Seven Sacramants
The Seven Sacraments
This paper will be covering the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are very important aspects of the Catholic religion. Each has special meaning and is a right of passage for most Catholics. Written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is noted that "the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life" (Catechism 341). The first three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, are referred to as the sacraments of initiation. These three sacraments are celebrated with the entry of each new member to the Christian Church. With these, they "lay the foundation of every Christian life" (Catechism 341).
The first of the three sacraments is the Baptism. Water is a key element in this sacrament because it symbolizes not only the washing away of old sins, but the presence of the Holy Spirit. As a result of Baptism, the individual becomes united with the Body of Christ. Baptism allows the person to share in the experience of Christ because Christ himself was baptized at the start of his life. As St. Paul points out in the Book of Romans, however, Baptism also has a more profound significance in terms of uniting a person with the Holy Spirit. According to Paul, "For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life" (Romans 6:3-4). Although the baptizing of infants is the commonplace for the Church, new age Christians are seeking to make adult baptism the norm. With a greater degree, adults are better able to understand what the ceremony of the sacrament is "trying to express and to effect" (Macquarrie 65). This effort comes in the wake of Vatican II council that was held in the
This paper will be covering the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are very important aspects of the Catholic religion. Each has special meaning and is a right of passage for most Catholics. Written in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is noted that "the seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life" (Catechism 341). The first three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, are referred to as the sacraments of initiation. These three sacraments are celebrated with the entry of each new member to the Christian Church. With these, they "lay the foundation of every Christian life" (Catechism 341).
The first of the three sacraments is the Baptism. Water is a key element in this sacrament because it symbolizes not only the washing away of old sins, but the presence of the Holy Spirit. As a result of Baptism, the individual becomes united with the Body of Christ. Baptism allows the person to share in the experience of Christ because Christ himself was baptized at the start of his life. As St. Paul points out in the Book of Romans, however, Baptism also has a more profound significance in terms of uniting a person with the Holy Spirit. According to Paul, "For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life" (Romans 6:3-4). Although the baptizing of infants is the commonplace for the Church, new age Christians are seeking to make adult baptism the norm. With a greater degree, adults are better able to understand what the ceremony of the sacrament is "trying to express and to effect" (Macquarrie 65). This effort comes in the wake of Vatican II council that was held in the
Cited: Catechism of the Catholic Church. New York: An Image Book/Doubleday, 1995. Documents of Vatican II. Austin P. Flannery, ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1975. Downey, Michael. Clothed in Christ: The Sacraments and Christian Living. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 1987. Good News Bible. (The Bible in Today 's English Version). New York: American Bible Society, 1978. Halligan, Nicholas. The Sacraments and Their Celebration. New York: Alba House/Society of St. Paul, 1986. Macquarrie, John. A Guide to the Sacraments. New York: Continuum Publishing Company, 1997. Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Tarrytown, New York: Triumph Books, 1991. Turner, Paul. Confirmation: The Baby in Solomon 's Court. New York: Paulist Press, 1993.