XPost: alt.religion.christian.biblestudy, alt.religion.christian   
   roman-catholic, england.religion.misc   
   XPost: free.christians, hk.soc.religion.christianity   
   From: œ@att.net   
      
   Why do Catholics believe in seven sacraments, while Protestants   
   believe in  only two? Exactly what is a sacrament, and what does it do   
   for a person?   
      
   Catholics believe in seven sacraments because Christ instituted seven;   
   because the Apostles and Church Fathers believed in seven; because the   
   second Ecumenical Council of Lyons (1274) defined seven; and because   
   the Ecumenical Council of Trent (1545-1563) confirmed seven. In short,   
   the enumeration, seven, arises from the perpetual tradition of   
   Christian belief--which explains why that enumeration is accepted not   
   only by Catholics, but by all of the other ancient and semi-ancient   
   Christian communities--Egyptian Coptic, Ethiopian Monophysite, Syrian   
   Jacobite, Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox.   
   To understand what a sacrament is, and what it does for a person, one   
   must know the correct, the traditional Christian, definition of a   
   sacrament. Properly defined, a sacrament is ``an outward sign   
   instituted by Christ to give grace'' (holiness) to the soul . . . that   
   is to say, it is a divinely prescribed ceremony of the Church in which   
   the words and action combine to form what is at the same time both a   
   sign of divine grace and a fount of divine grace. When this special   
   grace--distinct from ordinary, inspirational grace--is imparted to the   
   soul, the Holy Spirit of God is imparted to the soul, imbuing the soul   
   with divine life, uniting the soul to Christ.   
      
   As the Scriptures point out, this grace is the grace of   
   salvation--without it man is, in a very real sense, isolated from   
   Christ. And as the Scriptures point out, Christ gave His Church seven   
   sacraments to serve as well-springs of this ineffable, soul-saving   
   grace, the grace which flows from His sacrifice on Calvary:   
      
   BAPTISM--the sacrament of spiritual rebirth through which we are made   
   children of God and heirs of Heaven: ``Amen, amen I say to thee,   
   unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot   
   enter into the kingdom of God.'' (John 3:5. Also see Acts 2:38, Rom.   
   6:2-6).   
      
   CONFIRMATION--the sacrament which confers the Holy Spirit to make us   
   strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ: ``Now when   
   the apostles, who were in Jerusalem, had heard that Samaria had   
   received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John. Who,   
   when they were come, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy   
   Ghost.... Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the   
   Holy Ghost.'' (Acts 8:14-17. Also see Acts 19:6).   
      
   The EUCHARIST--the sacrament, also known as Holy Communion, which   
   nourishes the soul with the true Flesh and Blood, Soul and Divinity of   
   Jesus, under the appearance, or sacramental veil, of bread and wine:   
   ``And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke,   
   and gave to them, and said: Take ye. This is my body. And having taken   
   the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of   
   it. And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which   
   shall be shed for many.'' (Mark 14:22-24. Also see Matt. 26:26-28,   
   Luke 22:19-20, John 6:52-54, 1 Cor. 10:16).   
      
   PENANCE--the sacrament, also known as Confession, through which Christ   
   forgives sin and restores the soul to grace: ``Receive ye the Holy   
   Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose   
   sins you shall retain, they are retained. '' (John 20:22-23. Also see   
   Matt. 18:18).   
      
   EXTREME UNCTION--the sacrament, sometimes called the Last Anointing,   
   which strengthens the sick and sanctifies the dying: ``Is any man sick   
   among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them   
   pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord . . .   
   and if he be in ,ins, they shall be forgiven him.'' (James 5:14-15.   
   Also see Mark 6:12-13).   
      
   HOLY ORDERS--the sacrament of ordination which empowers priests to   
   offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, administer the sacraments, and   
   officiate over all the other proper affairs of the Church: ``For every   
   high priest taken from among men, is ordained for men in the things   
   that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for   
   sins.... Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that   
   is called by God, as Aaron was.'' (Heb. 5:1-4. Also see Acts 20:28, 1   
   Tim. 4:14). Also: ``And taking bread, he gave thanks, and broke; and   
   gave to them, saying: This is my body, which is given for you. Do this   
   for a commemoration of me.'' (Luke 22:19).   
      
   MATRIMONY--the sacrament which unites a man and woman in a holy and   
   indissoluble bond: ``For this cause shall a man leave father and   
   mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be in one   
   flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore   
   God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.'' (Matt. 19:5-6.   
   Also see Mark 10:7-9, Eph. 5:22-32).   
      
   There you have it, the Word of Christ and the example of the Apostles   
   attesting both to the validity and the efficacy of the seven   
   Sacraments of the Catholic Church. In truth, every one of them is an   
   integral part of Christ's plan for man's eternal salvation.   
      
   http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/faq-cc.html   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)