Chapter 7: Using a Laser Level for Alignment: Worship and Liturgy {Lawn Chair Catechism}

Welcome to this summer’s Lawn Chair Catechism! We're reading Joe Paprocki’s best-selling book, A Well-Built Faith: A Catholic’s Guide to Knowing and Sharing What We Believe. We’re taking it one chapter at a time all summer long.

This week, we begin Part 2, covering the sacraments. Joe is here with more:

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We normally associate the word melting with ice or candle wax. This image of melting and reforming has also been applied to the human heart: “My heart has become like wax, it melts away within me” (Psalm 22:15).

What does that say about the human heart and human beings in general? That we can be reshaped and reformed.

The Sacraments of Initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist—serve to reform us into followers of Christ. Think about what they do and what you know about them. (For extra credit on the Lawn Chair Catechism scoreboard, go do some actual research in the Catechism.)

Ite! Missa Est! These are the words that the priest or deacon says at the end of the Latin Mass. They mean, “Go! It (the assembly) is dismissed!” Point out that the word Mass comes from this Latin word missa which means “sent” or “dismissed.”

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

What does it mean that we can know a mystery but not fully understand it?
When was a time in your life when you encountered mystery? What does it mean to say that Catholicism is a sacramental faith?
What does it mean to call Jesus the “Sacrament of God”?
What does it mean to be initiated into something? When was a time that you experienced initiation into a group?
What does it mean that our Initiation into the Church is not a once-and-done deal?
Why do you think the Church celebrates Initiation on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil?
How do the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit affect our lives?
What does it mean to say that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our lives as Christians?
What significance is there to the fact that the word Mass comes from the Latin word for sent or dismissed?

Feel free to comment on your own thoughts from this week's reading, your impressions and reflections, and/or your answers to these questions. You can also share your blog post by linking up below.

Next week, we'll cover Chapter 8: Construction Safety Signs: Mystery and Sacramentality. For the complete reading schedule and information about this summer’s Lawn Chair Catechism, visit the Lawn Chair Catechism page.

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