The Sacraments: Fuel and Service for the Family Journey

A reflection by Alan Lee St Anthony Bec

Every car needs two things: fuel and service. Without fuel, the car stalls. Without service, even the best-fueled engine will eventually break down.

The same is true for the Christian life.

The Eucharist is our fuel — the panis vivus (living bread) that strengthens us for the road ahead. As Christ Himself declared:
“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day”
(John 6:54).
Each Mass is Christ pouring His very life into ours, giving what we cannot give ourselves (CCC 1324).

But even the best fuel cannot keep a damaged engine running. This is why the Lord also gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation — the sacramentum paenitentiae. Here, the Father restores the broken engine of the heart, repairing us through His mercy: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9; CCC 1422).

St. Thomas Aquinas expressed this rhythm beautifully: Confessio restituit vitam, Eucharistia sustinet vitam — “Confession restores life, the Eucharist sustains it.” Without reconciliation, our hearts remain misaligned; without the Eucharist, we lack the strength to go forward.

For parents, especially fathers called to be priests of the domestic church (ecclesia domestica), this rhythm is not optional. The Catechism teaches: “Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children in the faith” (CCC 2223).
https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/538/

That responsibility cannot be fulfilled without first being refueled and serviced ourselves.

Children are not only shaped by what is taught, but by the witness of parents who walk faithfully in grace. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi — as we pray, so we believe, so we live.

“Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi” is an old Latin saying that directly means, “The law of prayer leads to the law of belief leads to the law of living,” but the spirit of the phrase means, “How we worship directly affects what we believe, which then affects how we live.”

If the home church is strong, society stands a chance. If it is neglected, lives will inevitably stall and veer off course.

But the good news is this: the Church has already given us everything we need.
Mercy to heal.
The Bread of Life to strengthen.
Grace upon grace, until the journey’s end.