Christian
discipleship is none other than what St Paul describes as putting off the old
man of Adam and sin, and putting on the new man, Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:21-22,
Rom. 13:14). The expression “putting on the new man” denotes living in the state of grace and the basic means to do so is the worthy reception of the
Sacraments.
Thus the Vatican
Council II recommends “It is therefore of the greatest importance that the
faithful should easily understand the sacramental signs, and should eagerly frequent those
Sacraments which were instituted to nourish the Christian life” (Constitution
on the Sacred Liturgy, n.52).
The
Seven Sacraments, far above the ancient rites and rituals of the Jewish Law,
are symbols of grace of the New Testament that can reenact a historic event,
that of the Paschal Mystery. We proclaim the Paschal Mystery as the event that
saves us from sin and satan when we sing after the Consecration: “Christ has
died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. “The Sacraments actually
represents the past, the present and the future of our salvation, and it actually effects what it proclaims.
Sacred
symbols
The
Seven Sacraments are representations of Jesus Christ, acts or deeds that He
established, the essence of which constitutes the earthly reality of its
sublime transformation into a life of grace. These “sacred symbols,” as St
Augustine puts it (De civitate Dei),
can make us holy in the absolute sense. Translating this into something more
concrete, when a disciple worthily receives the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
in the sign of consecrated bread, he actually receives not the substance of
bread the way it appears, but
the Substance of the Master in the
form of bread. And the disciple is sanctified as he receives Him.
Baptism
The Sacrament of Baptism is another
concrete example. It is the fulfillment of John the Baptist’s ministry (Mk.
L2-8). The signs take on the form of ordinary water which is poured over the
head of the child with the words: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and
the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Before these signs were spoken and performed, the
child was yet a pagan, a child of darkness, not of the Light.
At the very instant when the sacred
signs were executed and pronounced, the child became a child of God, a brother
of our Lord Jesus Christ, a Christian disciple with the original sin
symbolically and actually washed away (Gal. 3:27). He gets to participate and
involve Himself in the priesthood, prophetic and kingly functions of Christ.
In one of the missions, an American
Indian made the following proclamation after his Baptism: “I am now a child of
God. You, too, are a child of God. We have only one Father in heaven (pointing
his finger up). Hence, you are my brother (and he danced around with his drum).
Indeed, we all are brothers and sisters in Christ!” Yes, “we are God’s
children”, exclaims St. Paul, “But if we are children, we are heirs as well;
heirs of God, heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17). St. Leo the Pope was more
emphatic:
“Remember
your dignity, O Christian. You are a participant in the divine nature. Do not
go back to the despicableness of your former condition.”
Matrimony
Grace is also discharged by God’s
ordained ministers through the Sacrament of Matrimony. Can you imagine the
great dignity it brings to a man
and a woman bonded together in love? This sacrament establishes an
indissoluble, uniting, force that gives them the grace to love each other in a
holy manner.
The sexual act, sometimes considered
as a shameful biological function, is elevated into sacred performance by the
married couple, symbolically fulfilling their becoming one. As. they consummate
the union in accordance to God’s Will, they sanctify each other precisely by
doing the act. It is our Christian belief that sex inside of Matrimony is a
blessing, just as sex outside of marriage is a curse.
Hence,
the most intimate loving expression created and designed by God is made holy in
Christian marriage. Finally, the sacramental grace of Matrimony can help
husband and wife to fulfill the duties of their marital state — that of
assuming the role of Christian parents.
Priest
as poor instrument
Since
the Sacraments are deeds and acts decreed by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
they communicate grace ex opere operato,
that is, by virtue of their own power. Thus, for instance, the Sacrifice of the
Mass can discharge and carry out the grace of our salvation even if the priest
celebrating it is a great
sinner. No one can prevent God from using a poor instrument such as a priest in
all his weaknesses, since God’s saving grace is stronger than the weakness of
His instrument.
The minister’s state of unworthiness has no
influence on the fulfillment of the sacrament as long as the recipients are
well disposed to receive the grace. Sanctifying
grace, the essence by which we have become disciples, is present and alive in
us who worthily receive the Sacraments.
Hence, parishioners can witness the
enduring desire of every priest to be worthy of the sacraments by striving to
live a holy life.
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