Fulfilled in Christ : The Sacraments: a Guide to Symbols and Types in the Bible and Tradition

A guide to the tradition of typological interpretation of the Bible. It unveils the parallels between the signs and events of the Scriptures and the Sacraments of the Church, as represented in the New Testament as well as the liturgy and teachings of the Catholic Church. The Early Church read the Scriptures with the conviction that (in the words of St. Augustine), "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New". Drawing inspiration from how both the Apostles and Christ himself read the Old Covenant as referring to the New (cf. Luke 24:27, 1 Peter 3:20–21, 1 Corinthians 10:1–5), the Church found the Old Testament to be rich with figures, or "types", that foreshadowed both the mysteries of the life of Christ and the mysteries, or Sacraments, of the New Covenant. This tradition of interpretation was integral to the development Christian doctrine, and manifested itself in the life of the Church most fully in the Sacred Liturgy. Fulfilled in Christ makes this tradition accessible, providing scriptural background for the types and symbols for each of the Sacraments, and a thorough summary and index of references to the places these parallels and symbols are drawn or explained within the Scriptures, the liturgy (including the Patristic readings of the Liturgy of the Hours), and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.