The Universal Sacrament
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Several weeks ago, I was thinking about the sacraments being an outward sign of grace. Then, I realized that Jesus, the eternal Word made flesh, is an outward sign of grace—a sacrament. In fact, theologians refer to Him as the Primordial Sacrament, the first Sacrament from whom all the other sacraments flow. The One who is invisible grace assumed a human nature to make grace visible, to save us from our sins, and to sanctify us (see CCC 774-776).
The Catholic Dictionary defines the word sacrament as “a sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, by which invisible grace and inward sanctification are communicated to the soul.” Accordingly, this article will explain why Jesus gave us the sacraments as a means of communicating grace.
To better appreciate the primary purpose of the sacraments, we need to begin with the Garden of Eden.
The Tree of Life
After God created Adam, Genesis 2 tells us that He planted the tree of life in the Garden, placed Adam in the Garden, and created Eve from his side. Adam and Eve should have eaten the fruit of the tree worthily to sustain their lives in grace. However, they chose death by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
In chapter 3, after Adam and Eve made themselves unworthy to eat the fruit of the tree of life, God banished them so that they could not “take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” The story implies that Adam and Eve should have both rejected sin and consumed life worthily by eating the fruit of the tree of life, a proto-sacrament.
After Adam and Eve sinned, death entered the world, and the tree of life vanished from mankind’s reach. Consequently, man needed a new tree of life to save us from death, communicate grace to our souls, and give us eternal life. This new Tree of Life, who possesses eternal life intrinsically and not by way of gift, is Jesus Christ, the Primordial Sacrament.
This background is important because it tells us that God chose to create man as a matter-spirit (i.e., body-soul) composite, and He chose to give man eternal life via grace (a spiritual substance) working through matter (the fruit of the tree). This original plan never changed.
However, because of sin and its consequences, man had to wait for the remedy. Sin removed grace from our souls and our access to the tree of life. Thus, man needed a way to receive both grace and the tree’s fruit that he may grow in grace.
Just as Adam and Eve had both grace and food that communicated eternal life, we need these as well. When the remedy came, He gave us grace through His human nature and the sacraments He instituted.
The Sacraments
When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, they rejected God’s life in their souls and purchased death. We do the same whenever we commit mortal sin. (To better distinguish mortal from venial sin, please click here.) To counter these sins, Jesus gives us the sacraments, which communicate the life of grace, hold us accountable, and keep us connected to both Him and His body, the Church. Adam and Eve, whom God created full of grace, had the proto-sacrament of the fruit of the tree of life. How much more do we, who have a fallen nature, need the Eucharist and the other sacraments?
Baptism
Regarding our moral duty to consume the fruit of the true Tree of Life worthily, St. Paul writes, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27). Therefore, Jesus gives us the gateway to the Eucharist and the life of grace—Baptism.
Baptism is a sacrament that infuses our souls with sanctifying grace, which washes away our sins (1 Pt. 3:21) and puts us in communion with Jesus and the Church. This grace, which Adam and Eve also had, gives us access to the fruit of the Tree—the Eucharist.
The Eucharist
In John 6:50-58, Jesus tells us eight times to eat His flesh and drink His blood that we may have eternal life:
“This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die (1). I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever (2); and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you (3); he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life (4), and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (5). He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him (6). As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me (7). This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever” (8).
Commenting on life from the Eucharist, St. Albert the Great (AD 1200 to 1280), Doctor of the Church, wrote:
[Jesus] could not have commanded anything more beneficial, for this sacrament is the fruit of the tree of life. Anyone who receives this sacrament with the devotion of sincere faith will never taste death. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and blessed is he who holds it fast. Nor could he have commanded anything which is more like eternal life. Eternal life flows from this sacrament because God with all sweetness pours himself out upon the blessed.
If we sin after receiving grace through baptism, Jesus gives us another sacrament to restore us to this life. This is the sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.
Confession
Just as baptism connects us to both God and the Church, Confession reconnects us. Regarding this connection, St. Paul writes, “we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another” (Rom. 12:5; see also Eph. 4:11-25). Confession re-establishes the life of grace that we first received in baptism and gives us access to more grace from the Eucharist. (For more on Confession, please click here.)
Consequently, in this life of grace, we become sacraments for others.
We Become Sacraments
Let’s briefly return to the definition of a sacrament. It is a sensible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, that communicates invisible grace and inward sanctification. Remember that God is grace, and He makes us in His image and likeness. Grace restores this likeness and makes us an image of grace. Therefore, we become visible (i.e., sensible) signs of grace.
Once Jesus infuses us with sanctifying grace, He calls us to reflect His love to others so that they can have and become examples of grace working in the world. By doing this, we give them opportunities to seek grace and inward sanctification. By imitating the Primordial Sacrament, we become little sacraments for others. This is an incomprehensible gift from God.
Additional Reading:
For more on grace, please click here.
For more on growing in grace, please click here.
On whether sacraments are necessary, see St. Thomas Aquinas: ST III, q. 61, a. 1 and ST III, q. 60, a. 3.
This article first appeared at Catholic Exchange.
Nate Guyear returned to the Catholic Church in 2012, immediately gravitated toward apologetics, and subsequently completed his M.A. in Theology. He is excited about sharing the good news of God's love and the truths proclaimed by Jesus Christ’s one and only, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. Nate served 10 years in the Air Force and 20 years with the federal government. Other education includes a B.A. in Criminal Justice and an M.A. in Political Science. He and his wife live in California, are active in their parish, volunteer as catechists, and bring Communion to the sick. Nate also writes for his personal blog, catholicismexplained.com.
