250. The greatest sacrament
250. THE GREATEST SACRAMENT
Which is the greatest sacrament?
The Eucharist is the greatest of the sacraments. . . .
First of all because it contains Christ Himself substantially, whereas the other sacraments contain a certain instrumental power which is a share in Christ’s power. . . .
Secondly, this is made clear by considering the relation of the sacraments to one another. For all the other sacraments seem to be ordained to this one as to their end. For it is manifest that the sacrament of Orders is ordained to the consecration of the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Baptism to the reception of the Eucharist. . . . And Matrimony, at least in its signification, touches this sacrament in so far as it signifies the union of Christ with the Church, of which union the Eucharist is a figure: hence the Apostle says (Eph 5:32): This is a great sacrament: but I speak of Christ and the Church (III,65,3).
Modern man has a strange temptation to resist hierarchical ordering because he fears insulting or doing injustice to anything ranked inferior on the hierarchy simply because something is superior to it. This can stem from the sin of envy, the most foolish of all sins, since it is totally incapable of giving any pleasure, even illicit pleasure. In human politics equality before the law is a necessity even in non-democratic regimes, and democracy is probably intrinsically the best form of government, not because all men are equal in wisdom and virtue, or because all men are so good and wise that they should be given as much power as possible, but because all men are so foolish and wicked that no one should be given very great power over others. But this is an earthly necessity caused by sin. God’s works do not fall under these principles. There is hierarchy throughout the creation, life being superior to non-living creatures, man to animals, one species to another (are fleas really equal to dogs?), and even within a species one individual is superior and/or inferior to others at various things.
Thus it is no insult to the other sacraments to rank the Eucharist greatest. Especially because the standard is Christ. The other sacraments are great because they “contain a certain instrumental power which is a share in Christ’s power” and the Eucharist is greatest because “it contains Christ Himself substantially.” We do not adore the other sacraments; we adore the Eucharist.
Vatican II called the Eucharist “the summit and substance of the Christian life”, because it really contains Christ, the whole Christ, Who is the meaning of all things. Pascal says that “without Jesus Christ man cannot know the meaning of his life, or of his death, of God or of himself.”
There is nothing in Catholicism that more offends Evangelical Protestants than the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. For if this is not true, Catholics are the most absurd idolaters in the world, worshipping wine and bowing to bread, thinking it is God! (And the commandment against idolatry is the very First Commandment.) On the other hand, there is nothing in Catholicism that is more winning to Evangelical Protestants than the Eucharist, at least in its intention, because it is totally Christocentric, and this (Christocentrism) is the heart and essence of Evangelicalism. Evangelicals can reject the Catholic doctrine while admiring the Catholic motive of total adoration of Christ alone. And Catholics can reject the Protestant rejection while respecting their motive, which is exactly the same one!