Part 2: How We Celebrate

the Christian Mysteries

Discovering the Sacred
God and the Sacred Liturgy
Topic 2: The Family Feast

Behind YOUCAT
Does your extended family gather together for
Thanksgiving? Do you get out the best silver, the best
china, set the table with an elegant tablecloth? For most,
the preparations for the feast are an all-day affair. The
food is the best ever, especially the desserts! It is a time
of great anticipation and satisfaction.

Behind YOUCAT (cont)

In Gods family, there is a feast as well. And every
Sunday is a day of Thanksgiving. God is the host, and
the feast is the sacred liturgy. God personally invites us
to become part of his Family. He guides his costly
vestments and holy vessels, and the finest food available
to man: God himself.

Behind YOUCAT (cont)

The Bible says man lives on every word the proceeds
from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4). In the liturgy, God
speaks his Word and gives life to his family. In the Mass,
God shoes the depth of his love for us by mysteriously
making present the saving sacrifice of his Son, who then
feeds us with his very self.

Read YOUCAT
170-171
173
175-178

What Does YOUCAT Say?

1. Why must our earthly liturgies be celebrations full of
beauty and power (170-171)?
2. What is the most important liturgy in the world (171)?
3. How does each sacrament fulfill a particular human
need (173)?
4. Why is faith a needed part of receiving the sacraments
(177)?

What Does the Bible Say?

1. In so many of the Psalms of the Bible used in the
Catholic liturgy, like Psalm 43:5, we are encouraged to
praise the Lord. Why do people need to praise the
Lord?
2. In the Book of Exodus, we read of the Passover of the
Jewish people from Egypt. Exodus 12 tells us of the
paschal lamb and his blood. What do they prefigure?

YOU Chat
1. How does God bless us in the liturgy, and how does it
remind us that the fact we exist is something
beautiful?
2. What does it mean to say a sacramental sign does
what it signifies?
3. Which of the seven sacraments is the most important?
Which one would you say is the next in importance?
Give your reasons.

YOU Reflect
The death and Resurrection of Jesus, the true Paschal
Lam, frees us from death and sin and proves that
someone can die and nevertheless gain life. This life, his
risen life, he shares with us through the liturgy and the
sacred signs of the sacraments. Frequent and worthy
reception of Christs sacraments cause us to outgrow our
human pettiness and become fully human and fully alive
as Jesus, the God-man, is.

YOU Reflect (cont)

The sacraments are not magic. Faith is one prerequisite
for our receiving the full benefits of the sacraments. Do
we receive with faith? Do we receive in the state of
grace those sacraments that require it? Will we strive all
the most in the future to believe in the One who
empowers every sacrament, and will we receive them
humbly and gratefully, abandoning ourselves to the will
and presences of God? Our holiness, happiness, and
eternity are at stake. Will we choose to love and receive
love from the One who gave everything for us?
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YOU Reflect (cont)

1. How is faith important in order to receive Gods grace
in the sacraments?
2. Which sacraments do not require our being in the
state of grace to receive them?
3. In what ways is someone more apt to treat the
sacraments as if they were magic if he does not have
a close relationship with Christ?

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YOU Challenge
Study: Each sacrament has its unique purpose. Study
what YOUCAT says about the purpose of the sacrament of
Reconciliation.
Receive: Commit yourself to frequent reception of the
sacrament of Reconciliation once a week, once every
two weeks, or at least once a month. Be reconciled to
God!
Prepare: Make sure you are in the state of grace,
prayerfully read the Sunday Gospel, and beg Jesus to
help you love him before receiving Holy Communion this
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Sunday.