by Brother Christopher Joseph Fishkin
I am attending a series of classes provided for catechists at St. Pius V in Jamaica, Queens, with Father Felix Sanchez. This particular class was part one of two parts on the sacraments. I prayed the Divine Praises and the Magnificat, to prepare myself for the class.
Entering through the Church and into the classroom, I took my seat and almost immediately my inner senses became enlivened and refreshed. After engaging in the lesson by listening intently and actively participating, I remained in gratitude throughout the class, to the Holy Spirit, for this wonderful consolation.
We understood from Father Felix that through the sacrament of our baptism, we become children of God. Interestingly, while we are all sinners, we are also saints (albeit with a small “s”). This is the sinner’s paradox. While human, we are made holy and become a child of God through adoption in Christ by our baptism. We are cleansed by the most precious blood of the Lamb who lived, and died, and rose again for us. He reconciled us to God by His merciful love; and He nurtures, heals, refreshes, strengthens, and sanctifies us through His sacraments. And, most significantly, He makes us instruments of His grace for service to our neighbor. As Father Felix explained, “We don’t lead people to faith by pointing out what they are doing wrong, but by reminding them of who they are, and can become, in Christ. When we become conscious of our shortcomings, we can address them through our relationship with the Lord. All this happens in a profound way, by our being inwardly prepared, open like children, and receptive to receiving His love through the sacraments.
Coming to Father Felix’s class on the sacraments was like coming home. All the catechists were paying close attention and were absorbed in the class. In those moments, we were all family in the kingdom of God. Our limited human capacity and attempt to understand and to explain these divine mysteries of the sacraments was enhanced by the grace of the Holy Spirit. We were learning together and growing together in Christ.
As Father Felix put it, for him to just give the answers and explanations about the sacraments is not enough. Catechists set out on the journey of getting to the answer through what seems like a thick jungle of sometimes abstract and complex ideas, by careful reflection and discussion about the theology, in order to arrive at, and comprehend more fully, the simple truth of the matter: God’s love for us.
And yet, the virtues that the grace of the sacraments help us to discover, to cultivate, to live, and to strengthen in ourselves, such as charity, humility, patience, and obedience to our duties in our given state of life, are not always easy to practice. Nonetheless, they are all contained with the heart of Christ. And, because we are part of His body, and because in His infinite mercy and graciousness and humility He lives in us, we are also meant to embody these virtues and to live them. So, then how do we do that?
This seems to be the most important question. As a Franciscan, I have discovered that we must learn how to develop a conscious awareness of our inner senses, i.e., our interior life, so as to perceive His graces at work within us.
May we always approach the sacraments then, not only as an obligation, but first and foremost as a lover who approaches their beloved. In this way we become more present to Him, and to His hands full of the graces that He is waiting there to offer us.
Brother Christopher Joseph Fishkin is a Franciscan tertiary at the Itinerant Hermitage in Jamaica. He can be reached at: FranciscanBrothersHermitage@gmail.com