The Seven Sacraments
We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality; a reality open to all the human senses, yet grasped in its God-given depths, with the eyes of faith.
When parents hug their children, the visible reality we see is the hug. The invisible reality the hug conveys is love. We cannot "see" the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we can see its nurturing effect in the child.
The visible realities we see in the Sacraments are their outward expressions, the form they take, and the way in which they are administered and received.
The invisible realities we cannot "see" are God's grace and His gracious initiative in redeeming us through the death and Resurrection of His Son.
His initiative is called grace because it is the free and loving gift by which He offers people a share in His life. He shows us His favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of God's initiative is itself a grace, or gift from God, by which we can imitate Christ in our daily lives.
The saving words and deeds of Jesus Christ are the foundation of what He communicates to us through the Sacraments.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church recognizes the existence of Seven Sacraments instituted by the Lord:
the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist)
the Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick)
the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Marriage, Holy Orders)
Sacraments Of Initiation:
Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - lay the foundations of every Christian life.
"The sharing in the divine nature given to men (women) 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." CCC # 1212
Sacraments Of Healing:
The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, 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. CCC # 1421
Sacraments At the Service of Communion:
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. CCC # 1534