Seven Sacraments

283 Pages·2003·8.51 MB·English

by  Anselm Grun

The Seven Sacraments
This page intentionally left blank
A N S E L M G R U N
The Seven Sacraments
Translated by
JOHN GUMMING
continuum
NEW YORK • LONDON
Continuum
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6503
www.continuumbooks.com
This translation f: Continuum 2003
Translated from the German Sakramente, published by Vier-Tiirme GmbH Verlag
C) Vier-Turme GmbH Verlag, Munsterschwarzach Abtei, 2000, 2001, 2002
Quotations from the Bible are taken for the most part from the Revised Standard
Version (C 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the United States of America, used with permission. Where it is
necessary to approximate to the Greek, Latin and German versions used by the
author, RSV has been adapted minimally and the Authorized Version, the Douay/
Rheims translation, as well as J.B. Philips, The ,\ew Testament in Modern English © J.B.
Philips 1960, and The Revised English Bible, (('*, Oxford University Press and Cambridge
University Press 1989, have been drawn on for certain words and phrases.
First published in English 2003
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0 8264 6703 2 (hardback)
ISBN 0 8264 6704 0 (paperback)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in
writing from the publishers.
Typeset by BookEns Ltd, Royston, Herts
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd,
Midsomcr Norton, Somerset
Contents
Introduction 1
1. Baptism: celebrating life 3
2. The Eucharist: transformation and union 41
3. Confirmation: responsibility and strength 88
4. Reconciliation 122
5. Marriage: the blessing of life together 162
6. Ordination: living as a priest 204
7. Anointing of the Sick: comfort and tenderness 246
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction
'Yes, but what does it do for me?' Variations on this question are
asked or have to be answered by so many Christians today,
particularly in respect of the sacraments.
This book is not a theological treatise on the sacraments. It is
addressed to all those who actually receive and administer the
sacraments in today's world, whether the ordinary Christians for
whom they are intended, or parents, young people, priests, ministers,
parish workers, teachers, carers, counsellors and others with a more
specific interest in some of them or certain aspects of all seven
sacraments.
In other words, I have written these pages for all those concerned
with the major themes and events of birth, death, health and
sickness, growing up, responsibility and guilt, and mission, and how
the Church acts with regard to them.
I have included a certain amount of history, when it seemed
relevant, but I have concentrated more on the living meaning of the
sacraments as expressed in their often ancient symbolism, imagery
and language. I wanted to bring out the positive, life-giving and life-
enhancing function of the sacraments. Therefore, whenever possible,
I have made practical suggestions drawn from my own experience of
people's difficulties with the sacraments in the present-day world,
from successful celebrations, and from many years of conversations,
talks, preparatory courses and constant thought about and medita-
tion on the sacraments as expressions of God's love for us.
I ask how baptism can shape our everyday existence, how the
mystery of the eucharist can transform both individual and
community, how confirmation can be experienced as initiation into
the art of living effectively, how reconciliation can help to make
1
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS
awareness of guilt an opportunity for renewal, how marriage can
prove a daily blessing for a couple learning to live together, how
priests can nurture the sacred fire of God's love and guide others to
true self-fulfilment, and how the anointing of the sick can offer not
only comfort but healing, and help us to understand the meaning of
illness.
I hope that this book will help to banish many mistaken and,
indeed, harmful notions of the sacraments that have led so many
Christians to avoid them, and that it will renew people's confidence
and joy in them as channels of authentic life. In that sense, I trust,
reading this book may prove a celebration in itself.
Anselm Gru'n, OSB
2
1
Baptism: celebrating life
INTRODUCTION
A new identity
The rite of baptism in the early Church left a deep impression on the
candidates and on the congregation. It took several years to prepare
for reception of the sacrament, which introduced the newly baptized
to the mystery of Christian life. The early Church was clearly able to
fill people with enthusiasm for living with and by the power of Jesus
Christ. This new life offered them an alternative to the empty,
godless striving that was characteristic of late antiquity. Baptism
allowed Christians to break with their life-histories up to that point.
The life they chose instead would be guided by what Jesus had said
and draw its strength from a new, divine source. The newly baptized
felt that their lives were starting all over again. They were sure that
only now, through baptism, were they alive in any real sense.
Everything to date was, as the First Letter of Peter puts it, mataios (a
Greek word signifiying futile and meaningless), quite illusory, only
half a life. In baptism they surrendered their old identity and
discovered a new one in Jesus Christ.
Life in the ancient world at the end of its tether stressed the
importance of panem et circenses, bread and circuses or, as we might
say, just having a good time. It was a decadent world that seemed to
have forgotten the real meaning of life. Everything centred on
novelty and thrills, on pleasure and entertainment.
Candidates for baptism broke free of this activity to seek a new
identity in Christ. Their night-time baptism was an unforgettable
ceremony that symbolized casting off the old personality. They entered
the font naked and water was poured over them three times. They
3