SacramentsAs Bernard Cooke (1994) notes, for many centuries, sacraments were what "structured people's lives and experiences" (p. 6). The celebration of the holy mysteries (the concept that is denoted by the word sacrament) gave meaning and purpose to the lives of individual Christians as they united themselves to their Church and through that institution to their God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who instituted the sacraments. Christ's institution of the sacraments was a way for Him to continuously come to His faithful followers throughout the centuries and throughout their lives. The mysterious nature of this arrangement, of this institution was a feature of their confection. In fact, the mysterious nature of the sacraments is reflective of Christ's own mysterious nature, as depicted by Rausch (2017). Both are similar in that each requires an act of faith on the part of the follower. One must have faith in Christ to share with Him in the Eternal Sacrifice, just as one must have faith to share in the graces received through the sacraments.
Rausch (2017) reflects on the mystery of Jesus when he states that "the death of Jesus raises a host of questions, some historical, others theological...
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