|
Sacramental
Guidelines (.pdf)
|
(The
follow text is taken from the official diocesan
policies and guidelines pertaining to the
Seven Sacraments for use in the Diocese
of Shreveport) |
The
Sacraments
 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: 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 spiritual life. (CCC1210)
An
Introduction
The word "sacrament" has a long and
rich history in the Catholic Church. It refers
principally to the seven official sacred encounters
in the liturgy of the Church (Baptism, Confirmation,
Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing,
Orders and Marriage), but has a wider meaning
as well.
The
word derives from the Latin "sacramentum,"
originally a pledge or oath taken by Roman soldiers,
which often included a "brand" on the
skin. The 3rd-Century church theologian Tertullian
appears to be the first to employ the term in
church usage in the case of baptism and its sacred
"seal" of the individual to Christ.
In coining this usage, he prepared the way for
many centuries of development in sacramental theology.
Guidelines
available for download.
|
