Catholic Practices & Incarnation (AQA GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Meaning and significance of grace

• The word grace comes from the Latin word gratis, which means free

• Christians believe that grace is the gift of God’s love

• The Catholic Church teaches that grace:

  • Is the unconditional gift of God’s love to all people

  • Is the love that unites the three persons of the Trinity

  • Gives life to all things

  • Fills people’s hearts and leads them to God’s deeper love 

  • Gives people the awareness of what God wants them to do

  • Gives believers the strength to follow God’s ways

• God’s grace is present throughout the world

  • Everything God created can be seen as a sign of his love

  • Signs of God’s love can be seen everywhere in the world, in the love of people for one another

• The ultimate sign of grace is the incarnation (God on earth in the person of Jesus), serving as a sign of God’s love for all humanity

• The incarnation has helped Christians understand the presence of God in the world

  • Before the incarnation, God was a distant figure

  • The entire Christian faith is based on the idea that God really became human, lived, died and rose again for all human beings

  • This helped humans see God as a living presence in the world

  • Even when Jesus returned to heaven, the Holy Spirit remains as a sign of God’s grace in the world

• For Catholics, the idea that the world and everything in it serve as signs of God’s love is known as the sacramental nature of reality

The seven sacraments

• Catholic Christianity defines a sacrament as “an outward sign of inward grace, ordained by God, by which grace is given to the soul”

• The whole of God’s creation can be seen as a sacrament

• Catholics believe that God communicates his grace or love directly to people’s lives through seven particular rites and rituals 

• The seven sacraments include:

  • Baptism

  • Eucharist

  • Confirmation

  • Reconciliation

  • Anointing of the sick

  • Marriage

  • Holy orders

• Each of these sacraments:

  • Began with Jesus’s teaching and practice

  • Uses ordinary objects that become instruments of God’s grace, being passed on to people

  • Sanctifies a person’s life (makes it more holy)

  • Helps a believer become a stronger witness to God’s love and presence in their lives

• Baptism is the first of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church

  • Action: pouring water on the person’s head 

  • Symbolism: washing away sins

  • Words: “I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

  • Effect: Baptism makes a person a member of the Church and a child of God

• Confirmation occurs when a person chooses to confirm for themselves that they are members of the Church

  • Action: anointing the forehead with holy oil called chrism

  • Symbolism: receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit

  • Words: “Be sealed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit”

  • Effect: The person is strengthened in their faith by the Holy Spirit

• The Eucharist is also known as Holy Communion

  • Action: receiving the bread and wine, which have been consecrated (blessed)

  • Symbolism: receiving the body and blood of Christ

  • Words: “This is my body. This is my blood”

  • Effect: The person receives the fullness of Christ, helping them grow as a Christian

• Marriage is the joining of a husband and wife for life

  • Action: consent to taking each other as husband/wife

  • Symbolism: exchange of vows

  • Words: “Will you take this person as your lawful wedded husband/wife according to the rites of our Holy Mother the Church?” “I will”

  • Effect: The couple are joined together for life in the eyes of God

• Ordination or holy orders occur when a person becomes a priest, bishop or deacon in the Catholic Church

  • Action: laying on of hands and anointing of the person’s hands with holy oil (chrism)

  • Symbolism: passing on of the Holy Spirit 

  • Words: “Almighty Father, grant to this servant of yours the dignity of the priesthood”

  • Effect: The person commits themselves to serving God through their work in the Church. They have powers, including the ability to bless the bread and wine at Mass and to forgive sins

• Reconciliation is the sacrament through which a person receives God’s forgiveness

  • Action: laying on of hands

  • Symbolism: passing on of God’s forgiveness

  • Words: “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

  • Effect: The person’s sins are forgiven, and their relationship with God is restored

• The Sacrament of the Sick occurs when a person who is very ill is anointed with oil, giving them strength in their suffering

  • Action: anointing of the person’s head and hands with holy oil (chrism)

  • Symbolism: strengthening and forgiveness of sins

  • Words: “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin, save you and raise you up”

  • Effect: The person receives forgiveness, inner strength and comfort to bear their illness and sometimes physical healing

• Some of the sacraments can be received several times: the Eucharist, reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Sick

• Other sacraments are only received once in a person’s life: baptism, confirmation, ordination and marriage

The influence of imago dei on Catholic practice

• Christians believe that all humans are created in the image of God, imago dei, because the Genesis creation account describes it this way:

• Because all humans are made in the image of God, all human life is holy and should be protected

• For Catholics, this includes the unborn child

• They support this belief by reading the account of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth after learning that she was to have a son, Jesus

  • Elizabeth was also expecting a son, John the Baptist

  • When the two women greeted each other, Luke’s gospel records that Elizabeth’s unborn baby responded to the presence of Jesus. Elizabeth told Mary:

• For Catholics, this account shows that both children were truly present in their mother’s womb and that John was able to respond to Jesus’s presence

• The Catholic Church teaches that life begins at conception

  • The unborn child is a living being from the moment of conception; it is never just a part of the mother’s body but a separate person who is growing and developing

  • Because unborn children are living beings, their lives must be protected 

• This teaching means that the Catholic Church is against abortion

• Catholics show their opposition to abortion in several ways

  • They may join or support a pro-life organisation, such as Life or SPUC (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child)

  • They may support organisations that care for women who have chosen not to have an abortion