The Seven Sacraments 1

By Josh Justine M. Allapitan

STEM 12- St. Jude

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Throughout our whole lives, we are in constant process of growth and development.
One might find it very amusing to take a tour back to our old pictures in the past.
Looking at our first baby picture up until to when we blow our first cake, ride our first
bike, picture in our school back when we were a bit timid and skinny. It is indeed
amazing and fascinating to think of all those years of development and comparing them
to what we are right now. Certainly for sure, we are a lot more different than the last time
physically and personally.

If we relate this in the liturgy, this growths and development in life corresponds to
the seven sacraments. But first, what is sacrament? Well, a sacrament is an outward
efficacious sign instituted by Christ to give grace upon us. This means that along with
our share in the life of God, this life specifically, sacraments are the graces bestowed
upon us in order to understand that our life corresponds with the seven sacraments and
also to understand that Christ is the sacrament and he give himself in order to save us. It
is through humanity that the grace of the Trinity comes to us as a grace through the
sacraments, and Jesus, is and always will be the mediator of the sacraments in order to
allow grace to flow all throughout human kind.

The one who instituted the sacraments is Jesus Christ himself, and it then became
part of the Tradition of the early Church. The saving effects of Christ’s redemption on
the Cross are communicated through the sacraments, more specially in the liturgical
celebration in the Eucharist. This means that each sacraments is connected to the passion,
life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ himself. It is not just a mere cycle
of things, but instead, it is essential towards following the path that Jesus has laid in front
of us. The sacraments to this day are called mysteries in the Eastern Church.

Catholic as well as Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize the seven sacraments of

Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders,
and Matrimony. The three sacraments of Initiation are the sacrament of Baptism,
Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist. The two sacraments of Healing are the sacrament of
Penance and Anointing of the Sick. And the two sacraments of Vocation are the
sacrament of Holy Orders and Matrimony. Each of these sacrament is consisted of a
visible external rite which is matter and form. For instances, in the sacrament of Baptism,
the matter of pouring water and the form is the words spoken by the minister. If we all
take a closer look to these and relate them in our life’s development and growth, one can
find that each sacraments occurs at pivotal events in our lives like baptism when one is
born, matrimony when one is married and such.

The sacraments act ex opere operato, by the very fact of the action being performed
independently by the minister, and the effect on the person receiving the sacrament is
called ex opere operantis. But what makes us free and help us respond to the call of
God? The answer to that is grace. Due to God’s grace we are able to respond to his call
and we are able to be guided throughout our day to day lives and in our development as
human and as sons and daughter to God.

Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, since it is where we became a
Christian. Even back then when Jesus was baptized in the Jordan river, it conveys a sign
that us who is baptized are sons/daughters of God. We all know that baptism includes
pouring of water on the head of an infant and then the infant/candidate is then anointed
with sacred chrism. Not only infants are able to undergo baptism, but also every person
as long as one is willing to convert and accept Christ and God.

Next to Baptism is Confirmation, Confirmation is the sacrament of the Holy spirit.

Back when Jesus told his Apostles that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and
eventually became witnesses.Confirmation then is the anointing in one’s forehead, the
recipient then receives the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Confirmation then act as a way
for every one of us to have a guiding post that will aid us in our journey towards our
development in life.

After Confirmation comes the Eucharist, as we all know, Eucharist is the summit of
the Christian life, meaning that in the Eucharist one is able to consume the words of God
as well as their teachings through masses. Each and everyone of us already attended the
Eucharist. For it is here that we are able to be enlightened and it is here where we find
the answer to our problems in our day to day lives.

Next to Eucharist is Penance. For all the sins that we have done, we must repent and
ask forgiveness. Jesus Christ gives Apostles the power to forgive sins. This sacrament in
these sense is the sacrament of Conversion, Forgiveness, Penance and reconciliation.
With this sacrament, we can gain a wonderful sense of freedom one never experienced
before. For everything is a wonderful experience, asking for forgiveness of one’s self and
others are also very very wonderful, since we are not only asking it for ourselves but for
others as well.

After Penance is the Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is given to the seriously
ill Christians. The special grace received by the person enables him/her to be united with
Christ’s passion. Just as Jesus heals the sick and cures the blind, this sacrament also
enables one to heal through the grace bestowed upon by the Holy spirit. This sacrament
consists of anointing of the forehand and hands of the person with a blessed oil. Every
sick person are vulnerable, so whenever we had a loved ones who is sick, we take care of
them, same thing goes with what God feels and do, through this sacrament.

Holy orders began with the Last supper when Jesus commissioned the Apostles to
continue the Eucharistic celebration. This sacrament in a sense is the sacrament of the
Apostolic ministry or the Christian priesthood.. It is all about the Church. After Holy
orders is Matrimony which is the union of man and woman on which their bond are
strengthened by their bond, and love of one another, more importantly, the grace and
blessing bestowed by God through their Matrimony.

These seven sacraments are crucial to our development as Christians. Each and
every sacraments are connected to the pivotal events in our life, meaning to say that
similar to our life, these sacraments mirrors those events and enables us to be fully
guided in our journey towards our life. These gives graces bestowed upon Christ and
God to us. As a christian, we mus participate and be proud of our religion as well as
participate in these sacraments for this is our life. The life that God had given us.