Sacraments

Every aspect of the Eucharist matters. The Church provides clear guidance for the celebration of the sacred mysteries for the benefit of the ordained and the baptized to encounter these saving mysteries.

Ars Celebrandi Serving the Mystery of Christ in the Eucharist infuses the contemporary preparations for the Eucharist with a new focus for a greater purpose. This book walks through each part of the Mass, discussing the directives for the celebration through the lens of the ars celebrandi, to help priests, deacons, and seminarians authentically join with Christ in his eternal Sacrifice with deeper faith, confidence, and reverence.

Winner of a first-place award in the future church category from the Catholic Media Association.

We can't just talk about Christ's presence in the Eucharist; we have to believe it, celebrate it, and live it both individually and as a community of the faithful. And we must cultivate a culture in our parishes that treats Real Presence not only as an important Catholic doctrine, but also as the most important part of parish identity.

In Becoming Eucharistic People, theologian Timothy P. O'Malley, author of Real Presence, outlines four essential dimensions of a Eucharistic culture in a parish--one that fosters reverence and unity among the faithful, includes every dimension of human life in the mystery of Christ's Body and Blood, and invites people back to parish life or to become Catholic for the first time.

O'Malley--director of education at the McGrath Institute of Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, and a member of the executive planning team for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Eucharistic Revival--shows what it means to foster a parish culture where the Eucharist infuses the worldview, priorities, and practices of its members. O'Malley leads you through discovery and discernment about how to create a parish culture where each person is called to holiness and receives the spiritual, theological, and pastoral help they need to meet Christ fully present in the Eucharist and to become a witness to him in the world.

O'Malley will help you reflect on four essential facets of a Eucharistic parish culture:

liturgies of joyful reverence that celebrate the gifts of diversity;

formation that engages the mind, imagination, understanding, and will;

a rich life of popular piety and the vibrancy of the domestic Church; and

a commitment to solidarity with your neighbor.

O'Malley says that when we reflect Christ's Real Presence to others, our parishes will become sacred spaces in which every person is led to deeper communion with God and with their neighbors.

Online resources, including ideas for parish retreats, teaching resources, and videos based on this book and the US bishops Eucharistic Revival are available from the McGrath Institute for Church Life.

Books in the Engaging Catholicism series from the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame help readers discover the beauty and truth of the Catholic faith through a concise exploration of the Church's most important but often difficult-to-grasp doctrines as well as crucial pastoral and spiritual practices. Perfect for seekers and new Catholics, clergy and catechetical leaders, and everyone in between, the series expands the McGrath Institute's mission to connect the Catholic intellectual life at Notre Dame to the pastoral life of the Church and the spiritual needs of her people.

Based on the revised translation of the Mass which goes into effect Advent, 2011, this book explores the biblical roots of the words and gestures experienced in the Liturgy and explains their profound significance. This intriguing look at the Mass is sure to renew faith and deepen devotion to the Eucharist and may be used as the text for the Adult Faith Formation Program.

In "The Blessed Eucharist," Father Michael Mueller describes how Christ\'s love for us moved Him to create this most beautiful Sacrament. He explains why Our Lord veils Himself in the appearance of bread - a garment so humble He is little known, little loved even neglected and insulted. Fr. Mueller helps the reader discover what a treasure the Sacrament is, sharing countless compelling accounts of miracles involving the Eucharist, quotations from Scripture and the Saints reflecting the virtues that can be obtained from Communion worthily received and the consequences of an unworthy reception of Our Lord. He instructs the reader on how to best prepare for receiving the Sacrament, and how to properly offer thanksgiving afterwards. "The Blessed Eucharist" awakens a deeper awareness of the incredible gift that God has given us in His Presence in the Eucharist, allowing us to embrace all the wondrous fruits this Sacrament has to offer.

The Holy Eucharist is the Church's most precious treasure, the source and summit of her worship and life. The Church is built upon and around the Eucharist.

In this book, a renowned spiritual writer and Carmelite priest shows how receiving the Lord in the Eucharist has profound consequences, because the Eucharist is not only the great Sacrament that brings about oneness with Christ and with the faithful but also the foundational norm for Christian behavior. Any Christian who wonders how he should act, he writes, will find the answer in the Eucharist. He is called to become like Jesus--bread that is broken"for the life of the world" (Jn 6:51).

According to Saint Thomas Aquinas, all the sacraments are directed toward the Eucharist as toward their final purpose. The author explains that the Church must therefore guard this precious gift. He correctly challenges the faithful to approach the Eucharist with great reverence and a clear conscience so as not to receive the Lord unworthily but to become his sacrificing and serving people.

This wonderful and practical little book explains clearly and thoroughly how to make a good Confession but in much greater detail than covered in most catechisms. It includes an examination of conscience, contrition and its necessary qualities, the purpose of amendment and its necessary qualities, avoiding the near occasion of sin, the actual Confession of sins to the priest, and the penance given by the priest.

Doors to the Sacred has endured as an indispensable account of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. Used in hundreds of university and seminary courses and full of critical acclaim, it details their historical and cultural evolution and the rituals and practices associated with them. This Vatican II Golden Anniversary Edition explains the liturgical changes found in The Roman Missal, Third Edition, and provides extensive resources for students and seekers alike, including:

A visual timeline of people, events, and sacramental changes in Church history,

A glossary of philosophical and theological terms

An updated annotated bibliography for further reading

An improved design for easier reading and reference.

Our Catholic churches are filled with an abundance of signs and symbols, some of which you may have never noticed or understood. The sacred art, architecture, and artifacts of a church building proclaim the Real Presence of Christ, God dwelling among us in the Blessed Sacrament. The saints portrayed within a church are witnesses to Eucharistic living, and we can identify them through various symbols that tell us about their lives, their works, and their witness to the living presence of God.

In Entering Heaven on Earth, Fr. Lawrence Lew, OP, shows you how to decode the signs and symbols found in our churches and to identify the saints depicted in them. This richly illustrated book filled with photographs the author has taken in churches from around the world will help you to see the churches you worship in or visit from a fresh perspective and to remember the true purpose of a church building.

A church is a visible expression of heaven come down to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. It is always, first of all, a place for the Christian people to assemble for the sacred liturgy and celebrate the Eucharist. The beauty of nature, the creativity and craft of mankind, the good works of the virtuous and the just are all brought together in a church building to remind us of the graced activity of God, who is present to make us holy and draw us into a deeper union with him.

When the resurrected Jesus appeared to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they didn't know him. He was there in the flesh, talking, teaching, but they didn't recognize him. Until the breaking of the bread. Then their eyes were open, and everything fell into place. The same is true today. When we recognize Jesus in the bread of the Holy Eucharist-- that it's really Jesus--our eyes of faith are opened, and the mysteries of the Christian life are unlocked. Joe Heschmeyer first explains how Catholic belief in the Eucharist is biblical and reasonable, not a purely symbolic ritual. But even if you already believe it, Heschmeyer shows how that's not an end, but just the beginning. Knowing that the Eucharist is really Jesus becomes a master key to understanding: -The cross of Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter Sunday -How to worship God in spirit and truth, according to the Bible -The meaning of our own bodies and their immortal destiny -How to love God and each other every day, like the saints ...and more. Like those disciples on their way to Emmaus, we don't truly know Jesus apart from the broken bread. The Eucharist Is Really Jesus will give you the key.

"The perfect guidebook for curious parents, enthusiastic newcomers, and confused cradle Catholics. Frankly, this is the best book on baptism I've ever read." --James Martin, S.J. author of the New York Times Bestseller, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything

Baptism is the beginning of one's life in the community of the church, and the "gateway" to the rest of the sacraments.
- Isn't it better to get baptized when you're older, and can understand what you're doing?
- Does my baby have to be baptized immediately?
- Will my child go to hell, limbo or purgatory if--God forbid--he or she dies before baptism?
- Why are so many baptisms done during the Mass these days?
- What's the role of the godparents? Do they have to be Catholics? Christians? Believers?

These are questions from good Catholics that deserve good answers. If people remain confused about baptism, they will be confused about the sacramental life of the church, and, by extension, their faith.

"Thomas Scirghi has written a fine book on baptism for the 21st century church. Rooted deeply in Scripture, the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church, and the living tradition of sacramental practice, Scirghi's book is laced with literary, cultural, and everyday examples that allow readers to grasp (or grasp anew) the continuing significance of baptism in the life of the Church and in their own lives." -Timothy Brunk, Assistant Professor of Theology, Villanova University

From the foreword by James Martin, SJ:

Frankly, this is the best book on baptism I've ever read. It's wise without being overly academic; inviting without being overly informal; and concise without being slapdash. Fr.
Scirghi, a distinguished scholar, compassionate pastor, and popular teacher at Fordham University, is the perfect guide to the history, theology, and application of the sacrament.

Father Scirghi's book could easily become a standard introduction to the sacrament, and is the perfect guidebook for curious parents, enthusiastic newcomers, and confused cradle Catholics. After reading it, you'll understand why we invite parents to have their children baptized, and also why we baptize adults at the Easter Vigil Mass. You'll know the significance of the oil (and the candle) in the rite. And the next time you see a priest or deacon pour water over a child's head and pronounce the ancient baptismal formula, you'll have a richer appreciation for his words and his actions.

Everyone seems to agree that Western Civilization is in trouble. The problem is that no one agrees on what has gone wrong or what to do about it. Some think we have too much government, some not enough; some think we have too much capitalism, some not enough; some think we have too much sexual freedom, some not enough.

But what if the problem is much more fundamental? What if the problem goes to the very foundations of who we are as human beings in relationship with God?

In The First Society: The Sacrament of Matrimony and the Restoration of the Social Order, Scott Hahn makes the startling claim that our society's ills and its cures are rooted in whether we reject or accept the divine graces made available through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.

Man, he argues, is social in his very nature. We were created for community. As it was in the beginning, so it remains today. The family, formed through the Sacrament of Matrimony, is the most basic building block of every societywhether we like it or not. We've corrupted marriage, and so we have a corrupt society. If we get marriage right, our society, through God's grace, will flourish.

This is so because Matrimony, like all the sacraments, heals and elevates human nature. Without marriage, our ambitions toward a just social order will remain forever foolhardy. With it, the seemingly impossible, a truly peaceful and humane civilization, becomes possible.

The Christian liturgy-and the Roman liturgy in particular-developed and thrived within a tradition of commentary and meditation that was fundamental for its understanding, running parallel with the same way of approaching Scripture. The rationalist influences that led to the decline and eventual rejection of the mystical or spiritual senses of Scripture in favor of a narrowly-conceived literal sense led to a narrowing of liturgy as well, which was reduced to its material parts and their various functions. While in recent decades the importance of the spiritual sense of Scripture has been reclaimed, its liturgical equivalent remains in shadow. The present book addresses this lacuna with an easy-to-understand summary of the traditional approach to the "forest of symbols" contained in the Roman Mass.

From the bestselling author of The Lamb's Supper comes an illuminating work on the Catholic Eucharist and its link to the Jewish Passover meal.

"Read this book. And don't just read it. Pray about it. Reflect on it. And share it with others."--Brant Pitre, author of The Case for Jesus

In this brilliant book--part memoir, part detective story, and part biblical study--Scott Hahn opens up new vistas on ancient landscapes while shedding light on his own enduring faith journey. The Fourth Cup not only tracks the author's gradual conversion along the path of Evangelicalism to the doorsteps of the Catholic faith, but also explores the often obscure and misunderstood rituals of Passover and their importance in foreshadowing salvation in Jesus Christ.

Revealing the story of his formative years as an often hot-headed student and earnest seeker in search of answers to great biblical mysteries, Hahn shows how his ardent exploration of the Bible's Old Testament turned up intriguing clues connecting the Last Supper and Christ's death on Calvary. As Hahn tells the story of his discovery of the supreme importance of the Passover in God's plan of salvation, we too experience often-overlooked relationships between Abel, Abraham, and the Hebrews' liberation from slavery in Egypt. Along the way, Hahn reveals how the traditional fourth cup of wine used in the concluding celebration of Passover explains in astonishing ways Christ's paschal sacrifice.

Rooted in Scripture and ingrained with lively history, The Fourth Cup delivers a fascinating view of the bridges that span old and new covenants, and celebrates the importance of the Jewish faith in understanding more fully Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

This is the book you need to discover the significant advantages of frequent Confession and the keys to making each Confession more fruitful. Spiritual master Fr. Benedict Baur quells criticisms of frequent Confession and shares why it is more efficacious for vanquishing sin and repairing the damage due to sin.

In this exceptional book, Fr. Baur shows you how to develop a well-formed conscience, properly confess your sins, and develop a firm, practical purpose of amendment. He also shares how to make a meticulous examination of conscience and daily examen, and offers methods for compiling a detailed inventory of your sins. Moreover, Father provides a reflection on the most common sins of omission that lead many to fall into dangerous self-righteous dispositions.

Most importantly of all, Fr. Baur reveals what is really meant by "Christian perfection" and how to attain it in this life. He describes concrete ways to grow in knowledge of self, acquire the strength to uproot sins, and conquer self-love. Youï1/2ï1/2ï1/2ll deepen your spiritual life measurably as you learn how to:

Focus on the root causes of sin and surmount sins that you habitually commit

Overcome thoughts and impulses that are occasions of sin

Detect when you are becoming lukewarm and promptly revive your love for God

Grow in reverential love for God and conform your life to His will

Atone for the temporal punishment due to sin - now, before Purgatory

With clarity and wisdom, Fr. Baur explains why your conscience is holy and must therefore be obeyed. He conveys how frequent Confession increases sanctifying grace in your soul, gives glory to God, and brings healing, joy, and fulfillment. An invaluable resource, this book will enrich your sacramental life and inspire you to greater charity for your neighbor. It will also move you to more frequent and fervent reception of Holy Communion.