Religion Articles

"Sacraments: Introduction - Fulton Sheen"

         In this article it talked about a divine sense of humor that consisted of sacraments that are considered to be seen, tasted or touched and others which are unseen to the eyes of the flesh. What this means is that there is a relation between the two that have the physical word of God and then the spiritual implied meaning. An example is that a handshake is like a sacrament because there is something to be seen, felt, and namely, but there is something that is also mysterious and unseen the communication of friendship. The book of sacraments is written because man lives in a world that is too serious. Without faith in the spiritual, structural design can’t have symbolism. When man loses belief of the immortal soul the respect for humans decline. The two errors that mar our understanding of the natural world are to cut off entirely from Almighty God and to confound it substantially with Him. We have to look at the world more than what we can see, feel and touch, we have to see and understand the unseen and spiritual part.

 "Sacraments - Bible is Sacramental-Fulton Sheen"

            In this article it talked about how the bible is a sacrament in the way that it has a foreground and a background. The foreground are the people, cults, temples, wars, sufferings, and glories of man while the background was all pervading the presence of God as the Master, who subjects nation to judgment according to the obedience and misbehavior to moral law as well as the use of incidents for types of symbols that will reflect something that happened. The article also talks about how the word sacrament is translated in Greek means mystery and how the sacraments were also to become the effective sign of Jesus’ death. Lastly man is compared to a cow if we were only a biological organism, but we are different because we also have souls and a spiritual destiny that makes us unique.

 

 "Sacraments - What the Sacraments Bring to Man - Fulton Sheen"

            In this article it talks about how sacraments bring divine life or grace. This higher life which is divine is called grace because it is the free gift of God. The article goes on to mention that man lives at three different levels, the sensate, the intellectual, and the divine. The sensate represents those who deny any other reality except the pleasures that come from flesh. The intellectual level of existence is from a historian, scientist, humanist, journalist and a man who has brought to peak all of the powers of the human reason and will. Lastly the third level is grace, in which the human heart is expressed through truths that have unknown reasons.  The article also says there were two kinds of contacts, a visible contact with humanity in which Jesus’ power is communicated and an invisible contact where Jesus’ power works in miracles at a distance. The second contact is anticipation where Christ extends and communicates His power through the sacrament.

 

 "Sacraments-Seven Conditions of Life and Efficacy of the Sacraments-Fulton Sheen"

            In this article it talks about how in the physical or natural life requires seven conditions, but five of them refer to the person as an individual and that the other two as a member of society. The five conditions are one must be born in order to live, he must nourish himself, grow to maturity, he must have his wounds bound and healed, and if he has diseases traces of it must be driven out. The last two are he must live under government and justice in human relationship and he is called to propagate the human species. The article then talks about more conditions towards being a spiritual person and then conditions concerning visible signs and spiritual significance.

            The power and efficacy of the sacraments means that the sacraments deserve their power and efficacy from the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. Blood is required to bring us the seven sanctification because life our blood as well as sin. Blood is considered to be the greatest symbol of sacrifice because blood is the life of man. Christ blood had an infinite value because He is a divine person.

            The article also talks about the application to the sacraments. It mentions that each of the seven channels of the sanctification of man. And how it is a sacrament by which the power of the Risen Christ is bestowed on souls by a spiritual and effective contact. The article also says that the blood of Christ applied at different moments of life can result in a different kind of power. Lastly the blood of Christ and its merits flood in upon the soul and depends on the one who is receiving it.