• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

A Eucharistic Word: ‘Sacrament’

Michie

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Feb 5, 2002
179,761
64,608
Woods
✟5,685,497.00
Country
United States
Gender
Female
Faith
Catholic
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
The word sacrament is as much talked about as it is misunderstood. What do I mean by that? The sacraments lie at the heart of our Catholic faith, most especially the Eucharist. But do we spend enough time trying to comprehend these sacred mysteries and the limitless ways they can shape our lives?

The Council of Trent taught in the 16th century that “a sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible grace.” So what are the invisible graces that are lavished upon us by God in the sacraments for our good? The National Eucharistic Revival invites us to consider this question in light of the Eucharist. How can we come to better realize the Eucharist’s fruits and allow them to transform us and the world?

Pope Benedict XVI called the Eucharist the “sacrament par excellence” because it contains “the whole mystery of our salvation.” The Eucharist makes the Church, a phrase coined by the French Jesuit theologian Henri DeLubac, which is to say that in the Eucharist we are continually built up as Christ’s body, which is why Vatican II called the Church “the sacrament of salvation.”

Continued below.