Today the Church celebrated the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. It is the primary cathedral of the Catholic Church. The first reading was from Ezekiel 47 describing water flowing from the Temple, making the salt water fresh, allowing an abundance of life, and watering the trees that provide fruit for food and leaves for medicine. (Ez 47:8-9, 12) There is a similar image in the baptistry of our church with streams of water flowing from the Church which bears a cross and the letters IHS, representing the name of Jesus. The large center stream flowing out of the Church represents Baptism, the Sacrament through which we die with Christ and are born to new life in Him. From it arise six smaller streams representing the other six Sacraments.
The seven Sacraments might be considered the New Testament fulfillment of the prophet Ezekiel’s vision. Just as the stream watered the trees that provided food to sustain many living things, five of the Sacraments can be thought of as the spiritual food that sustains and nourishes us in our life in Christ. Baptism gives us that life. Confirmation helps it to grow.
In the Eucharist, the bread and wine that we offer is changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus and becomes His Real Presence in the world today. Receiving Him in Holy Communion provides us with spiritual nourishment, food for the journey of life. We can receive this nourishment every week or even every day. It also unites us as a community of believers who sustain and encourage one another in Faith. The Sacraments of Matrimony and Holy Orders nourish those who are called to the vocations of married life or the priesthood. And just as the stream in the prophesy of Ezekiel waters the trees whose leaves provide medicine, the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick provide healing through their grace. Reconciliation provides healing to our soul when we repent of our sin. Anointing of the Sick provides strength, spiritual healing, and sometimes physical healing when we are ill.
The image of the Sacraments as streams of living water might also remind us of the living water Jesus promised to the Samaritan woman at the well. May we desire this Water as she and the people of her town did. May we ask Jesus to deepen our reverence for the Sacraments, increase their effects in our lives, and draw us closer to Himself.