Covenant comes from the Latin word, convenire

("to come together" or "to agree").

Today, we use the word "covenant" almost interchangeably with the word

"contract."

There are two big differences between our notion of contract and the biblical notion of

covenant.

First, contracts involve promises,

covenants involve oaths.

“I give you my word"

The "word" you each pledge to the other is your name. You each sign your name on a contract as a "sign" that you'll uphold

your end of the bargain or keep your promise.

When you enter into a contract, you make a

promise:

In a covenant, you elevate and upgrade your

promise. Not only do you give your

word, you also give an oath, which involves a

higher authority:GOD

When there is a covenant, you give your word to tell the truth

or do the right thing. You've also asked God to help you keep

your promise.

COVENANT

The notion of covenant and oaths is crucial to understanding the

sacraments.

Triangular relationship with God and others.

In a covenant, you are more RESPONSIBLE in the asking for

God's help: SURRENDER yourself to God's judgment.

In the old days, politicians gave an oath on the Bible.

The Bible would be opened to the 5TH Book, Chapter 28,

where the blessings and the curses are recorded.

BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY

Today we make doctors, police officers, military personnel and public officials swear oaths.

S A C R A M E N T U M• “A Sign of the Sacred”

• The Catholic Sacraments point to what is sacred

The meanings

of covenant

in the Bible

What is God doing in making the covenants we find in the

Bible ?

He is forging sacred kinship bonds.

“I will be a Father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me"

2 Corinthians 6:18

God is taking the "creatures" He made and raising them to the status of divine children. By His covenants,

the Creator is fathering a family.

The human race is being transformed

from something physical and natural

into something spiritual and

supernatural. Humans are being

changed from merely a species into a divine brotherhood and

sisterhood:

A f a m i l y o f G o d.

By the final pages of the Bible, we see that the New Covenant He made in Jesus has embraced the entire world.

Romans 8:14

• God's divine plan - to make all men and women into His sons and daughters

through the covenants, are all summed up in the New Testament, where God

says “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons God”

God makes six

major covenants

in the Bible:

1. Adam and Eve Genesis

2. Noah and his family

(Genesis)

3. Abraham and his descendants

(Genesis 12,17,16)

4. Moses and the Israelites (Exodus)

5. David and the Kingdom

of Israel (2 Samuel 7)

6. Jesus and the Church

Matthew

Revelations

The Bible is not simply a collection of words written over the course of

centuries.

It's one book that tells a single story.

The story of God's love for His people.

With patience God unfolded his plan for the world and taught His people the reason they were created - to share His life with Him, to

be part of His family, to be His children.

We are all sons and daughters of God.

Realize the powerful gift we have in the communion with God in His

family, the Catholic Church.