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Mystagogy: Victory Over Vice by Ven. Fulton J. Sheen


In, The Seven Sacraments: Entering the Mysteries of God, Stratford Caldecott explores the spiritual connections between the Seven Sacraments of the Church with other sets of seven in the faith: Seven Last words of Christ, Petitions in the Our Father, Theological + Cardinal Virtues, Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Days of Creation, etc. Neither the writers of scripture, nor the Fathers of the Church found sets sharing numbers as these to be coincidental, but reflective of a sacred order to Creation, especially when so ordered by the tradition of the Church. These organic spiritual links between all things bring a depth of understanding when meditating upon these sacred things and cause them to settle more firmly into our hearts, and minds and souls.

This book of Ven. Fulton Sheen, (included in Caldecott's Bibliography as The Seven Capital Sins) focuses on two of those sets, the Last Words of Christ on the Cross and how those words demonstrate Christ's Victory over the Seven Deadly/Mortal/Capital Sins. Since I already read Adrienne Speyr's The Cross: Word and Sacrament, which focuses on links between the Last Words and the Sacraments, I thought a table showing the words, the sacraments, and the conquered Vices might be interesting for comparison.

Christ Last Words on the CrossSpeyr - SacramentSheen - Vice conquered
Father, forgive them, they know not what they doPenanceAnger
You will be with me this day in ParadiseAnointing of the SickVanity
Behold your son, Behold your motherMarriageLust
My God, My God! Why have you forsaken meHoly OrdersPride
I thirstEucharistGluttony
It is finishedBaptismSloth
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my SpiritConfirmationGreed

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