Author Topic: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church  (Read 1636 times)

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« on: October 18, 2010, 10:01:09 AM »
The seven sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick—are the life of the Catholic Church. Each sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace. When we participate in them worthily, each provides us with graces—with the life of God in our soul. In worship, we give to God that which we owe Him; in the sacraments, He gives us the graces necessary to live a truly human life.

The first three sacraments—Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion—are called the sacraments of initiation, because the rest of our life as a Christian depends on them.






Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2010, 10:02:52 AM »
The Sacrament of Baptism:

The Sacrament of Baptism, the first of the three sacraments of initiation, is also the first of the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. It removes the guilt and effects of Original Sin and incorporates the baptized into the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ on earth.

The Sacrament of Confirmation:

The Sacrament of Confirmation is the second of the three sacraments of initiation because, historically, it was administered immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism. Confirmation perfects our baptism and brings us the graces of the Holy Spirit that were granted to the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday.

The Sacrament of Holy Communion:

While Catholics in the West today normally make their First Communion before they receive the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the reception of Christ's Body and Blood, was historically the third of the three sacraments of initiation. This sacrament is the source of great graces that sanctify us and help us grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

The Sacrament of Confession:

The Sacrament of Confession is one of the least understood, and least utilized, sacraments in the Catholic Church. In reconciling us to God, it is a great source of grace, and Catholics are encouraged to take advantage of it often, even if they are not aware of having committed a mortal sin

The Sacrament of Marriage:

Marriage, a lifelong union between a man and a woman for procreation and mutual support, is a natural institution, but it is also one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. It reflects the union of Jesus Christ and His Church.

The Sacrament of Holy Orders:

The Sacrament of Holy Orders is the continuation of Christ's priesthood, which He bestowed upon His Apostles. There are three levels to this sacrament: the episcopate, the priesthood, and the diaconate.

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick:

Traditionally referred to as Extreme Unction or Last Rites, the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is administered both to the dying and to those who are gravely ill or are about to undergo a serious operation, for the recovery of their health and for spiritual strength.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

islander

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 46867
  • If you're from Pluto, you're welcome.
    • View Profile
    • Book Your Travel Tickets
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2010, 10:33:07 AM »

lorenz, please post too the seven gifts of the holy spirit. 

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
Republic Act 8485 (Animal Welfare Act of 1998, Philippines), as amended and strengthened by House  Bill 6893 of 2013--- violation means a maximum of P250,000 fine with a corresponding three-year jail term and a minimum of P30,000 fine and six months imprisonment

Book your travel tickets anywhere in the world, go to www.12go.co

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #3 on: October 18, 2010, 11:34:43 AM »
Your request has been honored, sister.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #4 on: October 18, 2010, 09:38:29 PM »
The Sacrament of Baptism


Baptism’s Biblical Roots

by Carolyn Thomas, S.C.N.

The practice of baptism was a common rite of initiation in many religious expressions in the ancient Mediterranean world. From the time of Jesus, Christianity also expressed through water baptism freedom from sin, union with Jesus Christ and all other baptized persons, our participation in the salvific death and resurrection of Jesus and our new life in the Spirit.

St. Paul, the first great theologian of baptism, expressed its meaning in terms of a break with the old and beginning of new life in Christ. He understood well the reality of the relationship that baptism establishes between us and God and his Son Jesus. The New Testament provides the basis and focal point for the Church’s understanding of baptism.

Baptism in the Gospels

Jesus’ own baptism, to which all four Gospels make reference (John less directly than the other three), provides a starting point for any serious study of the sacrament.

Contrary to some writers’ opinions, Jesus’ baptism was not simply an affirmation of his messiahship, but rather a proclamation of his relationship as Son to the Father. In the baptismal scene in the Gospel of Mark, for example, God speaks directly to Jesus: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). In Matthew, the voice addresses the crowd: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). In Luke, again the voice is directed to Jesus: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3:22).

Here we find the basis for the meaning of baptism as the ritual in which one becomes a child of God. Just as Jesus is God’s Son, so also the baptized person is a daughter or son of God and is called by God to take on the family resemblance in living and loving as Jesus did.

In the Fourth Gospel, John the Baptist witnesses to Jesus’ identity as God’s Son: "And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God" (John 1:34). His sonship is affirmed by the Spirit who rests on him (John 1:32). John the Baptist proclaims him to be the "Lamb of God" who destroys the world’s sin through his death and resurrection. John thus affirms that the action of choosing is of God. St. Paul speaks of God’s choosing us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Hence baptism is not our choice or our achievement but an election by God.

The role of the Spirit in baptism is attested by all three Synoptic Gospels. The Spirit is the greatest gift of Jesus in baptism. John declares, "I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:8; see also Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16).

Two passages concerning the waters of baptism stand out in the Gospel according to John. The first is a statement by Jesus to Nicodemus: "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5). The other is the story of the man born blind in John 9:1-41. Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, and the evangelist tells us that "Siloam" means "the one sent." In other words, the blind man is to wash himself in the person of Jesus who was sent by the Father.

Baptism in Acts

Acts of the Apostles adds to our understanding of baptism with references to belief in Jesus, which is the heart and basis for baptism. Paul’s account of his conversion in Acts is a good example.

Ananias says to Paul, "Brother Saul, regain your sight!" Paul tells us, "In that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear his own voice; for you will be his witness to all the world of what you have seen and heard. And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name’" (Acts 22:13-16).

Thus Acts of the Apostles associates baptism with the Holy Spirit and his gifts of salvation, belief in Jesus and God, preaching the Good News and repentance of sin. Clearly, both in the Gospels and in Acts, baptism is never simply a private matter. Baptism is always between Jesus and the person baptized, but at the same time, it is an act of the Church with Jesus as its center.

Baptism in Paul

In Paul’s letters, we find a more developed theological understanding of baptism, even though it is generally agreed that Paul’s letters preceded the writing of the Gospels. However, the sources used by the evangelists concerning the baptism of Jesus predate Paul’s letters and hence would reflect an earlier understanding on which Paul himself built.

Paul speaks of the transformation through the power of the Spirit that occurs in baptism: "And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Thus Paul emphasizes the dignity to which a person rises in baptism: "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). Baptism, therefore, raises the person to a dignity that God will never deny; once a chosen child of God, one always remains God’s dearly loved child.

St. Paul tells us that the baptized person is one with the Lord: "But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him" (1 Corinthians 6:17). So intimate is this union with the risen Lord, Paul says, that "if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Romans 6:5). The Greek word for "united," symphytos, is a horticulture word that means "grafted." In other words, Paul is saying that like a grafted shoot, the baptized person is so closely united with Christ that he or she derives life from Jesus Christ himself. Thus baptism marks the end of the power of sin for the baptized, so that the believer lives a new kind of life for God in Christ, to whom he or she is intimately united. Baptism communicates to the believer the life-giving power of the risen Lord.

That union with Christ, however, is not individualistic but rather a corporate one, for the Christian is one with all other believers: "[L]ead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ... making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, ... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all" (Ephesians 4:1-4).

Paul states that in baptism, "f you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29). By the waters of baptism, the Christian enters into the fullness of salvation history. Merely by belonging to Christ, one becomes an heir of the promises made to Abraham. "n Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26).

That which happened to Christ in his death and resurrection is transferred to the believer in baptism: "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4).

The Waters of Baptism

Water as a symbol of baptism is rich and meaningful. Water refreshes, cleanses and gives life. Many adults remember that as children receiving religious instruction, the emphasis in the study of baptism was on the removal of original sin.

A frequently asked question was, "How can God punish me for something I did not do?" When speaking of original sin, we are not referring to personal fault but rather to an inclination to evil, a deprivation of holiness and likeness to our Creator. This deprived condition, which we call original sin, is the result of Adam and Eve's loss of their gift of holiness and friendship with God. Like their first parents, all human beings share this loss and are subject to suffering, death and ignorance.

Christ, however, conquered the power of Satan by his death and resurrection. St. Paul says, "Just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all" (Romans 5:18).

In baptism, we are reoriented toward God; the life of grace overcomes the power of evil and enables the baptized to believe in God and to engage, under the power of the Holy Spirit, in the struggle against Satan and the power of death.

Water also has the power to take away life. In baptism, the person dies to all that is not of Christ and rises to new life with him: "Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4).

Baptism and the Church

Out of God’s revealed word, the Church has developed a theology of baptism that takes into account the lived experience of the Church throughout its history, its liturgical life and its theological developments.

The notion of baptism as a sacrament dates back to the early centuries of Christianity. The word "sacrament" is borrowed from the Latin, sacramentum, which in Roman times referred to an initiation rite in which soldiers promised their fidelity to their commander. In teaching Gentiles, the Church used the word sacramentum to explain the rite of Christian initiation in which the initiates would commit themselves to the service of God. When Christianity supplanted polytheism in the empire, the Roman sense was dropped, and the word was expanded to any symbol that represented one’s relationship to God.

By the fifth century, St. Augustine referred to a sacramentum as anything that was "a sign of a sacred reality." By the twelfth century, the word was restricted to the seven rituals of the Church which Catholics refer to as the seven sacraments.

In the first century, however, the word "baptism" was not specifically a Christian designation for a sacrament. The ancient mystery religions made use of initiation rites which had similarities to Jewish and Christian baptisms. Hebrews 6:1-2 speaks of "baptisms" that were practiced by the Jews before the resurrection of Jesus. These baptisms were largely purification rites. By the second century A.D., these Jewish rituals had developed into initiatory rites for proselytes and included instruction, circumcision and water baths. They were initiatory rites that made Gentiles Jews by purifying them from their state of uncleanness and admitting them into the covenant life of Judaism, which in turn was culminated by the offering of sacrifice.

The Church’s baptismal tradition has shaped the rite as we know it in the Catholic Church today. From the Church’s expression of corporate faith in the early Church, through conversion and a ritual that was aimed at sustaining one in the faith in the face of persecution and death, to its present ritual form, baptism continues to unite the baptized individual with Christ and his body, the Church.


Praying With Scriptures

Baptism is more than a single momentary event. The rite of baptism plunges the newly baptized person into a new relationship with God and others. Spend some time reflecting on the meaning of your relationship with the risen Jesus and other people in Ephesians 4:25-32.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2010, 09:42:50 PM »
The Sacrament of Reconciliation / Penance


As to Penance. If the Church is to fulfill 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, usually in the form of public penance, was very much to the fore. 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 above the nature of penance. In the face of all attacks - by Wycliffe, the Reformers, liberal dogmatic historians and modernists - the Church has always maintained the judicial character of the sacrament of penance and drawn the necessary conclusion.

THE CHURCH THUS 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. The effect of the sacrament is recon- ciliation with God, that is, the remission of sins and the eternal punishment but not all the temporal punishment.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2010, 09:47:06 PM »
The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist




The doctrine of the Holy Eucharist consist 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 Corinthians 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. Bust 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. 'And of his fullness we have all received, grace for grace' (John 1:16).

This second community is realized only in the sacrifice of the Cross, by his giving his life for his Church which he had to ransom from himself. Only in death did Christ seal the deep covenant with the Church whereby she is purified and sanctified and which according to the teaching of St. Paul is the image of the most intimate union of human being in marriage: 'Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church and delivered himself up for it; that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life' (Eph. 5:25). From the opened side of our crucified Savior the Church was first born, as Eve was taken from Adam's side. That is the most ancient way of expressing this truth.

This twofold relationship, then, in which Christ stands to us men, as our mediator before God and the bringer of all graces from God, lives on in the mystery of the Eucharist. The Holy Mass is the renewing of the sacrifice which Christ offered for us, of the sacrifice of atonement for our sins; but the sacrifice is also at the same time the preparation of the Eucharistic meal, the sacrament of our union with Christ in grace.

We should not be surprised if the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament occurs more than most doctrines in the documents of the Church. There are few mysteries of the faith where the mystery is so evident and therefore so exposed to the attacks of heresy and unbelief. However, the militant position of the Church should not prevent us from seeing the Real Presence in the context of the whole Eucharistic mystery.

THE CHURCH TEACHES:

The doctrine of the Holy Eucharist is thus made up of:

1. Doctrine about the Eucharistic sacrifice. Holy Mass is a real sacrifice, instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. It represents Christ's sacrifice of the Cross, but in an unbloody manner. Priest and victim are both Christ, who offers himself through the priest. The laity also offers the sacrifice, but does not have the power to transubstantiate. The Eucharistic sacrifice is offered to God in praise, thanksgiving, petition and atonement, for the living and the dead. Saints may also be commemorated in honor and petition. The Church has the responsibility of determining the rites and prayers to be observed. The liturgy as a whole is the public worship by the mystical Body of Christ. In every liturgical activity Christ is present, in a manner that must be properly interpreted.

2. Doctrine about the Eucharistic sacrament, sacrificial meal and sacrificial food: The Holy Eucharist is a true sacrament, instituted by Christ. Christ is really present in the Holy Eucharist, even when not being received. It is therefore to be honored and adored. The whole Christ is present in either kind and is received by the communicant. For the wheat bread and grape wine are transubstantiated by the ordained priest into the flesh and blood of Christ so that only the appearance of bread and wine remains.

The sacrament effects union with Christ; it is nourishment for the soul, gives increase in grace and remits venial sin and punishment.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2010, 09:51:56 PM »
The Sacrament of Confirmation



The sacrament of confirmation completes the sacrament of baptism. If baptism is the sacrament of re-birth to a new and supernatural life, confir- mation is the sacrament of maturity and coming of age. The real confession of Christ consist in this 'that the whole man submits himself to Truth, in the judgment of his understanding, in the submission of his will and in the consecration of his whole power of love . . . To do this, poor-spirited man is only able when he has been confirmed by God's grace'

This confirmation in the power of the Holy Spirit leading to a firm profession of faith has always been the particular effect which Catholic tradition has ascribed to the sacrament. It is effect which complements and completes that of baptism.

THE CHURCH TEACHES:

Confirmation is a true sacrament instituted by Christ and different from baptism. It is administered by laying-on of hands and anointing with chrism accompanied by prayer. The chrism is blessed by the bishop and the bishop administers the sacrament. All baptized persons can and should be confirmed. The effect of the sacrament of confirmation is to give strength in faith and for the confession of faith and to impress an indelible character.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2010, 09:53:47 PM »
The Sacrament of Matrimony



Matrimony is the marriage contract between Christians raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. The theological and dogmatic treatment of this sacrament does not look very much to its main features of unity and indissolubility which are basic characteristics of all marriage in natural ethics; they are rather premisses, though of course they attain greater significance and depth and stability in marriage as a sacrament. The fact, then, that these features take up a considerable amount of space in Church documents must not be allowed to hid the theological content of this sacrament which comes to us from revelation and belongs to the supernatural order. As a sacrament matrimony is entirely oriented on man's supernatural goal. Matrimony and order are the two sacraments which not only serve the individual in reaching this goal but are there for the benefit of the community. Matrimony is there for the mutual help of the spouses and the increase of the people of God. Devotion to his twofold end is the way of salvation for married couples, a way sanctified by the sacrament. 'Yet she shall be saved through childbearing; if she continue in faith, and love, and sanctification, with sobriety' (1 Tim:2:15).

The mutual sacrifice and devotion of husband and wife is a true picture of Christ's sanctifying sacrifice and devotion to His Church. 'Matrimony has its significance in the first place from Christ who took the Church as his bride at the price of his own blood. And also because when he offered his life as the price of her ransom, he stretched our his arms in an embrace of supreme love. And thirdly: as Eve was formed from the side of Adam while he slept, so the Church was formed from the side of the dying and dead Christ, as the two chief sacraments poured from his side - the blood of redemption and the water of absolution' (Albertus Magnus).

It is only from this point of view that one can understand the Church's unceasing struggle against any attempt to see marriage as something unholy or something merely profane, of no concern to religion. The campaign began with those countless rigorist or dualist sects in early times and in the Middle Ages; if defended the religious nature of marriage against the Reformers for whom it was just a civil affair; it represented the demands of the Church in matter of matrimonial legislation in various countries and defended the indissolubility of the marriage contract and the sacrament in the encyclicals of Leo XIII and Pius XI.

Since marriage is also of the greatest civic significance, jurisdiction in matrimonial matters was one of the commonest causes of differences between Church and state. Since this is solely a question of dogmatic view- points, the relevant documents are omitted. For the same reason Church documents dealing mainly with matrimonial morality are omitted.

The Church Thus Teaches: Marriage is willed by God and was raised to a sacrament by Christ. It is therefore good but may not be put before the state of virginity. The sacrament of matrimony consist of the marriage contract, so that for Christians the contract and the sacrament are inseparable. Therefore marriage comes into the legal competence of the Church. The Church may establish impediments, including diriment impediments which invalidate a marriage and forbidding impediments which make marriage illegal. She may determine the form and rite to be observed. Matrimonial Causes fall to ecclesiastical courts. The purpose of marriage is the increase of the people of God and mutual help for the partners in loyalty and love. The sacrament gives married people a claim on the graces necessary to their state.

Only monogamy is valid. A new marriage is allowed after the death of one party. Marriage is indissoluble, even in cases of adultery. An unconsummated marriage can in certain circumstances be dissolved by the Church. Once it is consummated, a separation only is possible; the marriage bond cannot be dissolved.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2010, 09:55:42 PM »
The Sacrament of Holy Orders




As to Orders. The supreme task which Christ had to fulfill was his priestly work of atonement which he completed as mediator between God and man. By the union in himself of humanity and divinity Christ is by nature the mediator. As a man from among men, Christ is our mediator with the Father; yet he is also capable of offering a worthy sacrifice to God because, by virtue of the union of his human nature with the Second Person of the Godhead, his human actions have in infinite value. In this fullest sense, the priesthood belongs to Christ alone.

But if Christ wished to live on and continue his work in the Church, the first thing he had to do was to provide for the continuance of his sacerdotal and mediatory function. Above all, if Christ wished to renew the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the ages and all over the world as the sacrifice of the New Law in the Holy Mass, he had to allow other men to share in his priesthood. For if there is to be a true sacrifice, there must be a priesthood ordained and authorized by God from whose hands God will accept the sacrifice.

All attacks on the priesthood of the Catholic Church thus go back to denial that the Holy Mass is a true sacrifice, entrusted by Christ to his Church, and ultimately to denial of any visible Church to which Christ entrusted his work as mediator and redeemer. So the attacks of Wycliffe, the Reformers and the "liberal" historians regarded the setting up of an official priesthood as the result of the evolution of Christian life in the early Christian communities.

The priesthood is ordained in the first place for the offering of sacrifice and therefore for the solemnization of the Church's formal worship. The arrangements for these celebrations demand also a corresponding ministry and thus graded ministers to the altar. This grading of the ministry goes in part back to direct institution by Christ, but in part was introduced by the Church.

The degrees of order - the four minor and three major orders with the highest of all, that of Bishop - signify an order of rank in the mediation of grace. It must be distinguished from the other order of rank which concerns jurisdiction, magisterium and pastorate. The latter are not essentially linked with the powers of mediation of grace, but in the concrete order established by God there are close relationships between the two kinds of power. For example, the fact that the power of forgiving sins exists in the Church does not, in itself, say anything about who has this power. But in the divine order, only a priest can have it.

Besides the conflict about the fact of the sacrament of order, its institution by Christ and its hierarchical structure, it has always been a principal concern of the Church to raise the priesthood to the high moral level suitable to its sublime duties. In the West, a most important stem in this direction was the insistence on celibacy. But as we are concerned here solely with doctrinal matters, documents on this are not given.

THE CHURCH THUS TEACHES:

Order is a true sacrament instituted by Christ who ordained the Apostles at the Last Supper. It is administered by the laying on of hands and the key phrases of the ordination preface. Only a Bishop can validly ordain. Order is a purely ecclesiastical concern. The effect of the sacrament of order is to impart the Holy Spirit and to impress an indelible character, which permanently distinguishes those in orders from the laity. The laity also has a part in Christ's priesthood, but in another manner. The office of Bishop is above the priesthood (which in turn is above the diaconate) and gives special powers of consecration. To the priesthood belong the celebration of Holy Mass and the power of forgiving sins. The subdiaconate belongs to the priesthood and diaconate to the 'major orders.' In addition, the four 'minor orders' were instituted by the Church. Conditions for the valid reception of order are baptism and being of the male sex.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Lorenzo

  • SUPREME COURT
  • THE LEGEND
  • *****
  • Posts: 54226
  • Be the change you want to see in the world...
    • View Profile
Re: The Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church
« Reply #10 on: October 18, 2010, 09:58:19 PM »
Sacrament of Extremeunction or Anointing of the Sick



As to Anointing by conferring the Holy Spirit completes the sacrament of baptism, so extreme unction is the complement and completion of penance. Penance restores the justification lost by sin, extreme unction takes away the infirmity left by sin; it 'removes that state which might be an obstacle to the clothing with glory of the resurrection'; and, as every sacrament makes us men in some respect like Christ, 'so we become by extreme unction like the risen Christ because it will be given to the dying as a sign of the glory to come in which everything mortal will be stripped from the elect' (Albertus Magnus). According to the teaching of great theologians, the holy anointing makes the man who stands at the threshold of eternity and loyally cooperates with the grace of the sacrament ready to enter directly upon the Beatific Vision.

That this sacrament was provided for the sick to strengthen them and prepare them for a happy passage to the hereafter was for centuries an undisputed part of tradition. The ancient prayers accompanying the anointing of the sick are evidence of this. The Church only had to concern herself officially with the doctrinal side of it when particular questions cropped up or errors appeared. For this reason the earliest documents deal more with the question of the minister and the external rites. It was not until the Reformation denied the sacramentality of extreme unction and its institution by Christ that a more exact exposition was demanded of the Council of Trent.

THE CHURCH TEACHES:

Extreme Unction is a true sacrament instituted by Christ and proclaimed by St. James. It is administered by anointing with blessed oil accompanied by prayer. Only a priest can validly administer it. It can be received by any baptized person who has reached the age of reason and is on account of sickness or age in danger of death. Its effect is the strengthening of the soul, often of the body as well, and in the necessary conditions remission of sins.

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=33454.0
www.trip.com - Hassle-free planning of your next trip

unionbank online loan application low interest, credit card, easy and fast approval

Tags: