The Seven Sacraments - Hans Juan

Sacraments are significant and holy events in which God is involved in a Catholic’s spiritual life. The word “Sacrament” was derived from the Latin world “Sacramentum” which means “a sign of the sacred” (The Seven Catholic Sacraments, http://www.americancatholic.org). Examples of Sacraments are the Holy Mass, the Sacrament of Baptism, the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, the Sacrament of Matrimony and the Sacrament of Holy Order.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the act of cleansing a Catholic from the Original Sin, which was sought by the believed first people of the world, Adam and Eve, when they fell into the devil’s temptation and betrayed God. The Sacrament of Confirmation is an initiation of generally strengthening the relationship between man and God. It is supposed to unite Catholics more with Christ, by making one be unashamed of the Cross, to confess in the name of the Lord, and to spread His word. The Holy Eucharist is the reminder or reenactment of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with His disciples. With bread and wine, the blessing of God symbolizes these as the body and blood of Christ. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the act of confessing and repenting of one’s sins to God through a Priest or to one of a higher position. The Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is the healing of one who is sick through faith in Christ. The Sacrament of Matrimony is the life long union between man and woman ordained by God, for the purpose of love and the creation of new life. The Sacrament of Holy Order is the ordaining of people into the Apostolic Succession, most commonly into priesthood.

There are a few religions that harness the same sacraments, but are done in different manners, and sometimes for different purposes. For example, in Baptism, Catholics get baptized while they are infants, while Christians may be baptized as adults, just like Jesus was an adult when he was baptized by Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan River. The Sacrament of Confirmation is called the Sacrament of Chrismation in the Orthodox religion. The difference between Confirmation and Chrismation is that the Orthodox Sacrament uses different materials such as chrism and myrrh. In Catholic practice, Holy Communion is undergone in every mass, while some protestant religions (such as Iglesia ni Cristo) only take Holy Communion once a year with real unleavened bread. In The Sacrament of Reconciliation, Catholics must confess to a priest or to a bishop to be forgiven and cleansed. On the other hand, Born Again Christians need only to pray to God for forgiveness and penance.