Sacramentos
La vida litúrgica de la Iglesia Católica gira en torno al sacrificio eucarístico y los sacramentos. Existen siete sacramentos en la Iglesia: Bautismo, Confirmación, Eucaristía, Penitencia, Unción de los Enfermos, Matrimonio y el Orden Sacerdotal.
El propósito de los sacramentos es santificar a las personas, edificar el cuerpo de Cristo y, finalmente, rendir culto a Dios; pero, al ser signos, también tienen una función docente. No solo presuponen la fe, sino que, mediante palabras y objetos, también la nutren, fortalecen y expresan; por eso se les llama «sacramentos de la fe». Los sacramentos imparten la gracia, pero, además, el mismo acto de celebrarlos dispone a los fieles de la manera más eficaz para recibirla fructíferamente, para adorar a Dios correctamente y para practicar la caridad.
Baptism
Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit... and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission: "Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration through water in the word." (CCC 1213)
Reconciliation (Confession)
Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. the Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as "the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace." (CCC 1446)
Eucharist (Holy Communion)
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life." "The other sacraments... are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." (CCC 1324)
Confirmation & RCIA
For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed." (CCC 1285)
Matrimony
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." (CCC 1601)
Anointing of the Sick
"By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them. And indeed she exhorts them to contribute to the good of the People of God by freely uniting themselves to the Passion and death of Christ." (CCC 1499)
