DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL WORLDVIEW AND AMERICAN MATERIALISTIC

WORLDVIEW

By Fr Christian Nnanna

A Catholic Sacramental Worldview is way the Church interpret the world as a creation of God who
directs the course of the world through his laws which man is expected to obey and through Grace
which assist man to obey God. The Catechism places the questions of Origin and end at the center of
any worldview (CCC #282-284). Therefore, the Catholic Sacramental Worldview sees the world as
Originating from the action of God and it tends towards God at the end.

Popular American worldview is commonly expressed in Materialism and Deism.

Deism believes that the world was made by God, but as by a watchmaker who, once he has made a
watch, abandons it to itself. There is an idea of one’s origin in a transcendent god, but it lacks any
definite common end. God created the world, but then left it to itself for human beings to manage.
God is not present in everyday affairs. Human reason can determine its own end, its own meaning and
purpose of life (slide 4).

Materialism rejects any transcendent origin for the world, but sees it as merely the interplay of matter
that has always existed. There is no common end toward which we are moving and there is nothing
beyond matter to give it any particular meaning (slide 4).

The American worldview can be seen to be at an extreme a Materialistic one or at a mild stand a Deism
in play, but the Catholic Sacramental Worldview sees the earth through the lenses of the Sacraments, by
which we relate to God who precedes the relationship by his invitation and by the Grace he pours out
through such sign and relationship.

In concrete terms, the Sacramental Worldview of the Catholic Church is one by which we relate to our
world as the handwork of God, with respect and dignity, love and care, as participatory elements in the
universe not as mere material objects to be used at will; by this, the church sees in the universe, the
signs and symbols that point to an Origin, which is God, and that helps us to relate with God
efficiently.We call this a sacramental worldview because we approach everything with the intent of
making God’s love present. A sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.
(Baltimore Catechism No.3, Lesson13, Question 574) The seven sacraments are the culmination of this
worldview. We acknowledge that they bestow God’s grace, which is the power of God’s love, which is
the most powerful power in the universe because it is the power of God Himself. We are able to see
these seven particular instances as such because we see the whole world as a place for God to make
Himself known. There is a unique sacramental presence in the seven sacraments themselves, and our
participation in them enables us to then see God in all things, which means we see love in all things.
Active, conscious participation in the sacraments gives us the sacramental worldview, through which
all of the Church’s teachings flow (slide 11).
UTILISING THE CCC READING, THE TEXT EQUIVALENT, AND APPLYING IT TO THE FACT THAT GOD USES
CREATION TO ENGAGE US, WHAT DOES A TRINITARIAN GOD HAVE TO DO WITH A CATHOLIC
SACRAMENTAL WORLDVIEW ?

The Catholic Sacramental Worldview helps the the individual Christian to see the handwork of God in
the world, in creation. This leads to a disposition to allow God engage with freely willing human beings
and manifest his presence on earth. The Church is the Body of Christ. It exists for the sole purpose of
being the presence of Christ in the world. Jesus told his disciples that “he who sees Me sees the
Father.” So anyone who sees the Church, which is visible as a whole AND in each individual member -
each baptized person, should see the Father. The perspective of the Church, then, is that of God the
Father Himself (slide 7).

The Catholic Sacramental Worldview is so called because we approach everything with the intent of
making God’s love present. A sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.
(Baltimore Catechism No.3, Lesson13, Question 574)

What the Trinitarian God therefore has to do with a Catholic Sacramental Worldview is to affirm God's
presence through. This affirmation is known through the Word, the revelation of Grace as well as
through the Sacramental signs. Thus the matter and form of every Sacramental rite brings us closer to
an understanding of God's revelation. The seven sacraments are the culmination of this worldview.
We acknowledge that they bestow God’s grace, which is the power of God’s love, which is the most
powerful power in the universe because it is the power of God Himself. We are able to see these
seven particular instances as such because we see the whole world as a place for God to make Himself
known (slide 11).

HOW DOES THE SACRAMENTAL PERSPECTIVE DESCRIBED IN THIS LESSON COMPARE TO YOUR OWN
WORLDVIEW ?

The Catechism describes five common worldviews, each with its own presuppositions about the
meaning of life and where a god may or may not fit in. (CCC, #285)

The first of this worldview is Pantheism which believes that everything is God, that the world is God, or
that the development of the world is the development of God – there is no defined origin or end, and
there is no transcendent god. When a pantheist sees god in nature, he believes that god is nature,
that the trees and the birds and the sunset are god (slide 3). The limitations with Pantheism is that it
does not answer the question of the Origin of Evil. It also seems to take away the freedom of Rational
Human Beings who are free in their Will.
The second, which is Dualism believes in the existence of two eternal principles (Good and Evil, Light
and Darkness, etc.) locked in permanent conflict. Both exist in consistent conflict that keeps
everything in balance. Again, there is no common origin or end, there is simply the current struggle to
be. There is also no transcendent god. Truth is defined as whatever is consistent with the side that
one is on (slide 3). Dualism is unable to answer the questions of Origin and end, the questions of any
other interaction between the "eternal principles" aside the conflict between them. It doesn't answer
the question of human beings as consisting of Body and Soul, it infact exclude human beings from having
a proper place in existence of the Universe.

The third and fourth are Deism and materialism as reviewed above.

However, the question of Origin of the world, the end or goal towards which the world tends, the place
of man in the world and the relationship between the world and it's cause/source/Origin are
fundamental questions i think should characterise any world view. The Catechism places the questions
of origin and end at the center of any worldview. (CCC, # 282-284) These two questions are
inseparable (slide 3).

The Sacramental Worldview Described herein compare to my worldview as a person and as a priest in a
personal way because I believe that the world does not exist on its own accord, it must have been
fashioned or established by a being with authority of creation, that being for me is God. God has set
laws for inanimate planetary bodies to exist towards an end. This God can be related with through my
relationship with his handwork. I believe God has personal attributes that enables human beings to
relate with God as a Divine Person, those attributes includes his mind, his will, his words, his power, his
touch which are observed and felt in the human Soul. He Loves, He forgives. By his words which we read
in the Holy Scripture, we are able to listen to God speak and follow his Will which he reveals therein.

I'm also certain that human actions ought to be guided by a law of Morality in order not to be chaotic,
this Moral law is Universal and put in the human heart by the One who had power to bring Human
beings into existence.

WORKS CITED

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica. Vatican: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana, 1997. Print.