| The Sacraments THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH The history of human salvation is the history of the way God came to men. The first step on this way was the bridging of the gulf separating God and man in the person of the one Mediator Jesus Christ and by His work of redemption. By means of His Church Christ makes His grace available to all. Only in this application of redemption to mankind is the redemptive action of Christ completed. The doctrine of the Sacraments is the doctrine of the second part of God's way of salvation to us. It deals with the holy signs which Christ instituted as the vehicles of His grace. The great mystery of the union in Christ of a human nature with the second Person of the Godhead is that the human actions and sufferings of Christ are divine actions and sufferings. The Sacraments are a living continuation of this mystery. The signs of the Sacraments have been made by Christ into vehicles of His grace. They effect in men the grace for which Christ made them the sign. So there are two fundamental ideas which constantly recur in the Church's teaching, on the Sacraments. First, there is the Church's concern for these instituted by Christ, their number, and their proper preservation and administration; then the grace which Christ has for all time linked with these signs and which is communicated by them. The second is the effect of the sacraments. They are the signs of Christ's work; the effectiveness of Christ's continuing work in his Church cannot be dependent on man's inadequacy. A Sacrament, administered properly in the way established by Christ and with the proper intention, gives the grace it signifies. It is effective not by reason of the power of intercession of priestly prayer nor on account of the worthiness of the recipient, but solely by the power of Christ. The power of Christ lives in the Sacraments. The effect of the sacrament is independent of the sinfulness or unworthiness of the minister. THE CHURCH THUS TEACHES: There are seven Sacraments. They were instituted by Christ and given to the Church to administer. They are necessary for salvation. The Sacraments are the vehicles of grace which they convey. They are validly administered by the carrying out of the sign with the proper intention. Not all are equally qualified to administer all the Sacraments. The validity of the Sacrament is independent of the worthiness of the minister. Three Sacraments imprint an indelible character. *Sacramentals are instituted by the Church and are effective by virtue of the Church's intercession. Institution and alteration of them is reserved to the Holy See. The Sacrament of Baptism 
"Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." ~ John 3:5 BAPTISM is the sacrament that frees man from original sin and from personal guilt, that makes him a member of Christ and His Church. It is thus the door to a new and supernatural life.
THE CHURCH TEACHES: Baptism is a true sacrament instituted by Christ. It is administered by washing with natural water and at the same time invoking the Most Holy Trinity. Anybody, even an unbeliever or a heretic can validly administer baptism. Since it confers grace by the signs' being properly carried out children can and should be baptized even while still infants. Baptism is necessary for salvation. Baptism effects the remission of original sin and actual sins and of all punishment due to sin; it confers sanctifying grace, membership in Christ and in the Church and the obligation to obey the Church's laws, and gives an indelible character. ~ ~ ~ The Sacrament of Penance ( or Reconciliation) 
"..As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. When He had said this, he breathed on them, and He said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. ~John 20:21-23 If the Church is to fulfil in its entirely her task of saving mankind she needs the power to forgive sins. It is a power essentially different from her mission to preach the Gospel and baptize. In baptism, indeed all sins and the punishment due to them are remitted. Baptism is the first justification. But the first justification is also the first entry into the realm of the supernatural which works entirely by God's grace and which asks of the person baptized no more than that he turn away from sin and turn in faith to Christ. Penance is something different. A baptized person who sins again, sins against God to whom, since his baptism in the name of the Most Holy Trinity, he belongs. He also betrays the Church of which he is now a member. Thus, the new atonement assumes the character of a legal trial, with accusation, sentence and satisfaction. The practice of penance has varied considerably down the centuries. In very early days satisfaction, public penance was performed. Re-acceptance into the Church community normally took place only after completion of the penance imposed. More and more, however, penance has withdrawn from the public domain and today only the private administration of the sacrament is still in use. The development of the system of confession shows that misunderstanding easily arises about the nature of penance. THE CHURCH TEACHES: The Church has the power to forgive all sins. This forgiveness of sins is a true Sacrament instituted by Christ, different from baptism, particularly on account of its judicial form. Sins are forgiven only by the sacrament of penance. Sins are forgiven by absolution which can only be given by an authorized priest. It is a real judicial pardon. The Church has the power to reserve certain cases. On the part of the sinner contrition, confession and satisfaction are required. Contrition is aversion to the sins committed. Perfect contrition remits sin even before confession if it is joined with the intention to confess. Imperfect contrition (attrition) is sufficient if there is confession, and is a good and salutary thing. Confession must cover all mortal sins committed since baptism and not previously confessed. Venial sins, and sins already confessed can validly be confessed. And satisfaction, reparation must be rendered in the form of a performed penance. The effect of the sacrament is reconciliation with God, that is, the remission of sins and the eternal punishment but not all the temporal punishment. ~ ~ ~ The Sacrament of The Holy Eucharist 
The doctrine of the holy Eucharist consists of that of the Eucharist sacrifice, the sacrificial meal, and the sacrificial food, or to express it otherwise, it consists of the doctrine of the Mass, of Communion, and of the Real Presence. There is no presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament that is not meant first and foremost as food for the faithful people, and there is no sacramental union with Christ in Holy Communion that is not to be thought of as a sacrificial meal: 'For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come' (1 Cor. 11:26). The Eucharistic meal can only be prepared in the sacrifice of the Mass. Thus the mystery of the Eucharist summarizes the whole mystery of our redemption. There are two fundamental relationships in which Christ stands to us. First, He is our priestly mediator with God, and offers Him atonement for our sins. But Christ is not a stranger to us, who merely represents us as a propitiator before God. He comes to us in the second relationship by being the Mediator of the grace which God gives us on account of His sacrifice. That is the mystery of our union with Christ who is the source of all grace for us. 
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