One Body, Many PARTS
The hand performs the works of our hands, which are moral choices we make with our wills. And to truly please God with our works, we need grace, and the greatest sources of grace are the sacraments. How much more appropriate should the hand, once again, a part of the body (there are many parts, though One Body ) image the Sacramental mystery.
The Lifetime Sacramental Journey of the Married Priest [or Deacon].
The Roman rite order of the Sacraments of the Church can be traversed on the phalanges of the fingers (parts of the finger partitioned by the knuckles), starting from the base of the thumb and traversing the fingers one by one in immediate sequence, ending with the pinkie, the opposite end of the thumb, and each time you start a new finger, you start on that new finger from the base and move up to the end of the finger, etc (order of phalanges on finger are traversed from proximal to distal, closest to palm out to farthest from palm).
Every time the next sacrament absolutely requires a priest (five times, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Anointing f the Sick), priest is inserted at the next phalange, to indicate one absolutely must pass through a priest to get to the next sacrament.
When a priest is not absolutely necessary, we do not put priest (Baptism and Marriage can be performed by a Deacon ).
We also include the merely natural events of the life of the Married Priest, his birth in the very beginning, and his death at the very end.
Note, with regards to the priest partitions, this works out perfectly. You can see that for the five sacraments above that require a priest, a priest part of the finger always precedes that sacrament’s part.
Also, in the two cases of Baptism and Marriage, sacraments which do not absolutely require a priest, a priest does not come before, as follows: the thumb has merely birth [natural] and Baptism [supernatural birth]. No priest partitions them, since, again, Baptism does NOT require a priest to confer: a deacon can do it, and even a Protestant minister can do it. (The Baptism of heretics is valid, DE FIDE). Similarly, between Confirmation and Marriage, no priest exists, since Marriage is conferred by the man and woman upon each other, not by the priest. (this is a little tricky to see: Confirmation is the last step on the middle finger, at the tip. so the next step goes back down to the base of the next finger, the ring finger. And sure enough, at that base of that next finger, the ring finger, is Marriage, without a priest).
Too, there are perfectly the right number of phalanges. What is also amazing is, there is a deeper theology to the fingers. Note: No one finger has any more than one type of sacrament on it, eg, per Vatican II partitioning:
Initiation: the thumb, Baptism, and the middle finger, Eucharist and Confirmation, each contain only Initiation
Healing: the pointing finger, Confession, and the pinkie, Anointing of the Sick, each contain only Healing
Vocation: the ring finger, contains only vocation, Marriage, Holy Orders.
Additional Depth:
The Thumb, Baptism, is Special
The thumb stands apart from all the other fingers: It is the strongest, and it protrudes from a different side of the hand than all the other fingers: the thumb protrudes from the left side of the hand rather than the top of the hand, as with the other succeeding fingers.
The only sacrament on the thumb is Baptism. Baptism is unique to all the other sacraments in two great characteristics:
It is the one sacrament necessary to be received before any others can be, i.e., it must be the first Sacrament received.
Baptism is the only sacrament that is absolutely necessary for salvation, either literally or by desire.
The Evil Hand Sign
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Immoral, dark rock music tends to make the sign of holding up only the index and pinkie. Note, these are the two fingers that complete the Healing sacraments, Confession and Anointing of the Sick, and Death. It is interesting to note that these three aspects of earthly life will never exist in heaven, and even are the only steps above that will never exist in heaven.
Three Sacramental Signs shall never be again in heaven:
Confession: There shall never be sin in heaven ever, nor is there penance or healing to do, we will have been utterly purged and utterly made selfless.
Anointing of the Sick: Every tear shall be wiped away, there is no more suffering in the heaven, nor need for healing.
Natural Death: though we will have to die naturally, our soul first shall partake of the beautiful life that shall never end, then, at the end of time, our body also: “And death and the netherworld were cast into the lake of fire.”
Moreover, the implications of these negative elements of earthly life will persist in hell forever:
The Three Sacramental Signs forever in Deprivation:
Confession: You had a chance at Mercy in Confession, and you threw it away at all impasses. Now you will forever sin, and never have possibility for mercy.
Anointing of the Sick: You thought the earthly pains should be avoided at all costs, and shunned the last chance at mercy; now forever, again, there shall be no more chance of mercy, nor shall there be healing for sickness. The torments of hell last forever and there is no cure.
Natural Death: Not only have you died naturally, but eternally you have died spiritually, forever to die, the second death!
Hence, the index finger and pinkie are indeed ominous, the signs of the things that shall never in heaven, and yet, that, in the rejection of them, are supreme, eternal torments in hell.
The Beautiful, Mystical Hand Sign of Jesus
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By way of implication, the remaining three fingers contain sacramental signs and steps in the earthly life that shall exist forever in heaven, whether by indelible mark on the soul, or by analogous experience (note, in this case, there are six aspects, five sacraments plus natural life, in case it is confusing). It interesting to note that there is a ancient painting, rare, that shows Jesus holding up these very three fingers, that is, the thumb, the middle finger, and the ring finger, as if to show us the Sacramental mysteries that shall be probed in principle forever in heaven:
Six Sacramental Signs will remain forever:
Natural life: Forever will we live, even supernaturally.
Baptism: Forever will we be children of God, forever will we continue to know and love God, the Baptismal Disposition.
Confirmation: Forever will we be a mature member of the Church, sealed with the Spirit, the indelible mark of the Gifts of the Spirit on our Soul.
Eucharist: Forever shall we commune with our brothers and sisters, forever shall we feast on God's truth and love and one another's love, forever will the eternal Sabbath last.
Marriage: Forever will we be spouses of the Christ, both individually and collectively, receiving into our inner being the love and truth of God and offering ourselves back to Him in unfathomable ecstasy.
Holy Orders: Forever will be marked a servant of Our God, whether by literal Holy Orders, or by the vocation that God gave us as servants and handmaids: mediating grace as a priest, as a biological father, as a single lay person in his talents and gifts, or too, in the feminine sense, motherly gifts and service, and sisterhood.
Conclusion
The human hand, in its finger partitions, perfectly images sacramental mysteries. And the hand, again, performs the works of our hands, which are moral choices we make with our wills. And to truly please God with our works, we need grace, and the greatest sources of grace are the sacraments. How much more appropriate should the hand, once again, a part of the body (there are many parts, thought One Body ) image the Sacramental mystery. Coincidence?