The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 151: The Seven Sacraments (2024)

Episode Date: May 30, 2024

The Catechism introduces the seven sacraments that Christ offers the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. The Catechism highlights the fact that the sacraments are “by the Church” because the Church is “Christ’s action at work”, and they are “for the Church” because they “manifest and communicate to men…the mystery of communion with the God who is love.” Fr. Mike focuses on the fact that while ministerial priests administer many of the sacraments, their priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood, into which all of the baptized are ordained. Today’s readings are from Catechism paragraphs 1113-1121. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is Day 151, rereading paragraphs 1113 to 1121. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations

of Faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C-I-Y. And you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Today is day one 51. As I said, we're reading paragraphs 1113 to 1121.

We're on article two, the Paschal mystery and the church's sacraments. What does that mean? Great question camper. What that means is it means that we're going to highlight today. There are seven sacraments. There are the sacraments of Christ. What it means is that these sacraments were all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord. So they are the sacraments of Christ and they flow out of the work, the action, the saving

words of Jesus Christ. They're the powers that come forth from the body of Christ and their actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his body. So they're the sacraments of Jesus, right? He instituted them. Now, they're also the sacraments of the Holy Spirit at work in his body. So they're the sacraments of Jesus, right? He instituted them. Now they're also the sacraments of the church. And so over the course of many, many years,

the church has come to a better understanding of, okay, there are these seven sacraments. Here's how they are to be exercised. Here's how they are to be understood. Here's how they are to be lived out. Also, I love this in paragraph 11, 18, they're both by the church and for her, meaning they're by the church in the sense that they're

the sacrament of Christ's work through the church, but they also build up the church. So they're by the church and for the church. And also we're gonna highlight today, I mentioned it yesterday, but the baptismal priesthood, so that all of those who are baptized are baptized obviously into Christ,

but have a share in Christ's priesthood. At the same time, there's such a thing as the ministerial priesthood that guarantees and ensures the presence of Jesus Christ, but have a share in Christ's priesthood. At the same time, there's such a thing as the ministerial priesthood that guarantees and ensures the presence of Jesus Christ, the action of Jesus Christ in all of the sacraments. And so we're gonna talk about that today. Without anything further, let's open up with a prayer as we pray, Father in heaven, you're good, you're a God,

we love you, and we ask you to please send your Holy Spirit to be with us in this moment. And we know that we have access to your fatherly heart by the work of your son Jesus by the gift of your Holy Spirit and By the fact that you have called us and made us into your sons and daughters through baptism Lord you continue to pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and we ask that you in this moment Come to us in our weakness come to us in our need come to us in we ask that you in this moment come to us in our weakness, come to us in our need, come to us in our brokenness and give us healing, come to us in our frustration and give us peace, come to us in our weakness and give us strength,

come to us in our fear and give us courage. Lord God we do not ask for you to make this world safer, we do ask you to help us be more brave, to be more courageous, and to be strong. Help us to love you the way you love us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen. It is day 151, we are reading paragraphs 1113 to 1121.

Article two, the Paschal Mystery in the Church's Sacraments. The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Church—baptism, confirmation or chrismation, Eucharist, penance, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. This article will discuss what is common to the Church's seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms of the celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is distinctive about each will be the topic of section 2.

The Sacraments of Christ. Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus of the Fathers, we profess that the sacraments of the new law were all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life in public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments through the ministers of his Church, for what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries. Sacraments are powers that come forth from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving.

They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his body, the Church. They are the masterworks of God in the new and everlasting covenant. The Sacraments of the Church. As she has done for the canon of sacred scripture and for the doctrine of faith, the Church by the power of the Spirit who guides her into all truth has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the faithful steward of God's mysteries, has determined its dispensation. Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among liturgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term, sacraments instituted by the Lord. The sacraments are of the Church, in the double sense that they are by her and for her.

They are by the Church, for she is the sacrament of Christ's action at work in her through the mission of the Holy Spirit. They are for the Church in the sense that the sacraments make the Church, since they manifest and communicate to men, above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of communion with the God who is love, one in three persons. Forming, as it were, one mystical person with Christ the head, the church acts in the sacraments as an organically structured priestly community. Through baptism and confirmation, the priestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy while those of the faithful who have received holy orders are appointed to nourish the church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ. The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood.

The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church. The saving mission entrusted by the Father to His incarnate Son was committed to the Apostles and through them to their successors. They receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in His name and in His person. The ordained minister is the sacramental bond that ties the liturgical action to what the Apostles said and did, and through them to the words and actions of Christ, the source and foundation of the sacraments.

The three sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and holy orders confer in addition to grace, a sacramental character or seal by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible. It remains forever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated. Okay, so there we are. Day 151 paragraphs 11-13 to 11-21 is so good. Okay, right off the bat in paragraph 11-13 we get the the review We know this and maybe it didn't until right now

there are seven sacraments in the church and we jump right into the fact that We know the sacraments are sacraments of Christ. They're all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord But paragraph 11 15 highlights that the words and actions of Jesus both during his hidden life right in Nazareth those those first 30 years that we only have a couple glimpses of, and his public ministry. So what he did and said during that time, those words and actions were already salvific because they anticipated the power of the Paschal mystery, right? So yes, Jesus' teachings were already salvific, right? His healings were already salvific because they're connected and anticipated the

power of the Paschal mystery, his suffering, death and resurrection. And what they do, that those words and actions announced and prepared what he was going to give the church when all was accomplished. And the mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would then dispense in the sacraments. What was visible in the Savior has passed over into his mysteries. You guys, when we encounter the sacraments, when we participate in the sacraments, we're not just, again, we're not just remembering.

The anamnesis is a remembrance that brings us there. We're given the Holy Spirit and it's made present to us. And the mysteries of Christ's life are now visible to us in the sacraments. And then think about that. The mysteries of Christ's life are now visible to us in the sacraments. And then think about that. The mysteries of Christ's life are now visible in the sacraments. That's one of the reasons why St. Ambrose back in like,

what, the third, fourth century, he said, you've shown me your face, oh Lord. I've seen you in the sacraments. I've seen your action. I've seen your work. I've seen your life, your love. I've seen this power in the sacraments. And that's why the sacraments are the power

that comes forth from the body of Christ. They're the actions of the Holy Spirit that work in and through the church and this is just incredible. Now keeping this in mind now some people will say okay at the sacraments though I hear that you know they didn't really have the sacrament of reconciliation in the early church. Well they did have the sacrament of reconciliation in the early church but they wouldn't necessarily have it exactly the way that we have it, right? They wouldn't necessarily have confessionals and they wouldn't necessarily have here's the

rubrics and whatnot, but they did have the sacrament in its germinal form, right? It was given to the Apostles when Jesus says, receive the Holy Spirit. Those who sins you hold bound are held bound. Those who sins you forgive are forgiven them. Like it's already been handed over. James chapter 5 talks about calling for the priests of the church and by their work your sins will be forgiven. Okay, so the seed is there. Now paragraph 11 of 17 highlights this. It says, just as she is done for the canon of sacred scripture and for the doctrine of the faith, the church by the power of the spirit who guides her into all truth has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and as faithful steward of God's mysteries has

determined its dispensation. So think about, you know, we don't have like a comprehensive list of all 73 books of the Old and New Testaments. I mean there are some lists but when is the Church officially established this list was probably, you know, we have the Council of Rome in 350 with the Council of Carthage in 398 and it's over the course of time and also when it comes to the doctrine when it comes to the Apostles Creed of the Nicene Creed right the Nicene Creed that's that's solidified in the year 325 in the Council of Nicea and it's also not just the Nicene Creed we know this it's the Nicene Constance and Apollitan Creed right

it comes from the Council of Constantinople as well in 381 so over the course of time what's been given to us in this deposit of faith, we've come to a deeper understanding of it. And so the same thing is true, not just with scripture, not just with doctrine, but also with our understanding of the sacraments. And so what we understand now

is not necessarily what they knew then, but it is an organic growth. And that's the most important part. There's an organic growth that the acorn becomes the oak tree. And The acorn does not become corn, right? Organic growth is essential and that's what we see both in Scripture and also in doctrine and in the development of the sacraments as we understand them. I hope that makes some sense. One thing to keep in mind, I mentioned this a little

bit or alluded to this yesterday, but we recognize that in paragraph 1119, through baptism and confirmation, the priestly people is unable to celebrate the liturgy. And so we recognize that that if you've been baptized, you have been anointed to share in Christ's priesthood. You've been anointed to share in Christ's mission of prophecy and you've been anointed to share in Christ's kingship. Now that's so important because that means you have a baptismal priesthood. I like to call it the kingdom priesthood. Prog. 11.20 highlights that there are those who are ordained to the ministerial priesthood and that ministerial priesthood

like myself is at the service of the baptismal priesthood. So the ordained priesthood is not meant to be lords over the baptismal priesthood, right? So the priests are meant to be the, yeah, the lords over the lay faithful. That's not it at all. Just like Jesus telling his apostles, the greatest of all be the one who makes themselves the least, the one who's the servant of all.

And so the ministerial priests are meant to be at the service of the baptismal priesthood, not the other way around. I guess, of course, we help each other as the servant of all. And so the ministerial priests are meant to be at the service of the baptismal priesthood, not the other way around. I guess, of course, we help each other as a family of God and we take care of each other, we serve each other, but it's very, very important to understand that priests are not lords, not at all. Priests are, if they had any word,

it would be servant leaders. You might even say, maybe the best word is, priests are meant to be fathers and the father's not meant to dominate his family the father is not meant to lord it over his family the father is there to lead his family how does he do this he does this by laying down his life for his family he does this by by serving his family every father is the servant or the slave of his family and that is a gift so priests are meant to be the same, that they're meant to lay down their lives and be at the service of the baptismal priesthood. And that

ordained priesthood though is so important because it guarantees that it really is Jesus Christ who acts in the sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the church. And just that's very important because Jesus passed that on, right? The saving mission that the Father entrusted to the Son was committed to the Apostles and through them to their successors remember what Jesus had said he said as the father sent me so now I send you breathes on them and sends about forgiveness of sins he gives them the ability to infect the Eucharist and so we recognize that as part of the body of Christ the

sacraments come to us obviously by Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, but they come to us through that ministry over the ordained priesthood, and then all of the faithful participate in them in their baptismal priesthood. Hopefully that makes sense. Tomorrow we're gonna talk about the fact that the sacraments are sacraments of faith.

And so we just, mmm. And then the sacraments of salvation, sacraments of eternal life, it's all coming. It's all coming in hot. It's coming in fast. And so, man, what a gift because here you are able to exercise your baptismal priesthood, able to exercise your kingdom priesthood now, united with the priest in your parish. Here we are, a priestly people, able to offer sacrifice to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.

And what sacrifice? The great sacrifice of the Son of God. And we unite ourselves to that sacrifice. I hope that makes sense. Anyways, I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

God bless.