The Sacraments of Initiation Essay Sample

The saying “come, be healed, and go” is a saying used in teaching by the Catholic Church. This saying is paralleled to the 7 sacraments. As a member of the church receives the sacraments, they follow these 3 steps. The Sacraments of Initiation are represented with the “come”. The Sacraments of Initiation are the first sacraments a member of the church receives. The Sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. The very first sacrament we receive is Baptism. As a person gets baptized, they are washed with holy water to expel original sin, and begin their new life in the Catholic faith. After being baptized, Confirmation unites us with the holy spirit. Similarly to Baptism, when we are confirmed we are anointed with the sacred chrism which is what physically connects us to the holy spirit. Through Confirmation, we “come” to the holy spirit to make our faith stronger. The final Sacrament of Initiation is Eucharist. As the priest blesses the host and wine, they become the real body and blood of Jesus Christ. This means that with every time we receive Eucharist we are in the physical presence of God. Life would not be sustainable if there was no food or water, so consuming the body and blood of Christ is the best way to praise God and receive his gifts. We come to the Eucharist to connect physically with the body of Christ

The second level of the sacraments is to “be healed”. The Sacraments of Healing fall under this umbrella of teaching. There are only 2 sacraments in Sacraments of healing, Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. Through our relationship through Christ and these sacraments, we can be healed from any physical or spiritual injury. Reconciliation is confessing to a priest any emotional baggage we have that weighs on our spirit. Though the priest's holiness, confessing our sins to him is physically confessing our sins to God. We perform contrition, and the priest says the words of absolution to “heal” our spirit. The last Sacrament of Healing is Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is most commonly performed on people who are soon approaching death, but the Catholic church teaches that anyone fighting mentaly or physically can be anointed. Through this sacrament, the minister will anoint the recipient with oil of the sick and say the words of anointing. These physical and spiritual properties wash away any sins the recipient has. 

The final part is the “go” with the Sacraments of Service. The Sacraments of Service are Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders. Holy Matrimony is the sacrament of marriage. When two members of the church decide to get married, they promise to go and be fruitful. In the process of getting married, each member says their vows and “I do” solidifying their union to each other. Matrimony is taking everything that a member has learned, and promises to raise kids in those same teachings. The sacrament of Holy Orders is when a member of the church joins the church as a priest. To receive the sacrament, you join the seminary where you study religious teachings and after years can finally become ordained into priesthood. The bishop puts their hand on the seminarian 's shoulder and says the pair of contraction.  This sacrament also takes knowledge of the religion and passes it onto others. Both of these sacraments go on to spread the Catholic church's teachings.