Serious theology discussion here!
Frank Sheed was an Australian law student who, after moving to London in the 1920s, became one of the most famous Catholic apologists of the century. He was an outstanding street-corner speaker who popularized the Catholic Evidence Guild in both England and America (where he later resided). Along with his wife Maisie Ward he founded the well-known Catholic publishing house of Sheed & Ward.
Sheed wrote several books, the best known being Theology and Sanity, A Map of Life, Theology for Beginners, and To Know Christ Jesus. All of his writing possessed a rare erudition and comprehensive grasp of Catholic doctrine. Theology and Sanity is a particularly helpful work for the apologist since every part of it had been, Sheed states, "tried out on forty or fifty outdoor audiences before I got it down on paper" (Theology and Sanity [Ignatius Press, orig. publish date 1946], 9). The result is an enjoyable and filling theological meal, served with the natural ease and clarity that mark Sheed's writing.
One topic that Sheed repeatedly emphasized is the balanced perspective we need to have of the material and spiritual realm. This is particularly important in explaining the sacraments to non-Catholics and poorly catechized Catholics. Many people (i.e., Fundamentalists and New Agers) downplay or even condemn man's physical nature, while others (secularists and hedonists) live as though their physical desires and impulses are of the utmost importance. But Catholic teaching claims the whole man is called to worship and to communion with God:
"Religion is the act of man-the whole man, soul and body. It is not the act of the soul only, for man is not only soul. . . . The supernatural does not ignore the natural or substitute something else for it. It is built upon or built into the natural. Sanctifying grace does not provide us with a new soul; it enters into the soul we already have. Nor does it give the soul new faculties but elevates the faculties that are already there, giving intellect and will new powers of operation. God-as-Sanctifier does not destroy or bypass the work of God-as-Creator. What God has created, God sanctifies" (Theology and Sanity, 300-301).
God uses material elements such as wine, bread, and water to convey supernatural life, or grace. He meets us where we are, as people composed of bodies and souls. "The sacramental principle, continually reminding man of his body, will keep his feet firmly planted upon the ground and destroy pride in its strongest root; sanctifying his body will make it the fit partner of a soul indwelt by God. The giving of supernatural life by way of sacrament, then, corresponds with the structure of man" (Theology and Sanity, 301).
The link between the Incarnation, our human nature, and the sacraments is critical in speaking with Protestants. By emphasizing that humans are not just disembodied spirits, but also flesh and blood-just as our Savior was also flesh and blood-we can begin to point them towards a fuller appreciation of all that God has done for us: He "emptied himself, taking the form of a bond-servant . . . being made in the likeness of men" (Phil. 2:7).
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