01-30-2022 RCIA
THE
SEVEN SACRAMENTS
“For the grace of God has appeared, saving
all.”
Letter of Saint Paul to Titus-Chapter 2, Verse
11
SUMMARY
·
INTRODUCTION
·
WHAT
IS A SACRAMENT?
·
THE
SIGNS OF THE SACRAMENTS
·
THE
GIFT OF SACRAMENTAL GRACE
We
know that Adam and Eve lost the gift of grace for all mankind by their
disobedience to God's commandments.
God
sent his only Son to return grace to the world.
How?
Dying
on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins, a sacrifice accepted by the Father
who raised Jesus from the dead.
But
this raises an important question: How did Jesus’ plan to give this grace to
us, to every person who is going to live in this world?
The
New Testament and Sacred Tradition give us the answer: Jesus gave us the seven
sacraments as ways to receive God's grace.
WHAT
IS A SACRAMENT?
The
sacraments are seven perceptible (sensible) and effective signs that were
instituted by Jesus Christ to give us sanctifying grace.
Sensible:
That can be known through the senses.
Effective:
They produce what they mean
Instituted:
Given
They
should not be considered as "magic rites" that give grace in the same
way that a soda machine gives us a can of soda.
They
are sacred ceremonies in which we are called by Jesus to accept his love and
forgiveness, to grow in our relationship with him and with the whole Church,
with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Each
sacrament has special words (the form) and actions or things (the matter) that
give us a message.
We
are all familiar with signs that are meant to give us a message.
For
example, when we see the flag of the United States of America, we know that it
represents that country.
We
all understand that a smile is a message of joy, while tears are more of a
message of pain.
Words
are verbal signs.
For
example, if I say the word "dog" to you, you understand it as a
message about a furry, four-legged animal that barks.
THE SIGNS OF THE SACRAMENTS
The signs of the sacraments also
give us their own special messages.
For example, the sign of Baptism
tells us that someone is being freed from original sin and becomes a child of
God.
The sign of the Eucharist tells us
that the bread and wine are being changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Once we learn what the signs mean,
it is easy to learn what each of the sacraments does for our souls.
But unlike human signs, the
sacraments are empowered by Jesus to do what they tell us.
This can be a bit confusing, so we
need to take a closer look at it.
Consider the traffic sign of
“STOP”. every time we see
this eight-sided red sign, we
stopped at an intersection
because that's what reminds us what
should we do.
But the sign does not have the
power to make us stop; we do this ourselves.
But if the "STOP" sign
had the power of a sacrament, it would be able to make us stop as soon as we
saw it.
This is difficult to understand
because the sacraments are mysteries of faith like the Holy Trinity or the
Incarnation.
We accept and firmly believe in
them because God has revealed them to us.
One of the oldest titles for the
sacraments (which is still used in the prayers of the Mass) is that of sacred
mysteries.
The power of God is actively
present each time a sacrament is celebrated according to the intentions of the
Church regardless of the virtue or sanctity of the minister.
The sacraments are not only signs
but effective signs. They give the grace that they signify: Christ himself
communicates the grace that the sacrament signifies. (CCC 1127)
At the same time, we must
understand that “the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the dispositions
of the one who receives them.” (CCC 1128).
It is necessary for us to open our
hearts and be ready for what God wants to give us in the sacraments.
Below you will see a list that
will help you learn the MATTER and the FORM of the sacraments.
THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS
BAPTISM:
MATTER: WATER
FORM: “I BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME
OF THE FATHER…
MINISTER: PRIEST – IN CASE OF
EMERGENCY COULD BE ANY PERSON THAT HAVE THE INTENTION TO BAPTIZE
CONFIRMATION:
MATTER: IMPOSITION OF HANDS,
ANOINTING WITH CHRISM
FORM: (N)
receives by this sign the gift of the Holy Spirit…”
MINISTER: BISHOP
HOLY COMMUNION:
MATTER: BREAD AND WINE
FORM: “THIS IS MY BODY…THIS IS THE
CHALICE OF MY BLOOD…”
MINISTER: PRIEST
PENANCE OR CONFESION:
MATTER: VERBAL CONFESSION OF OUR
SINS
FORM: “I ABSOLVE YOU OF YOUR SINS
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, …”
MINISTER: PRIEST
ANNOINTING OF THE SICK:
MATTER: OIL OF THE SICK
FORM: “BY THIS HOLY ANNOINTING,
AND BY HIS GRACIOUS MERCY, MAY THE LORD…”
MINISTER: PRIEST
HOLY ORDERS:
MATTER: IMPOSITION OF HANDS
FORM: ” WE ASK YOU, ALMIGHTY
FATHER, TO GIVE THESE SERVANTS OF YOURS THE DIGNITY OF PRESBYTERS..”
MINISTER: BISHOP
MATRIMONY:
MATTER: A CHRISTIAN MAN AND A
CHRISTIAN WOMAN
FORM: THE EXCHANGE OF MATRIMONIAL
VOWS BETWEEN A CHRISTIAN MAN AND A CHRISTIAN WOMAN
MINISTER: THE CHRISTIAN MAN AND
THE CHRISTIAN WOMAN THAT ARE BEING MARRIED
THE GIFT OF THE SACRAMENTAL GRACE
In addition to giving us
sanctifying grace, the sacraments give us a special grace for our journey to
heaven.
It is called sacramental grace and
it helps us in various ways depending on which sacrament it comes from.
The list that follows shows us
these different sacramental graces:
BAPTISM – GIVES US THE GRACE T0 LIVE HOLY
LIVES
CONFIRMATION – GIVES US THE GRACE TO BE STRONG
IN OUR FAITH AND LOYAL TO JESUS IN OUR WAY TO HEAVEN
HOLY EUCHARIST – GIVES US THE GRACE TO LOVE
JESUS WITH ALL OUR HEART AND TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBORD AS OURSELVES
RECONCILIATION, PENANCE OR
CONFESSION – GIVES
US THE GRACE TO OVERCOME OUR SINFUL DESIRES AND ACTIONS
ANNOINTING OF THE SICK – GIVES US THE GRACE TO ACCEPT
OUR ILLNESSES AND A GOOD DEATH
HOLY ORDERS – GIVE PRIESTS THE GRACE TO LIVE
GOOD LIVES DEDICATED TO PREACHING THE GOSPEL AND ADMINISTERING THE SACRAMENTS.
MATRIMONY – GIVE SPOUSES THE GRACE TO LOVE
EACH OTHER TO DEATH AND TO BE GOOD PARENTS
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