MICHELLE C.

CLACIO

BEED/ SISTER SAPNA/ CHURCH LITHURGY

WHAT IS A SACRAMENTS?

Sacraments are God's gift to the Church. They both symbolize God acting in the
lives of people and they bring about what they symbolize. One way to think about how
symbolic action has a real impact is to think of an embrace between husband and wife
or between close friends. To those looking on, the embrace is a symbol of the
closeness of the relationship between the people. For the people themselves the
embrace actually brings them closer together as through it they feel more strongly
bonded to each other. Sacraments are a little like that. 
When a person is baptized, those observing the symbolic action of either
immersion in water or of water being poured - are prompted to think of wide range of
associations that water brings to mind. Examples include water that cleanses, rain that
refreshes parched land; the sea, lakes and rivers teaming with life; floods that destroy;
and our fear of drowning. For the person who is baptized the experience of symbolic
drowning and cleansing has an impact on their interior life of feelings and values.
Through God’s grace bestowed in the Sacrament of Baptism a Christian’s life takes on
a new meaning and their relationship with God and the Christian community becomes
deeper and richer. 
All of the sacraments involve people making use of material things acting in
symbolic ways. God’s grace works in the body, mind and spirit of a person as they
participate in sacramental action. Sacraments have a real effect on the life of those who
accept them as gifts from God. In and through sacraments people, are invited to reflect
upon the meaning and significance of their relationship with God, with others and all of
creation. There are seven sacraments. They fit into three categories, as follows: 
Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation 
Sacraments of Healing: Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick. 
Sacraments in the service of Communion: Marriage, Holy Order

HOW DOES SACRAMENTS HELP US IN OUR FAITH AS CHRISTIAN?

We all have those moments in our lives that we say were formative for the
shaping of which we are today. We celebrate birthdays in our homes every year. We
remember our wedding anniversaries and the dates on which we first met our spouses
or made a life-changing career decision. Often, these events have sights and smells
that are associated with them, or particular sights and smells bring to mind particular
episodes or feelings. If your mother made you a special batch of chicken soup every
time you got sick, smelling hot chicken broth might evoke fond memories of her and her
care. Finding a treasured doll or stuffed animal from your childhood will likely take you
back to those days and the experiences you enjoyed. This human tendency to
remember important events by means of tangible objects carries right over into the
religious sphere. We understand that the life and worship of the church involves what
we call “Word and sacrament.” In Protestant churches particularly, there has been a
tremendous emphasis on the preaching of the Word, but historically, the celebration of
the sacraments in Protestantism has also been vital. Sadly, there has been a neglect of
the sacraments among modern evangelicals, though there are encouraging signs that
this trend is being reversed. Nevertheless, the celebration of God-ordained sacraments
has been a constant throughout the history of God’s people. From the days of the Old
Testament all the way through the New Testament, God has been concerned not only
to speak to His people through His Word, but also to communicate in other ways and in
other methods, one of the most important of which is through the sacraments.

The Sacraments:

Baptism

(In the Christian Church) the religious rite of sprinkling water onto a person's
forehead or of immersion in water, symbolizing purification or regeneration and
admission to the Christian Church. In many denominations, baptism is performed on
young children and is accompanied by name-giving

FORM. The ordinary ministers of baptism are the bishops and priests and in the Latin
Church, also the deacon. The words said at the time of baptism are called the form.
“(Name), I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Confirmation

This is the sacrament that follows Baptism as part of the initiation process with
God and the Church, where the candidate receives the gift of the Holy Spirit and
continues their journey with Christ. During Confirmation, the candidate is anointed on
the forehead with chrism by a bishop. Since baptism typically happens when the
candidate is a baby, confirmation is a great way for an older child to acknowledge that
they still want to continue their journey with God and grow their relationship with Him.
Celebrate your child’s confirmation by giving them a Bible with meaningful verses
highlighted or cross as a daily reminder of God’s love.

Matter: Chrism Oil

Form: "Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Minister: Bishop, sometimes a priest.

Eucharist

Eucharist means thanksgiving. This is when Christ’s body and blood are offered
and then received by the parishioner in the form of bread and wine. Christ during the
Last Supper broke bread, ate it, gave it to his disciples and told them to eat it. Now the
priest, through the words of consecration, blesses and administers the Holy Communion
during every mass to remind followers that they are one with Christ.

Matter: Bread and Wine turned into Body and Blood

Form: "This is my body... This is my blood."

Minister: Priest is need to consecrate, anyone can administer it.

Reconciliation

The purpose of Confession is to reconcile to God, for us to repent of our sins and
to receive His forgiveness and His penance, thus making us worthy to receive HIM in
the Most Holy Eucharist! It is known as Reconciliation as we are reconciled both with
God and with each other in this most wonderful sacrament.

Matter: Anointing of oil on the forehead.

Form: "Through this holy anointing, may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with
the grace of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise
you up.”

Minister: Can only be done by a priest.

Matrimony

The Sacrament of Marriage is a lasting commitment of a man and a woman to a lifelong

partnership, established for the good of each other and the procreation of their
children. ... Through the sacrament of Matrimony, the Church teaches that Jesus gives
the strength and grace to live the real meaning of marriage.

Form: The couple, meaning one man and one woman: The I do's, by which both
spouses indicate their mutual consent to the marriage covenant.

Matter: Mutual Consent and Covenant to live together as husband and wife after the
consummation of the Marriage Mutual consent to offering marriage, rings

Minister: Priest or a Deacon

Holy Orders

Catholic men who “take Holy Orders” receive a special sacrament called Holy
Orders, which creates the hierarchy of deacon, priest, and bishop. These men (who are
ordained by a bishop by means of that sacrament) serve the spiritual needs of others in
the Catholic Church.

A baptized man must first be ordained a deacon before being ordained a priest
and ordained a priest before being ordained a bishop. So every priest and every bishop
has experienced the Sacrament of Holy Orders more than once, but he experiences
ordination to each level only once.

Matter: Laying on of hands

Form: "A prayer of ordination according to the particular order"

Minister: Bishop

Anointing of the sick

Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of the Catholic Church that is administered

to a Catholic "who, having reached the age of reason, begins to be in danger due to
sickness or old age", except in the case of those who "persevere obstinately in manifest
grave sin"

Matter: Anointing of oil on the forehead

FORM: through this holy anointing, may the lord and his love and mercy help you with
the grace of Holy Spirit. May the lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up

Minister: can only be done by priest

The Holy Eucharist is the greatest of all sacraments and is central to our faith

The Eucharist has always been one of the most important aspects of Christianity.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church strongly asserts the "Real Presence" of Jesus'
body in the Eucharist; this is to say that the sacrament is not symbolic of the body and
blood of Jesus but rather that it is his body and blood.
The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is central to our Catholic faith. Belief in the
Eucharist as our belief in the Holy Eucharist is an act of faith. The Eucharist is a mystery
that cannot be Proven scientifically. It is beyond human understanding. St Thomas
Aquinas attempted to explain the process using the term transubstantiation. The
substance of the bread and wine, by the power of the Holy Spirit, becomes the true
substance of Christ without a change in the outward appearance or physical properties
of bread and wine though it is a matter.