“The most solemn, majestic, and beautiful gifts that Jesus Christ gave to the world are His Sacraments. He endowed them with unprecedented and unparalleled power - power to change lives, save souls, and share God’s very life. The Sacraments are the ordinary means by which God directs the course of each human life and all of world history.” (Scott Hahn)

The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church can be drawn together in three categories: the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist), Sacraments of Healing (Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick), and Sacraments of Vocation (Marriage and Holy Orders). Each was established by Jesus for the sake of salvation. When Jesus spoke of the Sacraments, He made it clear that they were essential: “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5); “. . . unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you;” (John 6:53).

When Jesus said, “…for apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5), He was speaking literally. Without the grace He gives through the Sacraments, we cannot hope to remain Christians, nor can we hope to be witnesses to a world so desperately in need of our Savior.