237. From where do the sacramental signs come?
(Comp
237) Some come from created things (light, water, fire, bread, wine, oil);
others come from social life (washing, anointing, breaking of bread). Still
others come from the history of salvation in the Old Covenant (the Passover
rites, the sacrifices, the laying on of hands, the consecrations). These signs,
some of which are normative and unchangeable, were taken up by Christ and are
made the bearers of his saving and sanctifying action.
“In brief”
(CCC 1146) Signs of the human world. In human life, signs and symbols occupy
an important place. As a being at once body and spirit, man expresses and
perceives spiritual realities through physical signs and symbols. As a social
being, man needs signs and symbols to communicate with others, through
language, gestures, and actions. The same holds true for his relationship with
God. (CCC 1147) God speaks to man through the
visible creation. The material cosmos is so presented to man's intelligence
that he can read there traces of its Creator (Cf. Wis 13:1; Rom 1:19 f; Acts
14:17). Light and darkness, wind and fire, water and earth, the tree and its
fruit speak of God and symbolize both his greatness and his nearness.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1149) The great religions of mankind
witness, often impressively, to this cosmic and symbolic meaning of religious
rites. The liturgy of the Church presupposes, integrates and sanctifies
elements from creation and human culture, conferring on them the dignity of
signs of grace, of the new creation in Jesus Christ. (CCC 1150) Signs of the
covenant. The Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and symbols
that marked its liturgical life. These are no longer solely celebrations of
cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's
mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant
are circumcision, anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of
hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. The Church sees in these signs a
prefiguring of the sacraments of the New Covenant. (CCC 1151) Signs taken up
by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of the signs of
creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Cf. Lk 8:10). He
performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical signs or symbolic
gestures (Cf. Jn 9:6; Mk 7:33 ff.; 8:22 ff). He gives new meaning to the deeds
and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and the Passover (Cf. Lk
9:31; 22:7-20), for he himself is the meaning of all these signs. (CCC 1152) Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it
is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on
the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the Church do not abolish but
purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos
and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures of the Old
Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by Christ,
and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven.
On reflection
(CCC 1151) Signs taken up by Christ. In his preaching the Lord Jesus often
makes use of the signs of creation to make known the mysteries of the Kingdom
of God (Cf. Lk 8:10). He performs healings and illustrates his preaching with physical
signs or symbolic gestures (Cf. Jn 9:6; Mk 7:33 ff.; 8:22 ff). He gives new
meaning to the deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to the Exodus and
the Passover (Cf. Lk 9:31; 22:7-20), for he himself is the meaning of all these
signs. (CCC 1152) Sacramental signs.
Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the
Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. The sacraments of the Church
do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols
of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures
of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the salvation wrought by
Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven.
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