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