(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell)
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
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HOW DID THE VARIOUS RITES ORIGINATE?
Try to imagine yourself in Jerusalem, shortly after the Ascension. Try. Christianity had just been born, though nobody yet thought of it in those terms. Christ has only just hours before commissioned certain men to "feed my flock." Empowered by Him, these men are commanded now to teach men the truths about man and man's relationship to God, in the doctrines that Jesus Himself espoused and taught. They are to add nothing. They are to take nothing away. That's what is meant by the term "CREED." A creed is a set of truths that MUST be accepted and assented to by those who wish to belong to a given group or to be a follower or disciple of His way.
In addition to the doctrines of man's relationship to God, Christ had also taught, though in broad outline, a set of moral principles and guidelines that he *insisted* HAD to be adhered to by those who would be identified as His disciples. "By *this* shall all men know you ARE my disciples, if you have love, one for another..." That is known as a CODE.
And finally, Christ had brought to those who believed in Him a new way of worshipping God, a way that was different from those of His forefathers, and the forefathers of those who followed Him. A CULT is a "way of worshipping."
Creed, code and cult. With the person of Jesus Christ as the focal point. These three constitute the principle elements of Christianity.
Just before His Ascension, Christ then commanded His followers to "preach and teach whatsoever I have commanded you..." A rather clear indication, I think, that somewhere along the way there were many instances where He would have stopped and looked at them and said "now, remember this! I'll ask questions later!" He would have had to, much as He found it needful to go back one more time at Emmaus to explain to them all over again all those things that pertained to Him in prophecy. He commanded them to preach the news of man's salvation from sin and death through unity with Him. They were to go into the whole world, not just home, and bring with them, wherever they went, Christ's CREED, Christ's CODE, and Christ's CULT. In short, they were supposed to "invent" (for lack of a better word) Christianity for the world, in order to bring to it *through* this new medium, these three elements.
At my ordination someone gave me a wooden plaque engraved "A priest is a man, taken from among men, and ordained for men in the service of God, to bring man to God and God to man, through Jesus Christ." Somewhere along the way, someone lifted that from my walls and I've been trying ever since to recover it. But I've never identified who stole it. Still, it brings with it the message of Christianity. Through oneness with Christ, men are supposed to return to the Father.
It isn't difficult to understand a creed. Briefly, a creed is no more than a "summary" of the principle beliefs of a religion. And it's just about as easy to understand the idea of a code. A code, when used in a religious sense, is simply a summary of the principles and guidelines by which men choose which actions are good, and which to be avoided; a method by which he can discern the moral elements of his moral conduct.
Cult, however, seems to pose a different problem. It involves so *many* diverse elements. One of the most fundamental elements of any cult is the idea of sacrifice. It is so fundamental, in fact, that it is difficult to conceive of a cult *without* the idea of sacrifice. But "sacrifice" has many meanings. It has one meaning in married life, another in baseball. It means one thing to a Jew, another to a Hindu, still another to a Christian. Historically, of course, the idea underlying "sacrifice" is manifold. It is essentially a giving of a gift. But it also involves the mandatory destruction of that gift - i.e., the rendering of it as impossible to be recovered for our own use. A gift which is recovered is never conceived of as sacrificial - even in a secular society. Sacrificial gifts, as opposed to other gifts (such as bribes), are offered in order that through *that* gift, through that which is given, one can express to another something which cannot be perceived by the senses. E.G., how important a place one holds in another's life.
Let me illustrate. You're all familiar with "gratitude." Gratitude has no shape, no size, no weight, no color. Nothing that can be measured with instruments or sensed by any of our physical senses. There is no length or breadth or weight to it, as there would be to a stone, or a beer glass, or a bottle of Chateau Petrus. I do not add to my height when I become grateful for something, so you cannot tell I am grateful from my enhanced stature. I do not smell prettier, or look more handsome (or less ugly, depending on your perspective). There is nothing tangibly different about me when I am grateful for your kindnesses, which I often am. You cannot *taste* my gratitude, as you could the Chateau Petrus. Though I'm sure Cramer would be willing to at least make the attempt to see whether or not the Petrus would be acceptable in lieu. (laugh)
Gratitude is not, in fact, a *thing*. It is only something which can be expressed. And the normal mode of expressing gratitude is by gift- giving. Perhaps flowers, precious stones, pretty pictures, something nice to eat or drink. The gift then, though it is not the gratitude, does carry with it the *message* of gratitude. It is signficant. Sense-perceptible gifts bring with them interior messages of the giver to the recipient that is not sense-perceptible to either.
From the days of Adam and Eve, their children Cain and Abel, our forefather Adam and Mother Sarah of the Happy Smile, through the reigns of Saul and David until the time of Jesus Himself, the Jewish people had, *UNDER DIVINE COMMAND AND DIRECTION*, been offering diverse gifts to the Lord of the Universe for diverse reasons. For purification, for atonement, for gratitude, for forgiveness. Usually in the form of doves, lambs, heifers, wheat, wine. Usually, these ritual sacrifices were followed by a ritual sacrificial meal. The Seder was such. The Jews offered these gifts tot he Almighty for all that He had already done for them, and for what He had done for mankind, though most of it had not yet recognized Him or it. By so expressing their gratitude, and doing so publicly, they were expressing a very profound truth - they were acknowledging God's total supremacy over His creation, and simultaneously acknowledging man's *total* dependence on Him for al that they were, all that they possessed, and all that they hoped for.
Against this background, let us consider what Jesus did for all mankind at the Last Supper and on Mount Calvary the next day. With the simplest of words, the simplest of materials, and the simplest of actions, as the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom puts it: "On the night on which He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread...and having given thanks, and blessed and consecrated it, He broke it, saying to His disciples and apostles: 'Take, eat. This is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins....' In like manner, the cup, saying: 'Drink of this, all of you; this is My blood of the New Testament, which is being shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.'"
We shall soon see how this commemoration affected the history of the world, and resulted in a rich tapestry of spiritual delights being offered to the Lord, in thanksgiving for all that He has done for mankind.
Courtesy of Catholic Information Network (CIN)