Module 4: The Mass

Ideas Chart
What I believe
Sacraments are external signs of internal grace.
Sacraments are signs of Jesus presence with us at the most important times of life
e.g. rites of passage, sickness, death, celebrations, etc.
Sacraments reflect the sacredness of life.
They are vehicles of salvation.
We receive strength, consolation, and healing in the sacraments.
Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist are the sacraments of Initiation.
Our vocations in life are strengthened by participation in the sacraments.
Sacraments unify as church in union with Christ, especially through our baptism
and the eucharist.
Sacraments use symbol and metaphor to help us express and understand deep
mysteries of the Kingdom.

What I have Learned

Real symbols are not linked to our reality, they constitute our reality. A symbol
does what it symbolizes. (Lavin, p.107)
I learned more about the link between the 3 elements of sacrament:
1. the meaning of human experience;
2. the saving presence of God in our lives;
3. the transforming effect of human beings, both individually and communally;
The idea of Jesus as Primordial Sacrament and Church as Fundamental
Sacrament.
I received a fuller explanation of Greek word mysterion and the Latin word,
sacramentum, and how these terms developed theologically through the ages to
its present understanding of sacrament as an outward sign of invisible grace.

Questions I still have

As a Church steeped in symbolic action, are we as church and school
communities adequately aware, or taught enough, about the power and role of
symbol in life, especially in sacramental life?
I believe there is a disconnect (or lack of awareness) in the minds of people,
regarding the interconnectedness of the 3 elements of sacrament. I want to
ponder this idea more and think of ways to make connections in meaningful and
relevant ways.
How can we as teachers develop in our school communities a more sacramental
worldview?