The ECHO series from Ahava Productions is a 36 part video-based study of the United States Catholic Catechism of Adults (USCCA) presented by Bishop Donald Hying of Gary, Indiana. These short and engaging videos introduce each chapter of the USCCA and provide an inspiring start to personal or group study of our rich Catholic Faith.
ECHO Part Two focuses on how we celebrate our faith in the Mass and the Sacraments. In these nine sessions, Bishop Donald Hying will guide us through how the Liturgy and the Sacraments make God’s saving love and power really present to us all throughout our lives. You will discover how the Mass and the Sacraments are not just human rituals, but divine encounters with Christ’s love, mercy, and power that enable us to live the Christian life and continue Christ’s mission on earth.
“SPELLBOUND! This is amazing; this world needs so much clarification for what and why we believe as Catholics.”
– Tyler M. from Willis, MI
Episode 14: The Celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ
The celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is at the very heart of Catholicism. In fact, Vatican II teaches that “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time, it is the font from which all her power flows.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10) In other words, all of the activity of the Christian life is in some way connected to the liturgy, and at the same time all of the grace and power to live out the Christian life flows to us from the liturgy.
Episode 15: Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is the beginning of the Christian life and it is the doorway that opens up to all of the other sacraments. In this powerful sacrament, we are freed from Original Sin and all personal sin and become a new creation in Christ. This language of “new creation” is not just flowery or symbolic—we literally, from the very depths of our being, become a new creation in Christ—a new person with a new mission.
Episode 16: Confirmation
The Sacrament of Confirmation completes the grace that was received in Baptism, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit comes upon us superabundantly. However, this extraordinary presence and power of the Holy Spirit is given to us in this sacrament so that we, like the Apostles at Pentecost, can be sent out as convincing witnesses of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Episode 17: The Eucharist
The Second Vatican Council teaches that “the liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time, it is the font from which all her power flows.” The Eucharist and the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass is at the very heart and center of the Christian life. It stands as the pinnacle of the New Covenant established by Christ and the Eucharist is the source of the unity of the Church.
Episode 18: Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the great sacrament of mercy in which we encounter the Divine Physician, Jesus Christ, who not only desires to forgive us of our sins, but heal the wounds of sin and give us true peace.
Episode 19: Anointing the Sick and Dying
The second Sacrament of Healing is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament unites the sick to the sufferings of Christ and gives them the strength of Christ to endure their sufferings but to also transform their sufferings into redemptive suffering. For those who are dying this sacrament prepares them for their journey to Heaven.
Episode 20: Holy Orders
The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the sacrament in which the ministry of Christ as Head of the Church is exercised, and it is the sacrament through which apostolic succession is handed on in the Church. Through Holy Orders, men are conformed to Christ in such a way that Christ can become really present and working through them when they perform the liturgy and the sacraments.
Episode 21: The Sacrament of Marriage
The Sacrament of Marriage is one of the Sacraments of Service and Communion in which husband and wife come together in a sacramental bond to serve each other, the Christian family, and the Church itself by being a living sign of Christ’s love for the Church.
Episode 22: Sacramentals and Popular Devotions
In addition to the Liturgy and the Seven Sacraments, the Church nourishes the faithful with numerous sacramentals that bear a resemblance to the sacraments, and are signs and instruments of actual grace that strengthen and encourage us in our daily lives. Sacramentals include such things as the Rosary, holy cards, crucifixes, and various medals.