Spirit and Life

Spirit and Life: The Holy Sacraments of the Catholic Church
By Rose Rea
Sophia Institute Press, 2019
219 pp., $29.95
ISBN: 9781622828128

There is something altogether unique about this book. It is unlike most of the offerings of Sophia Institute Press. It is hardcover, almost like a coffee table book, with glossy pages, beautiful photographs throughout, and reflections from 17 contributors.

The peculiar (not at all in a pejorative sense, but simply in the sense of something unique, “personal property” of a sort) structure and style of the book is glimpsed on the title page. Rose Rea is listed not as author, contributor, or even editor. Her credit is given as “Created by”. And it is a beautiful creation.

This is not a theological treatise on the sacraments – as edifying and beautiful as one could be. It is not an attempt to sketch out the historical development of the understanding of each sacrament, or the changes in their ritual forms over the course of the centuries. Nor is it simply a devotional, meant to tug at your heartstrings and perhaps elicit a tear or two. Rather, this book aims to present sound doctrine about the sacraments, while emphasizing their beauty, the grace received through them, and their vital importance in the Christian life.

The hook of this book, in a sense, seems to be the evangelizing power of the three transcendentals: the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. They are all connected, and each leads to the others. Beauty has a profound and transformative evangelizing power – beautiful liturgy, art, architecture, music, literature, poetry: it all draws us in, and leads us to the True and the Good. This book, through its own beautiful presentation, leads the reader to the Truth and Goodness of the sacraments.

In the book’s Foreword, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver immediately refers to the awesome beauty that overtook him the first time he stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. As the waves rolled onto the shore, he was struck by the fact that Jesus’ ministry had occurred largely on and around this sea.

There is a lovely tale recounted by Archbishop Aquila in the Foreword that attests to the incredible grace of the sacraments and serves as an appropriate frame for what is to come in the rest of the book. Archbishop Aquila once spoke with a four-year old boy with brain cancer, who wanted to receive Communion before his impending surgery so that Jesus would be with him. It was clear that the boy’s faith was deep and profound, so he gave him the sacrament of Confirmation and then his First Holy Communion. The boy is alive and well today.

The reader is invited to “explore the sacraments from a new perspective” in this book. Guided by passages from Sacred Scripture and excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the section devoted to each sacrament is grounded in the Sacred Tradition of the Church and the rich patrimony of faith handed down to us over two millennia.

Each sacrament is reflected upon by towering figures from the history of the Church, including St. Ambrose, St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, and Pope Leo XIII.

There are stunning images of humble chapels and grand cathedrals; there are mist-covered fields and snow-covered statues of angels; baptismal fonts and tabernacles; waterfalls and wedding days; consecrations and processions; mosaics and majestic mountains. On full display here is the beauty of God’s creation, the beauty of Catholic art and architecture, the beauty of the sacramental life. A bishop lays hands on an ordinand; a priest raises the host in offering to God; a couple stands before the altar preparing to vow their lifelong fidelity; a river meanders through a valley in twilight.

There are reflections written by modern men and women, sharing their own personal experiences of how the sacraments have shaped their lives, showered them with grace, and given them strength. These essays are powerful, with the occasional gut-punch or tear-jerker thrown in for good measure.

The only shortcoming of this book (if shortcoming it can be called) is that it leaves the reader wanting more. We are surrounded by a great deal of ugliness in our world. Physical ugliness, moral turpitude, a paucity of truly beautiful things. Dr. Peter Kreeft opines that holiness is the most beautiful thing there is: Mother Teresa, he says, is much more beautiful than, say, Madonna. Real beauty, real truth, real goodness calls out to us.

When we see real beauty, it opens something up, a recognition of what we have been missing. This book makes the reader yearn for that.

“The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life,” Jesus said. (John 6:63) The Word became flesh, and made his dwelling among us, and the sacraments welcome us into the life of grace through the Holy Spirit.

Many of us take a too-intellectual approach to our faith, and don’t let “heart speak unto heart” enough. We may focus too much on the nuances of doctrinal detail, not letting ourselves simply experience the sacraments and let God’s grace do its work. I am certainly guilty of that from time to time. This is a book that expertly combats that tendency, bringing the beauty of the sacraments to the forefront, and calling the reader to a deeper (and, indeed, more mystical) experience of the life of grace that the sacraments bestow.