The Sacraments of Christian initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life. "The sharing in the divine nature given to men through the Grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishing of natural life. the Faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the Sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity." 3

The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the Sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the Sacraments tend." 199 In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." 200 "This presence is called 'real' - by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be 'real' too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present." 201

The Eastern Churches that are not in full Communion with the Catholic Church celebrate the Eucharist with great love. "These Churches, although separated from us, yet possess true Sacraments, above all - by apostolic succession - the priesthood and the Eucharist, whereby they are still joined to us in closest intimacy." A certain communion in sacris, and so in the Eucharist, "given suitable circumstances and the approval of Church authority, is not merely possible but is encouraged." 235

When, in the Ordinary's judgment, a grave necessity arises, Catholic ministers may give the Sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick to other Christians not in full Communion with the Catholic Church, who ask for them of their own will, provided they give evidence of holding the Catholic Faith regarding these Sacraments and possess the required dispositions. 238

Through the Sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life "in earthen vessels," and it remains "hidden with Christ in God." 1 We are still in our "earthly tent," subject to suffering, illness, and death. 2 This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin.

The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, 3 has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and Salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two Sacraments of healing: the Sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

"YOU were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." 9 One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the Sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is excluded for him who has "put on Christ." 10 But the apostle John also says: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 11 and the Lord himself taught us to pray: "Forgive us our trespasses," 12 linking our forgiveness of one another's offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

Certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which impedes the reception of the Sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution consequently cannot be granted, according to canon law, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them. 68 In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication. 69

Like all the Sacraments, Penance is a Liturgical action. the elements of the Celebration are ordinarily these: a greeting and blessing from the priest, reading the word of God to illuminate the conscience and elicit contrition, and an exhortation to repentance; the confession, which acknowledges sins and makes them known to the priest; the imposition and acceptance of a penance; the priest's absolution; a Prayer of thanksgiving and praise and dismissal with the blessing of the priest.

"Individual, integral confession and absolution remain the only ordinary way for the Faithful to reconcile themselves with God and the Church, unless physical or moral impossibility excuses from this kind of confession." 94 There are profound reasons for this. Christ is at work in each of the Sacraments. He personally addresses every sinner: "My son, your sins are forgiven." 95 He is the physician tending each one of the Sick who need him to cure them. 96 He raises them up and reintegrates them into fraternal Communion. Personal confession is thus the form most expressive of reconciliation with God and with the Church.

Often Jesus asks the Sick to believe. 107 He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands, 108 mud and washing. 109 The sick try to touch him, "for power came forth from him and healed them all." 110 and so in the Sacraments Christ continues to "touch" us in order to heal us.

"Heal the Sick!" 120 The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her Prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the Sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health. 121

However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the Sick, attested to by St. James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, Anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the Prayer of Faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." 122 Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven Sacraments. 123

The Church believes and confesses that among the seven Sacraments there is one especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick:

"Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us," is present in many ways to his Church: 195 in his word, in his Church's Prayer, "where two or three are gathered in my name," 196 in the poor, the Sick, and the imprisoned, 197 in the Sacraments of which he is the author, in the sacrifice of the Mass, and in the person of the minister. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species." 198

The memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection. The Holy Sacrifice, because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church's offering. the terms holy sacrifice of the Mass, "sacrifice of praise," spiritual sacrifice, pure and holy sacrifice are also used, 148 since it completes and surpasses all the sacrifices of the Old Covenant. The Holy and Divine Liturgy, because the Church's whole liturgy finds its center and most intense expression in the Celebration of this Sacrament; in the same sense we also call its celebration the Sacred Mysteries. We speak of the Most Blessed Sacrament because it is the Sacrament of Sacraments. the Eucharistic species reserved in the tabernacle are designated by this same name.

Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), 4 and the door which gives access to the other Sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the Sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." 5

In his Passover Christ opened to all men the fountain of Baptism. He had already spoken of his Passion, which he was about to suffer in Jerusalem, as a "Baptism" with which he had to be baptized. 22 The blood and water that flowed from the pierced side of the crucified Jesus are types of Baptism and the Eucharist, the Sacraments of new life. 23 From then on, it is possible "to be born of water and the Spirit" 24 in order to enter the Kingdom of God.

This initiation has varied greatly through the centuries according to circumstances. In the first centuries of the Church, Christian initiation saw considerable development. A long period of catechumenate included a series of preparatory rites, which were Liturgical landmarks along the path of catechumenal preparation and culminated in the Celebration of the Sacraments of Christian initiation.

Today in all the rites, Latin and Eastern, the Christian initiation of adults begins with their entry into the catechumenate and reaches its culmination in a single Celebration of the three Sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. 37 In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist, while in the Roman rite it is followed by years of catechesis before being completed later by Confirmation and the Eucharist, the summit of their Christian initiation. 38

The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for Salvation. 59 He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them. 60 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this Sacrament. 61 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his Sacraments.

Having become a member of the Church, the person baptized belongs no longer to himself, but to him who died and rose for us. 75 From now on, he is called to be subject to others, to serve them in the Communion of the Church, and to "obey and submit" to the Church's leaders, 76 holding them in respect and affection. 77 Just as Baptism is the source of responsibilities and duties, the baptized person also enjoys rights within the Church: to receive the Sacraments, to be nourished with the Word of God and to be sustained by the other spiritual helps of the Church. 78

Baptism, the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "Sacraments of Christian initiation," whose Unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the Faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal Grace. 88 For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the Faith by word and deed." 89

In the first centuries Confirmation generally comprised one single Celebration with Baptism, forming with it a "double Sacrament," according to the expression of St. Cyprian. Among other reasons, the multiplication of infant baptisms all through the year, the increase of rural parishes, and the growth of dioceses often prevented the bishop from being present at all baptismal celebrations. In the West the desire to reserve the completion of Baptism to the bishop caused the temporal separation of the two Sacraments. the East has kept them united, so that Confirmation is conferred by the priest who baptizes. But he can do so only with the "myron" consecrated by a bishop. 100

Candidates for Confirmation, as for Baptism, fittingly seek the spiritual help of a sponsor. To emphasize the Unity of the two Sacraments, it is appropriate that this be one of the baptismal Godparents. 127

The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." 134 "The other Sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." 135

Like all the Sacraments the Anointing of the Sick is a Liturgical and communal Celebration, 131 whether it takes place in the family home, a hospital or Church, for a single sick person or a whole group of sick persons. It is very fitting to celebrate it within the Eucharist, the memorial of the Lord's Passover. If circumstances suggest it, the celebration of the Sacrament can be preceded by the sacrament of Penance and followed by the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the sacrament of Christ's Passover the Eucharist should always be the last sacrament of the earthly journey, the "viaticum" for "passing over" to eternal life.

Thus, just as the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a Unity called "the Sacraments of Christian initiation," so too it can be said that Penance, the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life "the sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland" or the sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage.

The New Law is the Grace of the Holy Spirit given to the Faithful through Faith in Christ. It works through charity; it uses the Sermon on the Mount to teach us what must be done and makes use of the Sacraments to give us the grace to do it:

The New Law is called a law of love because it makes us act out of the love infused by the Holy Spirit, rather than from fear; a law of Grace, because it confers the strength of grace to act, by means of Faith and the Sacraments; a law of freedom, because it sets us free from the ritual and juridical observances of the Old Law, inclines us to act spontaneously by the prompting of charity and, finally, lets us pass from the condition of a servant who "does not know what his master is doing" to that of a friend of Christ - "For all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" - or even to the status of son and heir. 31

Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the Salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are Sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different Sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning "favor," "gratuitous gift," "benefit." 53 Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church. 54

Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called "mystical" because it participates in the Mystery of Christ through the Sacraments - "the holy mysteries" - and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special Graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.

It is in the Church, in Communion with all the baptized, that the Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of God containing the teachings of "the law of Christ." 72 From the Church he receives the Grace of the Sacraments that sustains him on the "way." From the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and long history of the saints who have gone before him and whom the Liturgy celebrates in the rhythms of the sanctoral cycle.

The moral life is spiritual worship. We "present (our) bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God," 73 within the Body of Christ that we form and in Communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the Liturgy and the Celebration of the Sacraments, Prayer and teaching are conjoined with the Grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice.

Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the Sacraments and other Liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this Sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us. 52

The minister should ask nothing for the administration of the Sacraments beyond the offerings defined by the competent authority, always being careful that the needy are not deprived of the help of the Sacraments because of their poverty." 56 The competent authority determines these "offerings" in accordance with the principle that the Christian people ought to contribute to the support of the Church's ministers. "The laborer deserves his food." 57

The dying should be given attention and care to help them live their last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the Prayer of their relatives, who must see to it that the Sick receive at the proper time the Sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God.

In the first place these are Prayers that the Faithful hear and read in the Scriptures, but also that they make their own - especially those of the Psalms, in view of their fulfillment in Christ. 96 The Holy Spirit, who thus keeps the memory of Christ alive in his Church at prayer, also leads her toward the fullness of truth and inspires new formulations expressing the unfathomable Mystery of Christ at work in his Church's life, Sacraments, and mission. These formulations are developed in the great Liturgical and spiritual traditions. the forms of prayer revealed in the apostolic and canonical Scriptures remain normative for Christian prayer.

It is not easy for man, wounded by sin, to maintain moral balance. Christ's gift of Salvation offers us the Grace necessary to persevere in the pursuit of the virtues. Everyone should always ask for this grace of light and strength, frequent the Sacraments, cooperate with the Holy Spirit, and follow his calls to love what is good and shun evil.

The Symbol of the Faith confesses the greatness of God's gifts to man in his work of creation, and even more in redemption and sanctification. What faith confesses, the Sacraments communicate: by the Sacraments of rebirth, Christians have become "children of God," 2 "partakers of the divine nature." 3 Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called to lead henceforth a life "worthy of the gospel of Christ." 4 They are made capable of doing so by the Grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through Prayer.

Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist are Sacraments of Christian initiation. They ground the common vocation of all Christ's disciples, a vocation to holiness and to the mission of evangelizing the world. They confer the Graces needed for the life according to the Spirit during this life as pilgrims on the march towards the homeland.

Two other Sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony, are directed towards the Salvation of others; if they contribute as well to personal salvation, it is through service to others that they do so. They confer a particular mission in the Church and serve to build up the People of God.

Through these Sacraments those already consecrated by Baptism and Confirmation 1 for the common priesthood of all the Faithful can receive particular consecrations. Those who receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders are consecrated in Christ's name "to feed the Church by the word and Grace of God." 2 On their part, "Christian spouses are fortified and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and dignity of their state by a special sacrament." 3

Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a kingdom, priests for his God and Father." 20 The whole commUnity of believers is, as such, priestly. the Faithful exercise their Baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation the Faithful are "consecrated to be . . . a holy priesthood." 21

This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. the power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the Sacraments, so that even the minister's sin cannot impede the fruit of Grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church.

"Because it is joined with the episcopal order the office of priests shares in the authority by which Christ himself builds up and sanctifies and rules his Body. Hence the priesthood of priests, while presupposing the Sacraments of initiation, is nevertheless conferred by its own particular Sacrament. Through that sacrament priests by the Anointing of the Holy Spirit are signed with a special character and so are configured to Christ the priest in such a way that they are able to act in the person of Christ the head." 45

As in all the Sacraments additional rites surround the Celebration. Varying greatly among the different Liturgical traditions, these rites have in common the expression of the multiple aspects of Sacramental Grace. Thus in the Latin Church, the initial rites - presentation and election of the ordinand, instruction by the bishop, examination of the candidate, litany of the saints - attest that the choice of the candidate is made in keeping with the practice of the Church and prepare for the solemn act of consecration, after which several rites syrnbolically express and complete the Mystery accomplished: for bishop and priest, an Anointing with holy chrism, a sign of the special anointing of the Holy Spirit who makes their ministry fruitful; giving the book of the Gospels, the ring, the miter, and the crosier to the bishop as the sign of his apostolic mission to proclaim the Word of God, of his fidelity to the Church, the bride of Christ, and his office as shepherd of the Lord's flock; presentation to the priest of the paten and chalice, "the offering of the holy people" which he is called to present to God; giving the book of the Gospels to the deacon who has just received the mission to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

In the Latin Rite the Celebration of marriage between two Catholic Faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the Sacraments with the Paschal Mystery of Christ. 120 In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up. 121 It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ. 122

It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the Sacraments, Prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity." 168 Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." 169 Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.

"Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted Sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the Sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy." 171

Sacramentals do not confer the Grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the Sacraments do, but by the Church's Prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the Faithful, the Liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal Mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God." 174

All the Sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the Last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in Faith and hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." 182

With bold confidence, we began praying to our Father. In begging him that his name be hallowed, we were in fact asking him that we ourselves might be always made more holy. But though we are clothed with the Baptismal garment, we do not cease to sin, to turn away from God. Now, in this new petition, we return to him like the prodigal son and, like the tax collector, recognize that we are sinners before him. 133 Our petition begins with a "confession" of our wretchedness and his mercy. Our hope is firm because, in his Son, "we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." 134 We find the efficacious and undoubted sign of his forgiveness in the Sacraments of his Church. 135

Following this analogy, the first chapter will expound the three Sacraments of Christian initiation; the second, the Sacraments of healing; and the third, the sacraments at the service of Communion and the mission of the Faithful. This order, while not the only one possible, does allow one to see that the sacraments form an organic whole in which each particular sacrament has its own vital place. In this organic whole, the Eucharist occupies a unique place as the "Sacrament of sacraments": "all the other sacraments are ordered to it as to their end." 2

While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse Faith; examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living; Celebration of the Sacraments; integration into the ecclesial commUnity; and apostolic and missionary witness. 9

"Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of Salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of Faith, the Sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and Communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but 'in body' not 'in heart.'" 321

The bishop is "the steward of the Grace of the supreme priesthood," 423 especially in the Eucharist which he offers personally or whose offering he assures through the priests, his co-workers. the Eucharist is the center of the life of the particular Church. the bishop and priests sanctify the Church by their Prayer and work, by their ministry of the word and of the Sacraments. They sanctify her by their example, "not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock." 424 Thus, "together with the flock entrusted to them, they may attain to eternal life." 425

"Since all the Faithful form one body, the good of each is communicated to the others.... We must therefore believe that there exists a Communion of goods in the Church. But the most important member is Christ, since he is the head.... Therefore, the riches of Christ are communicated to all the members, through the Sacraments." 478 "As this Church is governed by one and the same Spirit, all the goods she has received necessarily become a common fund." 479

Communion of the Sacraments. "The fruit of all the Sacraments belongs to all the Faithful. All the sacraments are sacred links uniting the Faithful with one another and binding them to Jesus Christ, and above all Baptism, the gate by which we enter into the Church. the communion of saints must be understood as the communion of the sacraments.... the name 'communion' can be applied to all of them, for they unite us to God.... But this name is better suited to the Eucharist than to any other, because it is primarily the Eucharist that brings this communion about." 481

"In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and Sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of Salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins and give us the Grace of justification" (Roman Catechism, I, 11, 6).

"The Liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows." 13 It is therefore the privileged place for catechizing the People of God. "Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of Liturgical and Sacramental activity, for it is in the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of men." 14

Liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into the Mystery of Christ (It is "mystagogy." ) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the "Sacraments" to the "mysteries." Such catechesis is to be presented by local and regional Catechisms. This Catechism, which aims to serve the whole Church in all the diversity of her rites and cultures, 15 will present what is fundamental and common to the whole Church in the Liturgy as mystery and as Celebration, and then the seven Sacraments and the sacramentals.

"Seated at the right hand of the Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the Sacraments he instituted to communicate his Grace. the Sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify.

"Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection had freed us from the power of Satan and from death and brought us into the Kingdom of his Father. But he also willed that the work of Salvation which they preached should be set in train through the sacrifice and Sacraments, around which the entire Liturgical life revolves." 9

"To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of Salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her Liturgical Celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister, 'the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,' but especially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the Sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."' 11

In the Liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the Faith of the People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the Sacraments of the New Covenant. the desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.

In the Liturgy of the New Covenant every Liturgical action, especially the Celebration of the Eucharist and the Sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. the liturgical assembly derives its Unity from the "Communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social - indeed, all human affinities.

The Spirit and the Church cooperate to manifest Christ and his work of Salvation in the Liturgy. Primarily in the Eucharist, and by analogy in the other Sacraments, the liturgy is the memorial of the Mystery of salvation. the Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory. 19

The phrase "particular Church," which is the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a commUnity of the Christian Faithful in Communion of Faith and Sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession. 313 These particular Churches "are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in these and formed out of them that the one and unique Catholic Church exists." 314

What are these bonds of Unity? Above all, charity "binds everything together in perfect harmony." 265 But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of Communion: - profession of one Faith received from the Apostles; -common Celebration of divine worship, especially of the Sacraments; - apostolic succession through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God's family. 266

The plan of this Catechism is inspired by the great tradition of catechisms which build catechesis on four pillars: the Baptismal profession of Faith (the Creed), the Sacraments of faith, the life of faith (the Commandments), and the Prayer of the believer (the Lord's Prayer).

The second part of the Catechism explains how God's Salvation, accomplished once for all through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, is made present in the sacred actions of the Church's Liturgy (Section One), especially in the seven Sacraments (Section Two).

If God the Father almighty, the Creator of the ordered and good world, cares for all his creatures, why does evil exist? To this question, as pressing as it is unavoidable and as painful as it is mysterious, no quick answer will suffice. Only Christian Faith as a whole constitutes the answer to this question: the goodness of creation, the drama of sin and the patient love of God who comes to meet man by his covenants, the redemptive Incarnation of his Son, his gift of the Spirit, his gathering of the Church, the power of the Sacraments and his call to a blessed life to which free creatures are invited to consent in advance, but from which, by a terrible Mystery, they can also turn away in advance. There is not a single aspect of the Christian message that is not in part an answer to the question of evil.

On the threshold of the public life: the Baptism; on the threshold of the Passover: the Transfiguration. Jesus' baptism proclaimed "the Mystery of the first regeneration", namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration "is the Sacrament of the second regeneration": our own Resurrection. 300 From now on we share in the Lord's Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the Sacraments of the Body of Christ. the Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ's glorious coming, when he "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body." 301 But it also recalls that "it is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God": 302

Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. 556 This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. 557 Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her Sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." 558 That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: 559 Maranatha! "Our Lord, come!" 560

The seal is a symbol close to that of Anointing. "The Father has set his seal" on Christ and also seals us in him. 50 Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, the image of the seal (sphragis) has been used in some theological traditions to express the indelible "character" imprinted by these three unrepeatable Sacraments.

Because the Holy Spirit is the Anointing of Christ, it is Christ who, as the head of the Body, pours out the Spirit among his members to nourish, heal, and organize them in their mutual functions, to give them life, send them to bear witness, and associate them to his self-offering to the Father and to his intercession for the whole world. Through the Church's Sacraments, Christ communicates his Holy and sanctifying Spirit to the members of his Body. (This will be the topic of Part Two of the Catechism.)

These "mighty works of God," offered to believers in the Sacraments of the Church, bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit. (This will be the topic of Part Three.)

The Greek word mysterion was translated into Latin by two terms: mystenum and Sacramentum. In later usage the term sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of Salvation which was indicated by the term mystenum. In this sense, Christ himself is the Mystery of salvation: "For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ." 196 The saving work of his holy and sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation, which is revealed and active in the Church's Sacraments (which the Eastern Churches also call "the holy mysteries"). the seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the Grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. the Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament."

Believers who respond to God's word and become members of Christ's Body, become intimately united with him: "In that body the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the Sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification." 220 This is especially true of Baptism, which unites us to Christ's death and Resurrection, and the Eucharist, by which "really sharing in the body of the Lord, . . . we are taken up into Communion with him and with one another." 221

The Holy Spirit is "the principle of every vital and truly saving action in each part of the Body." 247 He works in many ways to build up the whole Body in charity: 248 by God's Word "which is able to build you up"; 249 by Baptism, through which he forms Christ's Body; 250 by the Sacraments, which give growth and healing to Christ's members; by "the Grace of the apostles, which holds first place among his gifts"; 251 by the virtues, which make us act according to what is good; finally, by the many special graces (called "charisms"), by which he makes the Faithful "fit and ready to undertake various tasks and offices for the renewal and building up of the Church." 252

The whole Liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Sacraments. 29 There are seven Sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation or Chrismation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. 30 This article will discuss what is common to the Church's seven sacraments from a doctrinal point of view. What is common to them in terms of their Celebration will be presented in the second chapter, and what is distinctive about each will be the topic of the Section Two.

"Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus . . . of the Fathers," we profess that "the Sacraments of the new law were . . . all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord." 31

The catechesis of the Liturgy entails first of all an understanding of the Sacramental economy (Chapter One). In this light, the innovation of its Celebration is revealed. This chapter will therefore treat of the celebration of the Sacraments of the Church. It will consider that which, through the diversity of Liturgical traditions, is common to the celebration of the seven sacraments. What is proper to each will be treated later. This fundamental catechesis on the sacramental celebrations responds to the first questions posed by the Faithful regarding this subject: - Who celebrates the liturgy? - How is the liturgy celebrated? - When is the liturgy celebrated? - Where is the liturgy celebrated?

It is in this eternal Liturgy that the Spirit and the Church enable us to participate whenever we celebrate the Mystery of Salvation in the Sacraments.

In the Celebration of the Sacraments it is thus the whole assembly that is leitourgos, each according to his function, but in the "Unity of the Spirit" who acts in all. "In Liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layman, who has an office to perform, should carry out all and only those parts which pertain to his office by the nature of the rite and the norms of the Liturgy." 15

Signs of the Covenant. the Chosen People received from God distinctive signs and symbols that marked its Liturgical life. These are no longer solely Celebrations of cosmic cycles and social gestures, but signs of the covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for his people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old Covenant are circumcision, Anointing and consecration of kings and priests, laying on of hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. the Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the Sacraments of the New Covenant.

Sacramental signs. Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the work of sanctification. the Sacraments of the Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all the richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make actively present the Salvation wrought by Christ, and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven. Words and actions

The Liturgical word and action are inseparable both insofar as they are signs and instruction and insofar as they accomplish what they signify. When the Holy Spirit awakens Faith, he not only gives an understanding of the Word of God, but through the Sacraments also makes present the "wonders" of God which it proclaims. the Spirit makes present and communicates the Father's work, fulfilled by the beloved Son.

Therefore Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the "Feast of feasts," the "Solemnity of solemnities," just as the Eucharist is the "Sacrament of Sacraments" (the Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter "the Great Sunday" 43 and the Eastern Churches call Holy Week "the Great Week." the Mystery of the Resurrection, in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him.

The altar of the New Covenant is the Lord's Cross, 59 from which the Sacraments of the Paschal Mystery flow. On the altar, which is the center of the Church, the sacrifice of the Cross is made present under Sacramental signs. the altar is also the table of the Lord, to which the People of God are invited. 60 In certain Eastern liturgies, the altar is also the symbol of the tomb (Christ truly died and is truly risen).

The Mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its expression in any single Liturgical tradition. the history of the blossoming and development of these rites witnesses to a remarkable complementarity. When the Churches lived their respective liturgical traditions in the Communion of the Faith and the Sacraments of the faith, they enriched one another and grew in fidelity to Tradition and to the common mission of the whole Church. 66

"In the Liturgy, above all that of the Sacraments, there is an immutable part, a part that is divinely instituted and of which the Church is the guardian, and parts that can be changed, which the Church has the power and on occasion also the duty to adapt to the cultures of recently evangelized peoples." 73

The Church celebrates the Mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will be "everything to everyone." 53 Since the apostolic age the Liturgy has been drawn toward its goal by the Spirit's groaning in the Church: Marana tha! 54 The liturgy thus shares in Jesus' desire: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you . . . until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 55 In the Sacraments of Christ the Church already receives the guarantee of her inheritance and even now shares in everlasting life, while "awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus." 56 The "Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come . . . Come, Lord Jesus!"' 57

Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal Mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. the mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the Sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries." 32

Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ, 33 which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant.

As she has done for the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the Faith, the Church, by the power of the Spirit who guides her "into all truth," has gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the Faithful steward of God's mysteries, has determined its "dispensation." 34 Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that among Liturgical Celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of the term, Sacraments instituted by the Lord.

The Sacraments are "of the Church" in the double sense that they are "by her" and "for her." They are "by the Church," for she is the Sacrament of Christ's action at work in her through the mission of the Holy Spirit. They are "for the Church" in the sense that "the sacraments make the Church," 35 since they manifest and communicate to men, above all in the Eucharist, the Mystery of Communion with the God who is love, One in three persons.

Forming "as it were, one mystical person" with Christ the head, the Church acts in the Sacraments as "an organically structured priestly commUnity." 36 Through Baptism and Confirmation the pRiestly people is enabled to celebrate the Liturgy, while those of the Faithful "who have received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the Church with the word and Grace of God in the name of Christ." 37

The ordained ministry or ministerial priesthood is at the service of the Baptismal priesthood. 38 The ordained priesthood guarantees that it really is Christ who acts in the Sacraments through the Holy Spirit for the Church. the saving mission entrusted by the Father to his incarnate Son was committed to the apostles and through them to their successors: they receive the Spirit of Jesus to act in his name and in his person. 39 The ordained minister is the Sacramental bond that ties the Liturgical action to what the apostles said and did and, through them, to the words and actions of Christ, the source and foundation of the sacraments.

The three Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders confer, in addition to Grace, a Sacramental character or "seal" by which the Christian shares in Christ's priesthood and is made a member of the Church according to different states and functions. This configuration to Christ and to the Church, brought about by the Spirit, is indelible, 40 it remains for ever in the Christian as a positive disposition for grace, a promise and guarantee of divine protection, and as a vocation to divine worship and to the service of the Church. Therefore these sacraments can never be repeated.

"The purpose of the Sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose Faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called 'Sacraments of faith."' 44

The Church's Faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the Church celebrates the Sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles - whence the ancient saying: lex orandi, lex credendi (or: legem credendi lex statuat supplicandi according to Prosper of Aquitaine [5th cent.]). 45 The law of Prayer is the law of faith: the Church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living Tradition. 46

Likewise, since the Sacraments express and develop the Communion of Faith in the Church, the lex orandi is one of the essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to restore the Unity of Christians. 47

Celebrated worthily in Faith, the Sacraments confer the Grace that they signify. 48 They are efficacious because in them Christ himself is at work: it is he who baptizes, he who acts in his Sacraments in order to communicate the grace that each sacrament signifies. the Father always hears the Prayer of his Son's Church which, in the epiclesis of each sacrament, expresses her faith in the power of the Spirit. As fire transforms into itself everything it touches, so the Holy Spirit transforms into the divine life whatever is subjected to his power.

This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation 49 that the Sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being performed"), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that "the Sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God." 50 From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

The Church affirms that for believers the Sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for Salvation. 51 "Sacramental Grace" is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament. the Spirit heals and transforms those who receive him by conforming them to the Son of God. the fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption makes the Faithful partakers in the divine nature 52 by uniting them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.

Christ instituted the Sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. the seven Sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: 1 they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian's life of Faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.