Sacraments

The Latin word sacramentum means "a sign of the sacred." The seven sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God's saving presence. That's what theologians mean when they say that sacraments are at the same time signs and instruments of God's grace.

Msgr. John Zenz, of the archdiocese of Detroit, walks us through the seven sacraments of the church.

Introduction to the Sacraments

"The sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace. Signs, there are all kinds of signs around us but sacraments are unique as signs because they are signs of the presence and love of God for us and of our desire to come in contact or encounter God."

Anointing of the Sick

"One of the major ministries of Jesus was healing of the sick — even raising the dead to new life. And of course, in the tradition of the church, we are very familiar with St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, as being the patron saint of happy death."

The Sacrament of Baptism

"When many of us were baptized, say a half century or so ago, the concern was to rush to have a child baptized right away to remove original sin and allow the child to receive sanctifying grace and make him or her a temple of God. Today, we have an appreciation of this sacrament as part of something larger, initiation into the Church."

The Sacrament of Confirmation

"The Sacrament of Confirmation is about proclaiming the good news of our faith to all the world - be ready to go out to the ends of the earth as did the apostles."

The Sacrament of
Holy Eucharist

"The third and final sacrament of initiation goes by many names. Most commonly, we speak of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist — sometimes we say Holy Communion or the Mass. The sacrament really encompasses many things."

The Sacrament of
Holy Orders

'We believe that Jesus Christ, the son of God, became human. And that when he came among us, he was and is our true and eternal high priest. He is also the prophet of God and he is truly the shepherd king or ruler of God's people."

The Sacrament of Matrimony

"All the sacraments involve God taking ordinary things and using them for his purposes and so we use things like water and oil, bread and wine. In the sacrament of marriage, we bring something very natural — the human body and human love."

The Sacrament of Penance

"And now for everyone's favorite sacrament — The Sacrament of Penance. Jesus certainly forgave sins during his own lifetime as we see alluded to a number of times in the scriptures."

Links for more information on the Seven Sacraments

Porcelain ornament from our online giftshop featuring an image taken from the stained cathedral glass window "Angel in Gethsemane" at St. John Roman Catholic Church in Middletown, CT.