Sacraments and Sacramental Rites
For some, understanding the Sacramental life of the Church and what the two main Sacraments and five Sacramental Rites do for us can be kind of confusing. Why are there seven? What do they do? Why are two called sacraments and 5 called sacramental rites?
All seven of them touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is therefore a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.
Because of this broad inclusion of all stages of life from birth to death, there must of course be more than a single Sacrament or Sacramental Rite that corresponds to each. And the number seven is associated with perfection or completeness, such as we find with God resting on the 7th day after creation, and there being seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.
The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace. Grace is God's favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.
The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's body, the church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy spirit. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. Anyone any age can be baptized. Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.
The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again. The Holy Eucharist is also called the Lord's Supper, and Holy communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ's command. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and received by faith. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.
Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a penitent, and unction. Although they are means of grace, they are not necessary for all persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist are.
Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.
Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.
Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body.
God does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its future fulfillment.
All seven of them touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is therefore a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.
Because of this broad inclusion of all stages of life from birth to death, there must of course be more than a single Sacrament or Sacramental Rite that corresponds to each. And the number seven is associated with perfection or completeness, such as we find with God resting on the 7th day after creation, and there being seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, etc.
The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace. Grace is God's favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.
The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.
Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us as his children and makes us members of Christ's body, the church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God. The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy spirit. The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God's family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in the Holy Spirit. Anyone any age can be baptized. Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption by God.
The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again. The Holy Eucharist is also called the Lord's Supper, and Holy communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine, given and received according to Christ's command. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and received by faith. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.
Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a penitent, and unction. Although they are means of grace, they are not necessary for all persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist are.
Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace of the Holy spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by bishops.
Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.
Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.
Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body.
God does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its future fulfillment.
