"She Went by Gently"

1.      The gift of baptism is evident in the story through the woman’s treatment of the girl. She is very kind to her and treats her just like every single one of her other patients. Her kind treatment is emphasized when her husband tells her that she should not deliver the baby because the girl was a slut. However, the woman tells the girl that she should not be ashamed of herself. She explains that she has never been a bad girl, just a girl who made some mistakes. She gives her a second chance just as God gives us.

2.      She means that she saved the baby both spiritually. After the baby was delivered it was not crying like most babies, but instead was limp and quiet. After working on the baby she he or she comes to and lets out a cry. Afterwards, she baptizes him. This is where she saves him spiritually. Even though baby ultimately does not survive, she was able to baptize and start his life anew. This way the baby was reborn again and was able to receive God’s salvation.

3.      The author is trying to convey that the woman brings the light of Jesus wherever she is. As she walked home she notices all these things in nature lighting up and doing things. She is able to notice God in the smallest of places while walking home. This is not something that many can do, or rather think to do in their daily lives. Even the sun while she was walking shined down on her and sent a “special ray of light.” She stops to speak with people and asks God to bless them. This part of the story seems to be saying how she is living a Christian life and how God is happy with her work.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, piety, fear of the Lord, and knowledge. I feel like all of these have had their place in my life at some point in time. However, I cannot recall specific events so I’ll give the general idea. Counsel is present practically every day of my life as I go about making decisions. Whenever I make decisions, counsel helps me to have better judgment. The gift of courage is also present in my life. While I cannot recall a true time where I had to defend or stand up for my religion, the gift of courage still gives me just what it implies. It helps me to be a Christian and stand by my beliefs even if they are not the majority. It does not matter if these beliefs are being fought against or expressed, the Holy Spirit is still helping me to stand by them. Fear of the Lord is present in my life whenever I am surrounded by nature. For example, being by the ocean makes me think of God and all his creation. It reminds me just how amazing he truly is.

I probably need more of knowledge, understanding and wisdom. While I know a lot about God and Jesus and the story, I do not always feels like I know the meaning of everything. Knowing facts and actually knowing are two different things. More so than knowledge, I need understanding. I sometimes find myself with different beliefs from other Christians. This has been even more noticeable for me attending a Catholic School as a non-Catholic. There are many rituals and beliefs in the Catholic Church that I struggle with. And this is ok because it has helped me to grow surer of my own beliefs as a person. Still, I find myself unsure of certain things. I’m sure that as I grow older my beliefs will strengthen. Of course, not everything will always be clear, but hopefully the gift of understanding can make it better. Finally, I could use a little bit of wisdom in my life these days. Wisdom helps people to see the world in Gods’ ways rather than secularly. I do not always put God before worldly matters, and I think I could do a better job of this. I also think it would help my life to be less hectic. A little more of God is never a bad thing.

Distance Learning 3

1.Ludwig does not understand how sacraments can be limited to certain people if God’s love is universal.

2.The Church is not intentionally trying to deny people of God’s universal love. They are not saying that unbaptized people are denied salvation.

3.The Church is talking about when God became man so he could be with us personally. He was bringing grace into our lives, just like a sacrament.

4.God reveals and gives his universally offered grace through his Incarnate Son.

5.The Sacraments are based off of Jesus’ teachings.

6.The gobs of modern spirituality tell us that God would never truly come down to the crude earth.

7.Christians deny the gobs of modern spirituality because Jesus did come down to earth and associated with humans from the very beginning.

8.No it was not. He came down so he could resurrect. This has implications that we will do the same thing as human beings.

9.Sacraments do not just symbolize things, they also do things. They point to the grace in reality.

10.There is very little difference between sacramental Real Presence in the Eucharist and God’s universal grace. His universal grace is present in the Eucharist.

11. Grace is how God comes to us. It is how he becomes closer to us and touches us. 

Distance Learning 2

These are the Sacraments by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen- Intro

            In this essay, Fulton explains the relationship between sacraments and having a “divine sense of humor.” According to Fulton, one cannot understand the sacraments without having a “divine sense of humor.” With this humor, a person can see through things, and understand its meaning. This is important because sacraments have two parts, a visible one and an invisible one. Jesus had a “divine sense of humor” because he revealed that the universe was sacramental. Fulton argues that man today has lost this “divine sense of humor.”

These are the Sacraments by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen- The Bible is a Sacramental

            Fulton explains how the bible is like a sacrament because it has a foreground and background. In the foreground lie the actors, such as the wars and the temple. In the background is God as the Chief Actor. He explains how God uses symbols to foreshadow events in the future. He uses the example of the brazen serpent in the desert and Christ. Fulton then goes on to explain the mystery of sacraments and Christ.

These are the Sacraments by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen- What the Sacraments Bring to Man

            In this essay, Fulton explains how the sacraments bring divine life and grace. Christ came to bring back divine life to man, that we had once lost. Because it is a gift, it is considered grace. Fulton also explains the three different levels of life. The first is the sensate, where people who deny higher existence reside. The second level is the intellectual, which is a more satisfying life to live. The third level is the divine level where the person is aware of higher existence and God’s grace. The sacraments also show how God saved us.

These are the Sacraments by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen- Seven Conditions of Life

Here Fulton relates the Seven Conditions of Life to the Seven Conditions of the Christ-life. The seven conditions of life are to be born, nourishment, growth, healing of wounds and disease, living under the government, and to propagate the human species. The Christ-life is similar to the regular life, except it is revealed through sacraments.

The Power and Efficacy of the Sacraments

            Fulton discusses how sacraments receive their power from the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus. He then goes on to explain why a blood sacrifice was needed to bring the world sanctification. The first reason is because shedding blood represents the emptying of sin. Blood also signifies sacrifice, and finally because it was the blood of Christ is had infinite value.

The Application to the Sacraments

            Here Fulton explains how sacraments are different for different people. Just like water changes color when poured into different glasses, sacraments have different effects depending on the person receiving it.

Divine Sense of Humor?

            A divine sense of humor allows people to see through things and understand their meanings. This relates to symbols because symbols have meanings that cannot be seen. If someone takes things to seriously, they are missing the meaning of the symbol.

            

The River

1987- This is evident when Mrs. Connin talks about Harry’s mother needing a healing because of her sins. Mrs. Connin believed that God could cleanse Harry’s mother from her sins and set her on the right track.

1988-  After Harry is baptized, the preacher tells him that he counts and has been changed. This is similar to what the Catechism is saying because Harry has been reborn into his new life.

1989- This relates to the river because when Harry is baptized he is justified. The catechism defines justification is “also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.” When he is baptized, Harry’s interior is being renewed.

1990- This relates to the story because the preacher often healed people when they were baptized just as the Catechism says justification does.

1991-  This relates to the story because Harry had to have some faith in Jesus to want to go back out to the river. Even if it was a very tiny bit of faith, there was still something in him.

1992- This is illustrated in the story when Harry is baptized.

1993-  This is illustrated in the text when Harry uses his freedom to return to the sight of his baptism. The Catechism states that justification cooperates between God and man’s freedom. Although Harry is free, he is using his freedom to do God’s will.

1994- This is illustrated in the story because Mrs. Connin was very concerned with having Harry’s mother justified because she was viewed as a sinner. Having Harry’s mother justified, according to St. Augustine, is “greater work than the creation of heaven and earth.”

1995- This idea is shown when Harry comes out of the water a new person with dark and dilated eyes. His mindset is changed and his “interior” is born anew.

1996- Mrs. Connin being Harry’s babysitter could be attributed to the Grace of God because it helped him to become justified. If he had his normal babysitter, he would not have had the chance to leave the house and be baptized.

1997- Grace is seen throughout the story. The most obvious example is when Harry is baptized. But it is also seen in Mrs. Connin because she participates in the life of God all throughout the story.  It is even evident in Harry’s death because he was trying to find the Kingdom of Christ.

1998-  This is evident through the various healings that the preacher completes in the story. These are things that humans cannot fully understand, but it is through healings that God reveals himself.

1999- The grace discussed here is the grace that helped Harry to become a new person.

2000- Habitual grace is evident in Mrs. Connin. She lives by God’s word and even witnesses to others. She even baptizes other people children without their knowledge. Now that’s commitment.

2001- This is illustrated in the story when Harry realizes that the preacher was not joking about baptism. He seemed to realize that it was important, and was trying to prepare himself for the change that was about to occur.

2002- Man’s longing for truth and goodness is illustrated in Harry’s search for the Kingdom of Christ. He wanted to make sure that it really existed. The Catechism says that only God can truly answer this, and Harry turns to God looking for truth.

2003- This is illustrated in the story because O’Connor includes various miracles in the story which are examples of charisms.

2004- This relates to the text because Mrs. Connin was graced with a gift to teach and spread God’s word and she shared that with Harry.

2005- This is illustrated in the story when the woman testifies to Jesus on page 7. She says she can testify because she has seen the preacher heal, therefore she is going based off experience and not her feelings.