Sacraments: The Sacramental Life of the Church

There are seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church.

• Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist (Sacraments of Christian Initiation)
• Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick (Sacraments of Healing)
• Matrimony (Marriage) and Holy Orders (Sacraments of Service)

Each sacrament is a visible sign of God’s love and grace, instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the Church.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.
The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required
dispositions. (CCC 1131)

Sacraments are “powers that comes forth” from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are “the masterworks of God” in the new and everlasting covenant. (CCC 1116)

For more information on Sacraments, visit the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website: Sacraments | USCCB