The Sacramental Mystery

Book excerpt: The seven sacraments lie at the centre of Christian life and experience, for here God the Holy Trinity touches human lives and hearts. This book is one of the few at the present time to offer a global synthesis of the main themes in the sacramental mystery in which the human and divine, the material and the spiritual realms are intimately intertwined. Paul Haffner outlines how the sacraments are the chief means in the Church through which God's people are reconciled to the Father, through His Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The book illustrates classical issues like the conditions for the validity and the efficacy of the sacraments, as well as the minister, recipient and effects of these sacred mysteries; it deals with particular topics like the necessity of Baptism, the sacrificial character of the Eucharist, and the nature of marriage. As he examines each sacrament in turn, the author also explores how new ecumenical questions affect Christian sacramental understanding. 'I warmly commend this work on the subject of sacramental theology' Archbishop Csaba Ternyak Secretary of the Vatican Congregation of the Clergy Paul Haffner is lecturer in systematic and dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Lateran University, the Pontifical Athenaeum 'Regina Apostolorum' and the Pontifical Institute 'Regina Mundi' in Rome. His publications include 'The Mystery of Creation', 'The Mystery of Reason' and 'The Mystery of Mary' - all also published by Gracewing.