November 25, 2003 Call to the Sacraments

by Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes, O.P.
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What I want to talk to about tonight is the sacraments in the lives of the saints.

The common thread this season has been this thread. The saints are the holy ones. The holy one is God, Jesus is holy twice over because He's God and because his humanity is holy. He was the first human life that is completely committed to doing the will of the Father even though it killed him. This is the shape of holiness.

Those who are confirmed to Christ/united to Christ there is a pattern where they reflect Christ but it goes deeper than that. There is this connection by reason of this shared life with Him and this is the root of their own holiness.

Every saint shows us something of what Jesus is. Not only because they imitated Him but because they are united with Him. As St. Paul says they make up what is laking in the suffering of Christ.


One is not saved by the saints in the same way that the saints are saved by Jesus. Jesus lives one human life but in the saints He participates in all these patterns of life in holiness. Those who shed their blood and those who died in their beds, those who preached the word and those who taught small children at home. There is a sense in which all of them are being united in Christ and find their roots of sanctity in Him. And the full glory of the Church is revealed in them as it works out in Christ.

What is the basis of this personal union? We all want to be a part of this right? We imitate them as they imitate Christ. The answer to these is something that you already poses. That is the life of the Sacraments. The sacraments unite us with Jesus personally. This is something that you only experience in the process of spiritual growth.

Example: The sacraments function in peoples lives differently. I remember walking through Ireland and I got lost. I saw this place called the burrow, a limestone desert and I saw a white rock standing up. It was a ancient boundary marker and I knew what that is.

I saw the stone, it was designed o be seen so I knew there must be a road nearby, that solved my problem. I noticed, however, there was a cross engraved in it, it was not just a boundary stone but a particular one, one that marked monastery lands.

The enclave to the monastery. It had in ancient times a particular meaning, it wasn't just to mark travelers but to mark jurisdiction. The local authority couldn't arrest criminals on the other side of the marker. It was where the criminal became safe.

My point is the boundary stone served different purposes according to the person and their use of it. We should look at the sacraments the same way.


Catholics know they're Catholics because they were baptized Catholics. I was baptized, got first communion and got all those presents. Confirmation comes and then marriage for some which is sometimes more about a great wedding day. This is a misreading of the sacraments and they're being used wrongly.

What do the saints say about Baptism? In St. John's Gospel it says:

Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him; but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness--his testimony is true, and he knows that he tells the truth--that you also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled, "Not a bone of him shall be broken." And again another scripture says, "They shall look on him whom they have pierced." (Jn 19:31-37)

St. John looks upon the side of Christ and sees things, he sees the fulfillment of prophecy. Our lady stands beneath the cross and she also stands at the wedding of Cana. In this scene John portrays Him going into death and from His side comes forth blood and water. Here Christ who is the new bridegroom--a different one than Adam--brings forth the shape of His bride, not from a rib but from the blood and water.

We'll talk about how this piercing of the side of Christ is the doorway to the Christian life. These are the sacraments that mark the beginning and the end of the Christian life.


The heart of Christ brings forth the power of baptism which cleanses souls. The blood marks the other boundary, the presence of the life of Christ itself. That blood which is the blood of the Eucharist is where were find the living Christ The lamb that once was slane won't be slane again and He makes Himself present body blood, soul, divinity in the Eucharist.

For those who can see, the Eucharist posses the life of God Himself. And it is within these sacraments (Baptism and the Eucharist) that the Christian lives. The beginning and the end. And the Lord delivers Himself body, blood, soul, divinity either in the hands of saints, those who He's making saints, or to the wicked. One way or another we stand before Him it can be a moment of communion or judgement.

My point is that the sacraments are not simply rituals, they are interventions of Christ in our lives. It's where we meet the Lord if we have eyes to see. It's like Calvary, some people walked by and didn't see anything unusual, they couldn't see this was the most important thing in the world's history. Or at worse, they saw their enemy and sat to watch them die. Then those that saw with eyes of faith and saw what the Father sees. They see what is hidden now manifest in Jesus Christ. Think what it means to be a Christian; to have this union with God, this is something you need to choose.

St. Gertrude the great who's mentioned in the poster, she was an early saint who was a Benedictine nun. She understood her own vocation which was to love Him. If I could preach this message for the rest of my life, I would be happy. So many people approach Christ like how I approached that boundary marker.. I didn't see it at first. Some people choose Christ because they want to avoid hell, but that misses the whole point which is to love.

The first commandment is to love the Lord with your heart, mind and soul. Now who can stand before those commandments and say you're innocent? Have you loved all those you're supposed to love. How can you love a God who is faceless and inhuman in His divinity? The answer is that you come to Him through Christ, this man who's heart has been poured out for you. He has shaped you, nurtured you, suffered for you, died for you. This heart you can love. This is a way in which we approach Christ, through His humanity. In approaching this suffering person, so like our own we approach the immortal God. And this is what the sacraments are for.

Now as I said, there is a sense that the sacraments are like Boundary stones. You pass them once, you don't pass them again. You pass baptism you don't pass it again. Some say as babies it's not fair because we didn't get to choose. "Thank God" because nobody knows what's on the other side of their baptism.

You are either coming as a child or as an adult. Those of you who are converts, did you realize what was coming for you when you were baptized? Many don't know. I know a family where both father and mother are converts. Soon after their child came down with cancer. The father remarked to me that he didn't know how he could have gotten through it if it had happened before he had the faith. The faith teaches you to despise that which is seen for the sake of the unseen.

Priests who do funerals where people don't believe strongly and there is sadness and crying. Those who do believe strongly there is very little weeping. This is faith because they know they'll see them again. This is the fruit of baptism, it not only cleanses us from sins but we are inflamed to know God personally in faith, even if it comes hard. Even if we are accused/condemed by it. The same word that condemns is our salvation.

It is the power to Love, to love as God loves. This is charity, to share that love with others He has put in our lives. We are made servants of those who He loves. The Eucharist is possible by baptism.


Baptism prepares for the next Sacrament which is confirmation. Confirmation has a lot of nonsense out there, for some it's a graduation ceremony for religious education. It's the opposite of this though, it's a call to grow in your faith year by year; to set yourself up as an apostle. The power that is given is given in this Pentecost that comes when the bishop lays his hands on your head. And we are then sealed.

The difference before and after Pentecost, they have seen the Lord even but they're cowering in the upper room, they heard the word. Then the spirit comes down, they go out and spill into the streets to share the word that is in their hearts. They become those apostles, martyrs and prophets that preach to the ends of the earth. Confirmation plants this seed in us, the gift is given, now use it.

I can tell you what hymns were played at the Mass at my confirmation. It was a time in which I realized that Christ had a vocation for me, that Christ had a calling for me. It may have been marriage/family but it was to exercise my headship I knew for sure. To instill those in my charge, whoever they may be, Christ. This is a gift of the heart of Christ.

Before he died, Christ handed over His spirit, who did he hand it over to? He returned it to the Father as it was given at the Jordan river. There is also the life of the Spirit on the flesh, the handing over of the Spirit, the possession of the spirit now that the Church holds by the opening of His heart.

St. Ambrose wrote of St. Agnes at 12 years old. In Roman society your husband was chosen for you. Agnes would turn down good prospect after good prospect, finally they thought "the only girl that does this is a Christian who gives her life to Jesus" and of course, she was denounced, she confessed herself as Christian then was threatened with death and torture. She refused to recant her Christianity so she was condemned to death. The point is that when she was beheaded, there were a number of difficulties, they couldn't hold her down because she was so small. From the crowds people made offers of marriage yet again. She summed up the roman virtues there on the block. And so taking the best of her own culture up into Christ, she was martyred. She said, "If other eyes than His would want me, let this body pass away and let me be His alone who is my spouse."


It is this love in the saint that comes even to children. Then there's the Eucharist. If I were to list the saints that wrote on the Eucharist I would be here forever.

We shouldn't take the Eucharist out of it's context, that is, the celebration of Mass. That is the normal place it's gotten. In the context of the worship of the Lord. We don't come to be entertained, you can do better, if you want entertainment there is normally something better. But this is not what mass is for. The music is normally awful, the priest is off-key, however, it's not a question of beauty or attractiveness, what happens is that our door to eternity is open as Christ makes Himself manifest again in the appearance of bread of wine; visible again as He made Himself in those 3 years of His ministries.

Those who saw His physical body didn't believe and if they believed they only did so weakly, and that includes the apostles. But we see the saints believing fully when they look upon a wafer. When they look at the alter and see the cross of Christ come to be food for His people. This is the meaning of the manger at Christmas. The alter too is a place where we are fed by this wonderful meal which He spreads before us and invites us to consume but we find ourselves consumed.

To taste it with faith, in faith, is to see Him who sums up everything before you and within you. Your life mixing with His joined with Him. In this union we find our point of consummation and end. Many people spend their life looking for love and even Hunan love can be a broken thing, ask those who are divorced but this love never dies, never fails, never ceases to please because He is the host, guest and substance.

St. John Chrysostom wrote the prayer on the Eucharist. St. Thomas Aquinas' hymns were beautiful. Tantum Ergo and a prayer after the Eucharist.

If you see what the sacraments are, you find yourself starting to live the glory of heaven now but these are things that must be used. It's not magic, you have to put yourself into a pattern. To worship is something we need to be trained to do. Neither we nor or parents have been living in a Catholic culture where these are taught in the home. I encourage you to search the sacraments for their meanings. Are you on fire yet? The olive oil given at confirmation, originally was a fuel... Let it put you on fire.


Sacraments of our soul which is confession which helps against venial sin and moral sin.

Then there are two other sacraments which mark a vocation to prophetic activity. Holy orders in which a person specifically is in the service of Christ. And marriage can be very prophetic if lived properly and biblically. It is supposed to be the mystery of Christ and the Church. This is the only sacrament that is specifically called that.

This is what marriage should be. Man loving wife as Christ and the church and woman loving her husband. They should be willing to shed their blood for their spouse and this mirrors Christ and the Church.

Read the lives of the Saints and you can see how they were profoundly affected by the sacraments. Augustine is a proponent of infant baptism because he wasn't baptized as a child. We are all called to be God's holy ones, to be set on fire. We're called to immerse ourselves in His life in this world until you're ready for the next. Let's ask the Lord to continue to guard and protect us and lead us onto these things as we learn from the Saints and follow him.


Question: What extent do you think the implementation of Vat II had on the lessening of the use of the sacraments.

I don't think it has, I remember life before the council. I do remember that people had much less sense of these things then then they do now. I grew up in a Church where they were not taught why things are but Church life was seen as an obligation. To fast from meat on Fridays was on the same level as not using roses instead of water in Baptism.

For instance, when do you fast? In the early Church it was every Wednesday and Friday of the year. Now it's Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and that's pretty minimal. Now that is something we can look at. Americans look at the minimal standards of conduct. Fasting before the Eucharist is at least 1 hour. Sometimes that's 10 minutes before mass. The operative word is at least an hour. Could you do a sacrifice a little before Mass? Would you fill up before going to someone's house for dinner? Treat it as a wedding feast. How do you dress for weddings? How do you dress for church? It's not about fitting in with a middle class community, it's about the respect you show to the one to whom you're presenting yourself.

This approach to the sacraments can lead to how you live your life. They become not a burden but easy. Imagine two people who are dating, one person wants to be with the other as long as they're having fun. But they don't want to be with you if you're sick or having trouble. What kind of Love is this? How many people are with God only when they're in trouble or hurting but they won't spend their time with Him? When you're in with a girl, you're outside her window.. Well, not outside her window you can get arrested for that. But you memorize the way her hair falls, the dimple in her cheek, all these things. How eager are you to know the Lord this way?

How seriously do you take the Word? Have you ever received a love letter? You're going through that everyday. "She loves me", you think. It's like your world is transformed.. Well you have a bible, you have all sorts of information.

Now it's work to know it. I'm sorry I'm preaching again. Did I answer your question?

Question: Can you talk a little bit about what you think of Mystigogia?

This is the particular type of instruction to those who are already had catechism It is instruction of the head and the heart. The problem catechetically is we have a lot of people who receive the burning candle at Baptism but they're not on fire. At some point they descended from the mystical union with Christ.

This is a very deep topic. This is cool stuff. What we're talking about is the way we have the relationship with Christ, how the scriptures open up. (Father is talking so fast I can't comprehend this, sorry a search on the Internet did not come up with anything helpful.)

Example. I just came up with something I think you showed me. I'm preparing an article called "the bible in seven days" and basically it's a discussion of how I think the whole story of the Bible is summed up in the six days of creation. You know what an overture is? It's a musical piece before a play to get you familiar with the play. That's what the 6 days of creation are. Each day points to the covenants in the bible. The covenant with Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, and finally Jesus. Then on the 7th day what happens? Nothing at all.