Grace Thompson
There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church, which are seen as mystical channels of divine grace instituted by Jesus Christ. The seven sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. These sacraments are often classified into three categories: the sacraments of initiation, the sacraments of healing, and the sacraments of service.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of Catholic Sacraments | 7 |
| First Sacrament | Baptism |
| Sacraments that cannot be repeated | Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders |
| Sacraments of Initiation | Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist |
| Sacraments of Healing | Penance, Anointing of the Sick |
| Sacraments of Service | Holy Orders, Matrimony |
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What You'll Learn
Marriage as a Catholic sacrament
Catholicism recognizes seven sacraments, which are visible signs of God's grace that help Christians on their path to salvation. Marriage, or holy matrimony, is one of these seven sacraments.
Marriage in the Catholic Church is a covenant through which a man and a woman enter into a lifelong partnership. This partnership is intended to be fruitful, with any children being raised within the teachings of the church. The marriage ceremony usually takes place during a mass, with a priest officiating and witnessing the couple's mutual consent.
The Catholic sacrament of marriage is only recognized when it is between two baptized persons. In this context, marriage symbolizes the unbreakable bond of love between Christ and his people. The couple's relationship is understood to be indissoluble, reflecting the union of Christ with the church as his mystical body.
The grace of this sacrament is believed to help the spouses remain faithful and be good parents. It also enables them to serve others beyond their immediate family and demonstrate to the community that a loving and lasting marriage is possible. Through their permanent, faithful, and exclusive commitment to each other, symbolized in sexual intercourse, the couple reveals something of God's unconditional love.
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Holy Orders
There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. They are visible signs of God's grace, helping Christians journey towards salvation.
The whole Church is a priestly people, and through baptism, all the faithful share in the priesthood of Christ. This participation is called the "common priesthood of the faithful". Based on this common priesthood and ordered to its service, there exists another participation in the mission of Christ: the ministry conferred by the sacrament of Holy Orders, where the task is to serve in the name and in the person of Christ.
Deacons may be either permanent (ordained to service as a deacon for life) or transitional (ordained to service as a deacon as a step on the path to priesthood).
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The Eucharist
There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. They are visible signs of God's grace, helping Christians on their journey towards salvation.
The term 'Eucharist' comes from the Koinē Greek word 'eucharistia', meaning 'thanksgiving'. It is written in the four Gospels that, on the night before his crucifixion, Jesus instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper with his disciples. During the meal, Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine, commanding them to "do this in memory of me" and referring to the bread as "my body" and the wine as "the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many".
The elements of the Eucharist are sacramental bread—either leavened or unleavened—and sacramental wine. These are consecrated on an altar or communion table. The 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. This is what the Church means when she speaks of the "Real Presence" of Christ in the Eucharist.
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Anointing of the Sick
There are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. They are visible signs of God's grace to help Christians journey toward salvation.
One of these sacraments is the Anointing of the Sick, formerly known as Extreme Unction. This sacrament is administered to give strength and comfort to the ill and to mystically unite their suffering with that of Christ during his Passion and death. It is usually one of the last sacraments one will receive.
The Anointing of the Sick involves the use of oleum infirmorum ('oil of the sick'), an olive oil or another pure plant oil blessed by a bishop. The priest or bishop anoints the patient's forehead and perhaps other parts of the body while reciting certain prayers. The sacrament can be administered at home, in a hospital or care institution, or in a church. It can be given to those who are afflicted with serious illness or injury, those who are awaiting surgery, the weakened elderly, or ill children who are old enough to understand its significance.
The Anointing of the Sick conveys several graces and gifts of strengthening in the Holy Spirit. It gives comfort, peace, courage, and, if the sick person is unable to make a confession, even forgiveness of sins. The Catechism explains:
> This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord.
The chief Biblical text concerning the Anointing of the Sick is James 5:14–15:
> Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man. And the Lord shall raise him up: and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.
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Baptism
There are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church, and the first one that a person receives when entering the Catholic faith is Baptism. Baptism is a sacrament of initiation, and it can only be received once. Through baptism, a person officially becomes a member of the Church, the body of Christ. The priest is the best member of the Church to administer the sacrament of baptism. However, in certain emergency situations, any layperson can perform a baptism.
The word "baptism" means "to be immersed", and the sacrament consists of immersing the candidate in water or pouring water over their head while invoking the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The form of the sacrament is the water, and the matter is the words that are spoken. The baptismal font is the large bowl of holy water where most baptisms take place. The earliest baptismal fonts in the Western Church were found in the catacombs of Rome, where indoor baptisms would take place. Baptismal fonts were moved to churches in the fourth century AD, and they are usually located at the front of the church to signify the sacrament as being the "door to the Church".
In the Catholic faith, priests act in persona Christi Capitis, which means "in the person of Christ the Head". This means that the priest represents Christ and speaks and acts in his stead. Through the priest's hands, which represent the hands of Christ, the recipient of the sacrament is brought into the body of the Catholic Church. When a person is baptised, they are immersed in the death of Christ and rise with him as a "new creature". Baptism is also called the "bath of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit" and "enlightenment" because the baptised person becomes a "son of light".
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Frequently asked questions
There are seven Catholic sacraments.
The seven Catholic sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
A sacrament is a visible, physical, or material sign of an inner grace. It is an outward sign of God's love and presence.
In the sacrament of Baptism, the form is water, but the inner reality is cleansing from the stain of original sin.
Three sacraments cannot be repeated: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.
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