9 December, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

The Use and Abuse of the Sacraments

1. Let us go back in imagination to the day when we were baptised. That was the day of our spiritual rebirth, when we were cleansed from original sin and enriched by the gift of grace, which is the life of the soul. On this solemn occasion we promised through the agency of our godparents to remain faithful to the trust which we had received and to renounce Satan and whatever else might have power to extinguish our supernatural life and to plunge us into sin.

Have we kept these promises which were made on our behalf and which we repeated from time to time before the altar as we grew older? Every gift of God demands our gratitude and
co-operation. It is our own grave loss if we remain cold and indifferent in spite of the precious favours which we receive from God. God is infinitely good and merciful, but precisely because of this He demands generous co-operation on our part. If we abuse His graces, He will leave us to our own devices. We shall no longer be aware of His inspirations and His appeals to us to advance in virtue. What is to happen to us then? We shall be like an arid plain on which only weeds and thorns can grow. Our lives will be meaningless and purposeless, for God and everlasting happiness are the only goals worthy of our pursuit.

2. In His great love and mercy Jesus Christ has given us all the other Sacraments as well as Baptism. This long chain of spiritual favours links the stages of our progress from the cradle to the grave, sustaining and sanctifying us on the way. Although His goodness is infinite, God could not do any more for us. He has endowed us through the Sacrament of Baptism with supernatural life; He has given us the light and strength of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation; He has granted us forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance, power over His Real and His Mystical Body in the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and a reflection of divine love in the Sacrament of Matrimony. At the close of our lives He will heal the scars of sin and comfort our weary hearts by means of Extreme Unction. But He has also bestowed on us a gift infinitely greater than all these, for He has given us Himself in the Blessed Eucharist.

How can we remain cold and indifferent in the presence of so much goodness and generosity? We have all the means necessary for salvation. It will be disastrous for us if we fail to cherish them and if we neglect to repay such great love with all the love of our poor hearts and with a determined effort to be good and holy.

3.The man who abuses God's gifts calls down a curse on his own head. “Cursed be he,” said the prophet Jeremias, “that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully.” (Jer. 48:10)

Many people neglect to make proper use of Confession and Holy Communion. Let us examine ourselves with special care in this regard. Do we go to Confession at least once a fortnight or, if possible, every week? How terrible for us if we are content to remain heedlessly in the state of sin while we have at hand such an easy opportunity of obtaining pardon! Furthermore, do we endeavour to receive Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist every day, or at least as often as possible? We have daily need of this divine nourishment if we wish to preserve the life of the soul. Otherwise we shall languish and grow faint, and shall eventually fall into sin. Finally, let us consider whether we receive these Sacraments with the proper disposition, with due preparation, and with sufficient gratitude. These are wonderful gifts which God has given us. We should receive them with faith, with recollection, and with love.