The significant milestones in our lives are often given a special status: We celebrate, we honor, we gather—and in doing so, we point to why this moment is set apart from the rest of our days.
The Sacraments of our faith also point to what is “set apart,” creating blessed, outward signs of spiritual graces from God. In Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick, faith is strengthened and a deeper relationship with God is forged.
Pope Francis says it this way: “The sacraments are Jesus Christ’s presence in us.” As the Sacraments affirm His presence, at the same time they invite us to encounter Christ. He is within, and He is present in our relationships with others. Just as Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He calls us and purifies us in Baptism and Confirmation. The ever-presence of Jesus in our lives is a reality gifted to us through the Eucharist. Jesus continues to break bread with us as His disciples, daily if we choose. He comforts us in the challenges we must face as humans of free will by forgiving sins and reconciling us to God through Reconciliation. A vocation of love to be lived for a lifetime is bestowed and accepted in Matrimony or Holy Orders. He heals and expresses the presence of God through the Anointing of the Sick.
Like so much about our spirituality, the reality of the Sacraments is both outward and inward, visible and invisible. This is the essence of love! We make outward signs of love in our actions, those more complex (serving those in need) and those simpler (giving a hug). The visible realities are the actions we must take to express and to give. The love expressed here is not visible, but so profoundly known and felt; this love reveals the foundation of God’s grace. The Sacraments are visible signs as well as active channels of that grace.
Our work, then, is to strive for the holiness, the proper disposition, that allows us to receive and engage in the Sacraments. This is ultimately so that we can encounter God even more fully. We believe in Sacramental truth because we believe in the authority of God, who reveals the mystery of life and love to us through the Sacraments.
Just as much as our work in faith is to abide by God’s message of love, we are likewise meant to honor the sanctity of our lives—and through the Sacraments, give worship to God.
