Saint Augustine of Hippo, the great theologian who lived from AD 354-430, summed up what is meant by sacrament as ‘a visible sign of invisible grace’. Each of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church was instituted by Our Lord himself. At the Council of Trent, held intermittently between 1545-1564, the Fathers who met there affirmed the same.
They may be described in three categories:
- The Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, The Holy Eucharist and Confirmation
- The Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick
- The Sacraments of Vocation and Commitment: Holy Orders and Matrimony
A bishop or a priest is the usual minister of the sacraments. A deacon may be authorized to confer baptism and any lay person may baptise another in the case of emergency. The Sacrament of Matrimony is conferred, one upon the other, by the couple marrying each other, not by the minister present who may be either a priest or deacon.
In the days of the infant Church the un-baptised converts were known as Catechumens. After a suitable period of instruction the Catechumens were welcomed as full members of the Christian Community, at Easter, when they received the three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. In more recent years, post Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) was established for the benefit of modern-day converts. Those who wish to be received into full communion with the Church follow a period of formation, similar to that undertaken by the early-Church converts. At the Vigil Mass of Easter the Catechumens receive baptism; those already validly baptised are received into the Church, they are then confirmed and receive the Eucharist for the first time.
‘The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ, and finally, to give worship to God’.
(Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium)
Every baptised person is called upon to be a herald of the gospel. At our confirmation we are given the gifts of the Holy Spirit that enable us to profess our Christian faith. For those who are married or ordained an abundance of graces are available to help us, in our respective vocations, to serve and love God, each other and the wider community. If we are unwell, aged or approaching the end of our lives, we may receive healing and strength from the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. When, through human frailty, we stray away from the Lord his forgiveness can be found in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Above all is the Holy Eucharist, ‘true centre of the whole Christian life’. In Holy Communion we receive the same Lord Jesus who said that if we did not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood we would not have life within us.
The Sacraments of Initiation
Baptism
The risen Lord Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Baptism when he authorized his apostles: ‘Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them all the commands I gave you.’ (Matthew 28:19-20)
Since Apostolic times, when it was common for whole households to be converted all at once, it has been customary to baptise babies and infants. Irrespective of the age at which a person is baptised, he or she is reborn and becomes a member of the Church, the Body of Christ. Our life of faith begins at baptism and it does not matter how elementary our faith may be. Each newly baptised person is consecrated to God and anointed, with the Oil of Chrism, as prophet, priest and king. The Holy Spirit marks the soul with the ‘seal of the Lord’ and the Holy Trinity gives sanctifying grace. Through the cleansing waters of baptism all sins, original and personal, are washed away.
The minister of baptism, generally a priest, bishop or deacon, when pouring water three times over the child’s or adult’s head says: ‘N......I baptise you in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’
When baptism has been conferred in infancy the reception of the Holy Eucharist and Confirmation are delayed until more appropriate stages in a person’s development, and following suitable periods of catechesis. Before having their child baptised parents attend a Baptism Preparation Course.
Holy Eucharist
I am the living bread which has come down from heaven; anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world. I tell you most solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For, my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him. (John 6: 51-56) Many of the people who heard Jesus speak these words could not accept what he had said; they walked away from him.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus and the apostles had gathered in the Upper Room to celebrate the Jewish Passover. That night he did something different. He took some bread, and when he had given thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying: ‘This is my body which will be given for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ He did the same with the cup after supper, and said: ‘This cup is the New Covenant in my blood which will be poured out for you.’ (Luke 22:19-20)
At the Last Supper Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist and the Ministerial Priesthood. Ever since that night the apostles, and their ordained successors, have continued to do what the Lord commanded. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, when the words of consecration are said by the priest, Christ’s body and blood are made present under the species of bread and wine. (CCC 1353)
The early Christians met in one another’s houses to celebrate the ‘breaking of bread’. (Acts of the Apostles 2:46) Saint Justin, in his letter to the Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), written about the year AD 155, described what Christians did when they met for worship.
On the day we call the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place.
The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read as much as time permits.
When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things.
Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves and for all others, wherever they may be; so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation.
When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.
Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren.
He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts.
When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying: ‘Amen’.
When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the ‘eucharisted’ bread, wine and water and take them to those who are absent.
(Saint Justin Apol. 1 65-67; cited in CCC 1345)
The Eucharist has always been at the centre of the Church's life; through it Christ makes present within time the mystery of his death and resurrection. In it he is received in person as the ‘living bread come down from heaven’, (John 6:51), and with him we receive the pledge of eternal life and a foretaste of the eternal banquet of the heavenly Jerusalem. (Apostolic Letter of John Paul II Mane Nobiscum Domine, Stay with us, Lord. 2004)
At about the age of seven, baptised children are prepared to receive the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Reconciliation for the first time. When the same children become young adults they are prepared for the reception of the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Confirmation
Jesus said to the apostles: ‘I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you for ever, that spirit of truth whom the world can never receive since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you…..I have said these things to you while still with you; the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.’ (John 14:15-17;25-26)
After Jesus’ ascension into heaven the apostles returned to the Upper Room; they remained there until the day of Pentecost. ‘When suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech’. (Acts of the Apostles 2:1-4)
The apostles, previously terrified for their lives, had been empowered by the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Their faith had been confirmed and they were brave enough to leave the Upper Room to go out to preach to the crowd. Having heard what Peter and the others had to say the people asked them: ‘What must we do?’ ‘You must repent’, Peter answered, ‘and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’. (Acts of the Apostles 2:37-38) At Samaria, when Peter and John prayed for the people, they ‘laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit’. (Acts of the Apostles 8:17)
The bishop, the usual minister of the Sacrament of Confirmation, extends his hands over those who are to be confirmed and invokes the Holy Spirit. He then anoints each person with the Oil of Chrism, saying: N…. ‘Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit’.
Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence and Awe; these are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Sacrament of Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace, it unites us more firmly to Christ, 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. (CCC 1302) Confirmation, the sacrament of Christian maturity, is generally conferred on young adults and its reception signifies the completion of one’s Christian initiation.
The Sacraments of Healing
Reconciliation
Much of Jesus’ public ministry was spent in healing the sick and forgiving people their sins. Jesus, ‘who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continues, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation’. (CCC 1421) At our baptism all sins, original and personal, were washed away. However, the Lord Jesus fully aware that we are all sinners, and in constant need of his mercy, gave to his apostles, and their ordained successors, the authority to forgive sins.
On the day he rose from the dead: The doors were closed in the room where the disciples were for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you,’ and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord. ‘As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ After saying this, he breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven. For those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’ (John 20:19-23).
Penance, at one time in the Church’s history, could be received only once in a person’s lifetime. A person might have spent many years as a penitent before they were able to receive absolution. The more frequent reception of penance came about largely under the influence of Saint Patrick, (387-493), and the Celtic Monks. For many centuries it was the confession of one’s sins and the performance of arduous penance that was of paramount importance. Since the Second Vatican Council, a greater emphasis has been placed on reconciliation, (re + conciliare), which means to unite, and in discovering the causes and effects of our sinfulness. ‘In the Sacrament of Reconciliation’, (so called since the introduction of the new Rite in 1973), ‘we acknowledge our sinfulness and admit our need to be reconciled with God, the Church and our neighbour. Those who approach this sacrament obtain pardon from the mercy of God for the offence committed against Him and are at the same time reconciled with the Church, which they have wounded by their sins, and which by charity, example, and prayer seeks their conversion’. (Lumen Gentium 9:11)
There are two types of sin: venial, or sin of a less serious nature; mortal, being the most serious kind of sin from which one falls from a state of grace. For sin to be mortal it must be of grave matter; committed with full knowledge of the facts and with free consent. Dame Julian of Norwich reminds us that regardless of how terrible our sins may be, ‘our falling does not hinder him from loving us’.
In the parable of the Prodigal Son, (Luke 15:11-32), Our Lord illustrated the love a human father had for his son who had been ‘lost and was found’. How much more does our heavenly Father long for us to return to him. When we do, he readily forgives our sins and heals our spiritual sickness. For our part all that we need to do is recognize our need for conversion, repent of our sins and confess them to a priest. Having received absolution we must say, or do, the penance given to us. Should we have wronged our neighbour in any way then we must endeavour to make amends.
The Prayer of Absolution
God, the Father of mercies through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and has sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Anointing of the Sick
In the process of healing the sick, Jesus made frequent use of signs: spittle, mud, the laying on of hands and ritual washing which the Jews would have been familiar with. When Jesus healed the man who had been blind from birth……..’He spat on the ground and made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man and said to him, ‘Go wash in the Pool of Siloam (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored’. (John 9:1-3, 6-7)
The apostles, who were commissioned to exercise the same healing ministry, ‘anointed many sick people with oil and cured them’. (Mark 6:12-13) Once, when Peter and John were going up to the temple, they met a crippled man who begged from them. Peter said to him: ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk!’ The man jumped up, stood, and began to walk’. (Acts of the Apostles 3:3-9) The sick were often laid out in the streets, hoping that Peter’s shadow might fall across them and heal them. (Acts 5:15)
‘If one of you is ill, he should send for the elders of the church, and they must anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins he will be forgiven. So confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another and this will cure you’. (James 5:14-15)
Whenever a person is seriously ill he or she may receive the Anointing of the Sick; one does not need to be dying to be anointed. This sacrament has as its effects: the uniting of the sick person to the Passion of Christ; the strengthening, peace and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the Sacrament of Reconciliation; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul. (CCC 1527, 1528, 1529, 1532) The Church offers to those who are about to leave this life the sacraments of healing in combination with the Eucharist as viaticum or ‘passing over’ to the Father. So, at the end of our life, we are ‘prepared for our heavenly homeland’. (CCC 1525)
In the Anointing of the Sick and the Sacrament of Reconciliation Christ continues to touch us and make us whole.
The Sacraments of Vocation and Commitment
Holy Orders
Out of the Twelve Tribes of Israel God singled out the Tribe of Levi to be priests. The Levitical priests, who were set apart for liturgical service, were also appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, and to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. The priesthood of the Old Testament prefigured the priesthood of Christ Jesus: ‘the one mediator between God and men’. (1Timothy 2:5)
At the Last Supper the Lord Jesus gave the greatest gift to the world; he gave himself. During the celebration of the Passover meal he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; ‘thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament’. (Council of Trent)
At baptism each one of us is anointed prophet, priest and king. The People of God are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart’. (1 Peter 2:9) However, there are certain men called to serve God in the ministerial priesthood. The Sacrament of Holy Order is conferred on them, by the bishop, in the laying on of hands and the Prayer of Consecration. At his ordination the priest’s hands are anointed and he is given the power to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Furthermore, an ordained priest, as a successor of the apostles, is empowered to be a minister of God’s forgiveness. Our Lord authorized his apostles: ‘Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.’ (Matthew 18:18)
By the grace of the Holy Spirit the priest is enabled to act as a representative of Christ and, at Mass, when the priest says the words of consecration, ‘this is my body; this is my blood’ he speaks ‘in persona Christi’. The power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make present under the species of bread and wine Christ’s body and blood; his sacrifice offered on the cross once for all. (CCC 1353)
Priests are called to serve and strengthen the people of God by celebrating Holy Mass, in proclaiming the Gospel, by being ministers of the sacraments, by their prayers, by teaching and in providing pastoral care for the people. It is through her ordained ministers that ‘the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time’. (CCC 1536) The Lord Jesus instructed Simon Peter to: ‘Feed my lambs; feed my sheep.’ Therefore, ‘Those among the faithful who are marked by Holy Order are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ’. (Lumen Gentium 9:11)
Through baptism priests introduce men into the People of God; by the Sacrament of Reconciliation they reconcile sinners with God and the Church; by the Anointing of the Sick they relieve those who are ill; and especially by the celebration of Mass they offer Christ’s sacrifice sacramentally; the Eucharistic celebration is the centre of the assembly of the faithful over which the priest presides. (Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests, Presbyterorum Ordinis)
Within the Sacrament of Holy Order there are three degrees: the episcopate (bishops); presbyterate (priests); diaconate (deacons). (CCC 1536) The diaconate is a temporary stage for those men who are to be ordained priests. Some men, who may be married or unmarried, are called to the Permanent Diaconate; an ancient order dating from the Apostolic age, that was restored at the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). For many centuries, in the Latin-Rite, it has been customary to ordain unmarried or widowed men; once ordained priests remain celibate. An exception to the norm applies to certain married convert clergymen who have been ordained into the Catholic priesthood.
Matrimony
Matrimony comes from the Latin words matris and manus, meaning the duty of motherhood. Our understanding of matrimony is rooted in Sacred Scripture, Tradition and the Teaching Magisterium of the Church. Further affirmations of the sacramental nature of matrimony were made at the Councils of Florence (1438-1445) and Trent (1545-1564) and, in more recent years, at Vatican II (1962-1965) in the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People.
From the beginning ‘male and female God created them’. (Genesis 1:27) This partnership of man and woman constitutes the first form of communion between people. For by their innermost nature men and women are social beings; and if they do not enter into relationships with others they can neither live nor develop their gifts. (Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes)
When Saint Paul spoke of marriage he compared the union of husband and wife with that of Christ and his Church: ‘You who are husbands must show love to your wives as Christ showed loved to the Church when he gave himself up on its behalf. For this reason, a man must leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one body’. (Ephesians 5:25; 31)
On the occasion of their marriage the two people confer the Sacrament of Matrimony one upon the other; the officiating priest, or deacon, acts in the capacity as a witness on behalf of the Church. There is no better place in which to celebrate marriage than in church, in the presence of the Lord Jesus who once graced the Wedding at Cana with his company. For a marriage to be valid there must be no impediment present and both spouses must freely consent to it. The apostles heard Jesus say: ‘What God has joined together let no man put asunder.’ (Matthew 19:6) A valid, sacramental marriage may only be ended by the death of one of the spouses.
In the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, Apostolicam Actuositatem, the Council Fathers present at Vatican II reminded us that God, ‘the Creator of all made the married state the beginning and foundation of human society; by his grace he has made it a great mystery in Christ and in the Church, and so the apostolate of married persons and of families has a special importance for both Church and civil society’. The family, Ecclesia domestica, or the domestic church, is the ideal environment in which a married couple will bring up any children they may have. By observing and following the good example of their parents children will grow in the practise of their faith and learn to love God and their neighbour. United Christian families are a sign that love, unity and peace are possible. (Jean Vanier, Man and Woman He Made Them)
Couples intending to marry at the Cathedral, Saint Augustine’s or Our Lady and Saint Patrick’s are required to attend a Marriage Preparation Course.