“and kneeling down begged him”
What is a Sacrament? “The sacraments of the New Testament were instituted by Christ the Lord and entrusted to the Church. As actions of Christ and the Church, they are signs and means which express and strengthen the faith, render worship to God, and effect the sanctification of humanity and thus contribute in the greatest way to establish, strengthen, and manifest ecclesiastical communion. Accordingly, in the celebration of the sacraments the sacred ministers and the other members of the Christian faithful must use the greatest veneration and necessary diligence.” [1]
When or how did Christ institute the sacraments? How are they entrusted to the Church?
[See the Sacrament Chart on the main page document section]
What is the purpose of Sacraments?
1. They are how we express our faith.
“A leper came to him beseeching him and kneeling said to him: ‘If you will, you can make me clean’” (Mk 1:40). “What great faith! The poor fellow abandoned by men and considered to be abandoned even by God has more faith than many who are following, in Christ’s footsteps. Real faith does not get lost in subtle reasoning, but goes by a very simple logic: God can do all He wishes; He has only to will it. To his bold request expressing limitless trust, Jesus responds with an action that was unheard of among a people, who were forbidden to have and contact whatsoever with lepers: “He stretched out his hand and touched him.’” [2] In the Sacraments we do not get caught up in subtle reasoning asking questions like, “Am I really absolved and forgiven my sins?”, “Is the host really the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus?”, “Will baptism and confirmation really give me grace to live a holy life and be strong?” We could ask these questions about the Sacraments, but in the end, we come to Jesus as the leper did, with faith. We pray along with Saint Thomas Aquinas, “Faith will tell us Christ is present, when our human senses fail” or “God, I believe, help my unbelief.” The Sacraments are always a matter of faith; they stretch, challenge, and express our faith.
2. They are the means from which our faith is strengthened.
In the Sacraments we see the matter (material used the in Sacrament), and we hear the form (the words prayed or spoken), the grace given by Christ and His Church however invisible. We cannot see the Grace, itself, but either immediately as in the case of the leper “the leprosy left him immediately” or in time, we see the effects of the Grace in our life and the lives of others. The strength of faith we receive in the Sacrament is seen in the fact that we must continually come back to the source of Grace, Jesus and His Church. If we continue to go back we will receive healing and strength.
3. They are how we worship God.
Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word Religion is the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. Religion is what we believe and how we worship. If a person believes and worships, then they have a religion by definition. Our Catholic Faith, our religion, as established by Christ, is apostolic and sets forth for us what to believe (orthodoxy) and how to worship (orthoproxy). The Sacraments are essential to both orthodoxy (doctrine) and orthoproxy (prayer and worship). A Christian life without the Sacraments leads to confusion in error in the areas of doctrine, prayer, and worship.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the leper break the Old Testament law or religion and go beyond, to fulfill it. “Jesus, who had come to redeem man from sin and its consequences, had the right to go beyond the old law, and does so with the deliberate action of one who had full powers…God is master of the law, and can break it…By welcoming and touching the leper, Jesus infringes the law; then he fulfills it, saying, ‘Go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded.’” [3] The Old Testament Law stated that, “The leper shall dwell alone in a habitation outside the camp”. [4] “Thus it is strange to find this leper inside a city. Perhaps he has heard of Jesus and has been eagerly looking for a chance to approach him. At last he found him and breaks the strict precept of the old Mosaic Law in order to speak to him. Christ is his hope, his only hope.” [5] The law is both broken, but also respected. Jesus is not a revolutionary, who breaks and then destroys the law, He rather respects the law, but desires to perfect and fulfill it. New law, new priesthood, new worship is not new because the old is destroyed, it is “new” because the “old” has been perfected and fulfilled by Christ.
It is Christ that is giving the grace. Grace is always primary. The leper shows faith. Faith is secondary. The new law is one of grace (the Sacrament) and faith (the one receiving the Sacrament). This Grace and Faith is at the core of our worship, and it is this worship that leads to works. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so not one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” [6] Jesus did not abolish religion or law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” [7] In Jesus the “old” becomes “new”, for “the one who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’” [8]
Three questions we need to ask our self in regards to the Sacraments and grace, faith and good works:
Grace – Do we know what the Church teaches about the Sacraments? Are we in classes to prepare and learn more about the teachings of Christ and His Church? “Pastors of souls and other members of the Christian faithful, according to their respective ecclesiastical function, have the duty to take care that those who seek the sacraments are prepared to receive them by proper evangelization and catechetical instruction, attentive to the norms issued by competent authority.” [9] Through this knowledge and preparation, we should come to a deep appreciation of what we are offered. Do we appreciate the Sacraments and see them as a channel of Grace?
Faith – How do we approach the Sacraments? What is our disposition? Do we believe as the leper that the Grace from the Sacrament can indeed heal us? Do we trust Christ and give me our all, our whole self? If we are not in the state of Grace, the grace of the Sacraments are blocked or inhibited? How often do we approach Christ, go to confession, go to Mass? When we receive Our Lord in the Eucharist what is our disposition, our posture, our attitude and focus? Do we go to the Sacraments in the same manner that the leper went to Christ? “We must learn from this leper. He goes before Our Lord sincerely and kneeling, admits his disease, humbly asking to be cured.” [10] Are we sincere? Do we admit our disease (our failings)? Do we humble ask to be cured?
Search: The Remedy for Sin
We see that the leper kneels? What is the posture during each of our Sacraments? In baptism and anointing of the Sick, we are usually very vulnerable, actually carried to Christ by our parents (baptism) or surrounded by family maybe lying on our deathbed (anointing of the sick). In confirmation and holy matrimony, we stand. Confirmation prepares us to be ready to be a solider of Christ, and Marriage makes us ready to stand before our spouse and the congregation, publicly declaring our vows. In the Eucharist, we may kneel or stand, and must show a sign of reverence before reception. In Confession, we kneel. During the Rite of Ordination, those who are being ordained, both kneel and lay prostrate. “He kneels down in front of the altar; the ordinandi lay themselves prostrate on the carpet, and the Litany of the Saints is chanted or recited. On the conclusion of the Litany, all arise; the candidates come forward, and kneel in pairs before the bishop, while he lays both hands on the head of each candidate in silence.” [11]
Benedict XVI Mass of Priestly Ordination The video shows Pope Benedict ordaining several men into the priesthood. We can see the postures the men take as they are going through their ordination.
[1] Code of Canon Law - 840
[2] Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.; Divine Intimacy; Vol. 1; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
[3] Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.; Divine Intimacy; Vol. 1; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
[4] Lev. 13:46
[5] Father Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol. 3; 44.1
[6] Ephesians 2:8-10
[7] Matthew 5:17
[8] Revelation 21:5
[9] Code of Canon Law – 843 §2
[10] Father Francis Fernandez; In Conversation with God; Vol. 3; 44.3
[11] Rite of Ordination