Catholic Sacraments | Catholic Rituals | Seven Sacraments | Catholicism

In ancient Roman days, a "sacramentum" was a solemn oath which a man took according to law. Literally, the word meant "a sacred act," for an oath was considered to be a sacred thing, as the poet says, "Man's word is God in man."

The early Christians adopted this word to apply to certain sacred acts of the Christian religion, acts which were external signs of some deep spiritual significance. The external acts to which the word "sacrament" was applied were those which Christ Himself had instituted for the sacred purpose of applying to men's souls the grace of His redemption.

The sacraments are seven--

Baptism
Confirmation
Holy Communion
Penance or Confession
Matrimony
Holy Orders
Anointing of the Sick

All of them consist of some material fact--water, oil, bread, wine--and some external act: pouring, anointing, laying on of hands, uttering words, and all of them by these means symbolize the application of Christ's redemptive grace to men's souls and actually confer this grace.

Each of the sacraments has some visible sign. This is what is called the "matter"--that is, a thing, such as water in Baptism and oil in the Anointing of the Sick; and in the "form", that is, certain words. In Baptism, as is well known, the words are: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

In each case, therefore, the matter and form "signify" the spiritual good that is being worked in the soul of the recipient--that is why they are called signs. Water suggests washing, oil suggests healing, and the words of the minister of the sacrament determine what kind of washing and healing is being done.

If the sacraments were merely of human origin, they could be nothing more than signs of our hope or our prayers. We could not assure ourselves that we were really washing a soul clean of sin in Baptism, for example, as only the divine power can do this. But because the sacraments have been instituted by Christ (in the bible he performs these acts) for the express purpose of doing what they symbolize, we know that they are more than mere signs. What they signify, they actually accomplish. Baptism does cleanse a soul from sin. Confirmation does strengthen the life of the spirit and bring it to spiritual adulthood. Communion is not merely a sign of Christ's body and blood, it IS these things.
And that is exactly what the priests in Catholic churches tell us.

According to the American Catholic Organization
the ritual of Baptism does not bring God's love into being as if that love did not exist before the ceremony. Baptism is the Church's way of celebrating and enacting the embrace of God who first loved us from the moment of our conception. Baptism celebrates a family's and a community's experience of that love in the baptized.

There are other life experiences-birth, death, washing, growing and so forth-that are celebrated in Baptism. The water represents life, death, cleansing and growth, and it recalls the flood waters of Noah's day and the saving waters of the Red Sea parted by Moses. The candle symbolizes our status as an "easter people" and signifies the way that the Church "passes the torch" of Christian commitment to those being baptized. The white garment represents the Church's belief that Baptism sets us free from Original Sin.

Baptism happens not only to the individual, but also to Christ's body, the Church. That's why the rite insists that we celebrate Baptism in the Christian assembly, with the community present and actively participating. It is the community, after all, who is welcoming the new members, journeying with them, providing models for them, supporting and nourishing them. Baptism begins with God's love and care revealed to us through Christ. It continues with us, the Church, living and enacting God's love and care through Christ to the world. That's a serious commitment.

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Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.

Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:
- it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!"
- it unites us more firmly to Christ;
- it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;
- it renders our bond with the Church more perfect
- it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross

Recall then that you have received the spiritual seal, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of right judgment and courage, the spirit of knowledge and reverence, the spirit of holy fear in God's presence. Guard what you have received. God the Father has marked you with his sign; Christ the Lord has confirmed you and has placed his pledge, the Spirit, in your hearts.

Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.

The heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . . ."He took the cup filled with wine. . . ." The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation.

Thus in the Offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine,fruit of the "work of human hands," but above all as "fruit of the earth" and "of the vine" - gifts of the Creator. The Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who "brought out bread and wine," a prefiguring of her own offering.

The unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body - the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. The Eucharist fulfills this call: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread

A new life project

We each have something that we want to do with our lives: something we want to become. It may take us a while to find out what that "something" is, but eventually a life project forms, either consciously or unconsciously. And it seems to me that as people pursue this goal, whatever it may be-to be a skilled surgeon, to be the best kindergarten teacher that ever lived, to own a farm or whatever else they may see their life to be about-they sometimes encounter another human being to whom they are so attracted that the love of this other person supersedes all other life goals and ambitions. They undertake a new life project.

Little by little they decide that first on their agenda is now going to be the life, the happiness, the holiness of this other person. The good of this other takes precedence even over the desires and dreams they have for themselves. And when that other makes the same decision, together the two embark on a whole new adventure. It seems to me that this is the basic meaning of the Sacrament of Marriage.

The sacrament reveals the religious dimension of marriage. Besides the human, social and legal dimensions of marriage-the public sign that one gives oneself totally to this other person-sacramental marriage is also a public statement about God. The celebration of each of the sacraments reveals something of this ultimate reality: who God is and who God is for us.

In the Scriptures the relationship between God and God's people is often described in terms of a marriage. The early Christians, reflecting on Christ's love for us, also used this image. Christ and the Church embrace in mutual love and self-giving, even as do husband and wife (see, for example, Ephesians 5:21-33). "'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32).

The Catholic wedding

Marriage was around a long time before Jesus. His parents were married, and at least some of the apostles were married. For example, in all three of the Synoptic Gospels we hear of Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38). In the early Church, Christians got married like anyone else in the cultures where they lived. Gradually, Christians began to see that the loving union of husband and wife spoke to them not only about family values but also about God's values.

Historically speaking, it was not until the 12th century that marriage took its place among the other ritual actions which we now name the seven sacraments. Throughout the Middle Ages there was no singular wedding rite for Christians. The Catholic wedding ceremony that you might witness today dates in large part from about the 16th century.

The rite has basically the same "shape" as all the other sacraments: gathering, storytelling, the sacramental action and commissioning. The gathering rites are similar to Sunday Mass, although the entrance procession is more elaborate. (Sometimes the entrance procession is so elaborate that it can steal the whole show, but I don't want to talk here about abuses.) There was a time when the bride's father (owner) brought (dragged) the bride before the magistrate and exchanged her for a sum of money (the bride price) paid by the groom. When the father no longer "sold" the girl, he "gave her away."

Many couples today find this symbol works against the meaning of their wedding ceremony. They want their ceremony to speak of families, couples, mutuality. They arrange the procession so that the attendants enter together as couples. The groom enters with his father and mother and the bride with hers. At the front of the church they symbolically take leave of their parents and come together and speak a word of welcome to the assembly and invite them to pray that God will bless what they are about to do. The community is led in prayer by the presider and the gathering rites end.

We are seated and listen to the readings from Scripture. Here again the rite will resemble the storytelling at Sunday Mass. The couple select Scripture passages according to the religious meaning they wish their wedding to express. Thus, the readings will sometimes refer to creation, for husband and wife are creating something new: a new life project, a new relationship, a new family. They are sign and sacrament of the new love project God embarked upon in creating the world. Or the readings will refer to the two becoming one: Husband and wife are joined in one flesh. Christian marriage is the sacrament which shows us God's desire to be one with us.

The couple then come before the Christian assembly and vow that their love will be a sign and sacrament of God's love for us. And the community prays for them and with them that we may receive this sign and that we may, by our faithful love, support their vows.

It is the bride and groom who perform the marriage. The priest, the attendants and the congregation witness what the bride and groom do. The bride and groom come forward and, before the congregation, the priest and the official witnesses, pronounce their vows. Today most couples choose to say the entire text of their vows to one another rather than merely saying, "I do." They exchange rings as a sign of their love and fidelity and seal their vows with a kiss.

When two Catholics exchange these vows, they do so in the context of Eucharist. All that marriage says about God's love and desire to be one with us, Eucharist says in an even more all-embracing way. Bread and wine are brought to the altar, the priest proclaims the great prayer of praise and thanksgiving (the Eucharistic Prayer) and we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion-the living sign of God's desire to be one with us. And then a final blessing sends the bride and groom and the whole Christian community forth to bear witness to God's love for the world.

The Sacrament of Penance


Penance is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ in which forgiveness of sins committed after baptism is granted through the priest's absolution to those who with true sorrow confess their sins and promise to satisfy for the same. It is called a "sacrament" not simply a function or ceremony, because it is an outward sign instituted by Christ to impart grace to the soul. As an outward sign it comprises the actions of the penitent in presenting himself to the priest and accusing himself of his sins, and the actions of the priest in pronouncing absolution and imposing satisfaction. This whole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, "confession", and it is said to take place in the "tribunal ofpenance", because it is a judicial process in which the penitent is at once the accuser, the person accused, and the witness, while the priest pronounces judgment and sentence. The grace conferred is deliverance from the guilt of sin and, in the case of mortal sin, from its eternal punishment; hence also reconciliation with God, justification. Finally, the confession is made not in the secrecy of the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate, nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordained priest with requisite jurisdiction and with the "power of the keys", i.e., the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to His Church.

By way of further explanation it is needful to correct certain erroneous views regarding this sacrament which not only misrepresent the actual practice of the Church but also lead to a false interpretation of theological statement and historical evidence. From what has been said it should be clear:

* that penance is not a mere human invention devised by the Church to secure power over consciences or to relieve the emotional strain of troubled souls; it is the ordinary means appointed by Christ for the remission of sin. Man indeed is free to obey or disobey, but once he has sinned, he must seek pardon not on conditions of his own choosing but on those which God has determined, and these for the Christian are embodied in the Sacrament of Penance.
* No Catholic believes that a priest simply as an individual man, however pious or learned, has power to forgive sins. This power belongs to God alone; but He can and does exercise it through the ministration of men. Since He has seen fit to exercise it by means of this sacrament, it cannot be said that the Church or the priest interferes between the soul and God; on the contrary, penance is the removal of the one obstacle that keeps the soul away from God.

* It is not true that for the Catholic the mere "telling of one's sins" suffices to obtain their forgiveness. Without sincere sorrow and purpose of amendment, confession avails nothing, the pronouncement of absolution is of no effect, and the guilt of the sinner is greater than before.

* While this sacrament as a dispensation of Divine mercy facilitates the pardoning of sin, it by no means renders sin less hateful or its consequences less dreadful to the Christian mind; much less does it imply permission to commit sin in the future. In paying ordinary debts, as e.g., by monthly settlements, the intention of contracting new debts with the same creditor is perfectly legitimate; a similar intention on the part of him who confesses his sins would not only be wrong in itself but would nullify the sacrament and prevent the forgiveness of sins then and there confessed.

* Strangely enough, the opposite charge is often heard, viz., that the confession of sin is intolerable and hard and therefore alien to the spirit of Christianity and the loving kindness of its Founder. But this view, in the first place, overlooks the fact that Christ, though merciful, is also just and exacting. Furthermore, however painful or humiliating confession may be, it is but a light penalty for the violation of God's law. Finally, those who are in earnest about their salvation count no hardship too great whereby they can win back God's friendship.

Both these accusations, of too great leniency and too great severity, proceed as a rule from those who have no experience with the sacrament and only the vaguest ideas of what the Church teaches or of the power to forgive sins which the Church received from Christ.

Teaching of the Church

The Council of Trent (1551) declares:

As a means of regaining grace and justice, penance was at all times necessary for those who had defiled their souls with any mortal sin. . . . Before the coming of Christ, penance was not a sacrament, nor is it since His coming a sacrament for those who are not baptized. But the Lord then principally instituted the Sacrament of Penance, when, being raised from the dead, he breathed upon His disciples saying: 'Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained' (John 20:22-23). By which action so signal and words so clear the consent of all the Fathers has ever understood that the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles and to their lawful successors, for the reconciling of the faithful who have fallen after Baptism. (Sess. XIV, c. i)

Farther on the council expressly states that Christ left priests, His own vicars, as judges (praesides et judices), unto whom all the mortal crimes into which the faithful may have fallen should be revealed in order that, in accordance with the power of the keys, they may pronounce the sentence of forgiveness or retention of sins" (Sess. XIV, c. v)

The Sacrament of Order is the sacrament by which grace and spiritual power for the discharge of ecclesiastical offices are conferred.

Christ founded His Church as a supernatural society, the Kingdom of God. In this society there must be the power of ruling; and also the principles by which the members are to attain their supernatural end, viz., supernatural truth, which is held by faith, and supernatural grace by which man is formally elevated to the supernatural order. Thus, besides the power of jurisdiction, the Church has the power of teaching (magisterium) and the power of conferring grace (power of order). This power of order was committed by our Lord to His Apostles, who were to continue His work and to be His earthly representatives. The Apostles received their power from Christ: "as the Father hath sent me, I also send you" (John 20:21). Christ possessed fullness of power in virtue of His priesthood--of His office as Redeemer and Mediator. He merited the grace which freed man from the bondage of sin, which grace is applied to man mediately by the Sacrifice of the Eucharist and immediately by the sacraments. He gave His Apostles the power to offer the Sacrifice (Luke 22:19), and dispense the sacraments (Matthew 28:18; John 20:22, 23); thus making them priests. It is true that every Christian receives sanctifying grace which confers on him a priesthood. Even as Israel under the Old dispensation was to God "a priestly kingdom" (Exodus 19:4-6), thus under the New, all Christians are "a kingly priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9); but now as then the special and sacramental priesthood strengthens and perfects the universal priesthood (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6; Romans 15:16).
SACRAMENT OF ORDER

From Scripture we learn that the Apostles appointed others by an external rite (imposition of hands), conferring inward grace. The fact that grace is ascribed immediately to the external rite, shows that Christ must have thus ordained. The fact that cheirontonein, cheirotonia, which meant electing by show of hands, had acquired the technical meaning of ordination by imposition of hands before the middle of the third century, shows that appointment to the various orders was made by that external rite. We read of the deacons, how the Apostles "praying, imposed hands upon them" (Acts 6:6). In II Tim., i, 6 St. Paul reminds Timothy that he was made a bishop by the imposition of St. Paul's hands (cf. 1 Timothy 4:4), and Timothy is exhorted to appoint presbyters by the same rite (1 Timothy 5:22; cf. Acts 13:3; 14:22). In Clem., "Hom.", III, lxxii, we read of the appointment of Zachæus as bishop by the imposition of Peter's hands. The word is used in its technical meaning by Clement of Alexandria ("Strom.", VI, xiii, cvi; cf. "Const. Apost.", II, viii, 36). "A priest lays on hands, but does not ordain" (cheirothetei ou cheirotonei) "Didasc. Syr.", IV; III, 10, 11, 20; Cornelius, "Ad Fabianum" in Euseb., "Hist. Eccl.", VI, xliii.



Grace was attached to this external sign and conferred by it. "I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, through (dia) the imposition of my hands" (2 Timothy 1:6). The context clearly shows that there is question here of a grace which enables Timothy to rightly discharge the office imposed upon him, for St. Paul continues "God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of sobriety." This grace is something permanent, as appears from the words "that thou stir up the grace which is in thee"; we reach the same conclusion from I Tim., iv, 14, where St. Paul says, "Neglect not the grace that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with (meta) imposition of hands of the priesthood." This text shows that when St. Paul ordained Timothy, the presbyters also laid their hands upon him, even as now the presbyters who assist at ordination lay their hands on the candidate. St. Paul here exhorts Timothy to teach and command, to be an example to all. To neglect this would be to neglect the grace which is in him. This grace therefore enables him to teach and command, to discharge his office rightly. The grace then is not a charismatic gift, but a gift of the Holy Spirit for the rightful discharge of official duties. The Sacrament of Order has ever been recognized in the Church as such. This is attested by the belief in a special priesthood (cf. St. John Chrys., "De sacerdotio"; St. Greg. of Nyss., "Oratio in baptism. Christi"), which requires a special ordination. St. Augustine, speaking about baptism and order, says, "Each is a sacrament, and each is given by a certain consecration, . . .If both are sacraments, which no one doubts, how is the one not lost (by defection from the Church) and the other lost?" (Contra. Epist. Parmen., ii, 28-30). The Council of Trent says, "Whereas, by the testimony of Scripture, by Apostolic tradition, and by the unanimous consent of the Fathers, it is clear that grace is conferred by sacred ordination, which is performed by words and outward signs, no one ought to doubt that Order is truly and properly one of the Seven Sacraments of Holy Church" (Sess. XXIII, c. iii, can. 3).

A sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ to give spiritual aid and comfort and perfect spiritual health, including, if need be, the remission of sins, and also, conditionally, to restore bodily health, to Christians who are seriously ill; it consists essentially in the unction by a priest of the body of the sick person, accompanied by a suitable form of words. The several points embodied in this descriptive definition will be more fully explained in the following sections into which this article is divided: I. Actual Rite of Administration; II. Name; III. Sacramental Efficacy of the Rite; IV. Matter and Form; V. Minister; VI. Subject; VII. Effects; VIII. Necessity; IX. Repetition; X. Reviviscence of the Sacrament.
I. ACTUAL RITE OF ADMINISTRATION

As administered in the Western Church today according to the rite of the Roman Ritual, the sacrament consists (apart from certain non-essential prayers) in the unction with oil, specially blessed by the bishop, of the organs of the five external senses (eyes, ears, nostrils, lips, hands), of the feet, and, for men (where the custom exists and the condition of the patient permits of his being moved), of the loins or reins; and in the following form repeated at each unction with mention of the corresponding sense or faculty: "Through this holy unction and His own most tender mercy may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed [quidquid deliquisti] by sight [by hearing, smell, taste, touch, walking, carnal delectation]". The unction of the loins is generally, if not universally, omitted in English-speaking countries, and it is of course everywhere forbidden in case of women. To perform this rite fully takes an appreciable time, but in cases of urgent necessity, when death is likely to occur before it can be completed, it is sufficient to employ a single unction (on the forehead, for instance) with the generalform: "Through this holy unction may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed." By the decree of 25 April, 1906, the Holy Office has expressly approved of this form for cases of urgent necessity.

In the Eastern Orthodox (schismatical) Church this sacrament is normally administered by a number of priests (seven, five, three; but in case of necessity even one is enough); and it is the priests themselves who bless the oil on each occasion before use. The parts usually anointed are the forehead, chin, cheeks, hands, nostrils, and breast, and theform used is the following: "Holy Father, physician of souls and of bodies, Who didst send Thy Only- Begotten Son as the healer of every disease and our deliverer from death, heal also Thy servant N. from the bodily infirmity that holds him, and make him live through the grace of Christ, by the intercessions of [certain saints who are named], and of all the saints." (Goar, Euchologion, p. 417.) Each of the priests who are present repeats the whole rite.

The Roman Catholic Church claims that the seven sacraments produce "sanctifying grace." They point to bible verses to back up their beliefs. And while it might seem by looking at these verses by themselves, individually, that indeed they do convey some benefit (such as eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, the presence of the Holy Spirit, or His power or spiritual gift) But when taken in the context of Scripture as a whole, there is no foundation for the belief that God ever intended these passages to be taken as support for rituals as a means of conveying grace. In other words the whole idea of "sacraments" that convey saving grace upon people may be unbiblical.

But, there is always a but! I ask you reader...how can sacraments hurt catholics? I guess we will have to keep researching together to find out the answer to that. I mean if you truly believe in something, then it is real. Sacraments might not be such bad myths to live by, if in fact, they are myths.

I do know from personal experience that catholicism can become extreme when every word in the bible is taken literally. It's frustrating when you hear a priest declare that every person living with a significant other UNWED! is living in mortal sin AND if they were to die today that they will go straight to Hell! It hurts when you hear it stated that people wed outside of the Catholic church do not participate in a spiritual relationship. What about people who were shown different paths growing up but share a love that only "God" could make possible.

Clearly, problems arise.

Blame. Ego's. Hate. War. All of the negative energy connects.

We must remember to live and let live.

Thou shall not judge others. In the end we are all sinners and we all suffer and we all seek to alleviate our pain longing for peace and happiness.

Life is worth Living

Life is worth Living

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