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FIdth Today Supplement, The Message, Catholic Diocese of Evansville, May 13, 1988 *3"
w
low the church and the sacraments
aelp to form people in quite basic
vays in a pamphlet called "Under-
t,mding Confirmation Today" (Litur-
gical Press, Collegeville, Minn.).
It, the sacraments, the church
ce "rates what God is doing in the
ires of its members," Father Mick
;aid. Sacraments are a reminder that
xe are called to "a life of continual
:onversion, gradually rooting out sin
and selfishness and giving our lives
more and more completely to God"
and to others.
He points out that conversion is a
lifetime process which occurs within
a community setting and with the
support and prayers of other com-
munity members.
(Ms. Bird is associate editor of
Faith Today.)
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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Attitudes are important forces in people's daily lives. They affect the
way people look at life and how they relate to God, to themselves and
to others. The church's sacraments have a powerful effect in shaping
the attitudes that guide people and the choices they make.
As described by Laura Mcaghcr, what sorts of attitudes does the
Eucharist help people to develop?
What effect does Jane Wolford Hughes think that the sacrament for
the sick has in changing people's outlook on their lives?
What does it mean to say that the sacraments reach outside tile walls
of churches to enter into people's daily lives?
How important is the community aspect of the sacraments in shaping
people's attitudes?
Second Helpings. The sacraments summon Christians "to celebrate
and to confront tensions and contradictions which they might otherwise
forget or cover up," says Jesuit Father Gerard Fourez in Sacraments and
Passages: Celebrating the Tensions of Modern Life. Celebrating the
Eucharist, for instance, draws community members to consider such ques-
tions as why Jesus had to die, and why they have to die. It also encourages
people to ask why they struggle in daily life. Another example Father Fourez
uses is the baptism of an infant. In this sacrament Christians are invited to
confront questions about what kind of community the newly baptized is
joining. Will it love the newcomer unconditionally? Or will the child feel
overwhelmed by the oppression of others? Father Fourez also points out
that people receive strength for their daily lives from the communal
sacramental celebrations. He mentions a family participating at a Eucharist
together in a hospital room before a dangerous operation. Such services join
people with Jesus who, on the eve of his suffering and death, shared a paschal
celebration with his friends. In the Eucharist "Christians commemorate this
passage lived by Jesus," Father Fourez says, And living tile Eucharist means
living the decisions and tasks taken in life "in conjunction with Jesus' deci-
sion to give his life." (Ave MariaPress, Notre Dame, Ind. 46556. 1983. Paper-
back, $4.95.)
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