"As a social being, man needs signs and symbols in order to communicate with others through language, gestures and actions. The same applies to his relationship with God" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1146).
The sacraments are therefore visible signs of God's unmerited gift (grace) which enable people to recognise God's presence among them. They are acts of union with Christ through the action of the Holy Spirit, uniting people to God and to their brothers and sisters through those closest to them and incorporating them into the Church.
Every sacrament has three dimensions:
a sign, what we see;
a word, what we hear;
is a symbol that the sign and the word express.
The Second Vatican Council expresses Christ's action in the celebration of the sacraments: "He is present by virtue in the sacraments, so that when someone is baptised, it is Christ himself who baptises" (Constitution Sacrosanctum, no. 7). The Lord's Supper is therefore an "event of salvation" in which Christ himself acts and participates in certain situations of our lives.
The seven sacraments point to the most decisive moments of human life, showing that it is our whole existence, in its different stages, that we are called to live with Christ:
- The three mysteries of entry into Christian life: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, allow us to enter into the mystery of the dead and risen Christ and to grow in faith.
- Sacraments of Healing: Absolution and the Anointing of the Sick open a path of hope.
- Sacraments of Commitment: Marriage and Religious Ordination (Priesthood) bless the journey of baptismal life.
The sacraments are a force that allows us to feel love and "bear fruit" in every area of our lives. They transmit divine life, realising our vocation as sons of the Father, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, animated by the breath of the same Spirit!