WHAT ARE SACRAMENTS?
In the Roman Catholic tradition, a sacrament is a sign through which God communicates God’s love, God’s life and God’s forgiveness of us. The Sacraments are one of the ways God says, “HERE I AM. I LOVE YOU! What I desire is that you experience life in all its fullness.”
The first and greatest of these signs is Jesus Christ himself. Everything Jesus said or did here on earth was a visible sign of God’s love for us. Jesus is not just a historical figure who lived two thousand years ago. Through his Spirit Jesus lives on in the community of believers – the Church- in their everyday lives and in their gathering together for Sunday Mass. For Jesus, fullness of life is life in the Spirit, and life in the Spirit is love. Without love, no life can be truly full, even if it seems successful.
In the tradition of the Catholic Church, there are sacred moments when Jesus reaches out to his followers in special ways. We call these sacred moments, sacraments. There are seven sacraments of the Church – Baptism; Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Marriage, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. Through the use of words, gestures and symbols such as water, light, oil, bread and wine, and our acts of worship, we experience God’s love for us in ways we can touch, feel and see.
