The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism Lesson 23 The Sacraments

The New Saint Joseph Baltimore Catechism

Lesson 23

The Sacraments

The sacraments are signs of Jesus taking care of His sheep

We read in the Holy Bible:

11

            For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.

12

            As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so           will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.

13

            I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the foreign   lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the         mountains of Israel (in the land's ravines and all its inhabited places).

14

            In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground. There they shall lie down on good grazing ground, and in rich pastures shall they be pastured on the mountains of Israel.

15

            I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD.

16

            The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal (but the sleek and the strong I will destroy), shepherding them rightly.

                                                                Explanation

Our Lord wants our souls to be clean

            At the Last Supper our Lord gave His Apostles Their first Communion. He said the first Mass and gave them power to do the same. But before He did, He washed their feet to show them how clean they should be in body and soul to be pleasing to the Father and to receive Holy Communion. And He wanted to give them an example of how they should love one another and serve one another.

Our Lord wants us to receive Communion often

            Our Blessed Lord would like us to receive Communion often. He has told us, “Unless you eat of the Son of Man and drink of His Blood, you shall not have life within you” (John 6, 54). The Church tells us if we do not eat Our Lord’s Body in Holy Communion at least once a year, our souls will be dead in mortal sin. Anyone who would stay away from Communion that long would be very ungrateful for all our blessed Lord did and suffered for us to give us His Flesh to eat and His Precious Blood to drink.

Our Lord wants us to go to confession often

            It is good to be as clean as we can before we go to Communion. We let Our Lord wash our souls in His precious Blood in the sacrament of Penance, Justas He washed the feet of the Apostles. The Church obliges those in mortal sin to take a bath in the precious Blood of Christ in confession at least once a year, but it is good to have our souls washed often.

Practice: Go to confession and Communion often. So your soul will be healthy and strong.

Catechism

134. What is meant by the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year?

By the commandment to confess our sins at least once a year is meant that we are strictly obliged to make a good confession within the year, if we have a mortal sin to confess.

            Frequent confession of all sins, either mortal or venial, keeps our souls clean and helps us to grow in God’s love.

135. What sin does a Catholic commit who neglects to receive Holy Communion worthily

            

By the 7^th commandment we are commanded to respect what belongs to others.

117. What does the 7^th commandment forbid?

            The 7^th commandment forbids all dishonesty, such as stealing, cheating, unjust     keeping of what belongs to others, and unjust damage to property of others.

                        We must not take anything belonging to another and keep it for are own. We must not destroy or damage on purpose what belongs to others.

                        We must not cheat. This means that we must not copy answers from            someone else in the classroom. And we must be fair when playing with others.

118. Are we obliged to restore the owner stolen goods, or there value?

            We are obliged to restore the owner stolen goods, or there value, whenever we are able.

Discussion Questions

1.                              What was Our Lord’s attitude toward money?

2.                              What does He want us to do with earthly goods?

3.                              What are “treasures” in heaven?

4.                              How can we lay up treasures in heaven?

5.                              What is a generous act like?

Yes or No

1.                              Did Our Lord care about riches?

2.                              Are prayers and good deeds heavenly treasures?

3.                              Do we have to share our things with others?

4.                              Is cheating in class or at play dishonest?

5.                              Is it all right to damage the property of others?

Fill in the Blanks

1.                  We must respect what ......................... to others.

2.                  We must always speak the………………….

3.                  We must be pure in thought and …………….

4.                  We must not envy the............................. of others.

5.                  Jesus tells us not to be selfish but................................

Other Readings from the Bible.

1.                                          What happened to the rich young man who was too selfish, Matthew 19, 16-24.

2.                                          The foolish rich man who did not prepare for heaven, Luke 12, 13-34.

3.                                          How Our Lord suffered from the lies told about Him during His trial, Mark 14, 55-59.

Class Liturgical Action

Say together Psalm 48 which shows the danger of trust in riches. The teacher will help you.