“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1)

Channels of Divine Grace

The sacraments show how much God loves us and wants to share His Divine life with us.  They are channels of divine grace flowing from the “river of the water of life…flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1).  They flow from the heart of Christ to every vital aspect of life for members of His Body, the Church.

Because it is humanly impossible to achieve holiness and eternal life on our own, Christ established a sacramental way for us to reach our heavenly goal. The sacraments give us sanctifying grace, which is God’s divine life infused into our souls.

He saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began. (2 Tim 1:9).

What is a Sacrament?

The word “sacrament” comes from the Latin sacramentum, derived from the Greek word mysterion (“mystery”). According to St. Leo the Great, “What was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries.”¹ Sacraments are part of the mysteries of the faith (1 Tim 3:9) handed down through Sacred Tradition and revealed in Sacred Scripture.

The Baltimore Catechism defines a sacrament as “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.”  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines sacraments as:

efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. (CCC, 1131)

Each sacrament helps us to be holy as our Heavenly father is holy. 

But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Why Seven Sacraments?

The number seven was considered “Divinely Perfect” by the Ancient Israelites.² In Hebrew, the word “seven” (sheba or shibah) has the same consonants as “completeness or wholeness,” which encapsulates the number’s meaning.  This concept stems from the book of Genesis:

 On the seventh day, God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. (Genesis 2:1-1).

Seven days completes one whole week. Jesus revealed his divinity by proclaiming “I Am” seven times in the Gospel of John. There are seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and more than 700 other references to the number seven in scripture.

It is no wonder Jesus, the Son of God, instituted Seven Sacraments into His Church: 1) Baptism, 2) Confirmation, 3) Holy Eucharist, 4) Penance (Confession), 5) Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick), 6) Matrimony and 7) Holy Orders.   

Scriptural References for Each Sacrament

Catholic and Orthodox Christians recognize all Seven Sacraments.  Most Protestant Christians, formed after the Reformation in 1517, acknowledge only Baptism and Matrimony.

The Seven Sacraments are part of the Sacred Tradition of Christians passed down from generation to generation from the time of Christ.  Jesus instituted all seven sacraments, which are well-grounded in Sacred Scripture.

    1. HOLY BAPTISM:
      • “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt 28:18-20; see also: Matt 3:4-17; Mark 1:4-11; Mark 16:15-16; John 3:1-7; Acts 2:36-39, 8:14-17, 8:35-40, 11:11-18, 16:13-15, 16:25-34, 18: 8, 19:1-7, 22:6-16; Rom 6:1-12; 1 Cor 12:13; Eph 5:25-26)
    2. HOLY CONFIRMATION:
      • “Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17; see also: Acts 19:3-6; Hebrews 6:2; Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 39:29; Joel 2:28; Hebrews 6:2)
    3. HOLY EUCHARIST:
      • “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:30-71; see also: Matt 26-26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20; Luke 24:35; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 10:16-17, 11:23-29)
    4. HOLY PENANCE/CONFESSION:
      • “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” (John 20:21-23 see also: Matt 16:19, 18:18; James 5:16; Rev 1:18)
    5. HOLY EXTREME UNCTION/ANOINTING OF THE SICK:
      • “Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14-15; see also: Mark 6:13; Luke 4:18, 10:34; Acts 10:38, 19:11-12)
    6. HOLY MATRIMONY:
      • “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matt 19:10-11; see also: Matt 5:31-32; Matt 19:4-6; Mark 10:2-12; Luke 16:18; 1 Cor 7:10-17; Eph 5:31-32)
    7. HOLY ORDERS:
      • “Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task…They presented these men to the apostles who prayed and laid hands on them” (Acts 6:3-6; see also: Acts 13:2-3; 1 Tim 3:1, 3:8-9, 4:14, 4:16, 5:17-19, 5:22)
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Three Categories of Sacraments

    1. SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist
    2. SACRAMENTS OF HEALING: Penance/Confession and Extreme Unction/Anointing of the Sick
    3. SACRAMENTS OF SERVICE: Matrimony and Holy Orders
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Who Administers the Sacraments?

The primary minister of all Seven Sacraments is Jesus Christ, who is head of the Mystical Body. While His ordained priests act as his representatives on earth, the graces flow directly from the throne of God and the Lamb in heaven.

With the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus pours out His graces through His ministers onto the faithful.

Protestants recognize the need for ministers for Baptism and Marriage. They understand that a soul cannot go directly to God to receive the graces from these Sacraments. It is the same concept for all Seven Sacraments, which require a minister to act on behalf of Jesus Christ.

Grace for the Journey

Jesus established all Seven Sacraments to give us the graces we need in our spiritual journey toward perfect love in heaven. Our Lord continues to nourish, heal, guide, and sanctify us with his Divine Life through his ministers.

Baptism removes the stain of original sin and prepares us for our journey as members of the Body of Christ. Confirmation gives us the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the graces we need to fight our daily battles as Christian soldiers. The Eucharist provides us with the sustenance and strength we need to grow in love and continue on our journey to the very end.

When we fall because of human weakness or get sick along the way, we may be renewed and receive healing from the Sacraments of Confession and Annointing of the Sick. The Sacrament of Confession may be viewed as a spiritual shower that washes away the stain of sin as we often fall and get dirty in our journey through life. It is also a powerful spiritual cure when we are mortally wounded by sin and restores us to the state of grace.

Many are called to serve God and his Church through the Sacraments of Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders. Women religious are considered Brides of Christ while others are called to become like Christ in the state of single blessedness. Whichever path God calls us, we all have the same ultimate goal: to get to heaven and experience the joys of everlasting life.

Footnotes:

  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1115  (St. Leo the Great Sermo. 74, 2: PL 54, 398.)
  2. Bible Project Podcast: The Significance of Seven; https://bibleproject.com/podcast/significance-7/; Israel Institute of Biblical Studies; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIS-sgCP6XM&t=41s