Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments [Second Edition 2018]

Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments (Second Edition) helps students recognize the living presence of God's Incarnate Son in the Seven Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. Organized around three dimensions of the sacraments—Understanding, Celebrating, and Grace—the text unpacks the origins, rites, and effects of the Seven Sacraments in a spiral design that follows a common structure from chapter to chapter. This textbook supports Course V of the USCCB Curriculum Framework.

The text provides a thorough coverage of core theological content listed in the Secondary Level Protocol of the USCCB curriculum framework for Course V in a pedagogically appealing way. The text is intellectually stimulating, but also accessible to students of all types of learning styles and skills, and who enter this course with varying backgrounds in theology. 

This enhanced digital edition of Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments (Second Edition) includes supplemental videos from Bishop Robert Barron’s Catholicism series, Life Teen, Catholic Relief Services, and the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in every chapter. These videos enrich the written text with expert explanations of key theological concepts, sacred people, and sacred places by Bishop Robert Barron, Mark Hart, and Rev. James Kubicki, S.J.

Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments (Second Edition) is part of the most complete and encompassing support package to aid teachers in presenting the material for Course V of the USCCB curriculum framework. This includes lesson materials and planning guides in an east-to-follow Teacher's Wraparound Edition and the most extensive and helpful collection of online teacher and student support resources available.

This is a textbook primarily for first-semester juniors enrolled in a Catholic high school. It serves as the core textbook for a course Sacraments as Privileged Encounters with Christ as specified by Course V of the USCCB’s doctrinal framework.

Developed in collaboration with experts in theology, catechesis, and pedagogy, Meeting Jesus in the Sacraments (Second Edition) includes a number of new features as part of an innovative design, including: 

Chapter Focus Questions:  Each chapter’s main idea is posed as a question to the student to provide a broader context in which new ideas can be integrated and understood. Infographics: A wide variety of visual and interactive designs throughout the text help students understand theological concepts in ways they will remember. Current Events: Each chapter opens with a story from the contemporary world that teens can relate to their own lives.  Educational Photos: Images throughout the text have been carefully chosen not only to illustrate the chapter but for teachers and students to use as educational tools. Supplemental Videos: In every chapter, videos are strategically placed to enrich the learning experience. Note-Taking Graphic Organizers: Designed to help students organize, summarize, and sequence the text, various types of organizers were customized for every section of the book. Section Assessments: Each section includes pedagogically designed assessment questions with labels that show how the questions serve a variety of different learning styles. Online Resources: As always, teachers can access a wide variety of online resources at the Ave Maria Press website, including videos, PowerPoints, handouts, crossword puzzles, reading guides, and tests.

(© 2018) The Subcommittee on the Catechism, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has found that this catechetical high school text is in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church and fulfills the requirements of Course V of the Doctrinal Elements of a Curriculum Framework for the Development of Catechetical Materials for Young People of High School Age.