What is a Sacrament
In #1131 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church it is read that the Sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.” In the Catholic Church there are seven sacraments. They are the broken into three categories. There are the Sacraments of Christian Initiation, which are Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. Then there are the Sacraments of Healing, which are Penance and Anointing of the Sick. Lastly there are the Sacraments at the Service of Communion, which are Matrimony and Holy Orders. A Sacrament is an outward sign for something that is happening spiritually. They are action or practices that are performed to indicate something that is happening that cannot be seen. To exemplify this we will briefly describe what is going on during a few of these Sacraments.
Baptism – In this Sacrament a priest is pouring water on a person’s head or dunking them under water three times. While doing this he is saying, by Jesus’ instruction in Mathew 28:19, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” While this is happening, original sin is being washed away, as well as all sins committed prior to being baptized. The individual being baptized is filled with sanctifying grace that allows them to be sharers in the priesthood of Christ. Through baptism a person receives the gifts of faith, hope and charity. They become Christian.
Confirmation – In this Sacrament a bishop or priest using oil blessed by a bishop lays his hands on the individual and asks a series of questions. When this is done, the baptismal grace is strengthened and confirmed. A person is taking on the Catholic faith as their own.
Eucharist – In this sacrament a person receives an unleavened wafer and a sip of wine to consume. This wafer and wine though, are the body and blood of Christ. When consumed, the person is receiving Christ into themselves and becoming one with Him.
Penance – This is probably the most difficult sacrament for some people to partake in. This is the confession of your sins to a priest or bishop. When we come to the Sacrament of Penance, or confession, we are facing the sin which we have committed. When we honestly face what we have done and as for forgiveness for them, we are cleansed of these sins and brought back into a state of grace with God.
In the Sacraments, the grace and love of Christ is very evident. They are made possible by the gifts which the good Lord has given us.
