The Sacraments of the Church

  I received a request to talk about the Sacraments of the Church. Not necessarily what they are (hopefully we all recall that from our childhood catechism), but rather what do they do for me? Why are they so important? Therefore, over the next seven Sundays (there’s a hint of how many there are) we will look at them individually from a spiritual point of view and hopefully gain a new insight into their importance.

Describing what happens at baptism St. John Chrysostom writes:
 

 “When you come to the sacred initiation,
 

   the eyes of the flesh see water; the eyes of faith behold the Spirit.
 

  Those eyes see the body being baptized; these see the old man being buried.

 The eyes of the flesh see the flesh being washed; the eyes of the spirit see the soul being cleansed.

     The eyes of the body see the body emerging from the water; the eyes of faith see the new man come forth brightly shining from that new purification.

Our bodily eyes see the priest as, from above, he lays his right hand on the head and touches (they who are being baptized); our spiritual eyes see the great High Priest (Jesus) as He stretches forth His invisible hand to touch their head. For that moment, the one who baptizes is not a man but the only-begotten Son of God.”
 

The word sacred used in the sense of being set apart and initiation meaning brought into something else.

  When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove (Mt.3:16, Mk.1:10, Lk.3:22, Jn.1:32).  In the same way the Holy Spirit descends upon (and enters) us at our baptism.

 For Christians real death occurs at baptism and not later in life when we take our last breath. Our old sinful (fallen) self dies and, although we continue to experience the effects of our old nature, we are no longer bound by them for eternity.

 Think of the soul as that which moves us, which motivates and animates us toward a certain end. Every time I sin (say no to God) I confuse my soul. Baptism erases that confusion (sets us right) and allows me to follow the correct path. St. Paul talks of baptism by saying, “You were washed (cleansed), you were sanctified (set apart), you were justified (made right) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of God.” (1Cor.6:11).

 We must die and be reborn in order to achieve salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ, at the beginning of His public ministry proclaimed: “Amen, amen I say to you, unless a man is born again (regenerated) of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (Jn.3:5). The Church then recognizes Baptism as a new birth by the Holy Spirit, which marks the beginning of our divine life in Christ Jesus, as testified by St. Irenaeus (d.202): “Baptism is the seal of eternal life and our rebirth in the Spirit of God, so that we become not only the children of men, but also the children of the Eternal God.” (cf. his Apostolic Demonstrations, Excerpts).

  It is important to distinguish between the actions of the priest (the servant) and the actions of the High Priest (our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ).  It is Christ who leads His flock toward salvation in the sacrament of Baptism and not the priest. The one who is baptizing (whether an ordained minister or a layman) does so not because they have any special powers of their own but because of the power that comes from the One True God. That is why a valid Baptism must be done “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”