To be Christian is to be sacramental

Sacraments are not a fireworks display. They are not magic shows either. They are not a motivational seminar. They are not a pick-me-up or a shot of adrenalin for living. They are not about feel-good but about enabling us to unite with goodness.  Their purpose is not to elicit an emotional response or a rousing round of applause. They don’t make us feel different but their effect is to make us be and act differently. Sacraments are facts rather then feelings. We need sacraments because we are not in absolute union with God. We are separate from God because we are on earth not in heaven. We do not need sacraments in heaven because we are united totally with God. We can be close to God on earth, very close but not total unity. If we could totally unite with God on earth there would be no need for heaven. Willing participation and openness to the sacraments enables a profound spiritual change in our souls which is the sharing of God’s very life. This is the end and purpose of the Christian life. You cannot be Christian and not be a sacramental Christian. Christians should be sacramental because Christ was sacramental. Christ instructed his apostles to baptise all nations (Mt 28:19); Christ sent the holy spirit on to the apostles at Pentecost to strengthen them as the sacrament of confirmation strengthens Christians in living and proclaiming their faith; The Eucharist was instituted by Christ (Lk, 22: 14-20); Christ instituted the sacrament of penance, Christ said “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”; Christ explained the inviolability of marriage and through his revelation of the deeper meaning of marriage with the human race through his incarnation and sacrificial death, thus the sacrament of marriage; Christ fulfilled priesthood with his life, the mediator between God and man and ordained his apostles and successors in the Catholic Church to communicate his salvation through his sacraments. Christ healed the sick. Christ loved the sick and ill. Christ tended to the sick. Christ cried over the ultimate effect of illness which is death. Christ conquered death by rising from death. Christ raised the dead and woke those sleeping in death. His ministry was tending to the physically and spiritually sick. Christ gave new meaning to suffering by his death on the cross. The sacrament of the anointing of the sick reflects our Lords relation with the sick. To be Christian is to be sacramental. We receive very God’s life through the grace of sacraments.