- In all that you read from this Church document and the instructor’s commentary, what did you find most helpful?
- What did you find most challenging? Why?
- What does it mean to you personally to believe that the Church is a “sacrament of salvation�
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June 17th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
In all that you have read from this Church document and the instructor’s commentary, what did you find most helpful?
I consider myself to be a beginner in the realm of answering theological questions, because even though I have been schooled about the Catholic faith, I don’t recall ever having to personally reflect on Church documents etc. I am glad that in my adulthood, I have discovered the necessity of reflection - thereby uncovering questions that concern a lack of knowledge about my faith in particular areas which most likely inevitably has caused my faith to “sway†in the past.
This document in particular has re-awakened and has also stressed the importance of it being a “necessity and responsibility as believers in Christ†to carry on the Mission of our Redeemer. The Mission has in fact only just begun. I have been able (as a result of reading this document) been able to ask myself how I am carrying out this Mission in my daily life. As a religious educator, I wonder about the importance of what I am doing, and how I will encourage children to carry on this mission today and everyday. I see a clear need for our children today to understand what a relationship with God truly is…How do we foster relationships amongst ourselves? This I believe is one of the root questions that we need to answer for ourselves so that all are able to get a better understanding of the greatness of knowing God as our best friend. If we foster this relationship, we will naturally see the good in it and will want to share this with others.
What did you find most challenging?
I get a little “lost†when in the document John Paul II discusses how a non-believer who lives a life in the image of Christ (in their daily actions, words and deeds) possesses a certain grace that will in turn help them in their Final Judgement. (I’m almost feeling like I am missing something here…and understanding of some sort…or I am looking at this incorrectly, since I am having trouble even formulating the words to express these thoughts.) I am not sure that I grasp how †the gift of overcoming our fallen nature to become fully alive in our true nature…Only Jesus through the Holy Spirit makes this possible. No other religion offers this gift.â€, if non-believers possess a special grace, how then could this be unique only to Christians (Actually at this moment in time, I am beginning to see the answers to my own questions - it’s funny how that happens)? If I can put this in simplest terms, I guess that this would mean that God is revealed to us by Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. I guess that before I was thinking of Catholics in isolation, but this is true for all Christians. Correct? If anyone would like to shed some light here…I think that these are the thoughts that perhaps a lot of lay people have…If non-Christians have that certain grace that also does not make them formal members of the Church, but allows them to enter heaven, then people may ask what is so special about Catholicism?…But I get it…the answer to that question is all about the gift of Jesus Christ!
What does it mean to you personally to believe that the Church is a “sacrament of salvation�A sacrament is a sign instituted by Christ to give us grace. We are the hands of Jesus Christ. We (the people) make up the Church. It is our job therefore to do the work that Jesus wants us to do - fulfill our missionary role. By knowing God, we are able to achieve salvation. We come to know God through Jesus Christ who revealed Our Father to us. Jesus is God manifested in human form. Jesus also died on the cross in order to save us from sin and told others about this special gift that we have received. His dying, made salvation possible again.
As the hands of Christ (the Church) we continue his work, thereby being a vehicle through which his mission may be achieved.
June 17th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Correct! “God is revealed to us by Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit”. This is true for all Christians, not just Catholics.
Non-believers (i.e., non-Christians, anyone who does not believe in Jesus as Savior) have the grace of God available to them, but they do not receive the grace unless they open themselves to it by believing in Jesus and following him and living according to his teachings. Non-believers will not get to heaven without Jesus. However, that being said, the question really is whether or not they rejected Jesus. Non-believers who never heard of Jesus but would have believed in him if they had the opportunity to will probably see him, at the moment of their death, and embrace him joyfully and follow him to heaven. This is covered thoroughly in my Catechism course on Life After Death. See catholicdr.com/e-Classroom/Catechism/index.html
March 20th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
1. The most helpful point was to share your faith with others. This does not mean shoving something down someone’s throat, but to show love to your neighbor who does not know Christ.
2. The most challenging point was to live a holy lifestyle. This can only be accomplished by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to help us to live holy.
3. I believe that the Catholic church has an unique role in salvation. I do not know a lot about Catholic teaching on the sacrament of salvation. I personally believe that the Catholic church goes all the way back to the original 12 apostles so the Catholic faith has a lot to bring to the Christian faith.
June 17th, 2008 at 11:22 am
read what others have written, at the Good News Digital Classroom discussion forum.
1. In all that you read from this Church document and the instructor’s commentary, what did you find most helpful?
I thought it was helpful to get a better understanding on the truth that salvation is offered to ALL and the emphasis on the accountability being so individual. It reinforces how we CANNOT judge anyone AT ALL as we don’t know the depth of their circumstances.
2. What did you find most challenging? Why?
The term “urgency” is somewhat a startling reminder to our role as Christians.
I think the most challenging part was the emphasis on evangelizing nonbelievers. I think I have really been stuck in the idea that I can’t evangelize nonbelievers and do not even have opportunities to do so. Also, I am so overwhelmed at the number of Catholics that are not practicing their faith, as well as, the number of poorly catechized Catholics. I so desperately yearn for Catholics to want to know their faith I get lost in the “total” mission and am blinded by one component of the mission.
3. What does it mean to you personally to believe that the Church is a “sacrament of salvation”?
Part of me thinks as humans we are so inadequate. It only makes sense to have something “bigger” to guide and direct. It’s not realistic to think one person by themselves can bring their faith life to the same depth that the Church can. It’s like with anything else in life, one person can lift only so much, produce only so much, read only so much, etc. It’s the same in your faith life, alone you can only do so much. Why would you not see the Church as a sacrament of salvation?