Rituals in the Catholic Religion
In Catholicism, one of the world's oldest and universal religions, there are a great number of important rituals ranging from exorcism to reconciliation. Drawing from Christ's promise to remain with the church after his departure from Earth, Catholics believe that their priests and ordained have the ability to engage and perform rites that forgive sins and confer grace. Among these rites, seven are very often used and are called sacraments. Catholics believe that each sacrament symbolizes and produces spiritual effects in the recipient.
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Baptism
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In baptism, someone is washed in some fashion, but usually just their forehead, with water. Catholics believe that the external washing symbolizes and produces the spiritual cleansing, and one receives remission of all his sins and all temporal punishment of all his sins. It makes one a member of the Catholic Church, and makes them capable to receive the other sacraments. Interestingly, this is the one sacrament that can be administered lawfully by anyone, even a non-Catholic, as long as they use water and the proper words of baptism.
Confirmation
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Confirmation is the sacrament of spiritual strengthening, where the anointing with chrism symbolizes and produces spiritual strength and the laying on of hands symbolizes the descent of the Holy Spirit. Catholics believe that confirmation is not strictly necessary for salvation but its spiritual effects are extremely useful. It can be administered to any unconfirmed baptized person of whatever age. In the Western Church, it is usually after the age of reason and after suitable instruction. In the Eastern Church, it is immediately after baptism.
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Holy Orders
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Holy orders is a sacrament whereby certain spiritual powers are conferred together with the sacramental grace to perform ecclesiastical duties worthily. There are three grades: deacon, priest and bishop. The fullness of holy orders is found only in a bishop, and can only be conferred by a bishop. Holy orders makes one a priest of Christ, able to act in his person.
The permanent character imparts the power of administering sacred things belonging to Christ's worship of God. Because this character is permanent, laicization (in the sense of reduction to the lay state) is impossible. If a cleric is laicized, it means that he is dispensed from priestly obligations, and may not exercise priestly function; but he does not lose the power to say Mass.
Eucharist
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The sacrament of the Euchrarist is the central mystery of Catholic worship. The word means thanksgiving either because Christ gave thanks at its institution or because it is the highest act of Christian gratitude to God. Catholics believe that Christ is really and substantially present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist, noting that Christ promised that he would feed men with his body and blood, saying that: "This is my body, this is my blood." By these words, Jesus changed bread into his body, and wine into his blood. This change is called transubstantiation.
Catholics also believe that the Mass is a true sacrifice, one in the same as the Last Supper and the sacrifice of Calvary. The Mass is believed to be a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, not a representation or duplication. The priest is the same (Christ) in the Mass he acts through the ministry of the priest. The victim is the same. His death is presented in the Mass by the separation of his body and blood affected by the consecration.
The Eucharist produces nourishment through the presence of Christ, and it symbolizes unity. The unity of the community is symbolized by the common sharing of one body in the Eucharist and it produces unity in our personal unity with Christ in charity and through Christ with one another.
Penance (Reconciliation, Confession)
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In this sacrament, Catholics believe that the penitent's sorrow symbolizes the destruction of his past sins and his desire to be rid of them. The sacrament achieves the forgiveness of these sins once absolution has been given by the priest, and it provides special assistance to overcome the sins confessed.
The belief is that forgiveness of sin is divine work, beginning with grace for repentance. Then, the person must respond with contrition, confession and satisfaction, and then the priest applies his words to these actions, completing the sacrament. If the recipient does not have the will to repent, however, there can be no pardon for his sins, despite going through the actions of the sacrament.
Matrimony
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Matrimony is the external sign of mutual expressed consent symbolizing and producing the union of the spouses. The nature of sacramental marriage is that it is a contract, the essence of which consists in the consent mutually given and exteriorly manifested whereby a man and a woman give the exclusive right over each other in regard to acts suited by nature for the procreation of children. If this right is withheld by either party, then there is no contract, no marriage, no sacrament.
The marriage comes into existence only by the ceremony: the exchange of vows. Permanence is a quality of Catholic sacramental marriage, and the parties cannot either simply or jointly dissolve the marriage bond. However, if it is found that one or both of the parties lacked an understanding of the contract, or there was some other impediment at the time of marriage, the parties can get their marriage annulled, where the church declares that a valid marriage never took place.
Anointing of the Sick (Last Rites)
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Anointing of the sick is a sacrament by which through the anointing with oil and the prayer of the priest, health is conferred on the soul and sometimes of the body. It is performed on someone who has reached the age of reason and who is in danger of death because of illness or weak because of age. The anointing signifies and symbolizes the spiritual strength and healing. The minister is any priest and only a priest. Deacons cannot administer this sacrament. The sacrament may be repeated when after recovery, one falls seriously ill again, or a more serious condition develops.
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