What is RCIA for Teens?
Teens (and children over the age of seven) who have not celebrated their Sacraments of Initiation will be brought to the Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist through the development, promotion, and implementation of the process presented in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
At St. James, teens who are seeking Baptism and Eucharist meet with a Core Team Member to learn about their faith and the Catholic Church. Maybe your teen has been Baptized in another faith tradition other than the Catholic Church. This video does a great job addressing this. Teens who have been Baptized in the Catholic Church but who have not celebrated Eucharist are enrolled concurrently in our Religious Education program. They will attend additional sessions to help them better understand the Church and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. They will also prepare and learn about the Sacrament of Reconciliation which we celebrate prior to both Eucharist and Confirmation. In preparation for Confirmation we often turn to Matthew Kelley's program Decision Point as a resource. Check out what he has to say about Confirmation. |
Sacraments of Initiation
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It's all about Grace...
Question: What is a Sacrament?
Answer: A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
What's an "Outward Sign"?
Since grace is a spiritual gift rather than a physical one, it is by its very nature something that we cannot see. So how do we know that we have received God's grace? And what IS grace? Grace is God's free, loving gift to us. It's not a thing, it's God's communicating to us, without our deserving it...it is simply a gift of God, from God for us.
That's why the "outward sign" of each sacrament is so important. The "words and actions" of each sacrament, along with the physical items used (bread and wine, water, oil, etc.), represent the underlying spiritual reality of the sacrament and "make present . . . the grace that they signify." These outward signs help us to understand what is happening in our souls when we receive the sacraments.
What Does It Mean to Say That the Sacraments Were "Instituted by Christ"?
Each of the seven sacraments corresponds to an action taken by Jesus Christ during his life here on earth. Jesus received baptism at the hands of John the Baptist; He blessed the marriage at Cana through the miracle of the water-made-wine; He consecrated bread and wine at the Last Supper, declared that they were His Body and Blood, and ordered his disciples to do the same; He breathed on those same disciples and gave them the gift of his Holy Spirit; etc.
When the Church administers the sacraments to the faithful, She recalls the events in Christ's life that correspond to each sacrament. Through the various sacraments, we are not only granted the graces that they signify; we are drawn into the mysteries of Christ's own life.
How Does a Sacrament Give Grace?
While the outward signs—the words and actions, the physical items—of a sacrament are necessary to help us grasp the spiritual reality of the sacrament, they can also lead to confusion. The sacraments are not magic; the words and actions aren't the equivalent of "spells." When a priest or bishop performs a sacrament, he isn't the one providing grace to the person receiving the sacrament.
In the sacraments "Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies." While the graces that we receive in each sacrament do depend on us being spiritually ready to receive them, the sacraments themselves do not depend on the personal righteousness of either the priest or the person receiving the sacraments. Instead, they work "by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all".
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Answer: A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
What's an "Outward Sign"?
Since grace is a spiritual gift rather than a physical one, it is by its very nature something that we cannot see. So how do we know that we have received God's grace? And what IS grace? Grace is God's free, loving gift to us. It's not a thing, it's God's communicating to us, without our deserving it...it is simply a gift of God, from God for us.
That's why the "outward sign" of each sacrament is so important. The "words and actions" of each sacrament, along with the physical items used (bread and wine, water, oil, etc.), represent the underlying spiritual reality of the sacrament and "make present . . . the grace that they signify." These outward signs help us to understand what is happening in our souls when we receive the sacraments.
What Does It Mean to Say That the Sacraments Were "Instituted by Christ"?
Each of the seven sacraments corresponds to an action taken by Jesus Christ during his life here on earth. Jesus received baptism at the hands of John the Baptist; He blessed the marriage at Cana through the miracle of the water-made-wine; He consecrated bread and wine at the Last Supper, declared that they were His Body and Blood, and ordered his disciples to do the same; He breathed on those same disciples and gave them the gift of his Holy Spirit; etc.
When the Church administers the sacraments to the faithful, She recalls the events in Christ's life that correspond to each sacrament. Through the various sacraments, we are not only granted the graces that they signify; we are drawn into the mysteries of Christ's own life.
How Does a Sacrament Give Grace?
While the outward signs—the words and actions, the physical items—of a sacrament are necessary to help us grasp the spiritual reality of the sacrament, they can also lead to confusion. The sacraments are not magic; the words and actions aren't the equivalent of "spells." When a priest or bishop performs a sacrament, he isn't the one providing grace to the person receiving the sacrament.
In the sacraments "Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies." While the graces that we receive in each sacrament do depend on us being spiritually ready to receive them, the sacraments themselves do not depend on the personal righteousness of either the priest or the person receiving the sacraments. Instead, they work "by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all".
source