Why is sacrament important to catholics

Sin harms our relationship with God and damages our communion with the Church. Conversion of heart is the beginning of our journey back to God. Liturgically this happens in the Sacrament of Penance.

In the history of the Church, this Sacrament has been celebrated in different ways. Beneath the changes, there have always been two essentials: the acts of the penitent and the acts of Christ through the ministry of the Church. Both go hand in hand.

Conversion must involve a change of heart as well as a change of actions. The Sacrament of Penance reconciles us with God. This Sacrament also reconciles us with the Church. Sin should never be understood as a private or personal matter, because it harms our relationship with others and may even break our loving communion with the Church.

The Sacrament of Penance repairs this break and has a renewing effect on the vitality of the Church itself. In this Sacrament, the penitent receives the merciful judgment of God and is engaged on the journey of conversion that leads to future life with God.

The Church also recommends that a person go regularly to confession, even if only for venial sins. Not only does it free us from our sins but it also challenges us to have the same kind of compassion and forgiveness for those who sin against us. We are liberated to be forgivers. We obtain new insight into the words of the Prayer of St. Frequent Confession: Its Place in the Spitirual Life By Benedict Baur Frequent Confession presents convincing and strong evidence for the benefits of frequent reception of the sacrament of Penance for the health and growth of the spiritual life of all faithful.

The book is divided into two parts. The first shows the purpose and practice of confession from the aspect of confessor penitent. The second examines the many area where confession applies. An extensive introduction was written by Rev. Salvador Ferigle, who as a layman in began the apostolate of Opus Dei in the U. The book is newly indexed. By Francis J. An inspiring apology for Christianity, and a stirring critique of secularism.

Using this official Catechism, the highly-regarded author and professor Peter Kreeft presents a complete compendium of all the major beliefs of Catholicism written in his readable and concise style.

Since the Catechism of the Catholic Church was written for the express purpose of grounding and fostering catechisms based on it for local needs and ordinary readers, Kreeft does just that, offering a thorough summary of Catholic doctrine, morality, and worship in a popular format with less technical language.

This book is the most thorough, complete and popular catechetical summary of Catholic belief in print that is based on the universal Catechism. Handbook of Catholic Apologetics is the only book that categorizes and summarizes all the major arguments in support of the main Christian beliefs.

Also included is a Protestant-friendly treatment of Catholic- Protestant issues. The Catholic answers to Protestant questions show how Catholicism is the fullness of the Christian faith. Handbook of Catholic Apologetics is full of the wisdom and wit, clarity and insight of philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli.

This is an informative and valuable guidebook for anyone looking for answers to questions of faith and reason. Whether you are asking the questions yourself or want to respond to others who are, here is the resource you have been waiting for.

Sacraments are not ways that we earn our salvation. Salvation is by grace alone. We do not merit anything in the sacrament. The embodied action is not a magic deed or a divine loophole. The reason the physicality of the sacrament is important is because, in the action itself, we witness to our heart of faith. The physical action acts as a visible form of worship that aids in our spiritual growth. We can sometimes get bogged down by debates and disagreements regarding the Sacraments. What is the correct number of sacraments?

Should babies be baptized? Do we dunk or sprinkle? Is wine necessary for communion? If we get side-tracked by these arguments, we will fail to recognize one of the most important aspects of the sacraments: Sacraments are places in which we are invited to realize the grace of Jesus.

This means that there is a dual nature to the sacraments. On one hand, the sacrament is something that we do, an action that we perform. We eat the bread. We drink the cup. We anoint with oil. On the other hand, the sacraments testify to something that Jesus does. The very point of engaging with a sacrament is to receive the inward presence of Jesus. When we partake of bread and wine in the sacrament of the Eucharist, for example, it is not simply the bread and wine we receive.

We receive, in a real way, the presence of Jesus in our lives. In the moment of consuming the Eucharist, we commune with Jesus. The same holds true for the sacrament of baptism. As we are outwardly covered with the baptismal water, inwardly we receive the presence of the Holy Spirit. The inward grace that is received is as real for us as the water that drips down our forehead or the taste of the Communion bread in our mouths.

There is, of course, a danger of making the sacraments simply routine action. The danger is that constantly engaging in the physical expressions of faith may end up masking the spiritual reality behind the action. Yet this is a danger pertaining to how we approach the sacraments, not about the sacraments themselves. If we remember that, in the sacraments, we encounter the presence of Jesus, then we thwart the danger of making the sacraments simply empty routines.

So, why are the sacraments important for our faith lives? Well, it is not uncommon to struggle with our faith. Many faithful Christians experience times where they doubt their ability to experience the presence of Christ. When our doubts speak louder than our beliefs, simple answers do not always do the trick.

In these times, we need to be confronted with the presence of Jesus. This is what occurs in the sacraments.