Question 114 of Lesson Eleventh of the Baltimore Catechism No. 2 noted that the Church and the sacraments are the means by which Christ enables us to share in the effects of His redemption. In that lesson and Lesson Twelfth, we discussed the Church; now, we begin to examine the sacraments.
The seven sacraments are outward signs of inward grace. They do not just reflect grace in our souls but are the means by which we receive both sanctifying and sacramental grace.
The questions are numbered consecutively with Lesson Twelfth. For more information and links to other resources, click on each question below.
A. A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.
A. There are seven Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.
A. The Sacraments have the power of giving grace from the merits of Jesus Christ.
A. Some of the Sacraments give sanctifying grace, and others increase it in our souls.
A. The Sacraments that give sanctifying grace are Baptism and Penance; and they are called Sacraments of the dead.
A. Baptism and Penance are called Sacraments of the dead, because they take away sin, which is the death of the soul, and give grace, which is its life.
A. The Sacraments that increase sanctifying grace in our soul are: Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony; and they are called Sacraments of the living.
A. Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony are called Sacraments of the living, because those who receive them worthily are already living the life of grace.
A. He who receives the Sacraments of the living in mortal sin commits a sacrilege, which is a great sin, because it is an abuse of a sacred thing.
A. Besides sanctifying grace the Sacraments give another grace, called sacramental.
