Sunday, April 14, 2013

What are the Sacraments?



The sacraments are signs and instruments of God's grace. The seven sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick—are viewed as the life of the Catholic Church. Each sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace. The Catholic Church teaches that a sacrament "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). As an efficacious sign of grace, the sacraments are successful in producing the desired result. Catholic's believe that the sacraments allow us to receive the grace and grow in holiness. Through the sacraments, we are able to grow closer to God and develop a greater relationship with Him.

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