The Seven Sacraments
We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality; a reality open to all the human senses, yet grasped in its God-given depths, with the eyes of faith. When parents hug their children, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot “see” the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.
The visible realities we see in the Sacraments are their outward expressions, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received.
The invisible realities we cannot “see” are God’s grace and His gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of His Son.
His initiative is called grace because it is the free and loving gift by which He offers people a share in His life. He shows us His favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of God’s initiative is itself a grace, or gift from God, by which we can imitate Christ in our daily lives. The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what He communicates to us through the Sacraments.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord:
the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist)
the Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick)
the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Marriage, Holy Orders)