What Are Sacraments?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 'The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace,
instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us'

The Seven Sacraments

The Catholic Church recognizes seven sacraments:

Baptism

Eucharist

Confirmation

Reconciliation

Anointing of the sick

Marriage

Holy orders

Baptism
Baptism is an outward act that symbolizes the inward phenomenon of coming to and accepting
Jesus Christ as real, as God incarnate, as the sacrificial means by which those who believe in
him can be forever reconciled to God. The purpose of baptism is to give visual testimony of our
commitment to Christ. It is the first step of discipleship

Holy Eucharist

The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the appearances
of bread and wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received.

Confirmation

Confirmation is conferred after Baptism to strengthen the work of the Holy Spirit begun in
Baptism. Confirmation assists the person to conform more closely to Christ. It calls s the person
to accept a sense of mission to be sent out to the world to be a living vital witness to the
teaching of Jesus, the Lord.
Reconciliation

reconciliation is the process of ensuring that two sets of records are in agreement.
Reconciliation is used to ensure that the money leaving an account matches the actual
money spent. This is done by making sure the balances match at the end of a particular
accounting period

Anointing of the sick

administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during an illness, especially near the
time of death. It is most likely one of the last sacraments one will receive. A sacrament is an
outward sign established by Jesus Christ to confer inward grace. In more basic terms, it is a rite
that is performed to convey God’s grace to the recipient, through the power of the Holy Spirit

Marriage

also called matrimony or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognised union between spouses
that establishes rights and obligations between those spouses, as well as between them and
any resulting biological or adopted children and affinity.

Holy orders

includes three orders: bishop, priest, and deacon. In the phrase "holy orders", the word "holy"
simply means "set apart for some purpose."
Thomas the Apostle

Thomas the Apostle; also called Didymus which means Twin was one
of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, according to the New Testament.

Born: Galilee, Israel

Died: St. Thomas Mount, Ramapuram, India
Full name: Judas Thomas
Nickname: doubting Thomas
Buried: Santhome Cathedral, Chennai, India
Books: The Gnostic Gospels of Thomas, Mary, and John: With Linked
Table of Contents
Saint Peter

Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas,

according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus
Christ, leaders of the early Christian Great Church. Pope Gregory I called him
repeatedly the "Prince of the Apostles".

Born: Bethsaida

Died: 13 October 64 AD, Clementine Chapel

Full name: Shimon

Buried: St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City

Parents: Jonah

Siblings: Andrew the Apostle

Thomas Aquinas

Saint Thomas Aquinas OP was an Italian Dominican friar, Catholic

priest, and Doctor of the Church. He was an immensely influential
philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism,
within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor
Communis.

Born: 1225, Roccasecca, Italy

Died: 7 March 1274, Abbazia di Fossanova, Fossanova, Italy

Feast: 28 January (7 March, until 1969)

Parents: Landulf of Aquino, Theodora Rossi

THE PARTS OF THE MASS

From the General Instruction of the Roman Missal

The Mass is made up of two parts: the Liturgy of the Word

and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There are also certain rites
that open and conclude the celebration.

THE INTRODUCTORY RITES

The rites preceding the Liturgy of the Word, namely the

Entrance, Greeting, Act of Penitence, Kyrie, Gloria, and
Collect, have the character of a beginning, introduction, and
preparation. Their purpose is to ensure that the faithful who
come together as one establish communion and dispose
themselves to listen properly to God's word and to celebrate
the Eucharist worthily.

The Entrance

After the people have gathered, the Entrance chant begins

as the priest enters with the deacon and ministers. The
purpose of this chant is to open the celebration, foster the
unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their
thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical season or festivity,
and accompany the procession of the priest and ministers.

The Greeting

When they reach the sanctuary, the priest, the deacon, and
the ministers reverence the altar with a profound bow. As an
expression of veneration, moreover, the priest and deacon
then kiss the altar itself; as the occasion suggests, the
priest also incenses the cross and the altar. When the
Entrance chant is concluded, the priest stands at the chair
and, together with the whole gathering, makes the Sign of
the Cross. Then he signifies the presence of the Lord to the
community gathered there by means of the Greeting. By this
Greeting and the people's response, the mystery of the
Church gathered together is made manifest.

The Act of Penitence

Then the priest invites those present to take part in the Act
of Penitence, which, after a brief pause for silence, the
entire community carries out through a formula of general
confession. The rite concludes with the priest's absolution,
which, however, lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of
Penance.

The Kyrie Eleison

After the Act of Penitence, the Kyrie is always begun, unless

it has already been included as part of the Act of Penitence.

The Gloria

The Gloria is a very ancient and venerable hymn in which

the Church, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, glorifies
and entreats God the Father and the Lamb.

The Collect

Next the priest invites the people to pray. All, together with
the priest, observe a brief silence so that they may be
conscious of the fact that they are in God's presence and
may formulate their petitions mentally. Then the priest says
the prayer which is customarily known as the Collect and
through which the character of the celebration is expressed.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

The main part of the Liturgy of the Word is made up of the

readings from Sacred Scripture together with the chants
occurring between them. The Homily, Profession of Faith,
and Prayer of the Faithful, however, develop and conclude
this part of the Mass.

The Biblical Readings

In the readings, the table of God's word is prepared for the

faithful, and the riches of the Bible are opened to them. The
reading of the Gospel is the high point of the Liturgy of the
Word. The Liturgy itself teaches that great reverence is to
be shown to it by setting it off from the other readings with
special marks of honor: whether the minister appointed to
proclaim it prepares himself by a blessing or prayer; or the
faithful, standing as they listen to it being read, through
their acclamations acknowledge and confess Christ present
and speaking to them; or the very marks of reverence are
given to the Book of the Gospels.

After the first reading comes the responsorial Psalm, which

is an integral part of the Liturgy of the Word and holds great
liturgical and pastoral importance, because it fosters
meditation on the word of God. After the reading that
immediately precedes the Gospel, the Alleluia or another
chant indicated by the rubrics is sung, as required by the
liturgical season. An acclamation of this kind constitutes a
rite or act in itself, by which the assembly of the faithful
welcomes and greets the Lord who is about to speak to
them in the Gospel and professes their faith by means of the
chant.

The Homily

The homily is part of the Liturgy and is strongly

recommended, for it is necessary for the nurturing of the
Christian life. It should be an exposition of some aspect of
the readings from Sacred Scripture or of another text from
the Ordinary or from the Proper of the Mass of the day and
should take into account both the mystery being celebrated
and the particular needs of the listeners. (There is to be a
homily on Sundays and holy days of obligation at all Masses
that are celebrated with the participation of a congregation;
it may not be omitted without a serious reason. It is
recommended on other days, especially on the weekdays of
Advent, Lent, and the Easter Season, as well as on other
festive days and occasions when the people come to church
in greater numbers.)

The Profession of Faith

The purpose of the Symbolum or Profession of Faith, or

Creed, is that the whole gathered people may respond to the
word of God proclaimed in the readings taken from Sacred
Scripture and explained in the homily and that they may also
call to mind and confess the great mysteries of the faith by
reciting the rule of faith in a formula approved for liturgical
use, before these mysteries are celebrated in the Eucharist.

The Prayer of the Faithful

In the Prayer of the Faithful, the people respond in a certain

way to the word of God which they have welcomed in faith
and, exercising the office of their baptismal priesthood, offer
prayers to God for the salvation of all.

THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

At the Last Supper Christ instituted the Paschal Sacrifice

and banquet by which the Sacrifice of the Cross is
continuously made present in the Church whenever the
priest, representing Christ the Lord, carries out what the
Lord himself did and handed over to his disciples to be done
in his memory. For Christ took the bread and the chalice and
gave thanks; he broke the bread and gave it to his disciples,
saying, "Take, eat, and drink: this is my Body; this is the cup
of my Blood. Do this in memory of me." Accordingly, the
Church has arranged the entire celebration of the Liturgy of
the Eucharist in parts corresponding to precisely these
words and actions of Christ:

1. At the Preparation of the Gifts, the bread and the wine

with water are brought to the altar, the same elements that
Christ took into his hands.
2. In the Eucharistic Prayer, thanks is given to God for the
whole work of salvation, and the offerings become the Body
and Blood of Christ.

3. Through the Fraction and through Communion, the

faithful, though they are many, receive from the one bread
the Lord's Body and from the one chalice the Lord's Blood in
the same way the Apostles received them from Christ's own
hands.

The Preparation of the Gifts

At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist the gifts,

which will become Christ's Body and Blood, are brought to
the altar. First, the altar, the Lord's table, which is the
center of the whole Liturgy of the Eucharist, is prepared by
placing on it the corporal, purificator, Missal, and chalice
(unless the chalice is prepared at the credence table). The
offerings are then brought forward. It is praiseworthy for the
bread and wine to be presented by the faithful. They are
then accepted at an appropriate place by the priest or the
deacon and carried to the altar. Even though the faithful no
longer bring from their own possessions the bread and wine
intended for the liturgy as in the past, nevertheless the rite
of carrying up the offerings still retains its force and its
spiritual significance.

Once the offerings have been placed on the altar and the
accompanying rites completed, the invitation to pray with
the priest and the prayer over the offerings conclude the
preparation of the gifts and prepare for the Eucharistic
Prayer.

The Eucharistic Prayer

Now the center and summit of the entire celebration begins:

namely, the Eucharistic Prayer, that is, the prayer of
thanksgiving and sanctification. The Eucharistic Prayer
demands that all listen to it with reverence and in silence.

The chief elements making up the Eucharistic Prayer may be

distinguished in this way:

a. Thanksgiving (expressed especially in the Preface): In

which the priest, in the name of the entire holy people,
glorifies God the Father and gives thanks for the whole work
of salvation or for some special aspect of it that
corresponds to the day, festivity, or season.

b. Acclamation: In which the whole congregation, joining

with the heavenly powers, sings the Sanctus. This
acclamation, which is part of the Eucharistic Prayer itself, is
sung or said by all the people with the priest.

c. Epiclesis: In which, by means of particular invocations,

the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the
gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is,
become Christ's Body and Blood, and that the spotless
Victim to be received in Communion be for the salvation of
those who will partake of it.
d. Institution narrative and consecration: In which, by means
of words and actions of Christ, the Sacrifice is carried out
which Christ himself instituted at the Last Supper, when he
offered his Body and Blood under the species of bread and
wine, gave them to his Apostles to eat and drink, and left
them the command to perpetuate this same mystery.

e. Anamnesis: In which the Church, fulfilling the command

that she received from Christ the Lord through the Apostles,
keeps the memorial of Christ, recalling especially his
blessed Passion, glorious Resurrection, and Ascension into
heaven.

f. Offering: By which, in this very memorial, the Church—and

in particular the Church here and now gathered—offers in
the Holy Spirit the spotless Victim to the Father. The
Church's intention, however, is that the faithful not only
offer this spotless Victim but also learn to offer themselves,
and so day by day to be consummated, through Christ the
Mediator, into unity with God and with each other, so that at
last God may be all in all.

g. Intercessions: By which expression is given to the fact

that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the
entire Church, of heaven as well as of earth, and that the
offering is made for her and for all her members, living and
dead, who have been called to participate in the redemption
and the salvation purchased by Christ's Body and Blood.
h. Final doxology: By which the glorification of God is
expressed and is confirmed and concluded by the people's
acclamation, Amen.

The Communion Rite

Since the Eucharistic Celebration is the Paschal Banquet, it

is desirable that in keeping with the Lord's command, his
Body and Blood should be received by the faithful who are
properly disposed as spiritual food. This is the sense of the
fraction and the other preparatory rites by which the faithful
are led directly to Communion.

The Lord's Prayer

In the Lord's Prayer a petition is made for daily food, which

for Christians means preeminently the eucharistic bread,
and also for purification from sin, so that what is holy may,
in fact, be given to those who are holy.

The Rite of Peace

The Rite of Peace follows, by which the Church asks for

peace and unity for herself and for the whole human family,
and the faithful express to each other their ecclesial
communion and mutual charity before communicating in the
Sacrament.

The Fraction

The priest breaks the Eucharistic Bread, assisted, if the

case calls for it, by the deacon or a concelebrant. Christ's
gesture of breaking bread at the Last Supper, which gave
the entire Eucharistic Action its name in apostolic times,
signifies that the many faithful are made one body (1 Cor
10:17) by receiving Communion from the one Bread of Life
which is Christ, who died and rose for the salvation of the
world.

Communion

The priest prepares himself by a prayer, said quietly, that he

may fruitfully receive Christ's Body and Blood. The faithful
do the same, praying silently. The priest next shows the
faithful the Eucharistic Bread, holding it above the paten or
above the chalice, and invites them to the banquet of Christ.
Along with the faithful, he then makes an act of humility
using the prescribed words taken from the Gospels.

It is most desirable that the faithful, just as the priest

himself is bound to do, receive the Lord's Body from hosts
consecrated at the same Mass and that, in the instances
when it is permitted, they partake of the chalice, so that
even by means of the signs Communion will stand out more
clearly as a participation in the sacrifice actually being
celebrated.

While the priest is receiving the Sacrament, the Communion

chant is begun. Its purpose is to express the communicants'
union in spirit by means of the unity of their voices, to show
joy of heart, and to highlight more clearly the
"communitarian" nature of the procession to receive
Communion.
When the distribution of Communion is finished, as
circumstances suggest, the priest and faithful spend some
time praying privately. If desired, a psalm or other canticle
of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the entire
congregation.

To bring to completion the prayer of the People of God, and

also to conclude the entire Communion Rite, the priest says
the Prayer after Communion, in which he prays for the fruits
of the mystery just celebrated.

THE CONCLUDING RITES

The concluding rites consist of

a. Brief announcements, if they are necessary;

b. The priest's greeting and blessing, which on certain days

and occasions is enriched and expressed in the prayer over
the People or another more solemn formula;

c. The dismissal of the people by the deacon or the priest,

so that each may go out to do good works, praising and
blessing God;

d. The kissing of the altar by the priest and the deacon,

followed by a profound bow to the altar by the priest, the
deacon, and the other ministers.