SEMINAR 2
RESEARCH PAPER
Ventilacion, Vernis S.
1B
A. Explain the meaning of prayer, worship and sacraments in particular.
Prayer is "the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good
things from God." It is an act of the moral virtue of religion, which Catholic
theologians identify as a part of the cardinal virtue of justice. Prayer may be
expressed vocally or mentally.
The liturgical life of the Catholic Church revolves around the Eucharistic
sacrifice and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Church:
Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony,
and Holy Orders. The purpose of the sacraments is to make people holy, to build
up the body of Christ, and finally, to give worship to God; but being signs, they
also have a teaching function. They not only presuppose faith, but by words and
object, they also nourish, strengthen, and express it; that is why they are called
"sacraments of faith." The sacraments impart grace, but, in addition, the very act
of celebrating them disposes the faithful most effectively to receive this grace in a
fruitful manner, to worship God rightly, and to practice charity.
Worship is integral to our lives as Christians. When we engage in the
prayer and ritual of the Church, we are formed as Church. Our sacramental rites
are of primary importance while we are gathered.
B. Differentiate sacrament and sacramentals.
Each of the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church was instituted directly by
Jesus Christ, and they function ex opere operato (from the deed done), meaning,
they do what they signify. Whereas Sacramentals, mainly given to us by the
Church (after Christ) throughout the centuries, work by virtue of the faith placed
in them (ex opere operantis), and by virtue of the faith, work, and prayers of the
Church (ex opere operantis Ecclesiae). (catholic-link.org)
C. Describe popular religiousity.
If religiosity is the cultural embodiment and manifestation of faith, then
Catholicism in the lowland Philippines is basically expressed in two forms of
religiosity: official and popular Catholicism. The first derives from an external
dissemination of the Christian message by missionaries from the West and is still
in the main understood and expressed in terms of European culture, while the
second comes from the active reception or appropriation of Catholic Christianity
by the natives of the islands. (A quote from a Roman Catholic theologian)
D. Explain why the sacraments been instituted.
Sacraments are means by which human beings grow into the full stature God
intends. God does the work in us that was done in Jesus. God swears to the
power and effect the sacraments have on us by an oath formula “In the Name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The use of water, bread and
wine, oil and the laying on of hands illustrate in a visible way what God is doing
invisibly in the soul. The Glory of God is a human person fully alive. Thus the
Sacraments cause a person to become more and more fully what God intends us
to be.
E. Do the sacraments recall in any way the means by which our Lord merited
the graces we receive through them?
The sacraments are Christ’s own gift that provide us with his grace. They are the
divine helps which God gives us to enable us to:
- Believe the truths of his faith
- Live according to his moral code
- Grow in his gift of divine life
F. Enumerate the 7 sacraments according to their categories/groupings and
explain their importance and relevance into our Christian life.
The Seven Sacraments are divided into three groupings:
- The sacraments of initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist)
Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist lay the foundations of the Christian
life. Just as every natural life has an origin, development and nourishing,
so the faithful are born anew (Baptism), are strengthened (Confirmation),
and receive the food of eternal life (Eucharist).
- The sacraments of healing (Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick)
“Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life
of Christ. We are still…subject to suffering, illness, and death. This new
life as a child of God can be weakened by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ,
physician of our souls and bodies has willed that his Church
continue his work of healing and salvation. This is the purpose of the
two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament
of Anointing of the Sick.” (#1420, 1421 Catechism of the Catholic Church)
- The sacraments serving the Church and the mission of the faithful (Holy Orders,
Matrimony)
Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the salvation of others; if
they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others
that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve
to build up the People of God. (#1534 Catechism of the Catholic Church)
G. Explain the statement “As communities struggling to be evangelized and
evangelizing we are also called to be "sacraments" and living witness of
God's love by loving/serving one another”
There are so many ways in which we can be witnesses to this mystery of God --
the one God who is love and who wherever God is brings love into that place.
We are witnesses to that. So I hope as we leave the church today, we leave with
a greater determination to live our lives in such a way that we witness how Jesus
lived for others and that we bring the love of God into our world in every possible
way so that this message of Jesus will be carried, as he said, "to the ends of the
earth.”
H. How can my person and life become a “sacrament” and “sacramental” to
others and to my community?
To live the sacramental life is to be all Eucharistic. It is to love this sign, this
culmination and fulfillment, this source and summit of our perfect prayer and
perfect self-offering in love. And it is to love that culmination of the life of grace in
such a way that it penetrates all of our life. To be all Eucharistic.
