The Church as Sacrament

1. The Church as Sacrament
By Mateo

2. SILENT PRAYER
The Church as Sacrament

9. PERSONAL INTENTIONS….
Glory be…

10. The Church as Sacrament

11. What is a Church?
• the whole body of
Christian believers; Christendo
m.
The Church as Sacrament

12. What is Sacrament?
• a religious ceremony or act of the Christian
Church that is regarded as an outward and
Visible Sign of inward and Spiritual Divine
Grace, in particular.
• (in the Roman Catholic and many Orthodox
Churches) the rites of baptism, confirmation, the
Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick,
ordination, and matrimony.
• (among Protestants) baptism and the Eucharist.
The Church as Sacrament

13. The Church as mystery is further clarified and
developed by the notion of sacrament. “By her
relationship with Christ, the Church is both a
sacramental sign and an instrument of intimate
union with God, and of the unity of all mankind”
(GS 42; cf. LG 1).
The Church as Sacrament

14. 1366. Christ then has made the
Church the effective sign and symbol
of:
• 1) Our union with God;
• 2) The unity among men; and
• 3) Of salvation.
The Church as Sacrament

15. 1) Our union with God;
• Jesus himself instituted the sacraments.
• Visible Sign
• Spiritual Divine Grace
The Church as Sacrament

17. 2) The unity among men; and
The Church as Sacrament

19. 3) Of salvation.
• 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.
http://www.catholic.org/prayers/sacrament.php
The Church as Sacrament

20. • For the Risen Christ, continually active in the
world, “sent his life-giving Spirit to establish his
Body, the Church as the universal sacrament of
salvation” (LG 48; cf. CCC 774-76).
The Church as Sacrament

21. • 1367. The idea that the Church is “sacrament”
may sound strange at first to many Filipinos. We
have been used to thinking of “sacrament” solely
as the “seven sacraments,” individual liturgical
rituals such as Baptism, the Mass, Confession,
etc.
The Church as Sacrament

22. • But if we focus on the essentials of “sacrament,”
we find both Christ himself as well as the Church
fulfill the notion perfectly. A sacrament is a
material sign which gives grace, effecting what it
symbolizes; it causes grace by symbolizing grace.
The Church as Sacrament

23. • . The Church signifies in a visible, historical, and
tangible form the presence and redeeming
activity of Christ, offered to all persons of every
age, race and condition.
The Church as Sacrament

24. • So Christ, the eternal Word made flesh, is the
visible sign, the sacrament of God. So too the
• Church, with her visible, institutional structure,
is for us the sacrament of Christ, representing
him, making him present.
The Church as Sacrament

25. The Church as Sacrament

26. The Church as Sacrament

27. 1368. Thinking of the Church as
“sacrament” has many advantages.
• First, it unites inseparably the visible and
invisible dimensions of the Church. “Sacrament”
by definition is a visible sign making present an
invisible reality. So the Church is a visible,
hierarchically structured society making present
a spiritual community. The two aspects form but
one complex reality which comprises both a
human and a divine element.
The Church as Sacrament

29. • Triumphant Church
• Pilgrim / Militant Church
• Suffering Church

31. 1369. Second, “sacrament” directly
relates the Church to non-Catholics.
• Without neglecting the necessity of the visible
Church, it helps explain how the grace of Christ
can be operative beyond the limits of the
institutional Church. The Church as sacrament is
“used by Christ as an instrument for the
redemption of all, and sent forth into the whole
world as the light of the world and the salt of the
earth” (LG 9).
The Church as Sacrament

32. Ecumenism
• refers to efforts by Christians of different church
traditions to develop closer relationships and
better understandings. The term is also often
used to refer to efforts towards the visible and
organic unity of different Christian churches in
some form.
The Church as Sacrament

33. • The adjective ecumenical can also be applied to
any interdenominational initiative that
encourages greater cooperation among
Christians and their churches, whether or not
the specific aim of that effort is full, visible unity.
The Church as Sacrament

34. • The terms ecumenism and ecumenical come
from the Greek οἰκουμένη(oikoumene), which
means "the whole inhabited world", and was
historically used with specific reference to
the Roman Empire. The ecumenical vision
comprises both the search for the visible unity of
the Church (Ephesians 4:3) and the "whole
inhabited earth" (Matthew 24:14) as the concern
of all Christians.
The Church as Sacrament

35. • The Church, then, is the tangible sign of Christ’s
presence in the world, a beacon of light visible to
all and drawing them in the power of the Spirit
to communion with God and with one another in
Christ (cf. Acts 13:47; Mt 5:14-16).
The Church as Sacrament

36. 1370. Third, it unites the Church
closely with the Eucharist.
• • As the Eucharist is composed of bread and
wine “which earth has given and human hands
have made,” so the Church is composed of men
and women called together.
The Church as Sacrament

37. • • As the Eucharist makes sacramentally
present the body and blood of the Risen
Christ, so the
Church is the visible sign of the presence of the
Risen Christ in His Spirit. As the Eucharist’s bread
and wine have no meaning outside of Christ’s
words, so the Church cannot be understood except
through Christ’s promise “I am with you
always until the end of the world” (Mt
28:20).
The Church as Sacrament

38. • • And as Christ’s presence in the Eucharistic
bread and wine is not effected by any human
holiness or fidelity, but by the Risen Christ’s own
saving activity in the Spirit, so too is his
inseparable union with the Church affected.
The Church as Sacrament

39. 1371. “Sacrament” can also foster a
strong loyalty and personal sense of
belonging to the Church, even while
recognizing our human limitations
The Church as Sacrament

40. • This implies our constant need for renewal and
purification. We come to love the Church as our
spiritual mother and home. Yet we know that we
are a pilgrim people, already on our journey but
not yet arrived. Therefore, we can appreciate the
counsel that “guided by the Holy Spirit,
The Church as Sacrament

41. The Church as Sacrament

42. • the Church ceaselessly ‘exhorts her sons and
daughters to purification and renewal so that the
sign of Christ may shine more brightly over the
face of the Church’ ” (GS 43; LG 8; PCP II, 141).
The Church as Sacrament

44. The Church as Sacrament
purification and renewal

45. 1372. PCP II openly averred that the
Church in the Philippines is not, and
will never be on this earth, the
perfect bride of Christ.
• Ours is an imperfect Church living amidst and
ministering to a very imperfect society. Both in
her internal renewal, therefore, and in her
service to society, the Church as the community
of the Lord’s disciples is destined to share in His
passion and death so that she may also share in
his risen life (PCP II 142, 246-49).
The Church as Sacrament

46. The Church as Sacrament

47. The Church as Sacrament

48. The Church as Sacrament

49. The Church as Sacrament

50. The Church as Sacrament

51. The Church as Sacrament

52. The Church as Sacrament

53. VIDEO PRESENTATION
What the Church is really about by Jon
Jorgenson_ Spoken Word.mp4

54. In short
• The Church as mystery is further clarified and
developed by the notion of Sacrament. “By her
relationship with Christ, the Church is both a
sacramental sign and an instrument of intimate
union with God, and of the unity of all mankind”

55. Thanks!
The Church as Sacrament

56. The Church as Sacrament