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The Sacraments: Visible Signs of Invisible Grace We as human beings are a union of body (visible reality) and soul (invisible reality). We experience the world through our senses - sight, touch, taste, feel We also need to understand and express invisible realities through our senses. For example, a child understands the invisible concept of love through his or her parent’s acts of love for him or her. 2. When Jesus died on the cross, he earned an immeasurable flow of grace for us that he chose to communicate (or dispense) especially through the Sacraments that He established.

3. The Sacraments correspond to human nature

There is a visible, tangible sign of each Sacrament, and there is an invisible reality of each Sacrament. Both the visible and invisible aspects are very important! A breakdown of the definition of Sacrament Sacrament: an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. efficacious sign= think “effective”. The graces of the Sacrament are communicated because Christ is the one who works in the Sacraments Sign of grace= The Sacraments involve physical acts that indicate an internal, spiritual reality or transformation For example: The physical act of immersing a person in water in Baptism is a sign of interior (spiritual) cleansing from sin and a sign of death to sin. Instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church = Through Sacred Scripture and Tradition, we see that Christ left us the Sacraments as particular fonts of grace and entrusted them to the Apostles so that the Church would continue to confer Jesus’ sanctifying grace until the end of time. Mysterion and Sacramentum point to invisible and visible realities of the Sacraments “Mysterion” Early Greek speaking Church used this word to refer to the Sacraments Mysterion: originally meant “a sign of something sacred or hidden and inexhaustible” “Sacramentum” Early Latin-speaking Christians used this word to refer to the Sacraments sacramentum : originally meant “oath”, referred to the initiation ceremony for new soldiers in which they would both take an oath of office and be branded behind the ear as a sign of their new status, privileges, and responsibilities How are mysterion and sacramentum both appropriate terms for the Church’s Sacraments?

Mysterion: Sacraments are sacred because they are full of God’s grace; hidden because they take place inside the soul; and inexhaustible because they never “run out” of grace. 4. The Sacraments are always available to us and are the source of our life and our joy.

Christ is the one who established and who acts in the Sacraments, so we truly encounter Christ in the Sacraments. "We are Christians only if we encounter Christ...Only in this personal relationship with Christ, only in this encounter with the Risen One, do we really become Christians." - Pope Benedict XVI Indelible Mark Out of the 7 sacraments, 3 can be received only once - Baptism, Holy Orders, and Confirmation. they imprint an indelible mark on the soul this is an awesome, permanent mark on the soul that distinguishes a follower of Christ from others, and disposes us to cooperate with his grace (it is very helpful for being true to following Christ).

Sacraments in Scripture and Tradition Institution of some Sacraments - recorded explicitly in Scripture Some are implicit We know Christ established the Seven Sacraments from his words and deeds and because the Apostles continued to celebrate the Sacraments after his Ascension into heaven. One cool thing about the Church is that she grows in understanding of Christ’s revelation and the Truths He shared. The Church is a living, breathing thing. The Sacraments have grown and developed into how we know them today as the Church grew more and more in her understanding of their purpose.