Ruth,
The sacraments are:
- Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist (the three
sacraments of initiation),
- Reconciliation and the
Anointing of the sick (the sacraments of healing) and
- Matrimony and Holy Orders (the sacraments of
service [to the Church])
These seven were given to the Apostles by Christ:
They were to pass on His words and deeds in the living
tradition, a tradition which includes Scripture and
is reflected there, but which was primarily first
in Christ's formation and instruction of the Apostles,
and their carrying forward His wishes.
From the beginning,
in a conscious awareness that they were fulfilling
the Lord's will, the Apostles:
- baptized
- performed
the laying on of hands for the Spirit
- celebrated
the Eucharist
- forgave and retained sins
- ordained
presbyters, and
- prayed over the sick.
Marriage already
existed, of course, but its reality for Christians
was raised up to being a sacramental participation
in the union of Christ with His People.
Mary Ann
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