God chose to give us certain kinds of grace through the sacraments

Submitted on October 29, 2009

Father John Carl Lombardi, MSF

Q. Could you explain what a sacrament is, how many sacraments are there, why they are necessary and what the difference is between a sacrament and a sacramental?

There are seven sacraments instituted by Christ which actually confer the grace they signify, namely Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. In each of these Christ himself meets us and ministers to us through the ministry of his body, the Church. These sacraments are necessary because we desperately need God’s grace, and he has chosen to give us certain kinds of grace through the sacraments.

The first three, Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist, are called the Sacraments of Christian Initiation. These three sacraments are the foundation for the Christian life. In fact, without Baptism one cannot receive any of the other sacraments - it is the door to all the other sacraments. In the early Church these three sacraments were received together at the Easter Vigil, but there is also evidence that infant Baptism was also practiced at this time.

Later when Christianity became the state religion, and with so many wanting to join the Church there was the problem of not having enough bishops to confirm the faithful. So Confirmation was put off to a later date. Since the restoration of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) we now have returned the order of these sacraments to its proper place, but for children of Catholic parents it is still Baptism and then later Holy Eucharist and finally Confirmation.