Religion - Grade 5

 

Study Guide for Archdiocese Test

 

The theme of our fifth grade religion class is the seven sacraments.  Through the sacraments, the Church celebrates Christ’s saving action in our lives.  The main objective throughout the year was to help each child experience and understand the rites of the sacraments, and so become a more conscious and active participant in the Church’s sacramental life. 

 

God is the source of all life.  We participate in God’s own life particularly through the sacraments. 

 

A sacrament is a sign by which Jesus shares God’s life, grace, with us.

 

The Seven Sacraments:

Sacraments of Christian Initiation:  Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist

...through the sacraments of Christian Initiation we receive the fullness of

the Spirit and become members of the Church

Sacraments of Healing:  Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick

...through the sacraments of Healing, we are strengthened as members of

the Church. 

Sacraments of Service to Others:  Holy Orders, Matrimony

...

 

Sacraments of Christian Initiation

 

Baptism – the sacrament by which we begin our life in the Church.  We are reborn of water and the Spirit and share in the life of the risen Lord.  Baptism frees us from original sin and takes away all personal sins.

 

A bishop, priest, or deacon is the ordinary minister of Baptism.  In an emergency, anyone can and should baptize.

 

The essential rite of Baptism is:

            the immersing in water or pouring water on the candidate’s head, while pronouncing the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity:  “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

 

Significant symbols in the sacrament of Baptism are:’

• anointing before baptism (oil of catechumens)
• immersing in or pouring of water
• clothing with a white garment
• giving a lighted candle
• anointing after baptism (sacred chrism)

 

 

Confirmation – the sacrament by which we receive in a special way the Holy Spirit who empower us to grow in faith, obliging us to be Jesus’ witnesses.

 

The Bishop is the original and usual minister of Confirmation.  Under certain circumstances a priest may confirm.

 

The essential rite of Confirmation is:

• anointing with chrism, oil blessed by the bishop on Holy Thursday
• the laying on of hands
• the words the bishop says:  “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

 

 

Eucharist

The Eucharist is the sacrament in which the Lord Jesus himself, by the power of His word and Spirit, is present under the appearances of bread and wine, offered and received. 

 

At the Eucharistic celebration we gather in community to praise and thank the Father, to receive God’s Word, and to celebrate Jesus’ Paschal Mystery, that is, the mystery of his suffering, death and resurrection.  Jesus feeds us with his Body and blood making us one with him and with each other.

 

The change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus is called transubstantiation.

 

Corpus Christi – Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

 

 

Sacraments of Healing

 

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is the sacrament by which we receive God’s merciful forgiveness for our personal sins and are reconciled with God, the Christian community, and ourselves.  Our relationship with God is broken off completely when we commit serious or mortal sin.  Our relationship with God is weakened when we commit venial sin.

 

Contrition – This is one of the most important actions in the sacrament of Reconciliation.  Contrition is heartfelt sorrow for our sins.  It includes the desire to sin no more.  Being truly sorry for our sins, leads us to conversion, to turn back to God the Father.  We pray an act of contrition as a sign of our sorrow and intention to sin no more.

 

Confession – We confess, or tell, our sins to the priest.  It is important to name the ways we have harmed our relationship with god and others.  Naming those ways helps us to take responsibility of our actions and to ask God for forgiveness.

 

Penance - A penance is an action that shows we are sorry for our sins.  It is sometimes a prayer, the completion of a work of mercy, or an act of service. 

 

Absolution – Our sins are absolved, or forgiven.  In the name of Christ and the Church and through the power of the Holy Spirit, a priest grants forgiveness of sins.  A priest forgives sin in God’s name – “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

 

Some results of sin in our society are war, prejudice, poverty, homelessness, crime and violence, and substance abuse.

 

 

The Anointing of the Sick

The Anointing of the Sick is the Sacrament in which the priest anoints with oil the serious ill or aged so that through the power of Jesus they may be forgiven their sins, comforted in their suffering, and restored to health in spirit and sometimes in body as well.

 

A priest is the minister of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

 

The principal elements of the Anointing of the Sick are:

• the imposition of hands
• the anointing of the forehead and the hands with oil

 

 

The Sacraments of Service to Others

 

Matrimony

Matrimony is the sacrament by which a baptized man and a baptized woman are united as husband and wife and freely enter into a permanent, loving and life-giving covenant of fidelity to each other.

 

The man and the woman are themselves the ministers of the Sacrament of Matrimony.  A priest or deacon is the official witness of the Church.  Two other witnesses are also to be present.

 

The essential element of Matrimony is:

• the public exchange of consent between the man and the woman to be faithful to each others and husband and wife for life

 

 

Holy Orders

Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time.  It is the sacrament of apostolic ministry [the church continues the apostles’ mission].  It includes three degrees:  deacon, priest, and bishop.  The bishop is the minister of Holy Orders.

 

The essential rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders is:

• the laying on of hands
• the prayer of consecration

 

Bishops are the successors of the apostles.  They are called to continue the apostles’ mission of leadership and service in the Church.  A bishop usually leads and cares for a diocese.  They are the chief teachers of the Church.  Priests are ordained by their bishops to celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments for the faithful and preach the good news of salvation.  All priests are called to make prayer, most especially the Mass, the heart of their ministry.  Deacons are ordained by their bishops to serve in parishes and other areas of service within the diocese.  Deacons may preach the word of God and baptize new members of the Church.  They may witness marriages and preside at Christian burials.

 

However, by Baptism, we all share in the priesthood of the faithful in which Jesus calls us to worship God, to spread the Good News and to lead lives of service.

 

 

Terms to know:

 

Apostles – men chosen by Jesus to share in his mission in a special way.  Jesus named Peter as their leader.

 

Bishops – the successors of the apostles who are ordained to continue the apostles’ mission of leadership and service in the Church

 

Common vocation – the call to holiness and evangelization that all Christians share

 

Corporal Works of Mercy – acts of love that help us care for the physical and material needs of others

 

Catechumenate – a period of formation for Christian initiation that includes prayer and liturgy, religious instruction, and service to others (p. 68)

 

Evangelization – proclaiming the good news of Christ by what we say and do

 

Gifts of the Holy Spirit – wisdom, understanding, right judgment, courage, knowledge, reverence, and wonder and awe

 

Gloria – we sing or say the Gloria at Sunday Mass simply to praise God for being God.

 

Homily – The priest or deacon talks to us about the readings.  His words help us understand what God’s word means to us today.

 

Incarnation – the truth that the Son of God became man

 

Jesus’ mission – to share the life of God with all people and to save them from sin

 

Last Supper - the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples on the night before he died

 

Marks of the Church – the four characteristics of the Church:  one, holy, catholic, and apostolic (p. 296)

 

Original Sin - the first sin committed by the first human beings

 

Paschal Mystery – Christ’s passion, death, Resurrection from the dead, and Ascension into heaven.

 

Priests – ordained ministers who serve the Christian faithful by leading, teaching, and most especially celebrating the Eucharist and other sacraments

 

RCIA – The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults

 

Real presence – Jesus really and truly present in the Eucharist

 

Sacramentals – blessings, actions, and objects that help us respond to God’s grace received in the sacraments (p. 149)

 

Spiritual Works of Mercy – acts of love that help us care for the needs of people’s hearts, minds, and souls

 

Viaticum – means “food for the journey” and is the Eucharist that people receive as they prepare for death

 

 

Holy Days of Obligation – a day we are obliged to participate in the Mass to celebrate a special event in the life of Jesus, Mary, or the saints

 

• Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God:  January 1
• Ascension Thursday:  40 days after Easter
• Assumption of Mary:  August 15 – the belief that when Mary’s work on earth was done, God brought her body and soul to live forever with the risen Christ
• All Saints:  November 1
• Immaculate Conception:  December 8 – the belief that Mary was free from original sin from the moment she was conceived
• Christmas:  December 25

 

 

Prayers to Know

Act of Love

Gloria

Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary

 

Parts of the Mass

Introductory Rites

Liturgy of the Word

Liturgy of the Eucharist [consecration – the part of the Eucharistic prayer when, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the words and actions of the priest, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ

Concluding Rites]