3. Life Found in the Church

"The One and True Church is the community of men brought together by the profession of the same Christian faith and conjoined in the communion of the same sacraments, under the government of the legitimate pastors and especially the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff" (Cardinal Robert Bellarmine in 16th Century). While there are seven particular sacraments of the new dispensation, the Church herself is the great mystery by which we sacramentally encounter Christ.

The True Church.

The word "catholic" (meaning universal) has logically come to be identified with the Roman Catholic Church which was founded directly by Christ and which rests upon the Rock of Peter. Totally around one billion adherents, there is no other Christian ecclesial body which can compete with such a manifestation of her universal character. However, even if the Church was reduced again to seventy or twelve, she would still be Catholic because she is the universal community in which Christ desired to transmit his truth and to dispense the gift of salvation. We are Roman because we possess an allegiance to the See of Peter in which the Pope (Bishop of Rome) resides in shepherding Christ's universal Church.

One cannot legitimately assert that one church is as good as another. As a visible society, the Catholic Church is distinctive. Other ecclesial communities may possess some very basic elements in common with her, such as a profession in "One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of us all," (Ephesians 4:5); however, Vatican II emphasizes that "these elements, as gifts properly belong to the Church of Christ, [and] possess an inner dynamism toward Catholic unity" (Lumen Gentium, 8). The council was quite decisive in asserting that "This Church, constituted and organized in the world as a society subsists in the Catholic Church . . .," (Lumen Gentium, 8). Since the Catholic Church is essentially whole, any projected Christian reunion through ecumenical overtures will consist of a return to the source, the Mother Church.

First, through the person of Christ and now through his sacramental presence in his Church, the kingdom of God is continuing to break into human history. God has made a new and eternal covenant with us, the new People of God. Appointed by Christ, the twelve apostles and their lawful successors, the bishops, govern the Church. Peter was selected by our Lord to be the head of his Church. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he left Peter and his successors to be his visible substitute (Vicar). Peter went to Rome and was crucified there upon an inverted cross. Over time, his successors were given the title of Pope.

The marks of the true Church are clearly enunciated in the ninth article of the Nicene Creed (451 AD) which reads, "We believe in the One Holy Catholic (worldwide) and Apostolic Church." This is the most ancient decree in tradition about an authentic conception of Christ's Church. It is the standard against which all other communities are evaluated. Each of the marks is interlocked with the others in such a way as to lend security to the whole. The true Church of Christ must teach with honesty and with compromise all that Jesus taught. Moreover, it must provide adherents with all the means to divine grace rendered by the Lord. Membership must be inclusive, open to anyone seeking salvation. Finally, it must be faithful to the apostolic tradition. While it was once unimaginable, there seems to be the emergence of a counterfeit Christianity wherein these marks are utterly repudiated. The New Age movement is both anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. The teachings of Jesus are stripped of any challenge and a share in his Passion is disavowed in the pursuit of unqualified pleasure and the drastic avoidance of struggle and pain. Pagan values, or worse yet, values which would have made the ancient pagans blush, are lived out instead of those of the Gospel. More and more such a religion identifies itself with an elitist, self-preoccupied, and materialistic culture. A failure to really investigate the Scriptures and/or to review Christian history, leaves such people unable to credibly follow the legacy and example of the early Church. Indeed, they might substitute goddess worship, going so far as to give Jesus a feminine name. Others profess to a kinship with the ancient heresy of Gnosticism. Still others have brushed off the Christian trappings of their disguise and acknowledge their participation in the occult. The marks of Christ's Church stand against such religion as a testimony to its falsehood.

ONE - All Catholics throughout the world are united. We believe the same teachings, obey the same laws, receive the same sacraments for sanctity, and are all united under the authority of the Pope, the bishops, and our pastors.

HOLY - The Church is holy because her founder, Jesus Christ, is holy. She teaches sacred doctrine because it insures sanctity. Nurtured by the well springs of Christ's truth, saints have emerged from our number. The holiness of the Church does not depend upon the righteousness of her membership but upon Jesus who remains with her.

CATHOLIC - As mentioned already, this adjective means universal or worldwide. The Church beckons to all peoples the world over throughout the ages. "She is called Catholic, because she alone has the privilege of being known to the whole world, having subjects in all parts of the world," (St. Cyril in 4th Century). The extra-biblical word "catholic" was probably first applied to the early Church by St. Ignatius of Antioch in 110 AD. The passage of time brought various sects or breakaway churches into the scene. Increasingly, the term "Catholic" was tagged to the true Church to distinguish it from the others. The Church's continued growth and life spanning two millennium is quite miraculous.

APOSTOLIC - While Jesus Christ is the supreme authority over the Church, he extended his authority to his apostles and disciples with the commission to go out and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Trinity. They and their successors have been faithful in this charge, bestowing grace, especially in the Eucharist, and governing God's holy people. The bishops and priests today can trace their orders down through the centuries to the apostles who were the first bishop-priests.

The Mystical Body.

The institution of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ originates with the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Similarly, when catechumens or children are baptized into this Body, again the Spirit is at work. Just as the Spirit inspired authors to compose the Word of God-- just as the Spirit transforms the gifts of bread and wine into Christ's sacramental flesh and blood-- so too, this Spirit makes us One Body, One Spirit in Christ. Since the time of Pentecost, the Church has revealed herself as a divine-human reality-- a union of the Spirit operating and the people working, in their human way, to cooperate with the gift of Christ's presence and Gospel.

St. Paul clearly emphasizes the Church as the Body of Christ. He reminds us that this unique unity emerges from the one cup of blessing and the bread which we break and share, the Eucharist (1 Cor. 1). Because this sacred bread is one, all of us, though many, are one. The Eucharist and the Church together resonate as the Lord's Mystical Body.

Ours is not simply a privatized faith or relationship to Jesus. Christ founds a a special people, a new nation or Israel. This corporate aspect of the Church is crucial to understanding the faith and liturgical practice. God has called us into a relationship of mutual dependence. We are to care for each other as members of one body (1 Cor. 12). When St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians and Colossians, he stressed Christ as the head of the body of the Church. God is working out his plan of salvation through Christ, reconciling us and uniting all things to himself. The process of restoring all things in Christ is, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, the Mystery of Christ.

Pope Paul VI expressed this truth as follows: "The Church is a mystery. It is a reality imbued with the hidden presence of God." The word "mystery" here is understood in the same way as a sacrament-- a visible sign of God's invisible presence. Just as Christ is the sacrament of the living God; the Church is our visible sign of Christ. The sacramental nature of the Church reaches beyond herself as an institution to the world. "By her relationship with Christ, the Church is a kind of sacrament or sign of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all mankind. She is also an instrument for the achievement of such union and unity" (Lumen Gentium, 1).

Christianity without the Church is nonsensical. She is integral to Christ's plan of salvation. We sacramentally encounter Jesus through the Church. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Church is the foremost visible instrument through which ultimate unity with Christ will be achieved. The Gospel mandates that we treat others with the consideration we would render Christ, himself. This is the hallmark of Mother Teresa's work, finding Christ in the sick, the poor, the elderly, and the outcasts. Oddly enough, a rule of reciprocity comes to the fore. By seeing Christ in others, we are able to see more clearly Christ in Mother Teresa and her sisters. Such has always been the model for holiness and it still manifests the presence of God's love. While other examples of following the Gospel could be offered, the divine-human cooperation would still be essential.

The last council stresses that the Church is another Israel, a new People of God. She includes those in pilgrimage here below, the souls in purgation, and the saints in glory. Despite our various differences, Catholics possess a genuine sense of belonging to a worldwide family. We also have an appreciation for history. Or genealogy reaches to the beginnings of Christianity and has roots in the Jewish faith. The stories of the martyrs and saints are a part of us. We take confidence in the survival of the Church through many struggles. We identify with our forefathers and foremothers. Our sense of being a people-- our Catholic identity-- goes deep. Even when Catholics lapse from the faith, they often return because they know where home is. And, when they do return, they are welcomed. Despite the imperfections in our ministers and membership, the heart of the Church is her endless bestowal of God's mercy and forgiveness.

The Liturgical Year.

The Missal promulgated under Pope Paul VI sought a better balance than that of Pope Pius V between the temporal and sanctoral Masses. Throughout the centuries, Masses honoring saints tended to fill the liturgical calendar. This made it increasingly difficult to experience the liturgical seasons as a reliving of our salvation history. Having reduced the calendar, the truly great heroes of our faith now stand out more importantly. Certain saints are given obligatory services while lesser and often regional saints are give optional memorials. The new liturgical calendar also permits votive celebrations. Because of the changed liturgical calendar and liturgical reform in general, new prayers were formulated. There are specific prayers for each day in Advent, Christmastide, Lent, and Eastertide.

"Holy Mother Church is conscious that she must celebrate the saving work of her divine Spouse by devoutly recalling it on certain days throughout the course of the year. Every week, on the day which she has called the Lord's day, she keeps memory of the Lord's Resurrection, which she also celebrates once in the year, together with his blessed passion, in the most solemn festival of Easter. / Within the cycle of a year, moreover, she unfolds the whole mystery of Christ, from the Incarnation and the birth until the Ascension, the day of Pentecost, and expectation of blessed hope of the coming of the Lord. / Recalling thus the mysteries of redemption, the Church opens to the faithful the riches of her Lord's powers and merits, so that these are in some way made present for all time, and the faithful are enabled to lay hold upon them and become filled with saving grace" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, V, 102).

The Church year consists of five seasons:

1. ADVENT (Purple)- The People of God anticipate the coming of the Lord, historically recalling the prophetic promise of the Messiah and prophetically looking ahead to the time when we shall meet him face to face.

2. CHRISTMASTIDE (White)- The birth of the Messiah into the human family is recalled.

3. LENT (Purple)- The Church looks upon the passion and death of Christ, while recalling Christ's call for us to join our crosses to his and to walk with him.

4. EASTER (White) - The hope of the Church is celebrated in the resurrection and ascension of Christ. It concludes with Pentecost, the birthday of the Church so to speak, when the Holy Spirit was first sent to the infant Church. Red vestments are worn on Pentecost to symbolize the tongues of flame. (Red is also used for the memorials of martyrs). During this season, we also find special celebration of the sacraments of personal Pentecost, baptism and confirmation, along with the Eucharist. All this is to remind the faithful that we are witnesses to the continuing presence of Christ in the world.

5. ORDINARY TIME (Green) - These long series of weeks, particularly from Pentecost to Advent, continue to explore the events leading up to our salvation. Linked to the readings, we see the providential hand of God first calling a people to himself in Abraham and then intervening in their history all the way up to Christ. Most importantly, it emphasizes the covenant between God and his people. While many fell astray, there was always a faithful remnant who answered his call with self-sacrificing faithfulness. Jesus would be the ultimate model of this response, indeed, his sacrifice will atone for all the sins in the world and restore a new People to God. The title for these days is misleading. There is nothing ordinary or mundane about the call to day-to-day discipleship.

Returning to the saints in the calendar, they are offered as fitting examples for imitation. On these days white vestments may be worn or red in the case of martyrs. They are constant reminders to the Pilgrim Church that the Church of Glory is where we are headed and that some in our number have already arrived to that blessed shore.

We usually wear white at baptisms and marriages and red at confirmations. Funerals can be celebrated in any of three colors, although white is preferred today. The other colors are purple (sign of penance) and black (sign or mourning and the mystery of death). The situation is similar on All Souls Day and Masses for the Dead.

The Holy Days of Obligation in the liturgical calendar are as follows: (Please not that I am not a fan of the dismissal of Holy Days when they fall on or near weekends!)

  • All Sundays
  • Christmas
  • Epiphany
  • Ascension
  • Corpus Christi
  • Mary, Mother of God
  • Immaculate Conception
  • Assumption
  • St. Joseph
  • Saints Peter and Paul
  • All Saints
    • Please note that in the United States, the celebrations for St. Joseph and Saints Peter and Paul are not obligatory. The Epiphany and Corpus Christi are moved to the nearest Sunday.

    Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism & Confirmation.

    The new people given birth by the Holy Spirit in baptism are fed by a spiritual food. We shall cover the third sacrament of initiation, the Mass and Eucharist, later. Confining ourselves to the first two, we will look at baptism first. Baptism is the sacrament of rebirth through which Jesus Christ gives us divine life and joins us to his mystical body, the Church. It is the Catholic practice for most members to receive the sacrament within a few weeks after birth. In this manner, Catholics show their desire to share their faith and the life of grace with their children. The ritual is not magic. It is the start of a process in which the parents will model Christian discipleship: inviting their children into a pattern of prayer and service. Education is particularly crucial if the young one is to follow the ways of faith. Baptism incorporates the child into Christ, makes him a child of God, and a member of both the universal and local Church. Adult catechumens experiencing the movement of grace in conversion are instructed and then baptized or received into the Church. Often they are baptized, confirmed, and given their first holy communion at the same celebration.

    Let us briefly review the history of baptism. We know for a fact that Christians during the New Testament days baptized in the name of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19). There is also some evidence that immersion into a pool was one of the forms of baptism, experientially symbolic of a dying with the Lord so that we might rise with him (Romans 6). Anyone who has ever been on the verge of drowning, knows the exhilaration of that first gulp of air. Today just as well, when baptisms are performed this way, the spiritual experience immediately mimics and parallels the physical. There is al a clear bonding with those who lower one into a pool or river; to trust them means to place one's life quite literally into their hands. As for the spiritual bond in baptism, the sponsors or godparents take upon themselves the role of aiding the newly baptized in the life of grace.

    During the early centuries, as the pagan peoples came to Christ, there was a definite emphasis on the baptism of adults. Once the parents were initiated, their children would follow in the natural course. Several factors would move the center-of-gravity to the baptism of children. First, there was the Scriptural passage of Jesus calling the little children to himself, and his condemnation of any who would hinder them. Second, it was obvious that as parents began to embrace Christianity, their faith concerns would turn to their offspring. They wanted them to be incorporated into the Church as members-- given the gift of everlasting life. A high mortality rate would accentuate this pressing need. Whole households and families were converted, including servants. Third, as conditions became more favorable for Christians in the empire, the majority of adults accepted the new faith. This only left the children. The Church would consequently reflect upon her practice of baptizing children, discerning it to be according to the Spirit of God alive in their midst and guiding the community of faith. St. Augustine, who lived in the latter fourth and the early fifth centuries, would be a prominent Catholic thinker on this topic. According to his reasoning, since children had no personal sins to be forgiven in the sacrament of baptism, he discerned that what was remitted was the original sin of our first parents. This teaching about the inheritance of original sin through sexual generation is a component of the deposit of faith. The only uncertain matter was the destiny of infants who died prior to baptism. The Scriptures argued that unless one was born again (through water and the Spirit), one could have no part in Christ. Consequently, St. Augustine theorized that such small children were damned. He was not heartless. He placed them, not at the center of hell, but upon its more tolerable fringes. But, can any such distinction about hell really be made? Later theologians wrestled with this verdict and speculated that a good God would not send babies to hell. The problem was that the biblical data for any contrary conclusion was wanting. In any case, St. Augustine's views made the importance of early baptism even more significant.

    Later, between the twelfth and the fourteenth centuries, the Scholastics, particularly St. Thomas Aquinas, systematized the teachings of the Church. Although Aquinas elaborated on much of Augustine, though no longer in a neo-Platonic but Aristotelian fashion, he did not accept Augustine's view on the fate of infants. The Scholastics theorized upon a sort of half-way place wherein unbaptized infants would be eternally happy in their natural state, but ignorant of the God whom they would never see. More recently, this theological construct of limbo, which was not absolute doctrine, has come under heavy criticism. It does not even appear in the new universal catechism. It separated man's natural end (to be happy) from his supernatural goal (to be with God). It seemed unlikely that such a separation fully appreciated the totality of the human person. Additionally, the definition of hell had always been that place where God was absent and where there was some sort of pain or fire; some intelligent progressive threw a monkey-wrench into the whole works by simply observing that limbo was like hell (God was absent) except that there was no pain and the kids were dumb as to what they were missing. Today, in all honesty, we have had to admit that we simply do not know the full answer on this score. Jesus did not tell us. Perhaps the absence of a direct statement from the Lord is itself hopeful? Further, there has been the long tradition of the Holy Innocents (those children who died in Christ's stead) as having achieved heaven. Perhaps all innocent children, as reflections of the Christ-child, would be blessed with paradise should they die before reaching the age of reason? Or perhaps they would be enlightened and given an opportunity to make a personal choice, a choice wherein their innocence might far outweigh the stain of Adam-- and they would have the greatest of freedoms to choose the Greatest Good, God himself? Some have argued that the desire of parents and of the Church for their salvation might suffice.

    Along with the legalization of the Church, particularly between the third and fifth centuries, a preparation program for adults emerged, called the catechumenate. Restored in a modified form, it is called today, the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. It consisted of a formation in study, prayer, and in introspective examination of readiness. If deemed worthy, the adults entered the Order of Catechumens for a two or three year instructional stage. Today, instructions are usually limited to a year or less. Sponsors supported and pledged for their integrity and good conduct. When deemed ready, their names were enrolled and an intensive forty day preparation was engaged. The entire faith community involved itself in this special retreat time-- which developed liturgically into Lent. They were baptized at the Easter Vigil, confirmed, and given first Eucharist. Following initiation into the Church, they would enter into a period of mystagogia (reflecting upon the sacraments). As infant baptisms increased, these adult rites were increasingly shortened and/or abrogated.

    The practical difficulties related to the reservation of confirmation to the bishop, along with other factors, led to is increased separation from baptism. What has become a Catholic "coming of age" ritual was not so originally. The baptism itself was confirmed with this final anointing and invocation of the Holy Spirit. When an adult enters the Church, the ancient practice is often retained of offering baptism, confirmation, and holy communion-- all at the same ceremony. Most dioceses give priests the delegation to confirm in such instances. The Eucharist is the third sacrament of initiation-- it is the living source of what the Church is about-- it is the mystery by which our lives in Christ are constantly nourished.

    Using the ritual of baptism for children, so often experienced among our families, it might be worthwhile to examine its various elements:

    WELCOMING CEREMONY - The assembly is greeted, the child's name is given, the parents indicate their willingness to raise the child in the faith, and the celebrant signs the child's forehead with the cross.

    LITURGY OF THE WORD - The Scriptures are read, a short homily is offered, a silent prayer follows, and the saints are invoked to be present and to pray and rejoice with the community. (The child is also here anointed with the oil of catechumens or of baptism which is a sign of strengthening the child who is being offered to God.)

    CONFERRAL OF SACRAMENT - At the baptistry, the water is blessed, the adults renew their baptismal promises, and the child is baptized with either thrice flowing water or immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Then the child is anointed with holy chrism oil (into Christ who is priest, prophet, and king) and clothed in a white garment (sign of the elect), and the baptismal candle is lit and handed to either the father or one of the sponsors, usually the godfather.

    EUCHARIST OR CLOSING CEREMONY - The Eucharist may be celebrated, the Lord's Prayer is said, and blessings are offered.

    For adults, the rite is similar. However, the candidate makes his own profession of faith and all three sacraments of initiation may be received. The final anointing becomes the confirmation rite. If someone is already baptized in a Protestant faith, there is either a conditional baptism or a rite of reception, a profession of faith, and then confirmation and first Eucharist.

    The following are the principal symbols of baptism:

    1. WATER - a symbol of both life and death.

    2. OIL - the chrism identifies the recipient with Jesus and the high calling of a Christian as Priest, Prophet, and King. It also signifies the sealing of one with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The oil of catechumens, which precedes the baptism is a sign of strengthening the child; in the case of adult converts, it might be offered earlier in the preparation process as a strengthening of the person to be steadfast in the catechumenate against falling away or temptations.

    3. WHITE GARMENT - a symbol of being clothed in Christ and spotless.

    4. LIGHTED CANDLE - a symbol in its brightness of Christ as the Light of the World, so that we might see the Truth, and in its burning warmth, feel the healing of Christ. The larger candle is called either the Paschal or Easter Candle, representing the risen Christ. The smaller candle is a sign of Jesus and of the newly baptized who becomes a new Christ. It is our hope that when we have burned ourselves up by giving light and warmth to others, that the same loving Father who raised Christ from the dead will restore us to life as well.

    The sacrament of confirmation was instituted by Christ who promised that he would send his Holy Spirit to remain with the Church forever. Historically, the sacrament of confirmation became distinct from that of baptism. However, to properly understand it, confirmation must be viewed within the context of the other two sacraments of initiation: Baptism and Eucharist.

    When we talk of sacrament, it is necessary to speak of the Holy Spirit. He is the third Person of the Blessed Trinity-- the gift of the Father, the Spirit of Love and Truth, the Giver of Life. The Holy Spirit lives in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful. Having already become a temple of the Holy Spirit in baptism, the Christian receives a more full outpouring of the Spirit in confirmation.

    1. It effects a more full sharing in God's life through saving grace (as long as not obstructed by mortal sin), the (actual) grace of the sacrament, and a permanent character or seal upon our soul.

    2. The traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and holy fear (reverence).

    3. The virtues which issue from the Holy Spirit: charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, benignity, long-suffering per durance, mildness, fidelity, modesty, continence, and chastity.

    4. The Beatitudes, as a foretaste of heaven, are also fruits of the Holy Spirit.

    The sacramental grace associated with confirmation empowers a person to live out his faith courageously. The lasting spiritual seal of the sacrament marks the believer as a true Christian witness. The mechanics of the sacrament are as follows:

    1. The bishop is the ordinary minister of the sacrament; however, he can delegate any priest to do confirmations, which is often the case with adult converts.

    2. The matter of the sacrament consists of the laying on of hands upon the head of the candidate with the accompanying anointing using chrism in the sign of the cross on the forehead.

    3. The imposition of the hand signals a bestowal or invocation of the Holy Spirit. The anointing points to the spiritual character offered by the Holy Spirit. The cross represents our redemption and our openness to partake and to participate in the Paschal Mystery.

    4. The sacred chrism is a perfumed oil blessed by the bishop. What was formerly used for physical strengthening and body building is now used for spiritual strengthening and the health of our souls. The fragrance is connected to the sweetness of virtue, Christ himself, overcoming the stench of sin.

    5. The form of the sacrament consists in the formula spoken by the minister: "N., be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." A saint's name is chosen as a particular patron, either a new one or the baptismal name.

    6. The sponsor must do all in his power to insure that the newly confirmed fulfills the duties of a Catholic Christian. Consequently, the sponsor must be a practicing Catholic, already confirmed, and committed to the faith. The sponsor places his right hand on the candidate's shoulder during the ceremony to illustrate that he has taken him under his wing.

    Liturgy & Eucharist.

    Throughout the world, it can be said that where ever the Church is, there too is the Mass. Indeed, not only does the Church, as Christ's sacrament, give life to the Mass, the very reality of the Church flows from the liturgy.

    Instituted By Christ. The Mass was not simply a human invention, but rather, a celebration instituted by Christ, himself. It resonates with that night before his death when he shared his Last Supper with the apostles. Christ commands, "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19), instituting the priesthood to make the mystery of his presence and sacrifice alive to every age. Derived from the Jewish Paschal Meal which recalled the peoples' liberation from Egyptian slavery; now the Lord's Supper would commemorate and make real the new People of God's freedom from the powers of sin and death. Jesus offered himself as the Lamb of Sacrifice whose blood would be poured out for many. Consequently, the Mass was linked both to the Last Supper and to the cross. The bread was broken and given as a real sign of his body surrendered over to suffering and death; thanks was given over the wine transformed into the blood of his New Covenant. In response to this gift of Christ's own self, we returned "thanksgiving" or "gratitude" which defined the familiar word, "Eucharist".

    Apostolic Testimony.Various Scriptures inform our understanding of the Eucharist. John the Baptizer singled out Jesus as the Lamb of God. (Crucial to our understanding of the Mass as a sacrifice which makes atonement or satisfies for sin.) The wedding feast at Cana, where water is transformed into wine, alluded to the marriage of Christ to his Church. (This relationship is signified between the priest and the congregation at Mass.) The multiplication of the loaves and fishes symbolized Christ as the living Bread for the hungry. (The Eucharist extends the nurturing presence of Jesus with diminishment to the faithful the world over.) After the resurrection, there is the story of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus who recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. (This stresses the discernment of the risen Christ in the Eucharist.) Also important is the Lord's invitation on the beach to his friends to come and eat after a miraculous catch of fish. (The mystery of the Eucharist is to be celebrated throughout the world, calling all humanity to the table of everlasting life). The early Christians met frequently for the breaking of the bread-- the Eucharist-- and linked this celebration with a life of charity, dynamic love in action. There is also the account of St. Paul being so long-winded in one of his sermons at a Eucharist that a young boy fell from a windowsill and died. The apostle restored him to life and went back to the Eucharist. He also insisted that true believers could not worship idols or fight among themselves; rather, they had to embody or express in their lives the Eucharistic reality of unity and fidelity-- one bread, one body in Christ. Indeed, the Scriptures made plain that many refused to follow Christ because they were unwilling to accept the stark realism of his invitation to eat his flesh and to drink his blood. Although it was meant in a mysterious sacramental fashion, as opposed to a crude physicalism, the real presence still appalled former disciples as too literal and even cannibalistic. However, what they missed was the depth of God's love for them. He was going to give them the Eucharist to insure that Christ's abiding presence might be abundantly present. He loved them so much that he wanted to get inside of them and to become their very food.

    Patristic Testimony. As the Christians were expelled from the synagogues and the faith was embraced by more Gentiles, the Eucharist became increasingly highlighted and became the central action whereby Christians identified themselves. The Eucharistic celebration was seen as a sort of time removed from normal time, even more so than the old Sabbath, and was celebrated on Sunday, sometimes called the eighth day. For many years the Eucharist was part of a larger supper called the "agape" meal. Often rendered as a love feast, the regular meal was offered and then the Lord's Last Supper was rendered by the leader (priest-bishop) with bread and wine. However, as the Christian communities expanded, the larger meal for physical nourishment, before the one for spiritual strengthening, became too unwieldy and even abuses like gluttony and drunkenness entered. Many would not share the food they brought, even with the poor. Consequently, the Eucharist was separated as a distinct celebration. As early as the first few centuries, figures like Bishop Ignatius of Antioch spoke of the Eucharist as "the Flesh of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, Flesh which suffered for our sins but which the Father, in his kindness, raised from the dead." He also demanded that a Eucharist had to join the community as one with their bishop. Living at the end of the first century after Christ, he also wrote: "Consider valid only a Eucharist that is celebrated by your bishop or by someone who has his authorization. Without your bishop it is not permissible to baptize or to celebrate the banquet." From the very beginning, the Eucharist only made sense within the confines of the believing community, the Church, founded by Christ. St. Justin in the second century offered a detailed description of the Mass, especially emphasizing how it completed the Christian initiation process. Although there were no fixed prayers yet, much of the ancient tradition would be repeated by others and crucial parts in this heritage would find their way into our formal prayers of today. For instance, take this phrase from Hippolytus' The Apostolic Tradition, written in the year 215: "In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you the bread and cup, thanking you for counting us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you. We pray you to send your Spirit upon the offering of your Church, to bring together in unity all those who share in it, to fill them with the Holy Spirit . . . through Jesus Christ, your Son. . . . Amen." If those words sounded familiar, it was because elements of them could be located in the Second Eucharistic Prayer. People who found fault with the new Mass often fail to realize that not only is the ancient Roman Canon still essentially intact (although translation concerns have some validity), but we have also tried to take claim of other ancient strands of our tradition eclipsed by the passage of time.

    When the faith was outlawed by the Roman empire, the Eucharist was celebrated secretly in church houses and even from time to time in the catacombs. The superstitious would avoid bothering the Christians in these places where the dead were buried. As time passed, these celebrations became increasingly important. The Eucharist was celebrated on the tombs of those who had been martyred for the faith. Often these celebrations were done in their memory. There was a link between the Paschal Mystery of Christ and the living expression of this sacrifice offered by the martyrs who witnessed by their blood. Because a saving death was commemorated, the table was seen as an altar. The tombs, being stone, were logically translated into our churches as altars of heavy materials like stone or marble. When the Church was recognized and it was safe to practice publicly, church buildings were constructed. However, due to the competition of the affection where the martyrs were buried, the remains of saints were removed and placed in our churches. Indeed, churches were dedicated to various saints. In the altars would be placed the assorted remains of saints, oftentimes people whom they had personally known. The first Eucharistic prayer offers the names of several saints in line with this venerable tradition. In the fourth century, St. Augustine stressed the Eucharist as the sign or sacrament of the oneness of the Church. He said: "If you are the body, the members of Christ, here you find your mystery on the table of the Lord. You receive your mystery. You hear said to you (at communion), 'the body of Christ,' and you reply, 'Amen.' Be a true member of the body of Christ, then, so that your Amen may be true. At his table Christ the Lord consecrated the mystery of our peace and our oneness. If you receive the mystery of oneness and then do not maintain the bond of peace, you do not really receive the mystery, but rather testimony against yourself."

    Development in the West. The Mass possesses signs and rites which go back to Christ and cannot be changed, as well as elements which have undergone serious development. The popes have been particularly evident in the fixing of formulas and even in the abrogation of features. This has been an appreciable factor in the variation of the various rites of the Church, East and West. Pope Gregory the Great and the imposition of Gregorian Chant were especially important in the evolution of the liturgy. The liturgical reforms of Charlemagne, in collaboration with Pope Hadrian I, eradicated most variations in the Western liturgy.

    The Real Presence. Along with a fairly stable worship appearance, the liturgical questions became more introspective. Aristotelian categories of thought assisted the Scholastics in distinguishing the real presence of the Eucharist from any "empty" symbolic sense. Although the signs or accidents of the bread and wine remained the same, the Church held that they were mysteriously transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Although we do not feed upon the Lord in a material way, we really did feed upon the body and blood of Christ-- the "sacramental" real presence. Berengarius in 1062 and 1070 wrote De Sacra Coena contending only a representational symbolism against Lanfranc of Pavia who wrote De Corpore et Sanguine Domini arguing on behalf of the tradition in favor of invisible real realities. Two councils of the Church forced Berengarius to accept a couple major points:

    1. The Lord Jesus was truly present (with his real being) in the Eucharist; and

    2. Appearances unaltered, the Eucharistic change was on a deeper level than we could sense.

    The real hero of the day would come two centuries later, St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas would write in his Summa Theologica that through this sacrament we become sharers in Christ's Passion. It gave the gift of salvation right now and foreshadowed our ultimate union with God in glory. Our faith, if not our eyes and tongue, recognized the Lord's presence in this sacrament. The substance of the bread and wine, their deepest innermost being, was transformed into the reality of Christ-- body, soul, humanity, and divinity. He was fully and wholly present in the consecrated species and in each and every part of them. Although the terminology has changed from time to time, this is still how the Church would express this mystery.

    Growth and Abuse. In the long history of the Church, the Eucharist has had a very interesting part to play. There have been Eucharistic miracles and various devotions like exposition and benediction. A heightened sense of its importance led to the feast in its honor, Corpus Christi. Having said this, honesty compels us to acknowledge that there have also been abuses. Beginning in the Middle Ages, many people would attend Mass but refuse to receive holy communion due to a exaggerated sense of unworthiness. The Church responded by issuing a law mandating the reception of communion at least once a year. This precept is still on the books. The Catholic is required to go to Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. It should be noted that the early Christians had no such laws. Ideally, we should all participate in the Eucharist because we deeply want to be there. Our hearts need to look forward with intense longing for the opportunity to worship and to share this central mystery of the faith with one another. At this time in the past, there was also a lowering of the quality in witness of the Church's priests and bishops which brought about a trafficking in Mass stipends and indulgences. The stage was set for Martin Luther and the Reformation.

    Reformation Challenge. Despite Luther's departure from traditional norms of worship and faith, some of his observations had merit. He held that Christ's sacrifice possessed a unique and perfect value. This is true. However, lacking an adequate historical appreciation, he did not understand that the Church had always believed that the sacrifice of the Mass was the very same oblation of Christ on Calvary, now offered in an unbloody manner. Another major point of concern was his departure from the Thomistic teaching of transubstantiation. This view held that after the consecration, the gifts were no longer really bread and wine, but Christ himself, really present under their appearances. Luther offered the counterproposal of consubstantiation, that both Christ and the bread and wine were some how wrapped together. Although we would not want to risk being unfair to him, it would seem that despite his posturing against philosophical categories, he himself, merely substituted his own hypothesis for the Church's proposition. Further, in implementing only selective biblical passages and teachings, he was creating an unfortunate "pick-and-choose" methodology which has come to full stature today. The Church would argue that none of us has the authority-- layman, priest, bishop, or pope-- to discard ancient and revealed doctrines which we feel are disagreeable or problematic. Returning to the reformers, others would impoverish the Eucharist even more so than Luther. Zwingli proposed that the Eucharist was only a symbol of love. Calvin spiritualized the whole matter and rejected the Mass as a sacrifice.

    Tridentine Response. Reacting to all this, the Council of Trent in its 13th session, held on October 11, 1551, stated that the Mass was linked to the one and only sacrifice of Christ and that the Eucharist "really, truly, and substantially contains the body and blood, soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ." The Mass rites were even more formalized and abuses were abolished under the Missal of Pius V promulgated in 1570 and not superceded until the Missal of Paul VI in accordance with the norms of Vatican II in the 1960's.

    Vatican II Response. During those many years between this council and Trent, the Eucharist had been highlighted with various confraternities, forty hours devotions, benedictions, processions, artistic memorials, hymns, and literature. In the early 1900's, Pope Pius X urged frequent communion and endorsed communion for young children. At Vatican II, the first topic was the liturgy. The Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy was promulgated on December 4, 1963 and it contained the principles for reform. The people would be given a more active role and the texts and rites would be translated so that "more clearly the holy realities they signify; and the People of God, insofar as possible, should be able to understand them easily and take part in them fully, actively, and as a community." The new missal used the Scriptures more extensively and had a greater variety of prayers, rites, and signs. It would be translated from the Latin into the living languages of the people. This was not simply innovation for the sake of change. It was an attempt to make the liturgy richer and to touch more profoundly the lives of God's people.

    Holy Orders.

    The ordained priesthood is a special sacrament by which the ordinand uniquely shares in the high priesthood of Christ and in his powers. These essential powers are realized in his offering of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, forgiving sins in the rite of penance, and preaching the Word of God. The bishop, who has received the "fullness of priesthood," ordains a man by laying hands on the candidate's head and pronouncing the prescribed words (illustrating his intention). Having been ordained, the priest is also given a more full sharing in sanctifying grace and in actual grace. The latter will help him throughout his ministry to be faithful to his vocational duties. Just as baptism and confirmation mark us forever as belonging to Christ, so too does holy orders transform the man, marking him with an indelible character upon his soul. Forever and always, he is a priest. In a special manner, he is a living sign of Christ, the head of the Mystical Body, in our community of faith. During the past thousand years, the Western Church has determined that the model of priesthood which has best served the People of God has been a celibate one. The priest surrenders all other loves to the one love of Jesus Christ. To the extent that a priest loves his people, he loves Christ. He seeks to discern the will of God in his day-to-day ministry and in pledged obedience to his bishop-- the manifestation of his single-hearted love and selfless fidelity to Christ. Along with his celebration of the Mass and hearing confessions, he also anoints the sick and blesses people in the name of the Church. As a man of prayer, he is required to keep the hours of the day sacred by praying the Breviary (The Liturgy of the Hours) for the sake of those he serves. The priest or a deacon may also officiate at baptisms, confirmations for converts, marriages, and bury services.

    Preparing for holy orders, the candidate receives the lay ministries of Reader and Acolyte. Prior to priesthood, a man is ordained a transitory deacon. There are also permanent deacons in the Church who may assist at Mass, but who are not usually ordained later as priests.

    Historically, the Lord called to himself disciples to carry out the Good News to all the earth. Among these believers, he selected out twelve to be his apostles. During the Last Supper, he tells them, "Do this in remembrance of me." To this day, priests make the sacrifice of Christ present in our churches. As an "alter Christus" (another Christ), the priest celebrates the Lord's surrender of himself as our food and drink. Calvary is reenacted. In the first few centuries of the Christian era, the Church grew rapidly. The apostles and later their successors found themselves in a Church filled with the Holy Spirit. Faith sprouted even in the midst of persecution and hardship. The successors of the apostles, the Episcopoi (or bishops) could not reasonably reach or minister to everyone in their jurisdiction. Therefore, they decided to ordain men to assist them and to offer them much of their own authority and power. However, they retained certain powers and jurisdiction. Hence, these Presbyters (or priests) would owe their obedience to Christ and to their bishops chosen by him. This pattern has come all the way through time to us where we still have priests in parishes which fall under the yet larger community of a diocese headed by a bishop. Because of growth and pressing needs, other men were given the responsibility to assist the priests-- these are the deacons. They helped to transport communion to other communities and to the sick. They were given charge of taking care of poorer members and collaborating in evangelization. It was for this latter charge that St. Stephen was stoned to death.

    As a clarification, deaconesses were also chosen, but not ordained. Neither were they ever ordained priests, except maybe by certain heretical Gnostic sects which denied the humanity of Christ. These holy women were given charge of female catechumens. This was essentially out of tactful modesty. Remember, at that time, baptism was often done by immersion.

    Lay Ministries.

    Besides sacramental orders, there are other "ministries" in the Church. Principal among these are the lay ministries of Lector (Reader) and Acolyte (Server). Reserved for laymen, these are also levels through which a candidate for priesthood must go. These candidates are officially installed into their ministry. Other special ministries in the Church, as with extraordinary ministers, are less formally constituted and are much more dependent upon the needs of a particular parish. For example, the difference between an extraordinary minister and an acolyte in practice is that the first can only function in his or her parish; the latter is usually permitted to distribute communion in an assortment of parishes and settings. Although there are official lectors in the Church, many people read the Scriptures at Mass without formal installation; thus opening this service to both men and women. The altar server is also performing a worthwhile ministry for God's people. Other kinds of ministries might include work in shelters, shopping for shut-ins, visiting the elderly and sick, parish committees, and ushers of hospitality, etc.

    Marriage.

    Marriage is a natural right. However, the Church reasonably asks couples to refrain from this right until they have obtained adequate psychological maturation. This coming-of-age is indicated by comprehending marriage as a life-long, complete commitment between a man and woman. They would also have to understand that this relationship is orientated toward mutual love and help (fidelity) and to the procreation and education of children. The background to this awareness is a realistic appreciation of the various difficulties in marriage and how they might handle them. They must be free from coercion in making this promise of a shared life and possess an integrity of intention or will, resolved to endure any hardship.

    Despite the shameful statistics, the Church is almost alone in teaching that marriage is an unbreakable bond. Non-Christians may know it as the noblest of natural contracts; Christians can embrace it as a sacrament, a covenant through which Christ gives grace. St. Paul tells us that Christian marriage is a sacred sign that reflects the lasting unity of Christ, the groom, with his bride, the Church.

    A married couple extract life from out of their love. First, in their reciprocal fidelity, they nurture and give life to each other. Second, in their openness to children, they cooperate with God in the act of creation. They summon into existence separate individuals who will endure for all eternity. What other human work could ever compare with this? Rather than a one time event, they continue to give life to their children by caring for their physical needs. They must also aid in their spiritual development, laying foundations for growth in faith and holiness. This latter responsibility cannot be over-emphasized. Third, growing in holiness themselves, the couple's love and service is a powerful witness, giving life to all whom they meet. Seeing their faithful commitment, we are reminded that this kind of love has not utterly passed from the world.

    Jesus raised marriage to the level of sacrament. Although we do not know the precise occasion of its institution, the Church early on recognized that the reality of this relationship was transformed by the commitment of two baptized Christians in a covenant of love. Indeed, Christ identifies himself with the beloved.

    Marriage makes two people helpmates to each other in seeking holiness. Spouses are to assist each other in becoming saints who will share eternal life with Christ in heaven. If all their earthly preoccupations bypass this objective, then there is something defective in their love. It must be an ingredient-- even if it is tragically reduced to one spouse praying for the other to return to church practice or to join the Church. Ultimately, sacramental grace brings confidence to the couple that God will help them to persevere in love, fidelity, and holiness.

    The sacrament of marriage has certain effects:

    1. An invisible bond that will last until the death of one of the spouses; and

    2. The graces of the sacrament.

    The graces of the sacrament include all those necessary to maintain their collaboration and mutual love in all aspects of their shared life-- graces to confront and conquer all threats, troubles, misunderstandings, illness, or anxiety. If we walk with the Lord, his promise of grace and his presence will remain with a marriage for a lifetime. It must be made clear that one might receive the sacrament of matrimony with its permanent bond, without the graces to faithfully live it out. Indeed, a root cause for divorce among Christians is in this regard; serious sin would lower the sacrament to a sacrilege. This is no light matter. Mortal sin destroys our relationships, both to God and to one another. However, even in these unfortunate cases, with the restoration of saving grace through the sacrament of reconciliation, the graces of marriage would be made available.

    There are many duties and responsibilities in marriage. Chief among these are fidelity, cohabitation, and mutual help (especially with offspring). Statistics reveal that the Catholic divorce rate is rapidly approaching the national average wherein half of all marriages fail. Interestingly, a Gallup pole discovered that couples who pray together for a few minutes every day and who regularly attend Sunday Mass have a much lower failure rate. Indeed, 98% of such marriages survive and flourish. This says something wonderful about the intimacy of prayer between spouses and God-- it is a visible testimony about the positive influence of grace living in true Christian marriages.

    Reconciliation.

    The one sacrament which has gone through the most development and change is probably reconciliation (also called penance or confession). During the first days of the early Church, the followers of Jesus were especially devout and zealous; after all, they believed that Christ's second coming was eminent. However, as the years passed and many of the first witnesses of Jesus began to die, the Church was forced to the realization that the Lord might want his friends to continue and to spread his ministry in the world for some time prior to his return. This and the later acceptance and endorsement of Christianity in the empire resulted in more and more adherents who lacked zeal and who were very much in the grip of weakness and sin. The sacrament of baptism remitted both original and all personal sin. However, since baptism was a one-time sacrament, the problem became what to do with the person who fell back into the old ways of sin? At first, there were those who argued that such people could not be re-admitted to the Church body or to the sacraments. Because of this dilemma and the desire of people to be saved, many waited until their deathbeds for baptism. Those who were especially cast out were those who renounced Christ in order to save their lives from Roman persecution and execution. Quite interestingly, those who remained steadfast and survived, sort of as "living martyrs," were envisioned by many as having the ability to offer God's forgiveness to those who were less faithful. As this category of people in need of reconciliation grew, the Church discerned her ability to offer second penance whereby the Christian could be forgiven once after baptism. As in the story of the prodigal son or of the lost sheep, God would reach out still to forgive his own. Again, many people fell and postponed their reconciliation until either impending death or advanced age seemed to guarantee them success. This second penance was not an easy matter. The penances were often quite severe, including all sorts of humiliations, fasting, constant prayer, servitude, and even hair-skin shirts which itched and disciplined the flesh. Again, human nature proved vulnerable. There was much debate. The understanding that while we were weak, God was strong, came to predominance. The Scriptures were recalled where Jesus told his disciples that one was to forgive seventy times seven times (Matthew 18). If such was to be our individual practice, could it be any less for the Church as a whole? No.

    This sacrament has taken upon itself many external forms during its long history. The Eastern churches have kept much of the practice of seeking pardon in the midst of the assembly. They walked up to the priest, who sometimes covered their heads with a cloth, and the sins were whispered and then forgiven. During the early centuries, certain sins were announced publicly when a repentant person sought forgiveness. This was a clear indication that they saw their sins hurting not only themselves but the whole church community. When a person was not what he was called to be, he could not consequently be a steadfast support or faithful witness of the Gospel for others. (Sin touches all, even those sins which are hidden and deeply personal). Obviously, even in the first few centuries, there were certain sins only told to the priest, in order to avoid grievous scandal. In the West, we have owed an immense debt to the Irish Penitentials, who in their development of penance, not only offered it repeatedly, but discretely behind a screen-- the start of the confessional box. This offered an opportunity for privacy for which many yearned. Today, confession is offered both behind a screen or face-to-face with the priest.

    Some outside the Church might erroneously surmise that Catholicism invented this sacrament. However, its history proves this to be false. Although we, along with many other Christians, believe that a simple act of contrition is sufficient to forgive some sins; Catholic Christians have a highly developed communitarian perspective of how sin touches the Church body and how she needs forgiveness and healing. This hints to the rationale of a link between reconciliation and the sacrament of the sick. The priest represents the presence of Christ present in the Church offering forgiveness in this sacrament. The priest is configured to Christ in such an intense way that Jesus directly forgives the sins of Church members through him. After the absolution, we can have the assurance of knowing our sins are pardoned. The priest's absolution frees us from sin and from at least some degree of the temporal punishment due to it. It helps us to grow in divine grace and makes us stronger in the struggle to disentangle ourselves from Satan so as to live in true holiness. Jesus has promised us that the Church does indeed possess this authority. When the Lord appeared to his apostles on the first Easter Sunday, he told them: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound, they are held bound" (John 20:22-23).

    The Church has declared that it is necessary to confess each and every serious "subjective" mortal sin after an intense deliberation of our conscience. The priest needs to know the sins in order to make proper judgments and in order to direct his prayers to the appropriate need. St. Augustine reaffirmed this point in the fourth century, "It is not enough that one acknowledges his sins to God, from whom nothing is hidden; he must also confess them to a priest, God's representative."

    The Church has long made distinctions between sins in terms of mortal and venial. This is evident in day-to-day living; after all, there is a difference between let's say an act of cold-bloodied murder and the snatching of a stray grape in the grocery store. Mortal sin is the most serious and technically it means driving God out of ourselves and our lives. It is the rejection of his gift of salvation. Venial means a lesser offense, which we are encouraged to confess in the sacrament of reconciliation. Mortal sin requires that the act in itself be serious matter, that the person knows or thinks he knows that it is most grievously wrong, and that a person gives full consent to it. Unless the person repents and offers an act of sorrow, seeking confession, such a person is asked to refrain from the Eucharist in order as to not commit sacrilege.

    The rite of penance has several parts:

    1. CONTRITION - No sin is forgiven by God without supernatural sorrow. This contrition may be imperfect (fear of punishment and the loss of heaven) or perfect (love of God and remorse over what we have done to him on Calvary). Further, there must be a firm resolution to avoid the sin in the future.

    2. CONFESSION - The power of the keys to salvation, given to the Church, can respond to the person who acknowledges that he is indeed a sinner in need of healing and mercy. Prior to the actual confession of sin, an examination of conscience is made. This is essential. The deliberate concealment of a mortal sin constitutes another serious offense against God. One is not obliged to tell every venial sin, although it is a good practice in seeking holiness.

    3. ABSOLUTION - After our confession and a verbal act of contrition, the priest extends his hand and pronounces the words of absolution: "God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit."

    4. ACT OF PENANCE (Satisfaction) - Penance demonstrates true conversion and reparation of injury. The gulf between human forgiveness and divine mercy becomes readily apparent. When God forgives, he treats the sin as something forgotten, put behind his back-- not to be looked at again. We need to strive to do the same in putting the past behind us and in living for God here in the present. The penance itself is often merely prayer(s) or in cases like theft, may involve restitution. These acts display our repentance as something genuine. We are offering words and actions as presents to God in return for his precious gift of forgiveness. The satisfaction follows absolution.

    TO SAFEGUARD THE SACRAMENT, THE PRIEST IS BOUND TO KEEP "THE SEAL" OF CONFESSION, KEEPING WHAT HE HEARS SECRET, EVEN IF IT MEANS DEATH. MINIMALLY, ALL IN SERIOUS SIN ARE OBLIGED TO CONFESS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR; HOWEVER, MORE REGULAR ATTENDANCE IS ENCOURAGED FOR ALL. AFTER ALL, WE SHOULD BE RECEIVING A WORTHY HOLY COMMUNION AND READY WHEN GOD CALLS US HOME.

    Anointing of the Sick.

    The sacrament of the sick is sometimes called the sacrament of healing and it is administered with holy oil while the priest says a prayer for special grace and strength. Vatican II reaffirmed that the sacrament properly belongs to the sick who are in danger of death due to illness or advanced age. It must be mentioned, however, that in practice there are many occasions when it seems that the healing requested is realized not only in a spiritual way but in a physical improvement or recovery, too. The person should be in a state of grace. If the person is conscious, then he should be given the opportunity for confession first. However, if the person is incapable of confession, and in a state of serious sin, he receives pardon through the sacrament of anointing-- presuming that this is his desire and that there is sufficient sorrow for sin.

    There are two effects of the sacrament:

    1. By the prayer and anointing, the ill person is given courage and sometimes even physical health.

    2. However, if God should consider it better not to restore health, it offers the infirm an assistance to patiently suffer and to die a holy death.

    The sacrament is offered by the priest who first lays his hands on the head of the sick person. Then, anointing the forehead and hands, he prays: "Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit. [Amen.] May the Lord who frees you from sin, save you and raise you up. [Amen.]"

    THIS IS ONE OF THE USUAL THREE LAST SACRAMENTS: PENANCE, ANOINTING, AND VIATICUM (HOLY EUCHARIST).

    There is no disputing the ancient origins of this sacrament. Indeed, in the introduction to the rite, the Scriptures are quoted: "Lord God, you have said to us through your apostle James: 'Are there people sick among you? Let them send for the priests of the Church, and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick persons, and the Lord will raise them up. If they have committed any sins, their sins will be forgiven them'" (James 5:14-15). [Intimation for this sacrament in Mark 6:13.]
     
     

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