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[EMAIL LINK]Sacrament –
“An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace”
-- Baltimore Catechism
What is a sacrament? This is an important question for Catholics, as our celebrations of sacraments are defining beliefs of our Catholic Faith. Sacraments, our understanding and the celebration of them, often set us apart from other Christian denominations.
Sacraments reveal to us the living God. In the person of Jesus the Christ, God fully revealed himself to us. Jesus, born of Mary the ever-Virgin, came into the world to show us the living God. Jesus is the primary sacrament of God. As Jesus prepared his followers, the Apostles, for his ascension, he instructed them to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the holy Spirit.” (Mt28:19) The Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles at Pentecost, transforming them, empowering them with the same power as Jesus, sending them out, to make Jesus known and present throughout the world, by their teaching and their actions.
Sacraments celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church carry on this Tradition of making Jesus known – through words and actions. We proclaim Jesus’ saving action in our lives – his death, resurrection and ascension to New Life. Sacraments through words proclaimed by priest and community, and the actions of pouring water, anointing with oil, blessing and breaking of bread, sharing of wine, laying on of hands, and exchanging vows makes Jesus’ presence real and alive in our midst.
Sacraments bring to us new life, mercy and reconciliation, the power of a renewed spirit within us. Sacraments transform us by God’s grace, His presence in our lives. Sacraments of initiation bring us into the life and family of God. Sacraments of healing, Jesus the Divine Physician, restores health to our souls and bodies. The sacraments are also moments of anointing and setting us apart for vocation in life – Sacraments of vocation set us on a path of holiness leading us to ways of transforming our families and communities into holy communities of justice and peace.