הסקרמנטים

As the name implies, the Sacraments are sacred rites instituted in the Church by Jesus. Properly speaking, there are seven Sacraments in the Catholic faith: טְבִילָה, אִשׁוּר, the סְעוּדַת יֵשׁוּ, הוֹדָאָה, נִשׂוּאִים, Orders, וה משיחה של חולים.

Through the Sacraments believers receive God’s grace through material things like water, bread, wine and oil.

The Sacraments may be understood as outward signs that convey the grace they signify. Water, לדוגמה, signifies cleanliness and life. By the grace of God, the waters of Baptism actually cleanse the soul of sin and fill it with divine life (לִרְאוֹת הבשורה של יוחנן, 3:5, וה מעשי השליחים, 2:38). The Sacraments are patterned after the Incarnation, in which God, a spiritual being, took on human flesh–and the invisible one became visible.

The idea of grace being transferred through material things is a Biblical concept.

In the New Testament alone, we see water used in this way (again, לִרְאוֹת ג'ון 3:5; 9:7; מעשי השליחים, 8:37; Paul’s Letter to Titus 3:5; or Peter’s First Letter 3:20 – 21); as well as oil (לראות את הבשורה של מארק 6:13, or the מכתבו של ג'יימס 5:14); clay (לִרְאוֹת ג'ון 9:6); garments (סימן 5:25 or לוק 8:43); and even handkerchiefs (לראות את מעשי השליחים 19:11-12).

God’s grace is transmitted through other sensible things, גַם, such as Mary’s voice and Peter’s shadow (לראות את הבשורה של לוק 1:41, 44, וה מעשי השליחים 5:15, respectively).