What are the seven Sacraments?
Q: What are the Seven Sacraments?
Jesus Christ instituted the sacraments…There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1210)The traditional definition of a sacrament is this: "A sacrament is a visible sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace". There are three statements here:
1. "A visible sign".
An action is performed by a minister (usually a Priest). For example, when a baby is baptized in the church the Priest pours water over its head and at the same time says the words "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". That is a visible sign.
2. "Instituted by Christ".
The Lord Jesus Christ instructed His Church to offer the seven sacraments to His followers. For example, His directive to His disciples in Matthew's Gospel (28, 19)"Go then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you".
3. "To give grace".
At the risk of over simplifying something that is very complex, we could describe grace as God's free gift of Himself as the controlling influence in our life and the decisions we make once we have committed ourselves to Him in faith.
So in summary we could say that a sacrament is one of the means God has chosen to influence our life in the direction of His purpose for giving us life. The Sacraments of Initiation:
- Baptism
- Confirmation
- Eucharist
- Penance
- Anointing of the Sick
- Holy Orders
- Matrimony
We shall take them one by one and look into their role in the Christian life.
Baptism
This sacrament is the sacrament of spiritual birth. It is not the belief of the Catholic Church that children are born as sinful people. Rather they are seen as being born into a sinful state. Christian baptism is the means God has chosen to help His children to tread through the rather murky waters of a sinful, selfish and God-less world.Confirmation
Confirmation can be seen as God's injection of spiritual vitamins for the journey through life This sacrament is the one that suggests to us the wonderful inpouring of the strength of the Holy Spirit which enables us to walk with strength and conviction through the murky waters of the world that is not truly God-centred. Eucharist
Just as we need food to sustain us through the long hard climb that we know as life, so in the climb to the spiritual goal we need sustentation. This is the Eucharist, the Bread of Life, the Cup of Eternal Salvation.
The Eucharist occupies a unique place as the ‘sacrament of sacraments’: “All the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1211)
Penance
The sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession, Penance) is the means and the sign that Christ gave us to show His willingness to heal us when, through our own human frailty, we turn in on ourselves and away from Him and our neighbour. This is the sign God has given us that through the words of His priest ("I now absolve you from your sins") whatever harm we have done to our relationship with our God is healed and we are restored to a state of warm friendship with our Father in heaven. Anointing of the Sick
This sacrament is now known as the sacrament of Holy Anointing. It used to be known as the sacrament of Extreme Unction because it involved the dying person and the priest in a rite of departure from this life into the next life with God. Now it is available to all who are ill, and is a prayer for healing. It is the sign of a God who has sustained us through life now assisting our transfer from this earthly life to the eternal life with God.
The priesthood is the vehicle by which God, through His Son, chose to maintain the regular flow of His grace and blessings through the sacraments. The priest, through this sacrament of Holy Orders, offers sacrifice to God (through the Mass); forgives sins (through the sacrament of Reconciliation); heals the sick according to the will of God (through the sacrament of Anointing); welcomes new people into God's community the Church (through Baptism) and cements with the love of God the union of man and woman in marriage (through the sacrament of Matrimony). Without being too clever about it, one could call the Catholic priesthood the civil service of the Lord. The sacrament is that which guarantees the on-going life of the church - the Body of Christ. Holy Orders - maintains that relationship with God that is the right and privilege of His people.
Matrimony
Man and woman could wed and through their union produce children without the intervention of the priesthood. But the sacrament of Matrimony is God's way of blessing a union He has already created and sanctioned. The grace of the sacrament of matrimony is intended to perfect the couple’s love and to strengthen their indissoluble union.
