Lesson 16 Father, Read The Black. Do The Red! Welcome back!  I have been a practicing Catholic almost all of my life.  The first twenty seven days of my life were rough and confused, because I had not been baptized yet.  I am so grateful that my parents had me baptized and passed on the […]Read more

Lesson 15 Can You Receive The Holy Eucharist?  There are four conditions a person needs to receive the Holy Eucharist. He or she should be: 1) a practicing Catholic; 2) having reached the age of reason –  which  is normally considered seven or eight years old –; 3) having kept the one hour fast […]Read more

Lesson 14 The Holy Eucharist – Matter, Form, and Minister  In baptism the matter is the water, the form are the words, and the usual minister is the priest.  With the Holy Eucharist the matter is unleavened bread made out of wheat; wine made from grapes; and the minister is the Priest or the […]Read more

Lesson 13 The Institution of the Holy Eucharist  The next six lessons will be about the Holy Eucharist. Even though this is the Greatest Sacrament, we will only spend six lessons on it this year, because we already produced forty lessons on the Mass in past years, and those are still available to you […]Read more

Lesson 12 The Effects of Baptism  The very best part of the Sacrament of Baptism are the effects.  No matter how old you are, and no matter what sins you have committed, the moment you are baptized all of your sins are forgiven!  That is amazing and wonderful at the same time!  The stain […]Read more

Lesson 11 The Sponsors (Godparents)  While it is not essential for the validity of Baptism to have a Godparent, or Sponsor, the Church asks us to have Sponsors, and the Sponsor for Baptism is later invited to be the Sponsor of the child for Confirmation when that time comes. The role of the Sponsor […]Read more

Lesson 10 More on the Sacrament of Baptism (Part II)  Welcome back to the Lenten Lessons on the Sacraments.  Today I will tell you the rest of the Ritual for Baptism.  We left off yesterday with the priest, parents, and godparents tracing the sign of the cross on the forehead of the baby.  That […]Read more

Lesson 9 More on the Sacrament of Baptism (Part I)  The Ritual for Baptism provides for the baptism of one person or multiple persons.   The most ordinary form of Baptism is for a newborn baby.  Normally, a newborn baby is brought to the Parish Church for baptism within a month of their birth, since […]Read more

Lesson 8 Baptism: Matter, Form, and Minister  Theologians who study the sacraments distinguish the Matter and the Form for a Sacrament.  For Baptism, the Matter is water . . . natural water.  It can be fresh water or salt water, but it must be water, not soap, not beer, not wine, not honey.  Water.  […]Read more

Lesson 7 The Institution of Baptism  Now that we have covered general principles about the Sacraments, it is time to look at each one of them in detail, so let’s start with Baptism and the moment of institution.  Each of the seven Sacraments were instituted by Christ to give grace, but the moment and […]Read more

Lesson 6 What are the “rituals” of the Sacraments?  Since the Sacraments are a gift from Jesus Christ to His Church, and since the Catholic Church has the sole authority over the Sacraments, each minister of the Sacrament must follow the “rite” for the Sacrament.  He cannot make up the words and actions by […]Read more

Lesson 5 Who is the Minister of the Sacraments?  When Jesus appeared to the Apostles in the Upper Room the night of the Resurrection, he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and said, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain are retained”. (JN 20:23) At that moment He […]Read more