7. • 4 distinct stages :-
– Service of the
Light
– Liturgy of the
Word
– Liturgy of Baptism
– Liturgy of the
Eucharist
8. Blessing of the new fire
• The Celebrant
blesses the new
fire: the
celebrant and
faithful gather
around it and
experience the
flames dispelling
the darkness and
lighting up the
night.
10. It is blessed and inserted
with the 5 grains of
incense now. The Easter
candle is lighted from the
new fire.
11. It is a majestic proclamation of the
Resurrection of Christ, a dramatic invitation
to heaven and earth to join with the Church
in joy and jubilation. It is the rite of
sanctification of light and night, of place
and time, of priest and faithful for the
celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord
12. The Exsultet
The Easter proclamation has survived nearly 2000 years of
Christian music and stands as one of the finest of liturgical
poetry. It captures the whole Easter mystery placed within
the context of the economy of salvation and celebrates the
resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
13. Liturgy of the Word
• Each reading is followed by
• 5 Readings and 4 an invitation to pray in
Psalms silence, which is followed
– 4 from the Old by a special prayer
designed for that reading.
Testament
• These readings help us
– 2 from the New meditate on the wonderful
Testament works of God for his people
including the since the beginning of time.
Gospel Reading • The Gloria is sung before
the reading of the Epistle of
the Romans, and the
Alleluia is sung before the
Gospel.
14. Liturgy of Baptism – litany of the saints
A prayer in to and in honour of the saints,
appealing to them for help and divine protection.
15. Blessing of water
The baptismal water is consecrated by a prayer of epiclesis.
The Church asks God through his Son the power of the Holy
Spirit may be sent upon the water, so that those who will be
baptised in it may be “born of water and the spirit”.
16. Rite of baptism
The copious use of water during baptism is the most expressive
outward sign of God’s gift of sanctifying grace in abundance:
the water not only signifies the removal of but actually washes
away original and all personal sins. Baptism makes the
neophyte an adopted child of God and “partaker of the divine
nature.”
17. • The white garment
symbolises the purity of
a soul cleansed from all
sin: the person
baptised has “put on
Christ”, has risen with
Christ.
• The Godparents will
light their candle from
the Paschal candle for
the neophytes. It
signifies that Christ has
enlightened the
neophyte. In Him, the
baptised are “light of
the world”.
18. Effects of the Sacraments of
Christian Initiation - Baptism
• Through Baptism we are freed from sin ....
• all sin, original sin & personal sin
and reborn as children of God; ....
• we become members of Christ, ....
• an identity “Christian” - sharers in the
prophetic, priestly and kingly mission of
Christ.
• are incorporated into the Church ....
• as a baby is born into a family, so is the
whole Church our family
• and made sharers in her mission....
20. “The Eucharist is the source and summit
of Christian life”. (CCC1324)
21. The Sacraments of Christian
Initiation – Holy Eucharist
• Baptism is necessary to
obtain a share in the life
of God.
• The Eucharist is equally
necessary to remain
spiritually alive.
(“..unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink his
blood, you willl have no life
in you… for my flesh is true
food and my blood is true
drink.” – John 6: 52, 55)
22. Holy Eucharist
• “Anyone who desires
to receive Christ in
Eucharistic
communion must be in
the state of grace.
Anyone aware of
having sinned mortally
must not receive
communion without
having received
absolution in the
sacrament of
Penance.” CCC 1415
(“..Examine yourselves,
and only then eat of
the bread and drink of
the cup.” –
1 Cor 11:28)
24. To summarise …
The sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism,
Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the
foundations of every Christian life. "The sharing
in the divine nature given to men through the
grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the
origin, development, and nourishing of natural
life. the faithful are born anew by Baptism,
strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation,
and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal
life. - CCC 1212
25. Sharing
• Recall the night of your
baptism.
• What was your
experience like?
• What lingers in your
memory?
• How did you feel?
• What touched you?
Engaged you?
Disengaged you?
• What did you hear,
smell, see, taste?
29. Mystagogia:
an ancient Greek word meaning
"education in the sacred mysteries".
It describes the life of a Christian
believer after baptism and the first
initiation rites - that is, the growth of the
mind and heart in the ancient Christian
faith.
30. The Fourth Phase: The Period of
Mystagogia
The period of mystagogia is a time for:
living a sacramental life
living out the gospel way of life
becoming more involved in the parish
31. Living out the faith
Remain in me, as I
remain in you. Just
as a branch cannot
bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on
the vine, so neither
can you unless you
remain in me. – John
15:4
32.
33. "My people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge."
Hosea 4:6
34. If we say, "We are without sin," we deceive
ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 JOHN 1: 8
If we say, "We have not sinned," we make
him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 JOHN 1 :10
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin
which is not mortal. 1 John 5:17
35. GROWTH IN THE SPIRIT
(VERTICAL DIMENSION)
• SACRAMENT;
• STUDY;
• SERVICE;
• SUPPORT GROUP
& COMMUNITY;
• SOLITUDE &
PRAYER.
• MASS
• RECONCILIATION
36. What is sacramental living?
Living out of a normal Catholic spiritual life; a life within
the Church in which the Christian fulfills his/her
vocation.
(“vocare”– Latin – to call)
37. SACRAMENTAL LIVING
Do not be conformed
to this world, but be
transformed by the
renewing of your
minds, so that you
may discern what is
the will of God-
what is good,
acceptable and
perfect. – Rom 12:2
39. The point of all the sacraments is to
make us holy, to make us radiate
with God's own life, and to bring us
to heaven. That is the great mission
of the Holy Spirit.
39
40. God’s ultimate plan for us – that we may:
...attain to the whole measure of the
fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13)
"Our greatest wish and prayer is that you
will become mature Christians." 2 Cor
13:9
…press on to maturity (Heb 6:1)
40
41. The Charismatic
Gifts empowers
the "Doing“
to build the
Church
The Sanctifying
Gifts roots the
"Being“
to bear fruits
41
43. “At the end of our lives,
we will not be judged by
how many diplomas we
have received, how much
money we have made or
how many great things we have done.
We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and
you gave me to eat. I was naked and you
clothed me. I was homeless and you took
me in.’”
43
44. "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels,
but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or
a clanging cymbal."
1 Corinthians 13:1
If I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all
mysteries and all
knowledge, and if I have a
faith that can move
mountains, but have not
love, I am nothing
1 Corinthians 13:2
45. “ Charisms are therefore
graces bestowed by the
Holy Spirit on certain
members of the faithful to
prepare them to contribute
to the common good of the
Church.”
Pope John Paul II
Address to participants in the
Second International Conference
of Ecclesial Movements, 2 March
1987, L'Osservatore Romano
45
English edition, 16 March 1987,
57. You say:
"I'm afraid"
God says:
I have not given you
a spirit of fear
(2Tim1:7)
58. You say:
"I'm always worried
and frustrated"
God says:
Cast all your cares
on ME
(1Pet5:7)
59. You say:
"I don't have
enough faith"
God says:
I've given everyone
a measure of faith
(Rom12:3)
60. You say:
"I feel all alone"
God says:
I will never leave
you
or forsake you
(Heb 13:5)
Notes de l'éditeur
Did you go to Mass today? What season of the Liturgical Year are we in? What was the theme of the Mass? What was the Gospel about? What was the homily about?
It signifies and actually brings about death to sin and entry into the life of the Most Holy Trinity . You have “put on Christ (Gal 3:27).
Beautiful prayer by Father : You have become a new creation and have clothed yourself in Christ. Clothed in white garment, bring it unstained to the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ so that you may have everlasting life.
Next week will have session on this. A People sent – church on a mission
so we need the food and drink of the Holy Eucharist to stay alive in His grace.
Referring to the baptized as "new born babes", the apostle Peter writes: "Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ ... you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Pt 2:4-5, 9).
This period lasts from Easter Sunday until the completion of the Easter season – 50 days on Pentecost Sunday and completes the initiation process. You are now called neophytes (new light) . You reflect on what you have just gone through ad look to the future as to how you can share in the mission of Christ who came to bring salvation to the whole world. This is the period of time that reminds the whole church that life in Christ constantly calls us to grow and to look for new ways to live the life of grace, personally and together as community. Christian believers in the first century described this phase of continuing spiritual instruction that followed the rites of initiation –what next? What is this new life for? Mystagogy, traditionally and historically a period of great catechesis in the Church, the neophytes gathered together for eucharist on Sunday donning the white garment of the believer. Seeing with the eyes of the heart. Emphasis on the Eucharist- strong encouragement to participate in the Eucharist.
The imagery of the vine is a very powerful one - The prophets in the Old Testament used the image of the vine to describe the chosen people. Israel is God's vine, the Lord's own work, the joy of his heart: "I have planted you a choice vine" (Jer 2:21); "Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard transplanted by the water, fruitful and full of branches by reason of abundant water" (Ez 19:10); Jesus himself once again takes up the symbol of the vine and uses it to illustrate various aspects of the Kingdom of God: "A man planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a pit for the winepress, and built a tower and let it out to tenants and went into another country" (Mk 12:1; cf. Mt 21:28 ff.). John the Evangelist invites us to go further and leads us to discover the mystery of the vine: it is the figure and symbol not only of the People of God, but of Jesus himself. He is the vine and we, his disciples, are the branches. He is the "true vine", to which the branches are engrafted to have life. The Second Vatican Council, making reference to the various biblical images that help to reveal the mystery of the Church, proposes again the image of the vine and the branches: "Christ is the true vine who gives life and fruitfulness to the branches, that is, to us. Through the Church we abide in Christ, without whom we can do nothing (Jn 15:1-5)"(12). The Church herself, then, is the vine in the gospel. We the disciples of Christ is called to a completely new way of life. To live this new life, we must stay close to him. Vine – Christ – branches – people of God. (Church)
CONTRACEPTIVES; PRO LIFE –ABORTIONS EUTHANASIA FAMILY PLANNING
A vocation , from the Latin vocare ( verb , to call), is a term for an occupation to which a person is specially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. Though now often used in secular contexts , the meanings of the term originated in Christianity . The idea of vocation is central to the Christian belief that God has created each person with gifts and talents oriented toward specific purposes and a way of life. In the broader sense, Christian vocation includes the use of one's gifts in their profession, family life, church and civic commitments for the sake of the greater common good.
ENABLE THE ENABLER; WHEN YOU ARE UNABLE -GOD IS ABLE; WHEN YOU ARE ABLE -YOU DISABLE THE ENABLER; BE ABLE TO ENABLE THE ENABLER; DON’T DISABLE THE HOLY SPIRIT DON’T WAIT TILL YOU ARE DISABLED SPIRITUALLY !
The Acts of the Apostles continues down to our own day. God wants to write new chapters, with each of us — and that includes you — playing an important role. The wind is still blowing. The fire of the Holy Spirit still burns. Each of us, however, needs to let the Holy Spirit in to do his work. Each of us has to allow the Holy Spirit to bring about a similar miracle in us.
GROW IN THE SPIRIT – “ Do not neglect the gift that is in you” 1 Timothy 4:14-15 NOT FOR SELF GLORIFICATION