In the early church sacraments were understood to be instruments or causes of grace (Martos, 1996). Just by their presence at the sacrament the participants received the effect without any meaningfulness or symbolic impact. After the Vatican II the church expressed the sacraments in a more spiritual nature by teaching people what sacraments really meant and Christians were then able to celebrate the mysteries of their faith (Martos, 1996). The theology of the Catholic Sacraments asks us to look deep into their meaning. De Gidio, 1994 discusses these richer meaning of sacraments are seen as symbols which have multiple dimensional meanings and require faith. In preparing children for the Eucharist, for an example, Brusselman (1990) states that we should not simply focus their attention on a single dimension of the Eucharist such as on the Rite of Communion, instead a we should introduce them to the whole of the Eucharist which would provide the children with a deeper meaning of the Rite of Communion.
De Gidio, (1994) explains that each of the seven sacraments spans past, present and future. They call us to remember God’s action in history, to be aware of God’s presence in our lives right now, and to stretch toward that which is holy, sacred and mysterious in God and in ourselves as God’s people. (De Gidio, 1994).
An important principle of sacamentality in a faith community is the celebration of rituals. De Gidio, 1994 believes that rituals enable people to enact bodily the belief that God touches our lives in special ways. Ritual enables us to enact the faith that is within. In the Catholic Church we come together to celebrate rituals in our seven sacraments. What we ritualize sacramentally is the living human experience of God in our life. (De Gidio, 1994.)
De Gidio talks about sacraments in a larger sense outside the churches seven ritual sacraments. She suggests God’s presence in our lives can be experienced in many ways. These visible signs could be in the beauty of nature, a period of quiet prayer, or the birth of a child all these occasions could be times where we see God’s presence deeper in our life. St Augustine in the fifth century called a visible sign of invisible grace a sacrament (De Gidio, 1994.) De Gidio suggests sacraments are signs of what is happening between God and us twenty-four hours a day. The human experiences Sacramentality is seeing God in all things
O’Collins (2008) provides a number of ways which demonstrates how sacramentality is used in the Catholic Church. O’Collins (2008) reading is valuable in understanding the importance of the sacraments to the Catholic Church. He states that the celebration of the seven sacraments and above all the Eucharist as the force that identifies and unites Catholics around the world. He also adds that one can feel very close to the heart of Catholicism at a parish Mass on Sundays especially in the moments after Holy Communion. Brusselman (1990) also describes the Eucharist as an inexhaustibly rich mystery of our faith.
O’Collins (2008, p106) expedient because he introduces an historical perspective to illustrate that sacramentality has always been a defining feature of Christians worldwide. He indicates that from the birth of Christianity the importance of the sacraments has been in bringing us closer to God. In his letter to the Romans St Paul bears witness to the conviction of the power of baptism and the other sacraments which must be brought to bear on a sinful world (O’Collins, 2008, p108).
O’Collins (2008) believes there are many ways in Catholic religious rituals, beliefs, and practices that draw Catholics together and closer to God. The material elements used in the sacraments such as water, bread, wine and oil become sacred signs that give us spiritual blessings. There are other sacramental such as the ashes Catholic receive on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday and the palms they carry home on Palm Sunday all draw us closer to the living god.
O’Collins describes how in the Catholic Church we look to our saints in high integrity. O’Collins (2008) suggests saints help spiritualize the year and the movement of human life. He gives an example of how on March 17th the Irish Catholics around the world celebrate the feast of St Patrick. Catholics also look to their name day, the feast day of the saint after whom they have been named.
The seven church sacraments celebrate the past, present and future of God in our daily life. Meaningful celebrations of rituals in church and seeing Sacraments outside the walls of the church gives us visible signs to receive the grace of God and have a deeper understanding of the Mysteries of God. O’Collins states that the sacraments have been importance in bringing us closer to God since the birth of Christianity. He believes that the celebration of the seven sacraments of the church and above all the Eucharist is the force that identifies and unites Catholics around the world. Collins identifies Catholic religious rituals, beliefs, and other practices that draw Catholics together and closer in the presence of God.
References
Brusselman, C. The Theology of Eucharist. (1990).
O’Collins, G (2008). Characteristics of Catholicism. Catholicism A very short introduction. (pp105-120). Oxford University Press.
De Gidio, S. (1994). What is a Sacrament? In Sacraments Alive. (pp. 4-20). Twenty Third Publications.
Martos, J. (1994). Twenty five years of sacramental theology. (pp20-25). PACE 25.
Rolheiser, R. (2001). The Eucharist as Washing Each Other’s Feet. (pp. 1-2). Column Archive.
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acoll (student)
