Sacramentum Caritatis

A child begs her father to take her to the baseball game, where she roots for the home team and eats peanuts and Cracker Jack.

Sacramentum Caritatis. In his first apostolic exhortation issued on February 22, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI explains why the Eucharist is so important in the Church. Continuing the theme of his first encyclical, God Is Love, Benedict shows how in the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus shows us the truth about love. The document points out the way to living an authentic Eucharistic spirituality so that the sacrament of love extends beyond the liturgy into every aspect of our daily lives. Thus the sacrament brings us the hope of eternal life and makes us holy.

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Guiding readers through the rites of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, Understanding the Sacraments of Initiation explores the way in which the sacraments of Initiation affect and influence one’s daily Christian life.

From playing video games to sleeping-in, teens can think of countless things they would rather do than go to Mass on Sunday morning. That is, unless they knew what they were missing. Do I Have to Go? explains the meaning and the mystery of Mass in such a way that teens will be asking, 'Why wouldn’t I go?' With wit, clarity, and common sense, Matthew Pinto and Chris Stefanick answer the tough questions teens have about the Mass-from the rituals contained in the liturgy, to the doctrines of the Eucharist and the priesthood. When teens understand that the Mass is literally the meeting place between heaven and earth, they will have a newfound sense of awe and a deeper understanding of their role as a Catholic in a post-modern world. In Do I Have to Go? teens will learn: ● Why the Mass is an essential part of the Christian life. ● The mystery of the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. ● How the redemptive work of Jesus Christ is communicated to and through the Church and the sacraments. ●The meaning of all the gestures and symbols of the the Mass. ● How the Mass has developed from its roots in the Old Testament, through its institution by Christ. ● The importance of the liturgical seasons for the spiritual life.

As a multi-faceted introduction to sacramental theology, the purposes of this Handbook are threefold: historical, ecumenical, and missional. The forty-four chapters are organized into the following parts five parts: Sacramental Roots in Scripture, Patristic Sacramental Theology, Medieval Sacramental Theology, From the Reformation through Today, and Philosophical and Theological Issues in Sacramental Doctrine. Contributors to this Handbook explain the diverse ways that believers have construed the sacraments, both in inspired Scripture and in the history of the Church's practice. In Scripture and the early Church, Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics all find evidence that the first Christian communities celebrated and taught about the sacraments in a manner that Orthodox, Protestants, and Catholics today affirm as the foundation of their own faith and practice. Thus, for those who want to understand what has been taught about the sacraments in Scripture and across the generations by the major thinkers of the various Christian traditions, this Handbook provides an introduction. As the divisions in Christian sacramental understanding and practice are certainly evident in this Handbook, it is not thereby without ecumenical and missional value. This book evidences that the story of the Christian sacraments is, despite divisions in interpretation and practice, one of tremendous hope.

Presiding over the liturgy takes more than following instructions. Good presiding is artful presiding. It is knowledgeable and inspirational. It faithfully grasps the church’s heritage and gives it personal expression. In Ars Celebrandi, Father Paul Turner offers a guide for priests in preparing for and celebrating the Mass. Building on a liturgy which adheres to the liturgical books, Turner examines styles of presiding and reflects on principles that will help the presider to foster active participation of the faithful.

Foreword by Cardinal George Pell. Walter Cardinal Kasper created an international media stir when he proposed allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments after a penitential period. But is this something the Church can even authorize? As the Church enters into the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on Marriage and the Family, this book takes up the Kasper Proposal and sorts the helpful from the problematic. Never separating pastoral concerns from doctrinal considerations, the authors engage Cardinal Kasperಙs ideas with respect, but also at times with some profound disagreement. How can we heal the wounds of a broken culture? How do we best support families, given the challenges of modern life? What is truly merciful? If the family is central to both society and the Church, how do we best express the truth of its importance? As the authors delve into the matter, they discuss how the early Church addressed issues of marriage and separation, and review the history of Church practice and discipline on marriage. They also explore how contemporary moral attitudes have shaped modern perceptions of marriage and divorce, and how the Church can offer pastoral guidance in this area. The good points of Cardinal Kasperಙs proposal are discussed, but also the ways in which his proposal falls short in presenting the ಜGospel of the Familyಝ as the center of our understanding of married life. Stay informed with this essential guide to one of the most important debates in the Church today.