Month of June 2018 – Trinity and the Eucharist

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* 1. The word “Trinity” appears ________ times in Sacred Scripture.

1)  The word “Trinity” appears ________ times in Sacred Scripture.

The answer is:  Zero times

The word “Trinity” does not appear anywhere in Sacred Scripture.  However, the Trinity “is a mystery of faith in the strict sense, one of the ‘mysteries that are hidden in God, which can never be known unless they are revealed by God.’  To be sure, God has left traces of his Trinitarian being in his work of creation and in his Revelation throughout the Old Testament. But his inmost Being as Holy Trinity is a mystery that is inaccessible to reason alone or even to Israel’s faith before the Incarnation of God’s Son and the sending of the Holy Spirit.” [from the Catechism of the Catholic Church ¶237]

In John 16:12-13 (NAB), Jesus alluded to the reality that the fullness of truth would be revealed to the Church gradually over time when He said: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.  But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth…”

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* 2. We are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity by the grace of the Sacrament of ___________.

2) We are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity by the grace of the Sacrament of ______

The answer is:  Baptism

From the beginning, the revealed truth of the Holy Trinity has been at the very root of the Church’s living faith, primarily by means of Baptism, in which the sacramental form requires the words: “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”    [adapted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church ¶249]

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* 3. What percentage of Americans who say they are Catholic believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, based on 2008 data?

3) What percentage of Americans who say they are Catholic believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, based on 2008 data?

The answer is:  57%

An April 26, 2017, article in the National Catholic Register, “US Bishops Encourage Greater Devotion to Christ in the Eucharist” reported:  “A 2008 survey by the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate (CARA) found that 43% of Catholics agreed with the statement, ‘Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present.’ In 2001, only 37% of respondents had agreed with that statement.”  Therefore, only 57% of Americans who say they are Catholic understand that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Christ.  On the positive side, this same survey reported that 91% of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass regularly believe in the Real Presence.  [from Nation Catholic Register article, “US Bishops Encourage Greater Devotion to Christ in the Eucharist”: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/us-bishops-encourage-greater-devotion-to-christ-in-the-eucharist]

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* 4. Which condition(s) are required for the lawful reception of Holy Communion? (select BEST answer)

4)  Which condition(s) are required for the lawful reception of Holy Communion? (select BEST answer)

The best answer is:  A, B & C
“To receive the sacrament of Communion worthily one must be a baptized Catholic in the state of grace and believe what the Church teaches about this sacrament. One conscious of having committed a mortal sin must make a sacramental confession before approaching the sacrament. One must also receive Communion with an upright intention, for example, out of love for Christ or in a desire to grow in grace and in unity with all His Mystical Body. One should not receive Communion simply because others are receiving it. The Church also directs us to abstain from food and drink (except for water and medicine) for at least one hour before Communion.” [from Our Sunday Visitor October 10, 2013, article, “Sixteen Questions about the Eucharist, Question #13:  https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/Article/TabId/563/ArtMID/13751/ArticleID/11510/16-Questions-about-the-Eucharist.aspx]

“Every celebration of the Eucharist is performed in union not only with the proper Bishop, but also with the Pope, with the episcopal order, with all the clergy, and with the entire people. [from the CDF Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of the Church Understood as Communion Communionis Notio (28 May 1992), 14: AAS 85 (1993), 847]

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* 5. June 29th is the Solemnity of _______________:

5) June 29th is the Solemnity of ­­­­­­­­­_______________:

The answer is: Saints Peter and Paul

“On June 29 the Church celebrates the feast day of Sts. Peter and Paul. As early as the year 258, there is evidence of an already lengthy tradition of celebrating the solemnities of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the same day. Together, the two saints are the founders of the See of Rome, through their preaching, ministry and martyrdom there.”  [from Catholic New Agency article about “Sts. Peter and Paul”:   https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/sts-peter-and-paul-501]

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