From Sacraments to Grace to Blessings

In completing a talk about the sacraments, I found myself wandering from the path to think about how Sacraments are also sacramental moments when we see sacraments at work. As I continued I came to see there is a connection between sacraments and my understanding Blessings gleaned from my study were connected. Perhaps I can take you down the same path to arrive at the same conclusion. Let's see.  

We should begin with a Sacraments. The number of sacraments varies by denomination. Our church has 7. Most protestant churches have 2, baptism and holy communion. The orthodox church goes over the top with the same 7 we have but they also have established a number of things that are minor sacraments. These things are actions we consider to be sacramentals like praying the rosary. St. Augustine was sacramental machine defining, if I remember correctly, a couple of hundred or more.

Why are there are so many differences? We can look first to the definition of a sacrament which is a sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward working of grace or blessing flowing from Christ. Grace, of course, is something that is not defined to being available to us only through the ritual of a sacrament. It is ever present in all times and places and is not something we earn or deserve. Grace is ours whether we want it or not. If this this true, sacraments are only one of potentially many means of grace for us to enjoy, receive and share. Grace is the key.

As I wandered further down the path away from the strict definition of sacrament, I came to see that is possible to identify other means of grace in which we are changed by the encounter with the grace given in the moment. These are sacramental moments which came to us as a surprise. We might also think of these as sacred moments when we are connected to God in some way. These are not things we can usually plan for anticipate. Sometimes we can place ourselves where we might be able to live sacramentally.

It came to me that all of the times that I have written about sacramental moments, they are associated with beauty which in and of itself is one of our greatest gifts. I can’t begin to count the number of times I have stood in the current of stream and been mesmerized by the flow swirling and running past me, feeling the power against my legs. There are those electric moments when I become connected to fish but most of the time I can be overwhelmed just by present and being mindful of the need for presence. It is the beauty I see that moves me. God only needed to provide us with function. Appreciation of form is a bonus.

Beauty is not just about sunrises, storm clouds, rainbows, mountains, fields of ripening wheat or even the in the awe of our cathedral. It is deeper than the physical manifestation of creation of which the enjoyment is something that makes us different than the rest of creation. It is not even really related to the beauty men have for any particular woman. Instead it is about the grace that is shared back with us by those blessed with the ability to receive and give the grace available to them. Think of Pope Francis or Saint John Paul II. How about Mother Teresa? I am going to stretch you a little with this. How about the Dalai Lama or Gandhi. Beauty is not limited by creed or anything else. Beauty exists where beauty exists and it is up to us find it.

Beauty is grace. Grace is beauty.

How can we cultivate our opportunities to embrace beauty? By first taking the time to look. If there is one thing I have learned over my time as a budding but clumsy mystic is the first step is to simply look.

In my readings about Celtic Spirituality, something became lodged in my conscious. If you reach out to offer a blessing, you are returned a blessing. If I bless the fire of the sun, I am blessed with an ability to see what I could not see before. This is true of everything including the on the earth, in the sky and in the water.

Beauty is grace, grace is gift we given freely. Blessings come because we earn them by offering them.

What struck me as I was writing this as my wife was preparing dinner that relationships are fueled by blessings given and received. A blessing shared activates the Holy Spirit to operate through grace to bring fruit to blessed and the one who blesses.

I am trying to learn to offer blessings in the manner of the Irish monks of old who processed through life from one blessing to the next. Just think of the comfort and joy we might encounter by letting the blessings of God flow back to us through his constant grant of grace.

I offer this to you.

May The Light Of Your Soul Guide You, by John O’Donohue

May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work
You do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those
Who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden you.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams,
Possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.