Byline: Father Reginald Martin

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Sacraments

Communal Celebration of Anointing

Father Reginald Martin

August 28, 2023 11:04 am August 28, 2023

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Catholics growing up before the Second Vatican Council knew the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick as “Extreme Unction,” a blessing reserved for those at the point of death….

Catholics growing up before the Second Vatican Council knew the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick as “Extreme Unction,” a blessing reserved for those at the point of death. As these individuals were usually in hospitals, the sacrament was, necessarily, administered privately.

The council fathers determined the sacrament is “not for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time … to receive this sacrament has certainly arrived” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, No. 73). Because we are baptized into communion with one another, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, like all the sacraments, has a social dimension. Therefore, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church observes, “The Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration” (No. 1517). To anoint those who are ill or elderly in a parish (or other common) liturgical gathering visibly manifests the invisible bonds that unite us.

The same text from the Catechism also reminds us that although, at one time, we might have referred to the anointing of the sick as “Last Rites,” this misidentifies the sacrament. The Eucharist “should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey … for ‘passing over’ to eternal life.”

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Sacraments

Divorce and Communion

Father Reginald Martin

August 3, 2023 7:58 am August 3, 2023

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If one is civilly divorced and has not remarried, can he or she receive Communion? The Church’s Code of Canon Law describes marriage as an indissoluble covenant (see Canons 1055-1057)….

If one is civilly divorced and has not remarried, can he or she receive Communion? The Church’s Code of Canon Law describes marriage as an indissoluble covenant (see Canons 1055-1057). The law derives these terms from scriptural sources, including St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, where he compares the union of marriage to that of Christ and the Church (see Eph 5:22). This mystery is so profound that if we were to lose every other sign of God’s love, we would have the right to look at married couples in our midst and conclude that what keeps them in love with one another is the same mysterious force that keeps Christ in love with us. The result, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, is the same: “The union of man and woman in marriage is a way of imitating in the flesh the Creator’s generosity and fecundity” (No. 2335, emphasis in original).

Divorce alters the domestic arrangements of a married couple, but does not affect the indissoluble nature of their union. Church law, thus, views a divorced person as married. This means divorced Catholics cannot remarry unless a Church court finds some flaw in their previous marriage. However, the law states, “On the other hand, [divorced persons] are neither excommunicated nor prohibited from receiving the sacraments” (Commentary on Canon 1155).

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Sacraments

Is Frequent Confession Necessary?

Father Reginald Martin

August 3, 2023 7:00 am August 3, 2023

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Church law requires us to confess serious sins at least once a year. Many Catholics find this difficult, so we should investigate the reasons for this precept. The Catechism of…

Church law requires us to confess serious sins at least once a year. Many Catholics find this difficult, so we should investigate the reasons for this precept. The Catechism of the Catholic Church observes that “setting things right” with God establishes the foundation on which we properly build or rebuild relations with one another (see Nos. 1455-1458). Admitting guilt is a way of looking at ourselves the way God does. This is not an invitation to self-punishment, but is a way of recognizing God’s mercy to us, and of encouraging us to show the same mercy to others.

Such reconciliation insures our readiness for the Eucharist (see Catechism, No. 2042) and also equips us to proclaim the Gospel. “In order that the message of salvation can show the power of its truth and radiance before men, it must be authenticated by the witness of the life of Christians” (No. 2044).

Why hesitate to avail ourselves of sacramental confession? Fear? If so, we might approach the priest outside the confessional and explain our reluctance. He will surely be compassionate. We must remember the loving Christ who longs to welcome us. St. Augustine wrote: “Whoever confesses … sins … is already working with God.… Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made.”

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Liturgy

What is the Mass?

Father Reginald Martin

July 31, 2023 8:35 am July 31, 2023

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Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a…

Catholics of a certain age will remember learning the Mass is “the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross.” While concise and accurate, this definition may require additional explanation. In such a case, we may turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches: “The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover … not merely the recollection of past events.… In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real” (Nos. 1362-63).

“Recollection” and “remembrance” are weak words in our modern vocabulary, because memories are what we put up with when the “real thing” is not at hand. But this is altogether the opposite meaning of these words in the Scripture and the liturgy. There, memory and recollection have immense power. At the first Passover, God told Moses, “This day will be a day of remembrance for you” (Ex 12:14). It is still so for Moses’ descendants today, and when they gather for their Passover meal, they relive the terror of a people in flight, and the relief of a nation saved. Likewise, when we gather for the Mass, Jesus’ words, “Do this in remembrance of me,” open a window onto eternity, and allow us to stand at the foot of the cross.

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Sacraments

Baptism At Sunday Mass?

Father Reginald Martin

July 27, 2023 7:32 am July 27, 2023

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church Catechism devotes a chapter to the Sacraments of Initiation — that is, baptism, Eucharist and confirmation. The text remarks, “Certain essential elements will always have to be present: proclamation of the Word, acceptance of the Gospel … profession of faith, Baptism itself, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and admission to Eucharistic communion” (No. 1229).

Whether these sacraments are conferred at one time (as is the case with adult converts) or over the course of years (as with those reared as Catholics) Christ’s death and resurrection remain the center and focus of these sacraments. Therefore, the Mass is a logical time to celebrate them, as we do each year at the Easter Vigil. Indeed, in parishes that embrace the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, catechumens progress through a series of brief ceremonies at Mass, which allow the congregation to welcome them and acknowledge their progress in the faith.

The Catechism points out: “Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers” (No. 1253). This is a good argument for including baptism as part of the Eucharistic celebration. However, time constraints, especially in large parishes with many infants awaiting baptism, may make such public celebration of the sacrament impractical.

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Eternal Life

What Happens In Purgatory?

Father Reginald Martin

July 22, 2023 7:46 am July 22, 2023

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St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of…

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of sense, which is the fire of purgatory. Aquinas observed in his Summa Theologica: “With regard to both the least pain of Purgatory surpasses the greatest pain of this life. For the more a thing is desired, the more painful is its absence” (Appendix 1, 2). St. Thomas also taught that the fire of purgatory is the same as the fire of hell. This is, unquestionably, quite frightening, but at least St. Thomas assured us the souls in purgatory will not be tormented by demons, as that punishment is reserved for the damned. Those in purgatory have resisted demonic temptation, so do not deserve to be plagued after death by forces over which they have triumphed in life.

Saints who have written on purgatory are nearly countless. They include John Chrysostom, Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino (the patron of souls in purgatory) and, in more present times, St. Faustina. Those wishing to consider concise reflections on purgatory from these and other holy souls may be interested in a book by Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J., titled “Purgatory Explained.”

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