Religion 9 Reviewer « Prayeris talking, conversing, or singing a song of praise to God. Jesus showed His love to the Father by praying. “Rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). It is worth knowing how prayer in the Old and New Testament evolved into an authentic Christian prayer. The Holy Spirit played a vital role in the formation of a meaningful prayer. When we pray, we pray on two levels. We either pray in private and personal prayer or in public, communal liturgical prayer. Private and personal prayers are the rosary, novenas, devotions to saints, meditation, and others. The Holy Mass is the official communal liturgical prayer of the Church. They are both necessary in our pursuit to authentic Christian prayer life. In the Holy Mass, we bring ourselves as unique and private person together with communitye members of Christ's Body, the Church. There is always a communal element to our personal prayer. In the same way, there is always a personal element to our communal prayer. The communal prayer is again expressed in the “Our Father’ and during Communion which is filled with personal prayer. Before a person is baptized, the minister asks a simple question, “What do you ask of God's Church? “The response is, “Faith.” This faith is not totally denied of him/her but he/she already possessed initial faith through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, baptism is also “the Sacrament of that faith by which men and women, enlightened by the grace of the Holy Spirit, respond to the Gospel of Christ" (CCC 1253-55). The Church, in her quest to deepen the popular understanding of baptism, presents her renewed teaching in order to reveal itstruly life-giving reality. A presentation of a chart between the popular understanding and renewed teaching of the Church would result to significant appreciation and understanding of the Sacrament of Baptism (CFC 1596). Popular Church's Renewed Understanding Teaching Baptism Baptism truly means Water A new life in Christ by dying and rising with Him Washing away Through the _ biblical original sin symbol of water and Entry into the Church building the Spirit Incorporation into the Christian community, Christ's body Babies Adults Clerical ritual A real personal prayer Passive reception Sacrament of faith and active participation Works automatically Real conversion, transformation, commitmentOnce and for all Called gradually ritual become what we are No active | Baptism as permanent influencing power source of sharing in in ordinary life God's own life in Christ Single past event |Baptismal life as a process and_ future- oriented; renewal of baptismal vows e Prominent figures spoke about active participation in the sacred liturgy overcome hose obstacles. 1.Pope Saint Pius X said, “If you wish to participate in the Mass actively, y must follow with your eye, heart and mouth points out the importance of full attention, sincerity and participation during the celebration. 2.Pope Pius XIl said, “The dispositions that the Divine Redeemer had who He sacrificed Himself-the same humble © spirit of submission-that of adoration, love, praise and thanksgiving to the great majesty ofGo He encourages worshippers to have the same. attitude and _ disposition characterized by praise, love and thanksgiving that Jesus had when He did on the cross. 3.Pope St. John Paul Il said, “Respecting the different roles assigned by Christ and allowing all the different voices to blend in one great hymn of praise." He emphasizes the unique and important role of every worshipper for a meaningful and fruitful celebration. e The washing of water basically symbolizes a cleansing from all sin and rebirth to new life in the Spirit (CCC 1263). Original sin is not literally a thing to be washed off by the water. In this sacrament, the Holy Spirit frees Us from sin. e A priest is one who offers sacrifice on behalf of others and/or himself. He leads and brings the people to holiness. A prophet is one who teaches others the way they should live to avoid evil and embrace the good. He is amessenger, one who speaks for God. He or she witnesses to God, calls people to conversion, and may also foretell the future. A king is a person who governs and uses his authority so that others may be brought to the fullness of their potential. He has supreme authority over a territory. As prophet, when nobody cares for justice, we can speak and stand for it. Wnen people are led astray and continues to fall into sin, we can lead them to the right path. As priest, we can bring people to God through prayer, sacrifice and good example. We can be instruments of holiness by inspiring them to offer everything to God. As king, we can respond to the needs of others. We can volunteer ourselves in many _ nonprofit organizations that need a helping hand to reach out to those in need. We pointed out that the popular understanding of the pouring of water by the minister on our forehead washes the originalsin that we inherited from Adam and Eve. The Church clarifies this conception and states that “original sin" referred to in the Sacrament of Baptism is not the personal, originating sin of Adam and Eve but our sinful state as a consequence of their sin called original sin. In Romans 6: 15-23, Paul warns that even though we are free, we can become enslaved to sin by yielding to temptation. It is not enough to be a new person to become a witness to Christ. We must cooperate saily with the Holy Spirit. By the Sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church ad are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. (CCC 1285) Witness to the freedom from slavery of sin brought by God's presence through Christ and the Spirit.¢To be effective witnesses to Christ, the Church demands certain basic qualities namely: 1.Personal Knowledge, awareness and experiences of Christ in our daily lives. 2.A basic grounding in Scriptures, Church teaching and fundamental human experience. 3.A strong and enthusiastic Christian convictions and active commitment to Christ and the Church. 4.Human leadership of honesty and integrity. 5.Courage to suffer and risk for the Kingdom of God. 6.Communication skills needed to present Christ's challenge to the Filipino in an attractive and persuasive manner. ¢ Choosing the right person to be godparent for confirmation is not a simple task. There is a difference between just being a godparent and being a good godparent —- both in the eyes of the child and hi/her parents. One must be guided by the following criteria. They should be:a) Sufficiently mature persons (ordinally at least 16 years old) b) Good living Catholics who themselves have been initiated in the three Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist. c) Capable and truly intends to help the newly baptized/confirmed to faithfully live up to all duties inherent in Christian life. ¢ The Eucharistic celebration as thanksgiving is directed toward God the Father through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. This is called Trinitarian Eucharistic Worship. ¢ The Eucharist is a sacrifice because Christ is present precisely as “offering Himself for us a sacrifice to the Father”. « In the Eucharist, the bread and wine undergo a radical change known as transubstantiation. ¢ The Eucharist is not only a memorial of Christ's passion and death nor merely a presentmeal for filling our souls with grace. It is also a pledge for our future glory. So, the Consecration of the Mass we acclaim. “Christ has died (Past), Christ is risen (Present), Christ will come again (Future). ¢ There are three important elements in sharing the Eucharist meal: a) Coming together b) Dialogue c) Sharing of food e The adoration of the Blessed Sacrament has a valid and firm foundation. The Risen Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is: a) Notamonetary gift, but enduring b) Nota one-sided relation, but mutual. c) — Not simply physical, but personal and spiritual d) = Not just of this world, but even now reaching beyond death to eternal life.