Love Never Fails

The Intimate Nature of the Sacraments

By Jude Huntz 1.12.12 www.PrayTheMass.org

Who is this coming from the desert, arm in arm with her lover? Under the apple tree I woke you, in the place where you were born. Close your heart to every love but mine; hold no one in your arms but me. (Song of Songs 8: 5-6) Sacred Scripture has a number of images to describe the love of God for each human person: the parental love of a father for his son; the love that exists among friends; and the care a master has for a servant. For most of us we are very comfortable with these images. We tend to be less comfortable with the image of love noted above that of a spouse for his beloved. However, this spousal image is fundamental for understanding the Christian spiritual life, and it is even more essential for understanding the sacramental life of the Church. Consider the following passage from the Catechism of the Catholic Church: From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been accomplished by a journey and initiation in several stages. This journey can be convened rapidly or slowly, but certain essential elements will always have to be present: proclamation of the word, acceptance of the Gospel entailing conversion, profession of faith, baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion. (1229) The relationship of God to a person is akin to the relationship between a man and a woman with respect to courtship and marriage. Sometimes the time between meeting and nuptials is short; in other couples it can be longer. However, the same stages of the process are present: initial meeting, courtship, engagement, marriage, and consummation. The same holds true for the spiritual life. We have an encounter with God, we make a commitment to God in baptism; we renew that commitment in Confirmation; and we consummate the relationship with God in the celebration of the Eucharist. Very often we find that people do things out of order in the realm of human relationships: consummation may occur before marriage or even courtship. Marriage may never take place at all. The same holds true in the spiritual

Love Never Fails

The Intimate Nature of the Sacraments
By Jude Huntz 1.12.12 www.PrayTheMass.org

life. The order of receiving the sacraments of initiation is important, and a reflection on the proper order can make our experience of celebrating holy Mass more fruitful and it can help transform our understanding of the Christian moral life. The Catechism states: Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God, we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the Word.(1213) The beginning of our relationship with God is at baptism. We can liken baptism to the ancient ritual of betrothal. In the Jewish tradition betrothal was a solemn rite whereby a man and a woman were pledged to one another. While the couple was to live apart, there was a legal obligation to ratify the betrothal in the marriage ritual at a later date. The breaking of a betrothal could only be done through a legal process similar to divorce, and a person could only be betrothed once in their life. In baptism, therefore, we are pledged to God in an irrevocable bond. Ancient Judaism had a custom of a ritual bath before marriage, after which the betrothed was clothed in the wedding garment. The Church retains this symbol in baptism with the receiving of the white garment of salvation. In the Eastern tradition the wedding ceremony of Chrismation or Confirmation occurs immediately after baptism, after which the Catechism states that, Having become a child of God clothed with the wedding garment, the neophyte is admitted to the marriage supper of the Lamb and receives the food of new life, the body and blood of Christ. (1244) In the Western tradition, Confirmation has become separated from Baptism by a number of years. Very often Western Christians who are baptized at birth are admitted to the reception of the Eucharist before receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, although converts and those seeking full communion into the Catholic Church are not admitted to the Eucharistic table until after they have been confirmed. Confirmation represents the marriage ceremony that ratifies

Love Never Fails

The Intimate Nature of the Sacraments
By Jude Huntz 1.12.12 www.PrayTheMass.org

the pledge of baptism and seals the relationship between God and the person in the same way that the rite of marriage in ancient times ratified the original betrothal of the couple to one another. Hence, the Catechism is correct in stating that The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole community in the Lords own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.(1322) The Church herself, therefore, recognizes the correct ordering of the sacraments of initiation to be Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist. The analogy to the marriage relationship helps to explain why we receive Baptism and Confirmation only once, and that both sacraments confer an indelible mark upon the soul who receives these sacraments. Such was the case with betrothal and marriage in the ancient world: they could only be received once and they left an unbreakable bond between the two who were joined together in these rites. This analogy also helps to explain why the Church does not admit nonCatholic Christians to receive Holy Eucharist at Mass in the Catholic tradition. To receive the Eucharist without first receiving Baptism and Confirmation is to consummate a relationship with God without having been properly initiated in the mystery of Christs love. The Catechism further elucidates this connection between the Eucharist and the consummation of the marriage between God and the person in relating the various names for this sacrament. The second name is The Lords Supper because of its connection with the supper the Lord took with his disciples on the eve of his Passion, and because it anticipates the wedding feast of the Lamb in the heavenly Jerusalem. (1329) The reception of Jesus body and blood in the Eucharist is the greatest intimacy a person can have with God. Since it is analogous to the consummation of the marriage between a man and woman, the Eucharist can be received many times as a celebration of the intimate love between God and the person. In the same way that a couple does not come together in intimate consummation of their marriage if there is a harmful offense between them, so a person who properly informs their conscience and is aware of serious sin that harms the relationship with God should not

Love Never Fails

The Intimate Nature of the Sacraments
By Jude Huntz 1.12.12 www.PrayTheMass.org

receive the intimacy of God in the Eucharist. The couple needs to be reconciled with one another before coming together in the fruitful intimacy of consummation. Likewise, a person needs to be reconciled with God after serious sin before experiencing the intimacy of Holy Communion. The proper order of reception of the sacraments of initiation, therefore, has profound implications for our spiritual life and for the sacramental discipline of the Church. Restoration of the proper order of reception by using the analogy of the ancient understanding of marriage would go a long way to a renewed sacramental life in the Church. Similarly, the restored order and the analogy of marriage that supports it would provide a renewal of marriage life and a greater understanding of Catholic sexual morality.