Hello all! Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Since we are not meeting this week, we thought we'd provide a lesson for everyone to do at home as a family if they choose.
Since Good Friday and Easter are approaching, we chose Lesson 8 on Redemption adapted from the St. Joseph Baltimore Catechism (pictured below).
It is a little old school - your parents or grandparents probably used this when they were in CCE. You should ask them about it! But it is a great tool! You can buy each member of your family one on Amazon!
There is a PDF attached to this message with the Catechism lesson as well.
We have also placed some supplemental materials for this lesson, some praise and worship music, and additional links to Catechism resources provided by the Diocese for you to employ at home as well this week.
Lesson 8 - The Redemption
"I believe ... in Jesus Christ ... Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead..."
The Victory reverses the defeat of Adam and Eve.
What is meant by redemption? By the redemption is meant that Jesus Christ, as the Redeemer of the whole human race, offered his sufferings and death to God as a fitting sacrifice in satisfaction for the sins of men, and regained for them the right to be children of God and heirs of heaven.
Briefly, the Redemption means CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS.
It was his loving obedience to the His Father, even to the extreme point of dying on the Cross, which redeemed us. The disobedience of Adam, and of all others who have listened to the devil and sinned, or will sin, had offended the Father deeply because he loves us. But the act of love of Christ, dying on the Cross, was more pleasing to the Father than our sins were displeasing to Him.
Because He was pleased, the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son. He took Him to heaven as a sign that He will take all others there who will share in the Sacrifice of His Son.
The one who shared the most in this was Mary. She reversed Eve's action. Eve refused God's will and brought death into the world. Mary accepted God's will and brought the Redeemer into the world, who won eternal life for us.
What were the chief sufferings of Christ? The chief sufferings of Christ were His bitter agony of soul, His bloody sweat, His cruel scourging, His crowning with thorns, His crucifixion, and His death on the Cross.
When did Christ die? Christ died on Good Friday.
Where did Christ die? Christ died on Gologtha, a place outside the city of Jerusalem.
What do we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ? From the sufferings and death of Christ, we learn God's love for man and the evil of sin, for which God, who is all-just, demands such great satisfaction.
1. God's love for man. St. John tells us, "In this we have come to know His love, that He laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16).
2. The evil of sin. "He bore our sins in His body upon the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live to justice." (1 Peter 2:24). We cannot see the harm sin does to our soul, but studying the crucifix will help us realize it. Our sins did that to him.
3. The need of satisfaction. God could have forgiven sin without requiring any satisfaction. But He did even better. If He forgave us without any satisfaction, His justice would have been satisfied and we would always feel guilty. So He made it possible for us to make satisfaction for our sins.
He did this 1st, by sending His Son, whose loving obedience even to the death of the cross please Him more than sin displeased Him. Secondly, by making it possible for us to share in that satisfaction through (A) Baptism and (B) the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
1. By Baptism, which makes us members of the Mystical Body of Christ. Then Christ, the head of the Body, can satisfy for us. It is like apologizing with your tongue for something you did wrong with your hands.
2. By the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which offers to God all our actions, especially our sufferings, in union with those of Christ.
Our own actions, even our best ones, and our own sufferings, even the worst ones we endure, could never of themselves please God as much as we have hurt Him by sin. But when our actions, our sufferings, our love are all united with the acctions, the sufferings and the love of Christ, and offered up with Him in the Mass, then we can please God more than we have hurt Him by sin.
In other words, we can make full satisfaction of our sins through Christ.
What do we mean when we say in the Apostle's Creed that Christ descended into Hell? When we say Christ descended into hell we mean that, after He died, the soul of Christ descended into a place or state of rest called the Bosom of Abraham, where the souls of the just were waiting for him.
The word "hell" simply means the place of the dead. Usually it refers to the place of the damned souls, but here in the Apostle's Creed it has its first meaning of the place of the dead. However, Christ did not go to all the dead, but only to the good souls, such as Abraham, Moses, David, St. Ann, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph and many others who had died before He did.
Why did Christ go to the Bosom of Abraham? Christ went to the Bosom of Abraham to announce to the souls waiting there the joyful news that He had reopened Heaven to mankind.
Where was Christ's body while His soul was in the Bosom of Abraham? While his soul was in the Bosom of Abraham, Christ's body was in the holy sepulchre.
When did Christ rise from the dead? Christ rose from the dead, glorious and immortal, on Easter Sunday, the third day after His death.
Why did Christ rise from the dead? Christ rose from the dead to show that He is true God and to teach us that we, too, shall rise from the dead.
Christ did not rise by the power of His HUMAN nature, but by the power of His DIVINE nature, which He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That is why we often find it said in Scripture that the Father raised Him from the dead. This He did to show how pleased He was with the sacrifice of His Son, and that He was accepting the sacrifice in connection with the sacrifice of the Mass.
Will all men rise from the dead? All men will rise from the dead, but only those who have been faithful to Christ will share in His glory.
When did Christ ascend into heaven? Christ ascended, body and soul, into heaven on Ascension Day, forty days after his resurrection.
The Resurrection and Ascension are not so much tow different mysteries as two aspects of one and the same mystery of Christ's glorification.
Why did Christ remain on earth forty days after his Resurrection? Christ remained on earth forty days after His Resurrection to prove that He had truly risen from the dead and to complete the instruction of the apostles.
What do we mean when we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty? When we say that Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, we mean that Our Lord as God is equal to the Father, and that as man He shares above all the saints in the glory of His Father and exercises for all eternity the supreme authority of a king over all creatures.
It does not mean that Christ in heaven is sitting down doing nothing, but that He has the throne of all authority. He is King over all men. The authority of all rulers on earth comes from Him. The feast of Christ the King is the last Sunday in November.
What do we mean when we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead? When we say that Christ will come from thence to judge the living and the dead, we mean that on the last day Our Lord will come to pronounce a sentence of eternal reward or of eternal punishment on everyone who has ever lived in this world.
This day will be a fearful day for the enemies of Christ and His Church -- even for those within the Church who are in mortal sin. But for those who love Christ, it will be a glorious day. It is the day for which the Church is constantly waiting and praying. It will be the day on which Christ will come and take us all, both the living and the dead, to be with Him body and soul forever in heaven. Marana tha!
Discussion Questions
1. Did God plan the death of His Son?
2. Was He mean to do this? Why not?
3. Which was more important in redeeming us: Christ's bodily pain or the love of His Sacred Heart? Why?
4. Does Christ love us more than His Father does? Give a reason for you your answer.
5. Could we make full satisfaction of our own sins if Christ had not died on the Cross for us? Why not?
6. How do we make the satisfaction of Christ our own?
7. Where did Christ's soul go immediately after death? What for?
8. Did Christ rise from the dead or did the Father raise Him?
9. Is Christ the King of this country?
10. Is the second coming of Christ something to fear?
True or False
1. God did not want His Son to die on the Cross.
2. Our Blessed Mother did not want Him to die on the Cross.
3. God could have forgiven us even if Christ had not died on the Cross.
4. Christ suffered so much to show the greatness of His love.
5. The devil tried to prevent Christ from doing His Father's will.
6. Our Lady willingly offered up her Son for men's sins.
7. Christ could not stop the soldiers from nailing Him to the Cross.
8. When Christ descended into Hell, He released all the souls condemned to the hell of fire.
9. The Father raised Christ's body from the dead and took Him to heaven to show He was pleased with His Son's sacrifice.
10. The Father has made all men subjects of Christ the King and Mary the Queen.
Fill in the blanks
1. Christ undid the harm done to the human race by another man named ________.
2. Mary undid the harm done to the human race by another woman named _______.
3. Christ redeemed us by His sufferings and death, which were the outward expression of the ______ of His Sacred Heart.
4. The five chief sufferings of Christ, which we think of in the five sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary, are _____________, ______________, ___________, _________________, and ____________.
5. The three things we learn from the sufferings and death of Christ are ______________, _________________, and __________.
6. We share in the satisfaction of Christ chiefly by __________________ and ____________________.
7. When we say that Christ descended into hell, we do not mean that He went to see all the dead, but only those in ______________________.
8. Christ rose from the dead to show _________________ and to teach ______________.
9. The Father raised His Son from the dead to show ___________________________________________________.
10. Christ rose from the dead by the power of His ___________________ nature.
PRAYER and REFLECTION
Pray the stations of the cross as a family.
Read the "Exultet" at the beginning of the Easter Vigil service - how many effects and symbols of the Redemption can you find there?
Holy Mother pierce me through
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified
VIDEO RECAP OF THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
PRAISE AND WORSHIP -
Jesus Messiah by Chris Tomlin
Resources provided by the Diocese: