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Introduction to the Sacraments: Gr. 6 - Gr. 8

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Sacraments Background

  • We can describe the sacrament as the channels we receive the graces and blessings of the Holy Spirit. We cannot see the invisible grace that comes down during the practice of a sacrament but it is a blessing and a gift from God, and through the sacraments, we get united with Christ.
  • We often call the capital C Church the new life in Christ, where we live in union with God. Everything in this new life participates in the mystery of salvation. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, anything that is sinful becomes holy. As such, everything from birth to death becomes a sacrament – a mystery from the Kingdom of God. We may not necessarily see the invisible grace that comes down during the practice of the sacraments which is why we often refer to the sacraments as the “holy mysteries”


Seven Sacraments Overview

    • We can divide these mysteries into seven sacraments
  • Ask the kids to try to list all the sacraments. List them all if they don’t get them. 
    • Baptism
      • The first thing we need for life to exist is birth. In our spirituality, we partake in the mystery of baptism to be born into the eternal life of God. We need baptism to be able to participate in the other sacraments.
    • Chrismation
      • However, baptism or birth on its own is not enough. We also need to power the life we just entered. This is what the sacrament of Chrismation provides us with. It powers our new life with Christ by allowing the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. 
  • Ask the kids when does Chrismation takes place.
      • Chrismation happens right after a priest baptizes a baby in water. He appoints them with the holy oil Myron 36 times in the sign of the cross all over their body. 
    • Eucharist
      • Now that we have been born into this new life and have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, we need to fuel it and sustain it.
  • Ask the kids how we fuel our bodies on earth.
      • Just as we need to eat and drink to keep our bodies alive and healthy on earth, we need to partake in the Eucharist to nourish our eternal life with Christ.
  • Ask the kids what is Eucharist, and when we partake in it. This should (hopefully) be reviewed for them from the previous unit.
    • Throughout the Liturgy, the Holy Spirit comes down to the altar to transform the bread and wine into the Holy Body and Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. When we go to liturgy, every time we take Communion or partake in the Eucharist, Christ abides in us and us in Him.
    • This is the food and drink that will give us eternal life. Yes, we need to eat and drink “regular food” every day to fuel our bodies but this food won’t keep us alive on earth forever. 
  • Marriage
    • I’m sure many of you have been to a wedding or have seen a wedding. You see the bride and groom on the altar. They get crowned and dressed in wedding vestments. 
    • How many of you have ever heard the saying “till death do you part.”
    • This is what’s commonly said during non-Orthodox weddings. It suggests that after a wife or husband passes away, they are no longer considered as a married couple. We do not believe in that and that is one of the biggest differences in orthodox weddings.
    • During the mystery of matrimony, the two physically distinct people become spiritually One with Christ in the midst. Because Christ is uniting them and them with Him, their marriage goes beyond their life on earth. Even after
    • Think of it like making a braid. You need three strands to make a braid but on the outside, it just looks like two strands. A couple, on the outside, looks like two people but on the inside, they are a three-stranded braid united together.
  • Confession & Repentance
    • One of the special mysteries and graces of our new life with Christ is that God blesses us to be made new again whenever we fall into sin. It’s no secret that there are many temptations in our life that we can fall into. Sorry to break it to you, but we will continue to fall into sin. But this shouldn’t make us hopeless or give up on becoming better Christians. Through the sacrament of Confession, God continually and unconditionally forgives us and receives us into His Kingdom. 
    • But we cannot abuse that privilege. We cannot keep intentionally falling into sin. We need to work on ourselves and the Holy Spirit will work with us to help us heal from our fallen nature.
  • Unction of the Sick
    • Just as we may fall into sin or spiritual sickness, we will also fall into physical sickness. When someone is sick, a priest anoints them with oil and prays with them to obtain the grace of remedy from God.
    • We also call this sacrament the Sacrament of the Lamps because when this sacrament is performed, Abouna places seven cotton bolls in a plate of oil in the shape of a cross. After every prayer, Abouna lights one of the cotton balls.
  • Priesthood
    • And lastly, we have Priesthood. This sacrament is an act of service and the divine calling of a priest to have the sacred duty to guide his congregation toward salvation. When a bishop or Pope lays his hand on a man to ordain him a priest, the Holy Spirit descends upon him and grants him a priestly rank.  With this rank, he receives the grace to perform many church services and sacraments. 

Conclude

    • As we can see, everything we do from birth to death is overlapped/united with the eternal life God has gifted us to be apart of. Each one has its own significance and we will delve into the main ones over the next couple of months.
  • Ask them if they have any questions about particular sacraments they are interested in learning more about.


Activity

  • Have them work together to organize the Bible verse to the appropriate sacrament
  • Cut out the following table


Baptism

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. - John 3:5 

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” - Mark 16:16 

“Except you be born again, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” - John 3:3

Chrismation

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Confession and Repentance

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. - Matthew 18:18

And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins on any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. - John 20:22-23

Eucharist

He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” - Matthew 26:26-28

He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. - John 6:56

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise

him up at the last day.” - John 6:54

“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed...As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” - John 6: 55 & 57

Unction of the Sick

“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed...As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” - James 5:14-15

Matrimony

“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed...As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” - Matthew 19:5-6

Priesthood

“For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed...As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the  Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.” - Mark 3:14 - 15

“And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles:” - Luke 6:13 


Second Activity (if there’s time)

  • Zoom in picture game with pictures of the various sacraments































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