Church and Sacraments

• The latin word sacramentum means a "sign of the sacred."
• The 7 sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians.
• The Sacrament are signs of God’s love.
• Sacrament: An efficacious and visible sign of God’s grace or An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
• God draws us closer to him through material symbols that our physical bodies can perceive things and words and gestures.
• No human power could attach an inward grace (a closer relationship with God) to an outward sign.
• Only God can do that.
• The church cannot institute new Sacrament.
• As declared at the Council of Trent, there can never be more than 7 Sacraments, the Sacraments Jesus has given us.
• Sacrament give sanctifying grace.
• Sacraments are necessary for salvation.
• Sacrament are the vehicles for the graces the convey.
• A Sacrament gives grace of and by itself, by its own power.
• Jesus attached grace to the outward sign, so that the sign and grace always go together.
• But attitude does matter. Faith matters.
• There is a character imprinted on the soul by the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.
• In these Sacraments the Anointing with oil is a symbol of this mark or seal. We are marked as belonging to Christ, and nothing will ever change that.
• Anointing of the Sick - both a liturgical and a communal celebration (in the family home, hospital, or church.
• Members of the body of Christ gather for the sacramental rite led by a priest.
• The penitential rite followed by the Liturgy of the Word and sacramental anointing of the sick.
• Anointing with sacred oil is a sign of blessing by the Holy Spirit of the one who is sick.
• Oil of the sick recalls the community’s sharing of the Holy Spirit.
• We care for the sick because we see them as children of God and part of our human family.
• The suffering of one, impacts everyone.
• Anointing of the Sick about the healing of hope and of the spirit.
• Anointing of the Sick - the sacrament allows the person who is ill to unite more closely to Christ’s Passion.
• Each person is made in the image of God.
• A powerful witness to the fact that human dignity is intrinsic and does not increase or decrease based on a person’s physical state or abilities.
• Reconciled to Right Relationships, called to heal and restore.
• Sacrament of Penance - an experience of the gift of God’s boundless mercy.
• Sacrament of Penance - frees us from our sins and also challenges us to have the kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us.
• We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight to the words of the prayer of St. Francis: It is pardoning that we are pardoned.
• The new life in Christ that begins in Baptism may be weakened or lost through sin.
• Sin ruptures not only our relationship with God, but also with our brother and sisters.
• Through the sacrament of Penance, God offers mercy and forgiveness.
• We are called to become vehicles of Christ’s love, making amends and restoring justice and the bonds that have been broken.
• Sin damages our relationship with God and neighbor.
• Sin is never an individual affair.
• Sin becomes manifest in unjust structures.
• We are called to examine our consciences and admit our failings.