Reading the Council of Trent, which is more important, baptism or the Eucharist, or are they equally important?
Robert Sungenis answers that the question does not arise, because baptism and the Eucharist each have a different job to do. He compares it to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12 that the parts of the body have different gifts and none is better than another, and holds that neither Scripture nor the Church asks which sacrament ranks higher.
A viewer named Deborah, reading the Council of Trent, asks which of the two sacraments, baptism or the Eucharist, is the most important, or whether they are equally important.
Answer
That is not a question the Church poses to itself, and it does not matter which is more important, because each has a different job to do. It is like Paul saying in 1 Corinthians 12 that we each have different gifts in the body; the eye is not better than the ear, and in fact some of the most necessary parts of the body are the ones that are hidden or covered. Are the genitals more important than the eyes? Well, without them there would be few eyes to speak of. The Bible does not raise those kinds of comparative questions, and neither does the Church; baptism and the Eucharist each have their own purpose.