Monday, February 22, 2016

Three Sacraments Plus One

So the woman who runs our "Catholics Returning Home" program walked up to me and asked if I'd give a presentation on the Sacraments of Initiation plus the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  I said yes.  Why did I say yes?  I mean, that's face palm right there.  I spent 34 years refusing to give presentations at work.  I did 2 at the last because I knew that there would be zero people in the room who knew anything about what I was talking about.  And Powerpoint.  I had Powerpoint. You can entertain a lot with Powerpoint.  I don't have Powerpoint for this.

Did I mention that it's in three weeks? Yeah. My kitchen table is covered with books with colored place markers in them.  Plus, of course, the Bible.   Today I covered the questions of "What is initiation?" (Abraham and circumcision  as primary example) and "Initiation into WHAT?"  (Jesus smacking Saul down and asking why he was persecuting Him, which tells you what the Church is) questions.  Then there's the history, symbolism, and reality of Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, and Reconciliation.  I mean, 2,000 years of teachings and experience compressed into a 1/2 hour talk.  No pressure.

I'm trying to convince myself that it's OK because it's Lent and I'm supposed to suffer.

7 comments:

  1. "I'm trying to convince myself that it's OK because it's Lent and I'm supposed to suffer."

    Yes, go with that. It's funnier than what I was going to say. :)

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  2. I'd love to see your presentation if someone is recording it. We can learn a lot listening to people's conversion/reversion story.

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    1. Funny thing is, I'm not part of the program. She just knows me from other functions and thinks I know what I'm talking about. Silly her.

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    2. Funny thing is, I'm not part of the program. She just knows me from other functions and thinks I know what I'm talking about. Silly her.

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  3. You'll do fine, you're logical, organized, and know how to do research... :-)

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    1. My problem isn't that there isn't enough material, but how to distill the reams of it, starting with Genesis, into about 8 minutes per sacrament.

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    2. My problem isn't that there isn't enough material, but how to distill the reams of it, starting with Genesis, into about 8 minutes per sacrament.

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