The Sacraments

God gets physical in the sacraments

We are spiritual creatures - destined for eternal life. But look for a moment at the person nearest to you, or take a look at yourself in the mirror. You see, quite obviously, someone. The person you see is made up of flesh and blood. We are just as much 'body' as we are 'spirit'. 

God knows that we, as physical creatures, need physical means to be nourished by him. We are not angels, so we need food. The sacraments are the means through which God feeds his people.

A sacrament is a sign. If I look at a sign and it says 'Burnley', then I know that Burnley is more-or-less in this direction. As a sign, the sacrament directs us to Christ. Different from other signs though, a sacrament actually reveals what it points to. So a sacrament reveals Christ to us. And in revealing Christ to us, it gives us Christ.

So Christ is present in all the sacraments - physical, external signs that point to an invisible reality (Christ himself).

And as Christ is God, he wants to help us, and even act within us. Indeed the technical definition of a sacrament is 'an outward and efficacious sign of an inner grace'. So a sacrament is also efficacious. This means that Christ carries out his plan in the person who receives him in the sacrament.

The sacraments are therefore not just rituals. They carry an immense divine power that will turn us into saints, if we are willing to co-operate.