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: Botez, Confirmare, cel Euharistie, Mărturisire, Căsătorie, Orders, si Ungerea bolnavilor.
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, de exemplu, 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 (vedea Evanghelia după Ioan, 3:5, si Faptele Apostolilor, 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, vedea Ioan 3:5; 9:7; Faptele Apostolilor, 8:37; Paul’s Scrisoare către Titus 3:5; or Peter’s First Letter 3:20 – 21); as well as oil (see the Evanghelia după Marcu 6:13, or the Scrisoarea lui Iacov 5:14); clay (vedea Ioan 9:6); garments (marcă 5:25 sau Luke 8:43); and even handkerchiefs (see the Faptele Apostolilor 19:11-12).
God’s grace is transmitted through other sensible things, de asemenea, such as Mary’s voice and Peter’s shadow (see the Evanghelia după Luca 1:41, 44, si Faptele Apostolilor 5:15, respectively).