The Sacraments

01The moment

Known in the breaking of bread

At the village they beg Him: “Stay with us, for it is almost evening, and the day is almost over.”⁷

“When he had sat down at the table with them, he took the bread and gave thanks. Breaking it, he gave it to them. Their eyes were opened and they recognized him; then he vanished out of their sight.”

Later they sprint back and tell the others “how he was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.”⁹

Not in a lecture. In bread, blessed, broken and handed to them. Something they could see and hold and eat.

Turns out that’s how Jesus works. Over and over.

02The pattern

He touched people

When Jesus raised a little girl from the dead, He took her by the hand and said, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Girl, I tell you, get up!”¹⁰

He didn’t just send good vibes from a distance. He used hands, words, water, bread. Real stuff.

And what Jesus did back then is the foundation of what He gives you now in the sacraments.¹¹ They’re signs you can see and hear and touch, because you’re a body, not just a brain.¹²

So are they just pretty symbols? Nope. And the reason is kind of amazing.

03The claim

Not magic, and not just symbols

Received in faith, the sacraments actually do what they show, because “in them Christ himself is at work.”¹⁴

And here’s the part that should give you hope: they don’t depend on how holy the priest is. They work by the power of what Christ did, once for all.¹⁵

But they’re not magic either: what they grow in your life depends on the heart you bring.¹⁵

There are seven. Together they cover a whole life, from the first day to the last.

04The seven

From the first day to the last

Birth, growing up, eating, getting hurt, getting healed, giving your life away: the seven sacraments touch every big moment.²

Three to begin. Baptism, the front door, which frees you from sin and makes you part of Christ.¹⁶ Confirmation, which finishes the job with a special strength of the Holy Spirit.^17,18 The Eucharist, Christ’s own Body and Blood, the source and summit of the Christian life.^19,20

Two to heal. Confession (also called Penance or Reconciliation), where you get God’s forgiveness, out loud, and make peace with the Church.²¹ The Anointing of the Sick, where the whole Church hands someone who’s seriously ill over to the Lord.²²

Two to serve. Holy Orders, which keeps the mission Christ gave His apostles going.²³ Matrimony, where a man and a woman give each other their whole life.²⁴

“When he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit! If you forgive anyone’s sins, they have been forgiven them. If you retain anyone’s sins, they have been retained.’”

Practical question: if you’re starting from zero, where do you jump in?

05Where you come in

If you are becoming Catholic

If you’ve never been baptized, you start with a time of preparation called the catechumenate, and it ends in one huge night: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, all at once.²⁶

If you’re already baptized as a Christian, you don’t do it again: “Given once for all, Baptism cannot be repeated.”²⁷

Every parish does this a little differently, and the names change from country to country. You don’t have to figure it out alone. Your parish will walk you through it.

Two friends at Emmaus knew Him in the breaking of the bread. All seven sacraments lead back to that same table.