Sacraments
Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life. (CCC 1210)
Baptism
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the spirit and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as children of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission. (CCC 1213)
Confirmation
By the sacrament of Confirmation, the baptized are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence, they are, as true witnesses of God, more strictly obliged to spread and to defend the faith by word and deed. (CCC 1285)
Communion
The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church’s life, for in it Christ associates His Church and all her members with His sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to His Father. By this sacrifice He pours out the graces of salvation on His Body, which is the Church. (CCC 1407)
Anointing of the Sick
The sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has, as its purpose, the conferral of a special grace on the Christian experiencing the difficulties of grave illness or old age. (CCC 1527)
Penance and Reconciliation
Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against Him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church. (CCC 1422)
Holy Orders
Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission is entrusted by Christ to His apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate and diaconate.
Matrimony
The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. The grace of the sacrament perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life. (CCC 1661)
