As mature confirmed Catholic parents with many you having been raised Catholic, I want to pose a question to you about your faith. How much do you truly know about the Instituted Sacraments of the Church? Better yet, do you know what they are derived from?
What if I were to tell you that the Sacraments were already present at the moment of Creation? Does that sound too far-fetched to actually believe? Believe it or not, it is actually a Biblical Truth! Genesis tells us Christ and the Holy Spirit were present at creation and John 1 (which many of you will know as “the last Gospel” that the Priest recites at the conclusion of Mass) confirms it. (John 1 will be read at this time). So, here we are at the birth of Creation with all of the members of our Triune God contributing to creation and they (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) knew how the story was already going to playout. They/He knew Adam and Eve would “Fall” and be expelled from the Garden before God ever breathed life into Adam. The expulsion from the Garden though was much more than an exile from a material place, it was also an exile from the friendship they had shared with God in the Garden. This “Original Sin” separated not only the two of them from God but, had the effect of separating all subsequent generations as well. As Saint Augustine would refer to this status, a gulf would now exist between man and God and throughout the millennia of history, from the moment of the “fall” onward, man would now be seeking to find a way back to God. In his efforts, he would create symbols, idols and a mythos of a false Gods in an efforts to recapture what had been removed from him via original sin. Man had a longing for God built into him as a created being for the one whom had created him but, as a creation and not being equal to God despite his acquired knowledge of good and evil, he was incapable of reaching up to Him.
God eventually took pity on mankind and through a series of four Covenants, Noahtic, Abrahamic, Mosaic (to include “The Law”) and eventually the Davidic Covenant, God began to pave the road for man to reconcile with him. We know that road by the term of “revelation”. God began to slowly reveal himself via his chosen people, the Israelites through a series of Transcendent acts and also through divinely inspired prophets that He established to shepherd his people into a position for the ultimate revelation that would fulfill the Davidic Covenant (Discuss II Samuel 7 here). Although there were hints along the way via revelation that God/The Logos would become Incarnate as a vehicle to reconcile man back to God, the Jews more or less missed the boat when Christ arrived on the scene and began to preach about being sent by His Father to do His Father’s will (The entire Book of John is an excellent resource on the Judaic rejection of Jesus). Even so, remember, the Jews may have been God’s “Chosen People” but, it was the entirety of mankind that had fallen along Adam and Eve and because of that, we should not be surprised at all that alongside with his ministry amongst his Father’s Chosen that he would also begin a ministry to the Gentiles (Reference in John the Samaritan Woman at the Well and also the Roman Official) .
It is in Christ’s ministry to both that we find the foundations of the Sacramental practices of the Church. I would like for you to think about something here for a minute, something we will pick back upon in a bit. In the history of mankind, from creation forward, God had remained in heaven. He had sent Angels to earth, His Spirit had moved upon the waters during creation but, God had never in any form become Incarnate at any time before the arrival of Christ. This is the most historic event in the history of the world and the penultimate moment of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Christ/God setting foot upon the earth is more than simply being marvelous or even miraculous, the act itself is something that should be sacred to us. Even more sacred to us should be the sacrifice that he willingly made of himself as the ultimate gesture of reconciliation between His Father and mankind. It is in the recorded life and death (What we know as the 4 Gospels) of Jesus that we derive the Sacraments of the Church. And, for that reason, they are to be treated as both Holy and Sacred. However, mankind and even Catholic Parishioners have backslid from treating them as such in many, many cases. Sacraments, in our post-modern era of the 21st century have become little more than obligations rather than a moment of Holy Mystery where we are awed that a God would love us enough, as undeserving as we are, to reach down to us in those moments where a Sacrament is being performed. If you will, this is the whole point of the Mysterium Fidei (Mystery of Faith) proclamation after transubstantiation has taken place on the Altar (Mass Table, Potato/Potatoe) during the Eucharistic Sacrament. We need to relearn how to tremble in the presence of God and we need to drive these points home to our children as we teach them about the Sacraments. Considering, the current Pope has called for a Eucharistic Revival, we need to earnestly consider not just the miracle that happens in the Eucharist but, also the miracle that happens during Baptism of removing “original sin”, the miracle of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation and the list goes on. I beg you please, as your children go through Catechesis and the Sacrament of Confirmation as part of our curriculum, participate in the process with them and in doing so, relearn the awe and thankfulness that should accompany the Sacraments and in doing so be that example that will have a life time of impact upon your children’s faith and spirituality.