There are an infinite number of differences between Catholics and most protestants regarding dogmas, celebrations, and traditions. And although some of our protestant brothers and sisters contend that the scriptures do not support the sacraments, the majority of protestants use a ‘sacramental’ model of Baptism as well as commemoration of the Lord’s Last Supper. However, they do not acknowledge the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and do not consider a sacrament praying for the sick, getting married in church, or celebrating a funeral service.
We, on the contrary, celebrate in our Catholic faith every special moment that connects us to Jesus and binds us to God as part of His flock, His redeemed people, His creation. Especially because each sacrament is directly linked to Jesus or to his successors, the Apostles, after His ascension. But, are our brothers and sisters correct that the sacraments and their aspects are not found in the Bible? And, how is a sacrament a fundamental element of our Christian life?
During the I and II centuries, the word sacrament, from the Latin word sacramentum, originally had nothing to do with religion. Instead, it was a legal form the Romans used to hold an oath taker or vower accountable while bearing the gods as witnesses, (similar to: ‘Do you swear to tell the truth, so help you God?’). The Romans were not the only ones who revered oaths/bonds as guarantee to the gods. The Greeks also observed sacramentum as an invocation to the ethereal beings to witness the promise and the fulfillment of an oath. The mentality behind a divine binding an oath was to assist the oath taker to remain ever faithful to the obligations required, or be subjected to punishment for any violation against the oath. Oath-taking was deemed an important ritual to diplomacy in those times that in order to seal the transaction a live sacrifice of an animal was necessary.
By the III century, early Christian author and theologian Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus (Tertullian) condemned the early Christian soldiers who would swear the sacramentum militare to their superiors because he believed that the only sacramentum a Christian should observe was baptism. This is one of the first writings in which baptism is seen as a sacrament, higher even than a military oath, or pledge. Since then, the number of sacraments varied in the early church, sometimes including up to 12 sacraments.
However, it wasn’t until between 1545 and 1563, during the Council of Trent, that the Catholic Church cemented the dogma of the seven sacraments the church would adopt and celebrate. The Eastern Orthodox doctrine also agreed to use all seven sacraments as the foundation of their celebrations; whereas, Lutherans, Anglicans and others only accepted two: Baptism and Eucharist.
Jesus Christ gave His life for us all. Because of this, He wants us to remember His atonement by observing and keeping His commandments. But He knows that as mere mortals, we cannot effectively and faithfully keep our “oaths” to Him without falling into temptation. We are humans, we err and we fail. Hence, we partake of the sacraments to make an oath to God that we will keep our promise to be good, to do good, and to love others as He loves us. If it were not, then why would we find references in the Bible where entire communities participated in the celebration of sacraments? These physical representations of something sacred kept the early church alive from the very beginning because the sacraments were life. The apostles broke the bread on Sundays. They all were baptized. Jesus Himself was baptized with water.
Today, Catholics celebrate and participate in the sacraments daily throughout the world. Each sacramentum is an oath we continue to make to God. We always ask for Divine intervention to keep us true to our oaths, so we can be participants of the Christian life in Jesus. From birth to death, a Catholic-Christian life experiences the following sacraments:
Baptism: Jesus was the perfect example of this sacrament when a) John baptized him in the Jordan River. “Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.” Mt. 3:13; and b) when Jesus was ascending into heaven he told the apostles to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Mt. 28:19. Also, Jesus tells us in John 3:5 that “no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of the water and Spirit.”
This is perhaps why protestants also practice Baptism because they understand Jesus’ commandments to be reborn in the water and Spirit. But, to them, Jesus only speaks to the adults and not the children and for them we are in the wrong by baptizing babies without them understanding why. We Catholics baptize our infants mainly because Jesus said we must be born of the water in order to enter into Heaven; and, we would not want our infants who die prematurely to be excluded from heaven. Would we?
We also baptize babies because in the book of Acts of the Apostles, “a woman named Lydia…, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and the household had been baptized.” Acts 16:14-15. We also see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians saying, “I baptized the household of Stephanas also.” 1 Cor. 1:16. It is evident that by ‘household,’ it meant everyone who lived in the home at the time the sacrament took place, including babies, infants and children. Baptism in the Catholic Church is the most essential sacrament as it reveals us as children of God, His property. In fact, no other sacrament can be given to anyone unless they have first been baptized.
Confirmation: A baptized Catholic Christian is anointed with sacred chrism and hands laid upon to be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the Bible we see both baptism and confirmation hand in hand because after John baptizes Jesus, the Holy Spirit descends upon him. All the apostles, including Mary, received the Holy Spirit during Pentecost and it was the Spirit that strengthened their faith. So much that, “Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:14-17.
This sacrament gifts us the Holy Spirit, who in turn grants us seven gifts or fruits of the Spirit (more on this on another blog). These gifts bind us (oath) to commit ourselves to practice patience and wisdom, prudence and love. The true gifts of the Spirit are those what make us be good to everyone around us and respect everything around us.
Eucharist: In order to receive this sacrament, the candidate must undergo proper catechetical education, just like confirmation. These educational classes prepare the recipient in the faith and help them understand the commitment each person accepting the Eucharist is entering into. This sacrament is a direct institution from Jesus Christ himself when, “He took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which will be given up for you; do this in memory of me.’ And likewise took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.’” Lk. 22:19-20.
Furthermore, Jesus reaffirms that only by taking part of the Eucharist can we find our path to heaven. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever… Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” Jn. 6:51-56. Every time we take communion, we renew the vow (oath) of our baptism.
Confession: Or the Rite of Penance is the moment in which we understand we have greatly sinned against God and we must repent, tell our sins to the priest and make reparations. In fact, Jesus taught us the “Our Father,” so we could directly ask God for forgiveness, all while also forgiving others for their offenses against us. Jesus wants us to understand that only God forgives sins. Our protestant family argues that because only God forgives, we shouldn’t confess to any man. Are they correct and only God forgives? Yes and no.
Yes because at the end of the confession, the priest says “May God grant you pardon and peace. And I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” The priest is not telling you he is forgiving you. He is telling you God will forgive you and he will bless you.
And no because the priest has direct authority from Jesus Christ. He entrusted this powerful sacrament to his apostles, the ones who would stay behind to continue His mission on earth. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” Jn. 20:21-23. When we confess, we make a new oath to try and stay away from sin. We commit to do good all for the glory of God.
Anointing of the Sick: The sacrament that is given during grave illness or people facing death to ask for the grace of God to come over them. In the Gospels we see Jesus healing people, spiritually and physically. And He transferred those powers to His apostles: “These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mk. 16:17-18.
As a church, the Body of Christ, we believe that our intercessory prayers help heal the sick in our communities. But when the illness is severe or the person is moribund, we call in the priest to anoint our sick. St. James tells us that, “Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up.” Jas. 5:14-15.
As we face our own mortality, we recall every moment in which we renewed our oath to God. In the anointing of the sick we seal a final oath before we enter His presence. We make one last physical sign that we believe in God and we trust Him in our dying moments.
Holy Orders: God will not force us to follow Him. He calls us and waits for us to answer. Through Holy Orders, the mission of Jesus Christ on this earth continues as it has since he lived among us. “Come, follow me… and I will make you fishers of men.” Mt. 4:19. Since the initial call to the apostles, Jesus continues calling on people to follow Him and we all become Christians and follow Jesus. However, there are some who have a special call, a vocation to ministry. Holy Orders is the ordination of priests, celibate life of religious orders, and missionaries. Under this sacrament, we find the successors of Christ on earth. Those men and women who take an oath to pastor the people of God and administer the sacraments.
This succession is evident from Peter to our current Pope Francis, uninterrupted. Why? Because the apostles perpetuated this ministry: “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.” Heb. 5:1-4 In Titus we also see this succession of ministers, “For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.” Titus 1:5.
Marriage: Just like some men are called to the priesthood and women called to convent life, in marriage a man and woman freely give themselves to one another, promising to love one another, making an oath for fidelity and co-creating life that praises God. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” Mk. 10:4-12. Married life is all over the Bible, Mary and Joseph’s marriage, Jesus performs miracles at the Wedding of Cana. And St. Paul tells us, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church.” Eph. 5:25. God blesses this oath of commitment and conyugal support.
There may be certain differences that exist between Catholics and Protestants and we may never agree on them since there are new ideologies that emerge and schools of thoughts that expand theories and philosophies. But something that does not change, even if they don’t agree with us, is the fact that every one of these sacraments are found in the Bible. Also, Jesus gave us each sacrament either directly or He guided them through the Spirit to the apostles.
But mostly, the sacraments exist because God loves us very much and he wants us to live a joyful life in Christ because only through him can we live in Divine Grace under the merciful, forgiving, and unparalleled love of God. With the conviction our faith gives us, we know deep in our souls that the church is rich because of its sacramental rituals and symbolisms. Each sacrament has the power to transform our behavior, our thoughts, and our actions.
Secular sacramentum was invented to hold people accountable for their oaths. Catholics didn’t invent sacraments; we only participate in them from the very onset because they are earthly symbols of something powerful. Each sacrament brings us closer to God; each one is a universal, communal expression of oaths. Every Catholic should strive to be a full participant of the sacraments because the sacraments are promises of Jesus Christ to his Church and they are also our individual commitment to Him to obey his commandments and be true Christians.