Sacraments & The Liturgy

The Seven Sacraments Altarpiece, Rogier van der Weyden, C. 1448.

The Latin word “Sacramentum” means a “sign of the sacred.” The Seven Sacraments are efficacious signs that when celebrated through liturgical rites act as channels of God’s grace to us. They are the chief means by which God tangibly communicates His Life and Love to His Church. It is through the Sacraments that we come to know God and experience His peace.

As Catholics, we believe that there are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, The Eucharist, Reconciliation, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. “The seven sacraments touch all the stages and al the important moments of the Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith. There is thus a certain resemblance between the stages of natural life and the stages of the spiritual life.”[1]

Please refer to the various tabs dedicated to the Sacraments for more information on each and the opportunities offered at St. Edward’s for their reception.