“What’s It All About?” – Taking a Sacramental View

From What Makes Us Catholic: Eight Gifts for Life by Thomas H. Groome

Presented by:Pamela Liceralde

Jennifer PooleJennifer Sorrentino

What is a “sacramental outlook”?• Our perspective: how we live in the world and experience

life

• World refers to both the created order of nature and culture we create as humans

• We must be aware of our view of life:– Who and what has formed this view?– How has this view helped or hindered you?– What is “life for all” and what is not?– Are you willing to adjust your attitude?

• Adjusting our attitude allows new possibilities

Life is meaningful and worthwhile• As Christians we are called to recognize that “Within God’s

sustaining love, life is worthy for its own sake, regardless of our accomplishments or accolades” (p. 83)

• “Nothing is more significant to what makes us Catholic than the sacramental principle” (p .84)– “it reaches far beyond liturgical rites… it means that God is present

to humankind and we respond to God’s grace through the ordinary and everyday of life in the world” (p. 84)

God’s grace expects our partnership & responsibility• Sacramentality of life calls on us to find the extraordinary in

the ordinary – to have a sacramental outlook on all of life in this world (p. 87)

• God’s Spirit and humankind work together through:– Nature and creation– Culture and society– Our minds and bodies– Hearts and souls– Labors and efforts– Creativity and generativity– Depth of our own being and in community with others– Every event and experience that comes our way (p. 84)

God’s Spirit at work in the world• Sacramentality reflects an understanding of God and of

God’s Spirit at work in the world (p. 87)

• In Christian faith, God’s decisive sacrament in human history was Jesus, who engages in human history by being the savior and the liberator (p. 89)

• “God cannot leave us and our world to our own devices, to muddle along by ourselves” (p. 89)

The principle of sacramentality …• Reflects faith in “God with us,” saving, engaging, and

enabling humankind as covenant partners (p. 89)

• Reflects God as Triune: Godself, humankind, and a loving relationship always at work in the world (p. 89)

• Reflects that God is always at work in the world, “inviting our responsible participation in God’s dream for us all” (p. 90)

Enough to test anyone’s faith“If God is lovingly present, and life in the world is basically good, then how come there is so much suffering and evil?” (p. 90)• God never causes human evil or suffering; God allows them out of

respect for human freedom and the dynamics of nature (p. 91)• God does not use suffering as a quid pro quo punishment for sin (p. 91)• Even when human beings make sinful choices, God may draw some

good out of them (p. 91)• Though Jesus offered no explanation for sin and suffering, he taught

disciples to avoid the first and alleviate the latter (p. 91)• In his agony and death, Jesus symbolized God’s solidarity with people

who suffer; in his Resurrection, Jesus reversed suffering and death to go backward into new life (p. 92)

• A sacramental outlook includes a healthy suspicion for human sinfulness; recognizing whatever in the world that is not of God’s reign (p. 92)

A sacramental consciousness – imagine!• Sacramental consciousness means “being alert to the more

in the midst of the ordinary” (p. 92) and activating our imagination.

• We need our imagination:– To help us see how things really are, beyond the obvious and routine

(p. 94)

– To discern how best to respond to God’s presence in the midst of life, understanding possibilities & consequences to drive our choices (p. 94)

– To recognize what is not in God’s reign and resist it (p. 95)

– To see and respond to the poor and oppressed (p. 95)

Practicing a sacramental outlook• Three key practices to develop a sacramental

perspective on life:

– Develop habit of sacramental imagination

– Be a good steward of creation

– Celebrate life--and Eucharist

Develop a habit of sacramental imagination• Pause at the start of the day to refresh your sense of life as

a gift from God (p. 96)

• Be alert throughout the day for “God-moments” that remind us of God’s love (p. 97)

• Take time for faith reflections - meditations in which we talk to God about any aspect of life in the world and bring our faith to discern what it means and how we should respond in a faith-filled way (p. 97)

• Take time to ‘stop to smell the roses’ - contemplations when we notice and receive the gifts of God that are right in front of us (p. 97)

Be a good steward of creation• Creation is a divine gift and humans must be its responsible

stewards in God’s name (p. 99)

• Humans are commissioned in Genesis “to sustain with loving care” and “cultivate” God’s creation - there is Biblical justification for man’s ecological stewardship of Earth (p. 99-100)

• Creation is a sacrament of the divine-human covenant (p. 99)

• We can experience a beautiful sense God’s presence through nature by relishing and enjoying the beauty of nature (p. 100)

Celebrate life--and Eucharist• A sacramental outlook epitomizes the spirit of celebrating life --

“the constant presence of God’s Spirit in the everyday--the more in the midst of the ordinary--always warrants celebration” (p. 101)

• Mass is the central symbol of divine-human encounter for Catholic Christians (p. 101)

• The celebration of Eucharist is the apex of the seven sacraments and “Its enactment is well named a celebration” (p. 101)

• At Mass, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of Eucharist “bring life to faith and faith to life” for the participants (p. 102)

Embrace the responsibility to celebrate• All baptized Catholics have “the right and duty” to

participate in the life of the Church through “full, conscious, and active participation” in the liturgy (p. 102)

• Catholics are “responsible to make the most of their Mass” and celebrate (p. 103)– Mass assembles of a community of Christian people– Mass lends access to the word of God in Scripture– Mass offers Holy Communion to re-bond the community within the

Body of Christ

Reflection questions on Chapter 3:• How can taking a sacramental outlook impact your role as

a school leader?

• How can we help our colleagues develop a sacramental outlook?

• Which of the three strategies for developing a sacramental outlook do you already regularly practice?

– Developing a habit of sacramental imagination

– Being a good steward of creation

– Celebrating life—and Eucharist