Another Chapter

May 4 2017 v4 p18

There are times I sit in front of my keyboard and I know exactly what I want to write about.  Then there are days like today where I’m not really sure where this post is going to go, but I hope you enjoy it.

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The Catholic Church teaches that there are seven sacraments given to us by Jesus.  These are signs of grace that he instituted, and are entrusted to the Church to dispense to us.  I’ve mentioned before how I’ve experienced grace after attending Mass or during one of the projects I’ve worked on with the Knights of Columbus.  It wasn’t until recently that I realized that I was indeed receiving a sacrament when I felt that grace.  Before I didn’t know how to define what it was that I was receiving, but it dawned on me last weekend that I was indeed receiving sacraments.

The first sacrament most Catholics receive is Baptism.  For cradle Catholics like myself, it is usually received within the first couple of months following birth.  Of the ones I’ve seen performed at Mass over the past few years rarely do I encounter an infant who cries when the Holy Water is poured over his head.  In the case of a toddler being Baptized, I have seen it.  My guess would be that those children aren’t really cooperative at home when it’s bath time.  That would lead them to thinking that this is going to be the same thing.  The couple of that has happened they almost immediately stop crying after the Priest says Amen.  When my son was baptized at the Easter Vigil this year I could see his eyes opening.  All of the children going through RCIA, all 11 of them, with him had the same reaction.  It’s pretty powerful to be able to see that grace happen to someone else, let alone your own child.

A few years after I was baptized I had to attend and receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  This is where Catholics attend confession and received penance for their sins.  This must be completed in order for a Catholics to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  This is when a Catholic is invited to receive Jesus in the form of bread and wine just as the Apostles did at the last supper on Holy Thursday.  This is the new covenant that God has entered into us.  By dying for our sins on the cross, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of when God would come to earth and walk amongst us.  By giving us himself in the form of bread and wine we enter into that covenant on our own.  For RCIA candidates that are being baptized, they don’t need to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation because the Baptism cleanses them of original sin.  Candidates who were baptized in another sect of Christianity however do, because they have surely sinned since their original Baptism.

As a young adult, at age 17 when I was growing up but closer to 14 now, Catholics receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.  During the RCIA process this is actually occurs before the Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Confirmation is an anointing with chrism, or holy oil.  This seals a person’s indoctrination into the Catholic Church.  They are then full members of the church and have agreed to follow Jesus and live their lives in a Christian manner.  My son was confirmed at the Easter Vigil even though he is only 11.  He thought that meant he wouldn’t need to continue to attend faith formation classes with the rest of his classmates because moving forward they would be preparing for confirmation.  I told him that wasn’t the case and that even though he was already confirmed he would most certainly continue to learn about his faith by attending formation.

Those are the sacraments that most Catholics receive.  The most common of the seven that others receive is the Sacrament of Marriage, or Matrimony.  This is where a man and a woman enter into a covenant with God to have a life-long commitment to each other and God.  Within that commitment they must be willing to respect each other, work on problems, and love each other through all circumstances.  The couple must also be open to creating a family.  That’s what the vows are all about.  After the vows are exchanged there is a blessing that the priest says over the marriage.  This seals the marriage covenant between the couple and God.  This is why many Catholics and Christians fought against the Supreme Court decision to recognize gay marriage.  In order for that to happen they had to change the definition of what marriage is, because the sacrament from God clearly says it is between a man and a woman.  There is no room left for any other interpretation.

The least common sacrament that is received is the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  This is for men who are ordained as bishops, priests, and deacons.  Not many people take the next step in their faith to receive this sacrament.  When I perform my service with the Knights of Columbus this is what I equate the feeling of grace that I receive with.  I have not been ordained.  I am not a deacon, but have looked into what exactly it is that a deacon does.  But what is it that bishops, priests, and deacons do?  They serve God and their congregation.  As I serve others in my congregation I get an overwhelming sense of fulfillment.  I can’t explain it any other way than that I am receiving His grace through one of the sacraments.

The final sacrament is the Anointing of the Sick.  This is reserved for people who are on their death bed.  This is to give people spiritual healing prior to them leaving this world.  There have been numerous stories of people who have had miraculous recoveries after receiving this sacrament.  The one that spoke to me the most was that of my faith formation mentor, Fr. Mike Schmitz.  In the introductory film for him with the Catholic media group he works with he tells the story of how he received this sacrament on his death bed and was healed and given God’s grace to move into his calling as a priest.  I hope that I receive this sacrament at a later date in my life, a much later date.

I look forward to receiving the Sacrament of the Eucharist every Sunday.  I never know when I might receive any of the other ones, but it is truly a great feel when I do.