Catholic Connections Liturgy and Sacraments | Teacher Guide

The Mass and other official prayers of the Church comprise the Church’s liturgies.
“Liturgy” refers to the official, communal, and public prayer of the Church: prayers that we pray together, in communion with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, prayers that we pray publicly rather than alone in private, prayers that we celebrate under the direction and guidelines established by the Church. In the Church’s liturgy, we first and foremost celebrate the Paschal Mystery—the Passion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ.
There are many different forms of liturgy, with the Eucharist foremost among them. Other forms of liturgy include the Sacraments and special prayers, such as morning and evening blessings, that are prayed communally.
The chapters in this unit of the handbook examine each of these forms of liturgy, beginning with an introduction of the meaning of liturgy and moving into a close look at each of the Sacraments.
The exploration of the Sacraments begins with an overview of the Sacraments as a celebration of Christ’s presence, in which we encounter Christ in his divinity. Each of the Sacraments is also presented individually. The signs and symbols of each sacrament are explained, along with the effects of the sacrament and the requirements for receiving it.
The Eucharist gets an expanded look and is presented in four chapters, with the first being an overview of why the Eucharist is the heart and summit of the Church’s life, and the others built around the key parts of the Mass: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Because the Eucharist catechizes us, through these chapters you in turn can begin to catechize through the experience of the Eucharist, and help the students discover the wonder and awe of this prayer of the Church and its meaning for their lives.