Cosmology of the Sacraments

Sandro Magister's splendid website has reproduced 1 of the Pope's Easter homilies where he talks of the symbolism of the 4 sacramental elements (which tally I suppose to the ancient "natural" elements of water, earth, burn downwards too air). The Pope goes on to prepare the link betwixt crude too the priesthood. The whole affair is fascinating. Here is an extract:

There are 4 elements inward creation on which the public of sacraments is built: water, bread, vino too olive oil. Water, every minute the basic chemical cistron too commutation status of all life, is the essential sign of the human action inward which, through baptism, nosotros larn Christians too are born to novel life. While H2O is the vital chemical cistron everywhere, too thence represents the shared access of all people to rebirth every minute Christians, the other 3 elements belong to the civilization of the Mediterranean region. In other words, they dot towards the concrete historical surroundings inward which Christianity emerged. God acted inward a clearly defined house on the earth, he really made history amongst men. On the 1 hand, these 3 elements are gifts of creation, too on the other, they besides signal the locality of the history of God amongst us. They are a synthesis betwixt creation too history: gifts of God that ever connect us to those parts of the public where God chose to human action amongst us inward historical time, where he chose to larn 1 of us.

 Photo of Port Meadow past times Rosie Caldecott

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