"Our words indicate our thoughts, but our thoughts don't make anything happen. . . . It's not the same with God." In Speaking the Love of God: An Introduction to the Sacraments, Dr. Jacob W. Wood shows how Christ gives his Church the power to speak with God's voice in the seven sacraments. In this foundational guide to the sacraments, discover the power of the signs and words that transform us by grace and prepare us for glory.

“Our words indicate our thoughts, but our thoughts don’t make anything happen. . . . It’s not the same with God.” In Speaking the Love of God: An Introduction to the Sacraments, Dr. Jacob W. Wood shows how Christ gives his Church the power to speak with God’s voice in the seven sacraments. In this foundational guide to the sacraments, discover the power of the signs and words that transform us by grace and prepare us for glory.

The most solemn, majestic, and beautiful gifts that Jesus Christ gave to the world are His sacraments. He endowed them with unprecedented and unparalleled power—power to change lives, save souls, and share God’s very life. The sacraments are the ordinary means by which God directs the course of each human life and all of world history. The Church celebrates seven sacraments: baptism, Eucharist, confirmation, matrimony, holy orders, confession, and anointing of the sick. Each was established by Jesus for the sake of salvation. When Jesus spoke of the sacraments, He made clear that they were essential: Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (Jn 3:5) . . . unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you (Jn 6: 53). In Swear to God, Dr. Scott Hahn explores the richness of Christ’s sacraments—their doctrine, history, symbols, and rituals. Drawing upon the Bible and the Church’s tradition, he shows how God’s covenants—with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David—became the driving forces in history. When Jesus came to fulfill all these covenants, He established a new covenant, with greater power than ever before. Christians are God’s children now. Joined to Christ by baptism, we can already share in the eternal life of the Trinity, a life we hope to know fully in heaven. But heaven is with us, even now, in the sacraments.

Over 3 million copies sold! Essential reading for Catholics of all walks of life. Here it is - the first new Catechism of the Catholic Church in more than 400 years, a complete summary of what Catholics around the world commonly believe. The Catechism draws on the Bible, the Mass, the Sacraments, Church tradition and teaching, and the lives of saints. It comes with a complete index, footnotes and cross-references for a fuller understanding of every subject. The word catechism means "instruction" - this book will serve as the standard for all future catechisms. Using the tradition of explaining what the Church believes (the Creed), what she celebrates (the Sacraments), what she lives (the Commandments), and what she prays (the Lord's Prayer), the Catechism of the Catholic Church offers challenges for believers and answers for all those interested in learning about the mystery of the Catholic faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a positive, coherent and contemporary map for our spiritual journey toward transformation.

Christians tend to divide into three camps: evangelical, sacramental, and pentecostal. But must we choose between them? Drawing on the New Testament, Christian history, and years of experience in Christian ministry, Gordon T. Smith argues that the church not only can be all three, but in fact must be all three in order to truly be the church.

Delves into the ancient debate regarding the nature and purpose of the seven sacraments What are the sacraments? For centuries, this question has elicited a lively discussion and among theologians, and a variety of answers that do anything but outline a unified belief concerning these fundamental ritual structures. In this extremely cohesive and well-crafted volume, a group of renowned scholars map the theologies of sacraments offered by key Christian figures from the Early Church through the twenty-first century. Together, they provide a guide to the variety of views about sacraments found throughout Christianity, showcasing the variety of approaches to understanding the sacraments across the Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox faith traditions. Chapters explore the theologies of thinkers from Basil to Aquinas, Martin Luther to Gustavo Gutiérrez. Rather than attempting to distill their voices into a single view, the book addresses many of the questions that theologians have tackled over the two thousand year history of Christianity. In doing so, it paves the way for developing theologies of sacraments for present and future contexts. The text places each theology of the sacraments into its proper sociohistorical context, illuminating how the church has used the sacraments to define itself and its congregations over time. The definitive resource on theologies of the sacraments, this volume is a must-read for students, theologians, and spiritually interested readers alike.

Understanding the Sacraments is a popular guide for prayer and study of all seven sacraments, designed for use by individuals and groups. In this guide, the well-known Fr. Peter Stravinskas, gives you a clear and faithful Catholic teaching in chapters on each of the seven sacraments. Everyday examples and anecdotes enliven the text. An introductory chapter explains the meaning of the word "sacrament", while the closing chapter tells you how to recover a sense of the sacred in the liturgy and how to receive God's healing through the sacraments. To help you apply the teaching, frank and thoughtful questions for group discussion are included at the end of all the chapters-making this guide ideal for use in any parish or religious education program. Whether at home, your parish, or in a prayer or study group, this popular guide will help you come to a deeper understanding of the sacraments and their important place in your Christian life.

Participant Workbook Revised and reformatted! Genesis to Jesus opens the door to deeper understanding of Scripture for all Catholics, especially those who find reading the Bible a daunting task. The book leads the reader on an overview of salvation history in order to give the "big picture," the single plot that runs through the books of the Bible. What is that overarching story? God's plan to bring all humanity into his covenant family. This overview of key covenants from creation to the New Covenant established by Jesus not only helps the reader see how various biblical stories fit together in God's plan, it also provides a foundation for ongoing Bible study. Genesis to Jesus is the first in a series of study guides produced by The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, based in Steubenville, Ohio. The Center, founded in 2000, develops materials to help Catholics deepen their faith through Scripture study. KIMBERLY HAHN is the author of Life-Giving Love: Embracing God's Beautiful Design for Marriage, the Life-Nurturing Love series published by Servant Books, and coauthor, with her husband Scott Hahn, of Rome, Sweet Rome: Our Journey to Catholicism. DR. SCOTT HAHN teaches theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio. He is the author of A Father Who Keeps His Promises: God's Covenant Love in Scripture and many other books. They are the parents of six children.