Just Teach Sheet Adult September Week 3

Adult Track – Just Teach Sheet

September Week 3
Theme: Faith & Belonging to the Church
Audience: Adult Catholics (newly returned, active, or deepening formation)
Focus: Belonging to the Church means gathering at Mass every Sunday. The Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324).

Weekly Goal

To deepen understanding of the Mass as the central act of Catholic life: Christ’s sacrifice made present, the Eucharist as true food, and our mission to live what we celebrate.

What You’ll Need

This sheet

Bible

Catechism if available

15 minutes daily for prayer/reflection

Opening Prayer (Daily)

Lord Jesus Christ,
You gave us the Eucharist as the memorial of Your Passion,
the Bread of Life for our journey,
and the bond of unity with Your Church.
Help me never to neglect Your gift,
but to love the Mass with all my heart. Amen.

Day 1 – The Mass: Why Every Sunday?

Teaching:
The Mass is not optional. From the beginning, Christians gathered on “the first day of the week” (Sunday) to celebrate the breaking of bread (Acts 20:7). To miss Mass without serious reason is grave sin (CCC 2181).

Acts 2:42 – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”
Hebrews 10:25 – “Do not neglect to meet together… but encourage one another.”

Reflection:
The Sunday Mass is the heartbeat of Catholic life. Without it, faith weakens and dies.

Questions:

Do I treat Mass as a duty or as the source of my strength?

When I miss Mass, what is really missing from my life?

Day 2 – Word and Sacrament

Teaching:
The Mass has two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Christ speaks in both: through His Word and through His Real Presence.

Luke 24:30–32 – The disciples recognised Him in the breaking of bread, after He had opened the Scriptures.

CCC 1346: “The two parts together form one single act of worship.”

Reflection:
At every Mass, Emmaus happens again — Christ opens the Scriptures, then feeds us with Himself.

Questions:

Do I listen for Christ in the readings?

Do I recognise Him when I receive Communion?

Day 3 – The Eucharist: Real Presence, Real Sacrifice

Teaching:
The Eucharist is not a symbol. It is truly Christ — Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Calvary in an unbloody way.

John 6:51 – “I am the living bread… If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.”
1 Corinthians 11:23–26 – St. Paul recalls the institution of the Eucharist.

CCC 1366: “The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross.”

Reflection:
When I go to Mass, I am at Calvary. I stand at the Cross with Mary and John.

Questions:

Do I believe fully in Christ’s Real Presence?

How do I prepare my soul to receive Him worthily?

Day 4 – The Mass is Heaven on Earth

Teaching:
The Mass unites heaven and earth. The angels and saints worship with us. It is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

Revelation 5:11–12 – “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain.”
Hebrews 12:22–24 – “You have come to Mount Zion… to innumerable angels in festal gathering.”

CCC 1326: “Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life.”

Reflection:
When I kneel at Mass, I kneel with angels. The liturgy is not ordinary — it is supernatural.

Questions:

Do I enter Mass aware that heaven touches earth?

Would my behaviour change if I remembered this?

Day 5 – Sent Forth on Mission

Teaching:
Mass ends with a mission: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” The Eucharist strengthens us to evangelise, to serve, to love.

Matthew 28:19–20 – “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
1 Corinthians 10:17 – “We, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

Reflection:
The Eucharist not only unites me with Christ, but binds me to every Catholic. Together, we are sent as His witnesses.

Questions:

Do I see myself as “sent” after Mass, or do I treat it as “finished”?

How can I carry Christ into my family, work, or community this week?

Weekend Wrap-Up – Living the Mass

Mass is Calvary made present.

Mass is heaven on earth.

Mass is food for the journey.

Mass is the mission of the Church.

Reflection prompts:

Do I live like the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of my life?

How does Sunday Mass give meaning to the rest of my week?

Journal Prompts

“When I miss Mass, I lose…”

“The Eucharist is the source of my life because…”

“This week I will live the Mass by…”

Apologetics for Adults

“Why do Catholics go to Mass every Sunday?”
Because Jesus commanded: “Do this in memory of Me.” The early Church gathered every Sunday. It is not optional but essential.

“Is the Eucharist really Jesus, or just symbolic?”
The plain words of Christ: “This is My Body.” The Church Fathers (Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr) testify to belief in the Real Presence from the earliest centuries.

“Why call the Mass a sacrifice?”
Because it makes present the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ in a sacramental way (CCC 1367). It is the same sacrifice of the Cross, offered under sacramental signs.

Catechism Extension

CCC 1324: “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life.”

CCC 1346: Liturgy of Word and Eucharist form one act.

CCC 1366–1367: The Eucharist is the sacrifice of the Cross made present.

CCC 2181: Grave obligation of Sunday Mass.