SACRAMENT

The sacraments are “efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church,
by which divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC 1131). In other words, a sacrament is a sacred and
visible sign that is instituted by Jesus to give us grace, an undeserved gift from God. (See also
CCC 1084). Christ was present at the inception of all of the sacraments, which He instituted
2,000 years ago. Christ is also present every time each sacrament is celebrated.

3 TYPES OF SCRAMENT
Sacrament of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist)
Sacrament of Healing (Penance and Anointing of the Sick)
Sacrament of Service (Matrimony and Holy Orders)

BAPTISM

The origin and foundation of Christian Baptism is Jesus. Before starting his public ministry,
Jesus submitted himself to the baptism given by John the Baptist. The waters did not purify
him; he cleansed the waters. . . . Jesus did not need to be baptized because he was totally
faithful to the will of his Father and free from sin. However, he wanted to show his solidarity
with human beings in order to reconcile them to the Father. By commanding his disciples to
baptize all nations, he established the means by which people would die to sin – Original and
actual – and begin to live a new life with God.

In Baptism, the Holy Spirit moves us to answer Christ's call to holiness. In Baptism, we are asked
to walk by the light of Christ and to trust in his wisdom. We are invited to submit our hearts to
Christ with ever deeper love.

CONFIRMATION

The prophets of the Old Testament foretold that God's Spirit would rest upon the Messiah to
sustain his mission. Their prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus the Messiah was conceived by the
Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit descended on Jesus on the occasion of his
baptism by John. Jesus' entire mission occurred in communion with the Spirit. Before he died,
Jesus promised that the Spirit would be given to the Apostles and to the entire Church. After
his death, he was raised by the Father in the power of the Spirit.

Confirmation deepens our baptismal life that calls us to be missionary witnesses of Jesus Christ
in our families, neighborhoods, society, and the world. . . . We receive the message of faith in a
deeper and more intensive manner with great emphasis given to the person of Jesus Christ,
who asked the Father to give the Holy Spirit to the Church for building up the community in
loving service.

EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. The term “Eucharist” originates
from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving.
In the celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ
through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the priest. The whole Christ is
truly present -- body, blood, soul, and divinity -- under the appearances of bread and wine, the
glorified Christ who rose from the dead. This is what the Church means when she speaks of the
"Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.

PENANCE

Not onlydoes it [the Sacrament of Penance] free us from our sins but it also challenges us to
have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are
liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Francis: "It
is in pardoning that we are pardoned."

Jesus entrusted the ministry of reconciliation to the Church. The Sacrament of Penance is God's
gift to us so that any sin committed after Baptism can be forgiven. In confession we have the
opportunity to repent and recover the grace of friendship with God. It is a holy moment in
which we place ourselves in his presence and honestly acknowledge our sins, especially mortal
sins. With absolution, we are reconciled to God and the Church. The Sacrament helps us stay
close to the truth that we cannot live without God. "In him we live and move and have our
being" (Acts 17:28).

ANNOINTING OF THE SICK

In the Church's Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, throughthe ministry of the priest, it is Jesus
who touches the sick to heal them from sin – and sometimes even from physical ailment. His
cures were signs of the arrival of the Kingdom of God. The core message of his healing tells us
of his plan to conquer sin and death by his dying and rising.

The Rite of Anointing tells us there is no need to wait until a person is at the point of death to
receive the Sacrament. A careful judgment about the serious nature of the illness is sufficient.

When the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is given, the hoped-for effect is that, if it be God's
will, the person be physically healed of illness. But even if there is no physical healing, the
primary effect of the Sacrament is a spiritual healing by which the sick person receives the Holy
Spirit's gift of peace and courage to deal with the difficulties that accompany serious illness or
the frailty of old age.

MATRIMONY
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation and union of man and woman and ends with "the
wedding feast of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7, 9). Scripture often refers to marriage, its origin and
purpose, the meaning God gave to it, and its renewal in the covenant made by Jesus with his
Church. Man and woman were created for each other.
By their marriage, the couple witnesses Christ's spousal love for the Church. One of the Nuptial
Blessings in the liturgical celebration of marriage refers to this in saying, "Father, you have
made the union of man and wife so holy a mystery that it symbolizes the marriage of Christ and
his Church."

HOLY ORDERS
From the moment of Jesus' conception in the womb of Mary until his Resurrection, he was filled
with the Holy Spirit. In biblical language, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit and thus
established by God the Father as our high priest. As Risen Lord, he remains our high priest. . . .
While all the baptized share in Christ's priesthood, the ministerial priesthood shares this
through the Sacrament of Holy Orders in a special way.

"Here I am, send me." (Is 6:8)

Ordination to the priesthood is always a call and a gift from God. Christ reminded his Apostles
that they needed to ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest. Those who
seek priesthood respond generously to God's call using the words of the prophet, "Here I am,
send me" (Is 6:8). This call from God can be recognized and understood from the daily signs
that disclose his will to those in charge of discerning the vocation of the candidate.