SacramentsThe sacraments have been called "living encounters with Christ"
A sacrament is perceived in faith. The act of celebrating the sacraments in faith effectively disposes the faithful to receive sacramental grace in a fruitful manner. |
Spirit of Truththe Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive,
because it neither sees Him nor knows Him, for He dwells with you. JOHN 14 : 17 |
The sacraments provide excellent opportunities for us to enrich our prayer life-- for they are prayers in the best sense of the word.
baptism . . . .Mt 28:18-20 holy Eucharist . . . .Mt 26:26 penance . . . . . .. .. . . . . . .Jn20:21-23 |
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth,
for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come. JOHN 16 :13 ESV |
matrimony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mt. 19:3-9
anointing of the sick. . . . . . . . . . . .Jas 5:14-15 confirmation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Acts 2:42 8:15 19:6 holy orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .Jn 20: 21-22 sacraments of faith strengthen and express our faith. |
Spirit Withinthe Spirit of the Holy God is in you. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .DANIEL 4 : 18
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you ?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st CORINTHIANS 3;16 |
For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments sanctifies almost every event of their lives with divine grace that flows from the Paschal Mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.
From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. Praying the sacraments with the right dispositions elevates us above ourselves |
Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. . . 1st CORINTHIANS 6:19
He who brought up the shepherd of His sheep from the land. Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in them ? Where is He who led Moses with His right hand ? ORTHODOX STUDY BIBLE, ISAIAH 63 : 11 |
to a divine sphere. The sacraments infuse new life into us that we may live truly for God.
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STARA Star shall come out of Jacob
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel. NUMBERS 24 : 17 NKJV STONEby the power of the Mighty One of Jacob, by the Name of the Stone of Israel,
the God of your father who assists you, El Shaddai who blesses you : GENESIS 49:24 N.J.B. |
Prayer through SacramentalsIf things can be "touched by Christ through the Church", and thus become vehicles of grace, they become not only dear and precious but laden with a potential activity of Christ. And if Christ is active He is present.
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To you who believe, He is precious ;
but to those who are disobedient " The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone". 1 PETER 2 : 7 Matthew 21 : 42 & Psalm 118 : 22 |
If He is present, it is ridiculous, if not sinful, not to attend.
There is a whole area of prayer open to us through sacramentals. Food which has been blessed by grace being said conveys spiritual benefit ! When palms are blessed on Palm Sunday, the priest said over them "Bless, O LORD, these branches of palm and of olive which Thy servants |
Stone of stumblingHe will be a sanctuary But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence
To both houses of Israel. ISAIAH 8 : 14 NKJV |
receive in faith to the honour of thy name; so that those who dwell in any place where they are brought may obtain thy blessing. May all hostile influences be driven away, and may thy right hand protect those who have been redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son.
The palms are not instruments of magic: they are not like superstitious |
They stumble, being disobedient to the word
to which they were appointed 1 PETER 2 : 8 |
amulets. They are visible signs of the powerful prayer of God's Church
which calls down the blessing of God upon all places where they are put. THE BELLS of our Churches have been consecrated in a ritual involving aspersion, anointing and incensing. The prayer that closes the ceremony is precisely a synthesis of the mission of the bell which the celebrant has just |
Sun of Righteousnessto you who fear My name, The Sun of Righteousness shall arise
With healing in His wings. MALACHI 4 : 2 |
incensed; "May the sound of this bell put the enemy to flight, may it invite the faith of Christian people, may it fill our persecutors with terror, may it strengthen in the LORD the people that it has assembled !"
Canon Law states "Sacramentals are sacred signs by which spiritual effects especially are signified and are obtained by the intercession of the Church. |
Sure FoundationThus says the Lord our God: Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation
A tried stone , a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ISAIAH 28 : 16 |
Sanctification!st Thessalonians Ch5 v 23
May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly. |
Surety guaranteeJesus has become a surety of a better covenant. . . . . . . . . . . . . .HEBREWS 7:2
He is also Mediator of a better covenant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HEBREWS 8:6 |
JOHN 17:17 ( Prayer of JESUS )
Sanctify them in truth; thy word is truth. JOEL Ch2 v15-16 and JOEL Ch1 v14 Blow the trumpet in ZION; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly, gather the people, Sanctify the congregation;. . .. . . . . . . |
Sovereign LordSovereign Lord, holy and true REVELATION 6 : 10 NRSV
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth ! PSALM 8 : 1 NRSV |
1st TIMOTHY Ch4 v5
5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and Prayer. 2nd CHRONICLES Ch 29 v15 A.V. And they gathered their children,and sanctified themselves.. |
For His sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty
and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. DANIEL 4 : 34 N.R.S.V. |