Sacraments

• A sacrament is a sacred act performed by a priest to convey God's grace.
• Sacraments are signs of God's grace, which means they represent something spiritual or religious.
• The sacrament is the visible sign that represents an invisible reality.
• The seven sacraments are Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation (Confession), Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Matrimony
• Confirmation strengthens our faith and gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Baptism is the first step towards salvation and removes original sin from us.
• The seven Catholic sacraments include Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (Holy Communion), Reconciliation/Confession, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
• Baptism is the first step towards salvation and involves being immersed in water as an outward sign of receiving God's grace.
• Confirmation strengthens our faith through the laying on of hands and the reception of the Holy Spirit.
• There are seven sacraments recognized by most Christian denominations.
• Baptism is the first sacrament received as it initiates us into the Church community.
• Confirmation strengthens our faith and commitment to living out our baptismal promises.
• Baptism is the first step towards salvation and is necessary for eternal life.
• Eucharist is the most important sacrament because it involves receiving Jesus Christ himself through bread and wine.
• Eucharist is also known as Communion and involves receiving Jesus' body and blood through bread and wine.
• Anointing of the Sick provides comfort and healing to those who are sick or dying.
• Reconciliation (also called confession) allows individuals to confess their sins to God and receive forgiveness from a priest or minister.
• Before the twelfth century, sacraments were referred to as sacramentum.
• In the pre-Christian world, sacramentum was a type of security deposit left by people involved in disputes.
• When an agreement was reached, the sum of money, known as the sacramentum, was used to ensure that both parties would adhere to their end of the agreement.
• Sacramentum was also used in the military as an oath that soldiers swore to their superiors.
• Officers pledged their loyalty to the commander-in-chief and marked their bodies with an indelible character as one who took an oath.
• The mark could never be removed, and one's soldiers could be easily identified by the mark.
• The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Matrimony.
• The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are considered as signs that signify realities essential to our faith.
• The Catholic Church teaches that the seven sacraments are indispensable to our Christian life.
• The questions, therefore, remain: Are we willing to be the “SIGNS” that lead others to God? And if we choose to be the signs: Who or what do we signify – our SELF-interest, or our GOD?
• The manner by which we relate to others - in our attitude of kindness and compassion, in our commitment to love the least, and the unloved, in our dedication to seek what unites us and builds community of persons, is itself a concrete visible sign of God’s kindness, compassion and love to all.
• One of the sacraments of the Catholic Church is the Holy Eucharist, which is an encounter with the sacred, an intimate interaction between our person and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
• Whenever we receive the blessed host, we say, “AMEN” to indicate our positive and wholehearted assent that what we are receiving is no plain bread but the very person of Jesus Christ himself.
• We must not forget that we, too, in our own unique and humble ways are “signs” to others and to the rest of creation – sacred persons who are fashioned in the image and likeness of God.
• St. Paul counseled: “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14)
• Because they are signs, the sacraments also instruct.
• The sacraments exercise their special power to shape our imaginations, develop our affections and direct our behavior in "Childlikeness", to gradually transform us into Christ’s way of thinking, Christ’s way of acting, Christ’s way of praying and loving, forgiving and serving.
• The sacraments were instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church.
• The effects of the sacraments are to draw us into a closer relationship with the Church, and thereby to relationship with Christ himself, in the Spirit and to the Father.
• Sacraments can effect this only if celebrated in faith, for without faith no saving personal relationship can be established or strengthened (CCC 1122-26)
• Vatican II had likewise stressed faith while explaining that the purpose of the sacrament is: to sanctify men and women, to build up the Body of Christ, and to give worship to God.
• Jesus in his humanity is the sacrament of God’s love for all, the Church is the sacrament of Jesus, and the seven ritual sacraments are the sacrament of the Church.
• Jesus is the Source/Originator, Primary Agent, and Goal of all the sacraments.