Sacraments

THE THREE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION

1275 Christian initiation is accomplished by three sacraments together: Baptism which is the beginning of

new life; Confirmation which is its strengthening; and the Eucharist which nourishes the disciple with

Christ's Body and Blood for his transformation in Christ.(CCC #1275

THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis

ianua),

and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin

and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made

sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word."

(CCC

#1213

SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION

1285 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."

THE EFFECTS OF CONFIRMATION

It is evident from its celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring

of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.(CCC # 1302)

From this fact, 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. (CCC #

1303)

THE SACRAMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST

The holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal

priesthood by Baptism and configured more deeply to Christ by Confirmation participate with the whole

community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.(CCC #1322)

"At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his

Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he

should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and

resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is

consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"(CCC #1323)

THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION

"Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense

committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded

by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."(CCC # 1422)

It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion,

the first step in returning to the Father from whom one has strayed by sin

It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial

steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction. .(CCC # 1423)

It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an

essential element of this sacrament. In a profound sense it is also a "confession" - acknowledgment and

praise - of the holiness of God and of his mercy toward sinful man.

It is called the sacrament of forgiveness, since by the priest's sacramental absolution God grants the

penitent "pardon and peace."

It is called the sacrament of Reconciliation, because it imparts to the sinner the love of God who

reconciles: "Be reconciled to God." He who lives by God's merciful love is ready to respond to the Lord's

call: "Go; first be reconciled to your brother."(CCC # 1424

THE SACRAMENT OF ANOINTING OF THE SICK

1499 "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those

who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she

exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion

and death of Christ."(CCC # 1499)

HOW IS THIS SACRAMENT CELEBRATED

1517 Like all the sacraments the Anointing of the Sick is a liturgical and communal celebration, whether it

takes place in the family home, a hospital or church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick

persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If

circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance

and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover the Eucharist

should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life.

(CCC # 1517

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS

1536 Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles

continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry.

It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.(CCC # 1536)

(On the institution and mission of the apostolic ministry by Christ, see above, no. 874 ff. Here only the sacramental means by which

this ministry is handed on will be treated.)

I. WHY IS THIS SACRAMENT CALLED "ORDERS"?

1537 The word order in Roman antiquity designated an established civil body, especially a

governing body. Ordinatio means incorporation into an ordo. In the Church there are

established bodies which Tradition, not without a basis in Sacred Scripture,

has since

ancient times called taxeis (Greek) or ordines. And so the liturgy speaks of the ordo

episcoporum, the ordo presbyterorum, the ordo diaconorum. Other groups also receive this

name of ordo: catechumens, virgins, spouses, widows,(CCC #1537)

1538 Integration into one of these bodies in the Church was accomplished by a rite called

ordinatio, a religious and liturgical act which was a consecration, a blessing or a sacrament.

Today the word "ordination" is reserved for the sacramental act which integrates a man into

the order of bishops, presbyters, or deacons, and goes beyond a simple election,

designation, delegation, or institution by the community, for it confers a gift of the Holy

Spirit that permits the exercise of a "sacred power" (sacra potestas)

which can come only

from Christ himself through his Church. Ordination is also called consecratio, for it is a

setting apart and an investiture by Christ himself for his Church. The laying on of hands by

the bishop, with the consecratory prayer, constitutes the visible sign of this ordination.(CCC

#1538)