The beautiful thing about the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation in particular, is that by them, we are forever changed. An indelible spiritual mark is placed by God on our soul, a mark that is the sign that "Jesus Christ has marked [us] with the seal of his Spirit by clothing [us] with power from on high so that [we] may be His [witnesses]" (CCC 1121). We are marked, sealed, and chosen for Christ from the moment the water is poured. And we are perfectly bound to the Church and are given increases of the Holy Spirit's gifts the moment that we are anointed with chrism by the laying on of the bishop's hand. What's more, it is impossible for sin to erase these spiritual marks, even if we choose to let sin prevent those sacraments "from bearing the fruits of salvation" (CCC 1272).
Thursday, April 26, 2012
The Indelibility of the Indwelling
Happy Easter everybody! Since the season began, I've been able to witness a lot of sacraments - something like 10 people who received all three Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil, as well as about 40 Gr. 7 students who received the Sacrament of Confirmation about a week ago.
The beautiful thing about the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation in particular, is that by them, we are forever changed. An indelible spiritual mark is placed by God on our soul, a mark that is the sign that "Jesus Christ has marked [us] with the seal of his Spirit by clothing [us] with power from on high so that [we] may be His [witnesses]" (CCC 1121). We are marked, sealed, and chosen for Christ from the moment the water is poured. And we are perfectly bound to the Church and are given increases of the Holy Spirit's gifts the moment that we are anointed with chrism by the laying on of the bishop's hand. What's more, it is impossible for sin to erase these spiritual marks, even if we choose to let sin prevent those sacraments "from bearing the fruits of salvation" (CCC 1272).
The beautiful thing about the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation in particular, is that by them, we are forever changed. An indelible spiritual mark is placed by God on our soul, a mark that is the sign that "Jesus Christ has marked [us] with the seal of his Spirit by clothing [us] with power from on high so that [we] may be His [witnesses]" (CCC 1121). We are marked, sealed, and chosen for Christ from the moment the water is poured. And we are perfectly bound to the Church and are given increases of the Holy Spirit's gifts the moment that we are anointed with chrism by the laying on of the bishop's hand. What's more, it is impossible for sin to erase these spiritual marks, even if we choose to let sin prevent those sacraments "from bearing the fruits of salvation" (CCC 1272).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)