Apparently there is a difference between "sacrament" and "sacramental". Although, sometimes the phrase "sacramental life" was used as a reference to actual sacraments and the theology of sacraments. Sacramental life is where i tend to focus my interpretation, but Catholic Sacramentals have some superficial offerings to the conversation, so we can begin there...
In Roman Catholicism Sacramentals such as Holy water, the Crucifix or the Saint Benedict Medal are recommended as a means of protection against evil.
Sacramentals prepare us to receive grace.
They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.
These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments.
I very much like the idea of "protection" and "preparation" regarding a "Sacramental Element" in a marriage. In what ways are we prepared for marriage, and in what ways are we prepared for change and growth in a marriage? How do we protect our marriages, our relationships? Should we be more intentional about these ideas, these questions?
Certainly good questions on the surface, but they can also lead (hopefully) to deeper conversations and dialogue about what it means to be committed to another person.
Below, we have some significant thoughts on sacraments from N.T. Wright. This came recommended by a few persons. Link here for the entirety of the writing and audio. Thanks to Calvin College.
"...Words alone make us feel poverty-stricken. But when we can actually do something with our bodies that enables us to say “this is what it’s all about,” the result is something far more profound than words.
Sacraments are like that. They are actions that speak, that communicate beyond words.
Post-enlightenment rationalism still infects Christianity to the point where we think that reality is an intellectual formula with which we can tie everything up. We think that reality lies in words, when, in fact, the New Testament shows that it works the other way: “The Word became flesh.”
After ten years of marriage...I think to myself, have my vows become flesh? Have my vows changed, grown, failed? How have I enacted them, daily? Did I even know what I was saying then?
What about non-verbal expression in our marriage? Sex may be the most symbolic, but what about art, eye contact, affection, household responsibilities, conflict, prayer, etc.?
Ask us about the painting in our first floor bathroom. We painted it together, had a big fight about it, and now appreciate it's symbolism, five years later. :)
More from Bishop Wright...
"From the very beginning—as in Luke 24, as in Acts 2—the Word and the sacrament, the teaching and the meal, together with prayer and fellowship, go with one another, reinforce one another, and energize one another.
It is tragic that in many Christian traditions over the last four hundred years there’s been a polarization between Word and sacrament...
...We need both. And those two traditions need one another. Christian worship is a response of the whole human being and the whole human community to God’s grace and love for the world. It catches us as whole beings—that’s part of the joy and the risk of sacramental life. I sometimes think that people back off from sacramental life because it is risky. It involves the emotions. If you actually let yourself enter into the sacrament, it can be an extraordinarily moving thing. Sometimes people who like to keep their emotions bottled up prefer a cool, rational religion of the head, which hardly engages the heart, let alone the body itself."
"If you actually let yourself enter into the sacrament, it can be an extraordinarily moving thing." That sounds exactly like something Andre would have articulated - and in different words, certainly has done. Having a sacramental element in our marriage is fucking risky. It's dangerous to believe that we have died to ourselves and resurrected as one body in marriage. Science would prefer that we look at some type of proof (ie - mirror) that we are still two individuals, not one. But if you cling to being an individual apart from your marriage, then you are most likely missing (or rejecting) the sacramental element in your relationship. Your freedom is more important, and divorce is on the radar from the start. Boredom, discontentment, unfulfilled desires, and conflict will soon persuade you to move on with "your" life. Don't believe the superficial mirror. Be spiritually one.
Baptism as a sacrament, is symbolic of death and resurrection in marriage, as stated above. Eucharist is also symbolic for those of us eating and praying together. Matrimony itself is a sacrament of the Church. Confession/Penance also. Is your marriage safe for confession?
...
