrament, with their part highlighted.

5. Set up tables for refreshments and sign-in. Have one or two people at the sign-in table with check-in sheet and nametags. Hospitality is important! As the leader, spend the arrival time moving among the participants, greeting and speaking with them.

Session OutlineWelcome and Introductions (5 minutes)Have the theme song from Mission Impossible or the Pink Panther movies playing while youth enter the room. Welcome them by saying:

Have you ever heard someone try to explain (or get out of explaining) something by saying “It’s a mystery!” What do you think that means? What makes something a mystery? (Elicit a few answers from the group.)

Point to the sign you made ahead of time and ask if anyone else has an idea what a mystery is. Say:

Tonight we’re going to go on a “Mystery Quest” by going on a search for items that will give us some clues about the mystery called sacrament. And when we finally put all the clues together, we should have a better idea of what a sacrament really is.

The clues are hidden with items that relate to what they are about. The clues are statements from Doctors of the Church, Church documents, famous theologians, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the Bible.


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As we find the hidden objects and put together the pieces of a diagram, we should be able to better understand the concept of sacraments and why the Church can and does celebrate sacraments.


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So What’s the Big Mystery? (10 minutes)Ask the participants whose birthdays are in January, February, or March to look for an item (hidden in the room) “where you can find meaning and origin… in alphabetical order.” Note to Leader: The item they are searching for is the dictionary with clues in sealed envelopes inside it.

While they are looking for the item, tape the sign “Mystery” on the wall. Follow Resource 8, Placement of Signs and Suggestions for Alternative Ways to Display Diagram.

Only give the searchers a few minutes to look for the item. If needed, give them a much more obvious clue, like “a book with the pronunciation, derivation, and origin of words.”

When they find the dictionary, instruct them to look for the clues placed in it. Have them divide the envelopes among those that searched. Ask them to open the envelopes in numerical order and read the clues inside out loud to the rest of the participants.

After each clue is read, tape it under the Mystery sign on the wall. The clues are:

1. “Mystery” applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less strictly to whatever resists or defies explanation. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

2. We do not find the word sacrament in the Bible. Sacrament is a Latin word. The Scriptures were originally written in Greek.

3. The Word for sacrament we find in the Bible is the Greek word mysterion, “mystery.”

4. The word sacramentum (sacrament) was applied by Tertullian around 200 AD to the Christian mysteries, by which man became closer to God. The word sacrament thus acquired the same implication as the Greek word mysterion (mystery).

5. Eastern Orthodoxy sometimes calls the seven traditional sacraments the seven “mysteries.”

After the clues are posted, say:

The Greek word for mystery was translated into the Latin word for sacrament. So the first thing we must recognize about sacrament is that it begins with and is a mystery (and as such, we can never fully explain it).

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us “…a sacrament is a visible sign of a hidden presence (CCC 774) – somehow through things we can perceive with our senses, we can recognize something we cannot see, hear, smell, taste, or touch – God. It’s a mystery!


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Sacramentality (10 minutes)Ask participants whose birthdays are in April, May, or June to search for an item in the room that can “enhance their clarity of focus or vision.” Note to Leader: They are searching for is the box labeled “high tech vision enhancement device” with the glasses strips or colored cellophane in it. If time permits you can take the group outside before you give them the glasses, or even hide the box outside, and let them have a wider view of creation.

When they find the box, invite them to distribute the glasses (or cellophane strips) to the participants. Say:

These glasses are highly sophisticated devices and will allow you to see things they are otherwise invisible. But, in order to activate the glasses, you must close your left eye.

Note to Leader: This allows them to see out of only one color. This instruction is not necessary if you are using colored cellophane strips as they are all one color.

Now tell everyone:

Look around the room, look at each other, and look out the windows. These special vision enhancement devices will let you see the invisible in the visible. Everything you see that is red (or green) is filled with the presence of God!

While the group still has their glasses on, invite those that found the box to read the clues in the envelopes. They may have to take off their glasses to read. Tape the sign “Sacramentality” on the wall next to the sign labeled Mystery, leaving enough room for a sign to be taped between them. As each clue is read, tape it on the wall below the “Sacramentality” heading.

The clues are:1. The things of this earth are not obstacles to God but are intended to be

windows to the divine. The magnificence of creation enables us to see something of wonder, the multiplicity, the superabundance of God… Creation draws us into the very life of the Creator (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

2. The heavens announce the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19)

3. Nothing is a vacuum in the face of God. Everything is a sign of God (St. Irenaeus)

4. If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so mean as not to show forth and represent the goodness of God. (Thomas à Kempis)


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5. God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities… (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #54)


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OPTIONAL—Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a partner where they see God. For example: They might see God in the mighty ocean waves, in the mountains, a sunset, or a quiet forest path. They may see God in a friend, a laughing child or in the wisdom of the elderly. They may have recognized God in the forgiveness of someone, in the compassion of someone, or in the courage of someone.

The ability to see God in all of creation is called sacramentality. It recognizes what we were all taught as small children—that “God is everywhere!” As the poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning so eloquently put it, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God…” Sacramentality is a very Catholic view of the world—to be able to see God in the people, places, and events of our lives. (Some other faith traditions certainly see God in the material world, but not nearly to the extent that Catholics do. And some faith traditions actually view the world as inherently evil.)

Catholics embrace material objects in our celebrations, prayers, and liturgies because they are sacred—in that they are visible signs of the invisible God. The concept of sacramentality is important to understanding the mystery of sacrament.

Defining Sacrament (5 minutes)Tape the sign “+”on the wall between the Mystery and Sacramentality signs. Tape the sign with the “=”on the wall after the Sacramentality sign. Then tape the sign “Sacrament” after that.

Given what we know have found out about mystery and sacramentality, we can see how various people came up with their definitions of what a sacrament is.

After each clue is read, tape it below the Sacrament sign. The clues are:

1. St. Augustine said sacraments were “visible signs of invisible grace.” 2. The old Baltimore Catechism said “A sacrament is an outward sign

instituted by Christ to give grace.” 3. The Catechism of the Catholic Church calls a sacrament an “efficacious

sign of grace.” (#1131)

Sacrament is such a complex, dynamic reality that no one is going to be able to really define it adequately. A sacrament is the encounter with God when something of the material world becomes a conduit, a door to the sacred. It is something that recognizes the sacramentality of the signs, symbols, and gestures—and also acknowledges the mystery that is present when it is celebrated—because a sacrament is something which manifests the presence of God in a real way. A sacrament allows us to become conscious and aware


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of God’s greatest gift: the creative, sustaining, loving presence of God. That’s called “grace.”

The Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament (10 minutes)Point to the first line of the diagram and say:

So, if this is our understanding of sacrament, then what would be ULTIMATE SACRAMENT? A visible, physical presence that would be the closest encounter with God we could have? Let’s search for the answer!

Ask participants whose birthdays are in July, August, and September to try to find a representation of ”the Word made flesh and dwelt among us.” Note to Leader: They are searching for the Nativity figures or picture of Jesus with clues hidden with it. Depending on where you are meeting and what decorations are normally part of that space, it is possible that the searchers may identify a crucifix or other representation of Jesus that is present. Affirm that choice but invite them to keep looking for something that more specifically symbolizes the Incarnation or the humanity of Jesus, and which has clues hidden with it.

When they find the Nativity figures or picture, invite them to place it on the prayer table. Tape the sign with a triangle of dots and the word therefore on the wall next to the sign labeled Sacrament. Next to Sacrament, tape the sign “Jesus: The Ultimate Sacrament.”

Invite those that found the item to open and read the clues in the envelopes out loud to the rest of the group. As each clue is read tape it below the sign “Jesus: The Ultimate Sacrament.”

Clues are:1. It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make

known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #51)

2. The invisible God, whom no eye has seen, was seen in the humanity of Jesus. God, whose wonder and love are beyond our imagination, wished to become visible and close to us. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

3. In the wonder of the Incarnation your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith a new and radiant vision of your glory. In him we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see” (Christmas Preface I, read at Christmas Mass)

4. The man Jesus, as the personal visible realization of the divine grace of redemption, is the sacrament, the primordial sacrament, because this man, the Son of God himself, is intended by the Father to be in his humanity the only way to the actuality of redemption (Edward Schillebeeckx, theologian, pronounced “skill-e-beck”)

5. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9).


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An important step in enriching our understanding of sacrament is to see Jesus himself, in his humanity, as the first and original sacrament. It all starts with Jesus.

If we look at our understanding of sacrament or any of our definitions of sacrament (point to the definitions under the heading “Sacrament”), we can see that Jesus fits those descriptions. Jesus himself is the ultimate sacrament—what theologians call the primordial sacrament. Through the Incarnation (through the Word becoming flesh), Jesus is a visible sign of the invisible God. Jesus is an embodiment of the incredible love of God. Because Jesus and the Father are one, when we encounter Jesus, we are becoming closer to God.

OPTIONAL—Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a partner how they are like one of their parents—that is, how could someone know something about their father or mother by knowing them. For example: Someone could understand their Mr. Smith’s sense of humor by experiencing Janet’s sense of humor or someone could recognize Mrs. Smith’s creativity in Janet’s creative abilities. Explain that this is similar, but not exactly like how Jesus helps us know God. The biggest difference is that while they are not their father or mother, but only like them in some aspects, Jesus is one with the Father and so when we encounter Jesus we are encountering God.

The Foundational Sacrament (10 minutes)For the last search of the evening, invite participants whose birthdays are in October, November, and December to search for something that depicts the concept that “We are many parts but all one body.” Note to Leader: They are searching for the pictorial directory or photo album of parishioners. Again, searchers could be quite creative and may even pick each other or the group as a whole as the symbol. Once again, affirm that choice but invite them to keep looking for the clues hidden with a symbolic object.

While they are searching, tape the sign with the greater than symbol (>) on it next to Jesus. Then, tape the sign “Church: The Foundational Sacrament” on the wall.

Once they find the pictures, invite them to place them on the prayer table with the sacramental symbols and nativity set or picture of Jesus. Ask them to open the envelopes and read the clues out loud to the whole group. Tape the clues on the wall below “Church: The Foundational Sacrament” after each clue is read.

Clues are:1. [Jesus] rising from the dead, sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples

and through this Spirit has established his body, the Church, as the Mystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments

Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.Page 11

universal sacrament of salvation. (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #48)

2. To say that the Church is a mystery, or sacrament, means, in the words of the late Pope Paul VI, that it is “a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God.”

3. Now the Church is the continuance, the contemporary presence, of that real, eschatologically triumphant and irrevocably established presence in the world, in Christ, of God’s salvific will…By the very fact of being …the enduring presence of Christ in the world, the Church is truly the fundamental sacrament, the well-spring of the sacraments in the strict sense (Karl Rahner, theologian)

4. The Church is a mystery, since it is the mystical Christ, Head and members. Vatican II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. (Dolin B. Donovan, STL)

5. …the church, in Christ, is a sacrament – a sign and Instrument, that is, of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race… (Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church and Catechism of the Catholic Church, #775)

Jesus is the original ultimate sacrament—the visible presence of God in the world and the ultimate means by which we experience God’s life and love (grace.) But, we, the Church, are the continuing presence of Christ in the world today. We are the Mystical (mysterious) Body of Christ. Today we are called to be the visible presence of the invisible God. We, the People of God, are sacrament—instruments of grace called to be Christ present in the world. So, we can rightfully call the Church “the Foundational Sacrament.”

And it is from the Ultimate Sacrament, Jesus, that the Foundational Sacrament, the Church, can celebrate the liturgical rituals we call the seven sacraments!

Why We Can Celebrate the Seven Sacraments (10 minutes)Walk over to the prayer table where there are the symbols of the sacraments and the envelopes with the final clues (along with the nativity set or picture of Jesus and the pictorial directory or photo album placed there during the session). Pick up the envelopes and distribute them to some participants who may have not read one yet. Tape the sign with this symbol <-> next to the Church sign. Then post the “Seven Sacraments” sign on the wall.

Invite the participants to open the envelopes and read the clues, telling them that these final clues finish our line of reasoning and explain why the Catholic Church can celebrate the seven sacraments. Tape the clues below the “Seven Sacraments” sign as they are read.

These are the final clues:1. …Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical

celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of the minister,… but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes… (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7; Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1088)


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2. Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental because his mystery of salvation is made present there by the power of the Holy Spirit; because his Body, which is the Church, is like a sacrament (sign and instrument) in which the Holy Spirit dispenses the mystery of salvation; and because through her liturgical actions the pilgrim Church already participates, as by a foretaste, in the heavenly liturgy. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1111)

3. …theologians have called the Church the “fundamental” or “root” sacrament because the seven liturgical sacraments receive their power through the Church, which, rooted in the mystery of God, receives power from Christ. Each liturgical sacrament brings about a specific grace proper to its physical sign; the Church is the sign of Christ’s enduring presence in the world. (David Bonagura, Jr., adjunct professor of theology at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Diocese of Rockville Centre)

4. The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies…(Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph #774)

5. Today we Americans usually (nearly always) use numbers as quantities. Numbers tell us how much or how many…But numbers can also be used as qualities… Numbers as qualities have often been used in religion. Seven, for example, symbolizes totality. This is an important factor in the Church’s speaking of seven sacraments. Four is the number for earth and three is the number for heaven. (There are four elements: earth, air, fire and water. There are three persons in God.) When we join earth and heaven, the material and the spiritual, the created and the divine, (4+3) we have “all that is.” And so, seven means universal, completeness, totality…. We have all the sacraments we will ever need. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

Jesus is the ultimate sacrament. He is the most incredible visible sign of God’s love and the total revelation of who God is. When Jesus ascended into heaven he promised to send the Holy Spirit to help the apostles continue his work on earth. With the Holy Spirit working through those first followers of Jesus, we have the Church.

The Church is the Body of Christ in the world today. She is the visible sign of God’s love now. To help us understand and experience the love of God, to help us be “graced,” the Church established the seven sacraments.

Each sacrament [which we will learn about in a different session] has its own way of drawing us closer to God and helping us experience His love and grace. But together they are a complete set.

Sacraments are not “magic moments,” nor does the priest or deacon have some kind of “special power.” It is not the minister of the sacrament or those who receive it that makes them “work.” The Catholic Church has the power to celebrate the sacraments because it is really Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, who is the minister of each of the Sacraments.

When we open our minds and hearts to the sacramentality of the signs, symbols and rituals of the sacraments, we recognize the presence of God right here. When the Church invites us to celebrate the sacraments together she is inviting us to experience the power and presence of God in a unique and awesome way!


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OPTIONAL: Extend the Session (5 minutes): Invite participants to share with a partner a time when they participated in the celebration of one of the seven sacraments and experienced feeling particularly close to God. For example: perhaps they felt close to God after a reconciliation experience, or perhaps they were anointed before an upcoming surgery. Maybe they felt the presence of God at a wedding they attended, or they can remember feeling very holy on the day of their First Communion. Be sure to comment on how close we can all be to God every time we receive Holy Communion.

Concluding Remarks: Called to Be Sacrament (5 minutes)Point to the completed diagram and comment:

If you have been a Catholic since you were a very small child, you may have taken the sacraments for granted or thought you understood what they were all about. Actually, as I hope you have learned, sacraments are very complex, dynamic realities that are difficult to describe adequately. They can honestly be called a “mystery.” In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the section on the sacraments is actually called “The Celebration of Christian Mystery.”

Some theologians have suggested that it is better to understand the concept of sacrament as a verb rather than a noun—we do not receive sacraments (a thing) but are sacramented (an action). Through each sacrament we are mysteriously drawn into an experience with the Transcendent God!

So, even after all this diagraming and describing, perhaps we are ultimately left with having to say “You just have to be there!” To really understand sacrament you have to be open to experiencing it!

Through the symbolic signs and actions of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church we can come to recognized God’s saving love for us. Through the celebration of the Sacraments our attention is focused on God and we can come to recognize his real on-going presence in our world.

The Sacraments also call us to make a response. Through the Sacraments we are called to become closer to God and to one another. In a real way, if we understand the concept of sacramentality, with the grace of the Sacraments we, who are the Church, are called to become sacrament—a visible sign of God’s presence—to the world.

Closing Prayer: Church as Sacrament (15 minutes)Invite participants to stand in a circle around the prayer table. Distribute copies of Handout 1, Church as Sacrament. Play instrumental reflective music. Follow the outline on the handout.

Websites and links in this session were accessed successfully on May 29, 2012.

This session was written by Christina J. Semmel, Director of Youth Ministries, SS Peter & Paul Parish, Cary, Illinois. Chris is the author of


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http://www.cmdnet.org/ymaauthors

YMA’s Seasonal Connections, teaches Evangelization & Catechesis and Practices of Youth Ministry in the Certificate Program, and is on the Executive Committee of the National Association for Catholic Youth Ministry Leaders (NACYML). Fr. Roy Shelly, Ph.D., served as the theological consultant on this session. Fr. Roy is pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Spreckels, California.


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http://www.cmdnet.org/ymaauthors

Handout 1

Church as Sacrament

Gather

We will sing the refrain from “One Spirit, One Church” twice.

Prayer Leader: As Catholics, we are comfortable with mystery and sacramentality. We profess that God is everywhere and we realize that the entire created world is filled with the presence of God. This is how we understand the concept of sacrament.

As Catholics, we acknowledge the mystery of the Incarnation, where the Word was made flesh, and believe that Jesus is the Ultimate Sacrament of God’s love made present in the world. We recognize the mission of the Church to be Christ in the world today and appreciate the amazing gift of the Seven Sacraments as a means to continue to encounter God today.

In our growing appreciation and understanding of sacrament, as young Catholics we also recognize that we are the young church now and we have been called to be sacramental—to be signs of God’s love and presence in our world today.

ListenReader 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with

God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Reader #2: And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. (John1:14)

Reader #3: To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. (John 1:12)

Prayer Leader:Through the power of Jesus, working with the Holy Spirit, the Church sanctifies ordinary objects and gestures into encounters with the living God. Let us bring to mind some of the Sacraments as we bless ourselves with some of these sacramental items.

A volunteer lights the candle.


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We dip our fingers in the bowl of water and make the Sign of the Cross. (Pass the bowl to the person on your right. The last person places the bowl on the prayer table.)

Put a bit of oil on your index finger and make the Sign of the Cross. (Pass the oil to the person on your right. The last person places the oil on the prayer table.)

Take an unconsecrated host/piece of bread and eat it. (Pass the plate to the person on your right. The last person places the plate on the prayer table.)

Second ReadingReader 4: If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for

whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love…It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you, love one another. (John 15:7-9; 16-17)

RespondPrayer Leader:

Today the church is called to be Christ to the World—to make manifest the presence and love of God to all humanity. We, who are the Church, are called to be sacrament to the world. So, let us pray, that we the Church, may truly be a living sacrament.

Reader 5: Let us be a church where those willing to change take delight in their call to conversion.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of birth and growth.

Reader 6: Let us be a church where broken hearts are mended through the courage of forgiveness.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of reconciliation and healing.

Reader 7: Let us be a church where all are welcome and the homeless, the challenged, the hungry, and the homebound come to be satisfied.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of communion.

Reader 8: Let us be a church where the poor and the rejected receive what is good and right.


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All: Lord, make us a sacrament of justice.

Reader 5: Let us be a church where those who trustingly hold out their hands to each other grow in the daily living of family life.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of commitment and fidelity.

Reader 6: Let us be a church where those who minister within the institutional church serve with humility and compassion.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of servant leadership.

Reader 7: Let us be a church where the infirm, the elderly, and the dying are treated with gentleness and dignity.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of comfort and companionship.

Reader 8: Let us be a church where those longing for rootedness can celebrate coming home.

All: Lord, make us a sacrament of ritual, symbol and tradition.

Send ForthPrayer Leader:

We are and we become the sacrament of Church for one another. We are called to be for others what Jesus is for us.

To close, we will sing “Somos el Cuerpo de Cristo/ We are the Body of Christ.”


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Resource 1

Clues to Be Hidden in Dictionary

1. Mystery applies to what cannot be fully understood by reason or less strictly to whatever resists or defies explanation. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

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2. We do not find the word sacrament in the Bible. Sacrament is a Latin word. The Scriptures were originally written in Greek.

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3. The Word for sacrament we find in the Bible is the Greek word mysterion, “mystery.”

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4. The word sacramentum (sacrament) was applied by Tertullian around 200 AD to the Christian mysteries, by which man became closer to God. The word sacrament thus acquired the same implication as the Greek word mysterion (mystery).

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5. Eastern Orthodoxy sometimes calls the seven traditional sacraments the seven “mysteries.”


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Resource 2

Clues to Be Hidden in Box with Glasses

1. The things of this earth are not obstacles to God but are intended to be windows to the divine. The magnificence of creation enables us to see something of wonder, the multiplicity, the superabundance of God… Creation draws us into the very life of the Creator (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

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2. The heavens announce the glory of God and the firmament proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19)

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3. Nothing is a vacuum in the face of God. Everything is a sign of God (St. Irenaeus)

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4. If your heart is straight with God, then every creature will be to you a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine. No creature is so little or so mean as not to show forth and represent the goodness of God. (Thomas à Kempis)

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5. God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with constant evidence of himself in created realities… (CCC, #54)

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Resource 3

Three Definitions of Sacrament

Visible Signs of Invisible Grace (St. Augustine)

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An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace (Baltimore Catechism)

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An efficacious sign of God’s love (CCC)

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Resource 4

Clues to Be Hidden in Nativity Set (or with Picture of Jesus)

1. It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #51)

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2. The invisible God, whom no eye has seen, was seen in the humanity of Jesus. God, whose wonder and love are beyond our imagination, wished to become visible and close to us. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

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3. In the wonder of the Incarnation your eternal Word has brought to the eyes of faith a new and radiant vision of your glory. In him we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see” (Christmas Preface I, read at Christmas Mass)

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4. The man Jesus, as the personal visible realization of the divine grace of redemption, is the sacrament, the primordial sacrament, because this man, the Son of God himself, is intended by the Father to be in his humanity the only way to the actuality of redemption (Edward Schillebeeckx, theologian)

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5. “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).


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-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Resource 5

Clues to Be Hidden with Parish Pictorial Directory or Photo Album

1. [Jesus] rising from the dead, sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples and through this Spirit has established his body, the Church, as the universal sacrament of salvation. (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, #48)

2. To say that the Church is a mystery, or sacrament, means, in the words of the late Pope Paul VI, that it is “a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God.”

3. Now the Church is the continuance, the contemporary presence, of that real, eschatologically triumphant and irrevocably established presence in the world, in Christ, of God’s salvific will…By the very fact of being …the enduring presence of Christ in the world, the Church is truly the fundamental sacrament, the well-spring of the sacraments in the strict sense (Karl Rahner, theologian)

4. The Church is a mystery, since it is the mystical Christ, Head and members. Vatican II speaks of the Church as the sacrament of Christ. (Dolin B. Donovan, STL)

5. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of the minister,… but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for he promised, ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them’ (Matthew 18:20) (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7)

6. …the church, in Christ, is a sacrament – a sign and Instrument , that is, of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race… (Lumen Gentium: The Mystery of the Church and Catechism of the Catholic Church, #775)


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Resource 6Clues to Be Placed on the

Prayer Table with the Sacramental Symbols1. …Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical

celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of the minister,… but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes… (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7; Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1088)

2. Christ’s work in the liturgy is sacramental because his mystery of salvation is made present there by the power of the Holy Spirit; because his Body, which is the Church, is like a sacrament (sign and instrument) in which the Holy Spirit dispenses the mystery of salvation; and because through her liturgical actions the pilgrim Church already participates, as by a foretaste, in the heavenly liturgy. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1111)

3. …theologians have called the Church the “fundamental” or “root” sacrament because the seven liturgical sacraments receive their power through the Church, which, rooted in the mystery of God, receives power from Christ. Each liturgical sacrament brings about a specific grace proper to its physical sign; the Church is the sign of Christ’s enduring presence in the world. (David Bonagura, Jr., Seminary of the Immaculate Conception, Diocese of Rockville Centre)

4. The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies…(Catechism of the Catholic Church, #774)

5. Today we Americans usually (nearly always) use numbers as quantities. Numbers tell us how much or how many…But numbers can also be used as qualities… Numbers as qualities have often been used in religion. Seven, for example, symbolizes totality. This is an important factor in the Church’s speaking of seven sacraments. Four is the number for earth and three is the number for heaven. (There are four elements: earth, air, fire and water. There are three persons in God.) When we join earth and heaven, the material and the spiritual, the created and the


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divine, (4+3) we have “all that is.” And so, seven means universal, completeness, totality…. We have all the sacraments we will ever need. (Thomas Richstatter OFM, theologian)

Resource 7Signs for Diagram

The following signs are on the next 11 pages:

Mystery + Sacramentality = Sacrament

. . . (therefore) Jesus

Ultimate (Primordial) Sacrament > Church

Foundational Sacrament <-> Seven Sacraments


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MYSTERY


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+


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SACRAMENTALITY


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=


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SACRAMENT


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(therefore)


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JESUSUltimate

(Primordial) Sacrament


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>


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CHURCHFoundational Sacrament


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<->Seven

SacramentsMystery Quest: From Sacramentality to Sacraments

Copyright © Center for Ministry Development, 2012. All rights reserved.Page 38


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Resource 8

Diagram

Suggestions and ideas for possible alternate ways to display diagram:

1. You might want to laminate the signs for ease of taping and to be able to re-use at a later date.

2. If the room you are using has a large wipe off board, you might want to consider printing the signs on magnetic printer paper (and the “clues” as well) as wipe off boards will hold magnetics.

3. Put the first five signs on one wall and the remaining six signs on an adjacent wall.

4. Instead of using pieces of paper for signs; simply write headings on a blackboard or dry-erase board.

5. If space is an issue, just post the signs of the diagram and not add the “clues.”

6. Make PowerPoint Slides of the progression of the diagram (i.e., slide #1 would only be the first sign, slide #2 would be the sign the first 3 signs; slide #3 would be the first 5 signs; slide #4 would be the first 7 signs; slide #5 would be the first 9 signs; and slide #6 would be the complete diagram.

7. If the visual diagram doesn’t seem helpful to your group, and you clearly summarize after each segment, you can forgo posting the signs.


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Mystery Sacramentality

Sacrament

Jesus:UltimateSacrame

nt

Church SevenSacrame

nts+ = .. .

> <->

Documents

Mystery Quest: - Our Lady of Peace Churcholp.org/.../2-mystery-quest--christina-semmel-(final).docx · Web viewMystery Quest: From s. acramentality . to S. ... Recording of “Pink