WHY ARE SACRAMENTS NECESSARY ?

-

 SACRAMENTS

In the Gospel according to John, Jesus teaches at length about the greatest of the sacraments, the Eucharist (see 6:22-59). In this discourage, he lays out what we might call the "sacramental principle" that lies at the heart of the Christian faith: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven: whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world" 

"The World became flesh / and made his dwelling among us" (Jn 1:14. In Jesus Christ, God -who is spirit (see Jn 4:24) -came down from heaven and entered into his own creation this physical universe. He joined to his own divine nature a human nature of soul and body; he took up into himself the matter and energy of this world

In this "Incarnation" (literally, "becoming flesh"), as Christians call it, God made it possible for the everyday elements of our lives to convey the transforming power of his grace. This is this sacramental principle: God, in his remarkable humility, doesn't hesitate to make use of bread and wine, oil and water, human hands and human words, even the nuptial act. The Creator doesn't desprise anything he has made; he calls it all good (see Gn 1:31). So it's not beneath him to come to us in the form of a small, white wafer, and to be consumed by us so that we might become one with him

Of courses, the Eucharist is only one of seven sacraments -seven unique signs instituted by Christ that give to us the grace they signify. The others are Baptism, Reconciliation, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy orders, and the Anointing of this sick. In each of these, Christ himself meets us and ministers to us through the ministry of his body, the Church 

Why are sacraments necessary, then? Because we desperately need God's grace, and He's chosen to give us certain kinds of grace through the sacraments  


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ANOINTING WITH OIL ?

-
Image
  SIGNIFICANCE OF ANOINTING WITH OIL The ancient practice of anointing a person with oil, often with  perfumed oil, has several meanings, all of them related. The  anointed person is recognized as a “marked or sacred person,” set  apart in certain ways from the community the better to be of service to the community. As an act of the community, it also  signifies the pledge of the community to respect and support the  one anointed. In many ways, the significance of anointing is similar  to the granting of public degrees and licenses to special  persons who serve the community, such as doctors, lawyers,  pharmacists, and the like. Christian sacramental anointing goes  far beyond the merely human practice and relates the anointed and the anointing community authoritatively (by the authority  of Christ and effectively through the gift of the Spirit) directly to  God in his saving work. Anointing with oil was also a common  med...
Read more

WHY IS CATHOLIC WORSHIP FULL OF RITUALS ?

-
Image
HOLY RITUALS Leviticus and other biblical books show that God himself prescribed numerous religious rituals for the ancient Israelites. Sacrifices and offerings, ordination ceremonies and priestly behavior, holidays and festivals -all had their designated rituals (see Lv 1:1-10) . In addition, devour customs grew up among the people, such as those for mourning the dead and anointing kings (see 1 Sm 10:1) Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the apostles were all faithful Jews, practicing the religious rituals of their people. Mary and Joseph "fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord" (Lk 2:39)  concerning circumcision, purification, and presentation after Jesus'  birth (see Lk 2:21-39) . The family took part in the temple rituals of the great holy days (see Lk 2:41-43) , just as Jesus later did with his apostles Our Lord also followed the weekly synagogue rituals (see Lk 4:16-20) . At meals -including the Last Supper -he prayed the ritual blessings customary among the J...
Read more

WHY DOES THE CHURCH HAVE BISHOPS ?

-
Image
  WHY BISHOPS? St. Timothy in Ephesus and St. Titus in Crete each received instructions from the apostle Paul about the qualifications for a bishop (see 1 Tim 3:1-7)   (1 Tim 1:7-9) . This "noble" officer was to "teach" and to"manage" the affairs of the Church in each locale. (The Greek word for bishop, episkopos, literally means "overseer"). How did the office of bishop come about? Our Lord appointed the apostles to teach and govern the Church (see Mt 28:16-20) . Since the place of Judas had been vacated by the traitor's suicide, a successor was appointed by the other apostles to fill his "office" (see Acts 1:20)  -literally his "episcopacy" or "bishopric" (Greek,  episkopen). The first apostles, then, were bishops, as were their appointed successors In referring to ordained Church leaders, biblical writers do not always distinguish clearly between bishops/overseers and presbyters/ elders/priests. St. Luke, for ...
Read more