Activities of the Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church

The altar of a Catholic church, where many sacraments are performed.

There is a total of Seven Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Four of these sacraments are mandatory for adherents of the Catholic faith, while three others are optional. The sacraments were developed from the theological problems presented by the concept of Original Sin and the nature of man to respond to what their senses perceive as opposed to the spiritual and unseen.

Baptism

A typical Catholic baptism includes the priest, parents and godparents.

This is the very first sacrament that most Catholics experience, and it is customarily performed when the subject is still an infant. The candidate is first anointed with the oil of catechumens, then the parents, godparents and the subject himself (if he is able) make professions of faith. The priest then anoints the candidate with water while pronouncing that he is baptized "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit."

First Confession

A wooden and paper screen used for the sacrament of Confession.

This sacrament recalls the power that Christ gave to his disciples to forgive sins. This sacrament is also called Reconciliation or Penance and is part of preparing for another sacrament, First Communion. A candidate will enter a private confessional divided by a screen, ask the priest for a blessing and begin by saying when he has had his last confession. The priest will absolve the candidate of his sins and, as an act of penitence, charge him with prayer, an extra tithe or charity work.

First Communion

Communion wafers are intended to symbolize the Body of Christ.

This sacrament brings an initiate Catholic into what St. James Martyr called "the source and summit of all Christian life" in 155 A.D. It recalls the Last Supper of Jesus and His apostles the night before he was captured and crucified by the Romans. Candidates simply attend a regular Catholic mass but join the rest of the congregation in taking the Eucharist for the first time. No other prayers or rituals are necessary.

Confirmation

The Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove or tongue of flame in Catholic art.

Confirmation is a sacrament in which candidates receive the Holy Spirit and recalls the passage in scripture when Jesus inspired the disciples to spread the word of God (Acts 2, Chapters 1 to 4). The initiate is anointed on the forehead with chrism, a sacred oil, and the Priest touches him and says, "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." This rite is believed to imbue certain traits in the candidate as gifts from the Holy Spirit, like wisdom, piety and fortitude.

Marriage

Catholic marriage is symbolic of the union of the Church and Christ.

Marriage in the Catholic church is symbolic of the union between Christ and the Church. There are certain variations in every marriage, but a Catholic marriage must take place in a church, both candidates must be baptized Catholics and exchange vows with a minister or priest acting as a witness. This rite is also accompanied by readings from Genesis about the creation of men and women or excerpts of St. Paul's letter to the Ephesians, in which marriage is mentioned specifically.

Holy Orders

This sacrament is reserved for those who are entering the priesthood or a convent. Its activities are similar to those of Confirmation in the sense that the candidate is imbued with the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the same way that Jesus' disciples were in the Acts of the Apostles. The initiate is consecrated by a Bishop with a prayer that asks that the gifts of the Holy Spirit be granted to her so she can "act in the person of Christ."

Annointing of the Sick

Last Rites can also incude Biblical passages that are important to the candidate.

Also known by the more ominous name of Last Rites and by the Latin term Extreme Uncton, this sacrament is given to Catholics who are very ill. A priest will anoint the forehead and hands of the sick person with a special type of oil, often chrism, that has been blessed. This action is accompanied by the recitation of a prayer asking the Holy Spirit for help and mercy.

References

• Jesus Christ Saviour: Sacraments
• New Advent: Sacraments
• New Advent: Chrism
• New Advent: Catechumen