Saint Michael the Archangel Parish

21 Manning St

Hudson, MA 01749

Sacraments
"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."  (John 6: 35)

What is a Sacrament?


A sacrament is an outward and visible sign (like bread, water, oil, fire) that points to something real beyond itself.  Sacraments avail to all who receive them God's unmerited favor and help (grace).

The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what he would communicate in the Sacraments through the ministers of the Church.


Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord. These Sacraments are Baptism, the Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Matrimony, and Holy Orders.

Jesus gave us the Sacraments to call us to worship God, to build up the Church, to deepen our faith, to show us how to pray, to connect us with the living Tradition of the Church, and to sanctify us. 

–United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Jesus approached and said to [the eleven disciples], "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit."
Matthew 28:19

Why did Christ institute the Sacraments as a means of conveying grace?


God surely can—and does—dispense his grace as he sees fit in countless ways, and he is by no means restricted to the Sacraments that he instituted. Yet, Christ instituted Seven Sacraments that he directed his Church to use as special avenues of grace. 



Then he [Jesus] took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."
Luke 22:19



By nature every person is composed of two elements: body and soul—a material, visible body and a spiritual, invisible soul. As Saint Thomas Aquinas explained, human beings are led by things that are physical, things that can be seen and experienced by the senses. 

We thus have a fundamental need for ritual, for visible expressions of what cannot be seen. We also have a natural need to "ritualize" the significant events and realities in our lives. This is why we have graduation ceremonies, awards banquets, family dinners on holidays, and national days of remembrance.  Each of these rituals celebrates something intangible but important in our lives: achievement, gratitude, or patriotism.

Utilizing this aspect of our humanity, Christ instituted the Sacraments to confer grace through physical signs. The Sacraments give form to spiritual "events" and serve as signs of deeper realities. The chief difference with the Sacraments is that, unlike merely human rituals, the very act of administering a Sacrament, body and soul, confers the grace that is signified by the act just as Christ intends. As Saint Leo the Great explained, "What was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries" (Sermo., 74, 2: PL 54,398). 

The Sacraments also serve to express the faith that is within us—both individually and as a community—and to provide a model and instruction to help us grow in faith. Sacramental signs and rites convey something about what we believe, and their visible expression reinforces those beliefs in others and within ourselves. (Cf. CCC 1123-1126)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church addresses this question, paragraph 1213

-The Didache Bible

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