The Heart of Catholicism:

The Universal Theology and its Principles of Sacramentality, Mediation, and

Communion

Katie Dunbar
Honors Catholic Traditions
May 8, 2016
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Venerable Fulton J. Sheen stated of love that, “It takes three to love, not two: you, your

spouse, and God.”1 This statement is profound in that it incorporates the essence of the three

theological foci that make Catholicism distinct. Through the focus of sacramentality, God is

present in all things—in this case, the union between man and wife. Mediation is present in the

incorporation of human nature into the will of God—in this case, the vocation of Holy

Matrimony, and communion is present in the unity of humankind. God’s presence in all things,

through the principle of sacramentality, is indefinitely entangled with the principle of mediation,

as God achieves His will through human, material, and finite interventions that reflect back on

His eternal presence among the created.2 This sense of relationship is essential to Catholic

theology, and the principle of communion is thusly exemplified in the unity of mankind through

Christ-centered, agapic relationships. The Catholic Church is distinct from other Christian

churches in its core principles of sacramentality, mediation, and communion; thusly, the trinity,

God’s mercy, and the Church call the three theological foci into visible being.

In the tradition of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the Catholic Church today views the theological

principle of sacramentality as the presence of God in all things—“…other people, communities,

movements, events, places, objects, the environment, the world at large, the whole cosmos.”3

McBrien’s definition incorporates the very essence of the world ‘catholic,’ which correlates with

the concept of universality. Though the Catholic Church has seven major sacraments, the

principle of sacramentality goes beyond these major graces and elicits notice of the Divine in all

1
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, "Quotes About Catholicism" (Goodreads). Accessed May 03, 2016.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/catholicism. This is not to say that God is absent in relationships
outside of Catholicism, but rather that Venerable Fulton J. Sheen’s description of marital love incorporates the
three primary theological principles of Catholicism that are exemplified in McBrien’s writings.
2
Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1994), p. 9-13.
3
Ibid., p. 10.
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created things. Because of the belief in God’s presence in all things, social justice and the desire

for peace are at the core of Catholic social teaching.4

In the Gospel of Matthew, it is written, “For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was

thirsty and you gave Me drink, a stranger and you welcomed Me, naked and you clothed Me, ill

and you cared for Me, in prison and you visited Me.”5 In this passage, Jesus validates His

presence in all of humanity, and thus it is of right and necessary moral character to serve others

in the name of Jesus. Jesus did not say that actions of social justice are akin to the way in which

He would act in a given situation, but rather that such actions are direct service to Him. This

distinction forebears the Catholic principle of sacramentality through the presence of Christ upon

this very Earth.

Mediation, likewise, refers to God’s use of the human, material, and finite in the bringing

forth of His will. The principle of mediation is made manifest in Catholic intercessory prayers to

Mary, the mediatory roles of priests as intercessors between God and humans, and Catholic

devotions to the Saints.6 Sacramentality and mediation are closely correlated, as sacraments are

believed to “cause what they signify” through the actions of mediation.7 For example, when a

priest grants someone absolution for his or her sins, it is the grace of God and His presence in the

moment that, through the power of the Holy Spirt, truly wipes away the stains of moral

wrongdoings. Catholics do not believe that priests have the power to purify souls, but rather that

priests act through the authority of the Holy Spirit, who is God. Essentially, the Catholic

4
Ibid., p. 10.
5
25 Matt. 35-36.
6 McBrien, op. cit., p. 11-12. The principle of mediation is highly contested by people of Protestant belief, as

it is often assumed that Catholics worship Mary and the Saints. In reality, Catholics venerate Mary and the
Saints and ask for intercessory prayers.
7 Ibid., p. 11.
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tradition incorporates mediation as a means of drawing imperfect beings closer to God through

the intercession of holy men and women.

Through the focus of communion, the Catholic Church aligns its mission with God’s

desire for the unity of all mankind.8 Here, McBrien refers to the community of faith, which is

synonymous with St. Paul’s use of the “body of Christ” metaphor. The body of Christ is the

Church, which is alive and active in the mission of love. Through there are many parts of the

body, all of which have different roles in the bringing forth of the Kingdom of God, the parts are

united in a single living organism that encompasses the heart of Jesus Christ.

The theological principles of sacramentality and mediation draw upon one another and

lead to an expression of love in communion. Because sacraments “cause what they signify,”9 the

unity of mankind is the all-encompassing height of Catholicism, through which the body of

Christ elicits God’s grace in the world today. Fr. Michael Himes, in his video on sacramentality,

refers to Jesus as being “all yes.”10 Thus, the body of Christ is the manifestation of saying “yes”

to God’s will. The Christian community is called to unite with all of humanity in the bringing

forth of God’s Kingdom here on earth; peace is the summit of communion.

The three theological principles of Catholicism are outwardly displayed in the Trinity, the

Church, and God’s mercy. As stated by Thomas Dubay in his book, Fire Within, “Depth of

communion with the indwelling Trinity occurs only in a person intent on living the Gospel

totally, one who is humble and patient, temperate and obedient, pure and kind, free of selfish

8
Ibid., p. 12-14.
9 McBrien, op. cit., p.11
10 Michael J. Himes, “Catholics: Why we are a Sacramental People,” YouTube video, 28:17, January 2014,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1_0iutCuV8.
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clingings.”11 Communion is unity, and divine encounters with the Holy Trinity, or the three

persons of the one God, foster the fulfillment of God’s will. For instance, the Holy Spirit

descended upon the people of Jerusalem with tongues of fire—tongues that broke down language

barriers and showed God’s universality to people of many backgrounds. Pope Saint John Paul II

relayed this same principle when he established World Youth Day—an event that brings together

the youthful body of Christ in a union transcendent of nationality.12

The Trinity is the body, soul, and spirit of the one God. God the father can be likened to

St. Justin Martyr’s conception of the psyche, or a person’s awareness and consciousness. The

body, or the soma, is synonymous with the fully human and fully divine person of Jesus Christ,

and the spirit, or the pneuma, can be drawn to comparison with the Holy Spirit, who is the breath

of God in the world. Just as Yahweh blew air into Adam’s nostrils after crafting him out of mud,

so also does the Holy Spirit breathe God’s will into the hearts of the faithful.13

God always was in the form of father, and at Pentecost, He came down upon the earth in

the form of the Holy Spirit. It is God the Son, however, who took on human form and

encompassed all aspects of humanity to reveal His unconditional love—a love so deep that death

could not destroy its might.14 The person of Jesus Christ is the ultimate display of mediation, as

God used His ability to take on human likeness as a visible sign of the inherent goodness of

human nature. At the core of the principle of mediation is God’s use of people and images to

further His mission in the world. There is no greater manifestation of human surrender than the

death of an innocent and perfect man upon a cross. Fr. Himes wrote that the human response to

11
Thomas Dubay, Fire Within (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989), p. 13.
12
Bishop Robert Barron, “The Mystical Union of Christ and the Church,” YouTube video, 53:05, July 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcl4x2283E.
13Christoffer Lammer-Heindel, “Justin’s Conception of the Human Person,” slide 2.
14 Michael J. Himes, The Mystery of Faith (Cincinnati, St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), p. 20-21.
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perfect love was to kill it,15 yet the torture of the Crucifixion did not go in vain. God knew His

only son would die on a cross, yet He allowed the Passion to go on because of His selfless love.

This outward display of agapic love literally transformed the world, and the mission of one man

changed all of history. There is no greater example of mediation than this, for prior to the

coming of Christ, the face of God was unnamed.16 In other words, the unnamed God was named

in the persona of Jesus Christ—the second figure of the unified Trinity.

The sacrifice of the Cross is multifaceted in significance, and the Church’s teachings on

God’s mercy relate to the principles of sacramentality, mediation, and communion in several

regards. The principle of sacramentality is shown in God’s design of human beings, as humans

are blueprints of the Divine. God modeled His omnipotent knowledge about the goodness of

creation when He embraced human death with utter humility.17 Humans, though sinful, have an

aspect of the Divine within their very beings, and God’s presence in all things is shown through

the face of Christ in created things.

Mediation also relates to God’s mercy, as God uses human beings to reveal His heart to

the oppressed. The corporal acts of mercy are outward signs of God’s presence among creation;

in serving others, the mission of the Church is forecasted into the world around. When speaking

of the corporal acts of mercy, the principle of communion cannot be overlooked, as service to

others unites all of creation with a common purpose. Just as Jesus served the lowest sects of

society, so too are humans to proclaim the Gospel through active measures of love. Bishop

Robert Barron noted that the Eucharist attunes people to injustices, and some of the greatest

15
Ibid., p. 35.
16 St. Justin Martyr, Ancient Christian Writers: The First and Second Apologies (New York: Paulist Press,
1997), p. 77.
17 Ibid., p. 35.
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examples of Christ’s love (Dorothy Day, Mother Teresa, etcetera) took to heart the message of

going forth from Mass with the intention of preaching the Gospel through action.18 These

women and others received Christ and then acted as reflections of Christ to others.

The Church also illustrates the three theological foci by its missionary purpose and the

four pillars of belief stated in the Creed. The Church believes that faith is meant to be shared. In

fact, the very word ‘apostle’ means “to send.”19 Jesus Christ draws all people to Himself, and the

body of Christ is called to do the same. This again calls to mind the principle of mediation,

through which God uses the human, material, and finite to set the world on fire. God is present

in the Church, and through the Eucharist, He is literally present in human form. The Catholic

belief in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist is unique in that the mediatory words of the

priest “cause what they signify,”20 and the Eucharistic feast is a sacrament of divine unity.

Catholics recite the Creed at every Mass, and four exemplary principles define the very

life of the Church in the world. The Church is one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic. The Church is

rooted in one God to whom all good things can be drawn21; this is a measure of communion, or

unity with all mankind that traces its love back to the Trinity. The Church is also holy because

Christ is holy, and the purpose of the Church is to make Saints. Sainthood is the height of

human union with God, but it is important to note that grace comes directly from God, and not

from the holiness of Church members. Though God uses humans to preach His mission, He is

the presence that makes all good things possible. Thirdly, the Church is ‘catholic,’ which means

“universal” or “according to the whole.”22 The universality of Catholicism furthers the principle

18
Barron, op. cit., “Catholicism Series.”
19
Ibid., video.
20 McBrien, op. cit., p. 11.
21 Barron, op. cit., “Catholicism Series.”
22 Ibid., video.
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of communion in its mission of unity. Lastly, the Church is apostolic, and all are called to be

missionaries of Christ. Christ works through humans, is present in all things, and is the unifying

force of all of humanity.

Sacramentality, mediation, and communion provide the groundwork of God’s mission,

and they are the primary principles that make Catholicism unique. Through sacramentality,

God’s presence is realized in the inherent goodness of creation. Mediation is the usage of people

and symbols for the fulfillment of the will of God, and the Catholic Church’s focus on priests

and holy men and women as mediators between God and the rest of humanity is a viewpoint

unique to Catholic theology. Communion, thusly, incorporates God’s desire for the unity of

humankind. Sacramentality and mediation are strongly intertwined, as sacraments “cause what

they signify,”23 and these principles point in the direction of communion, through which the

universal aspect of Catholicism is manifested. The Trinity, God’s mercy, and the Church

illustrate the three theological foci through the forwarding of the apostolic mission, and the

unconditional love of God transcends human understanding.

23
McBrien, op. cit., p. 11.
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Bibliography
Barron, Robert. “Catholicism Series- Episode 6: The Mystical Union of Christ and the Church.”
YouTube video, 53:05. Posted [July 2012].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcl4x2283E.
Dubay, Thomas, S.M. Fire Within. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1989.
Himes, Michael J. “Catholics: Why we are a Sacramental People.” Filmed [January 2014].
YouTube video, 28:17. Posted [January 2014].
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1_0iutCuV8.
Himes, Michael J. The Mystery of Faith: An Introduction to Catholicism. Cincinnati, OH: St.
Anthony Messenger Press, 2004.
Justin Martyr, St. Ancient Christian Writers: The First and Second Apologies. New York: Paulist
Press, 1997.
Lammer-Heindel, Christoffer. “Justin’s Conception of the Human Person.” 2016.
McBrien, Richard P. Catholicism. San Francisco, CA: Harper San Francisco, 1994.
Sheen, Fulton J. "Quotes About Catholicism." Goodreads. Accessed May 03, 2016.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/catholicism.