Sacraments

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revealed to him in detail the sacred signs and ceremonies by which individuals were to manifest more explicitly their faith. All sacraments come originally from God, as he is the principle cause. Although Christ is responsible for instituting all the sacraments, he is not responsible for the determination of all the details incorporated within the ceremonies. He did determine what special graces should go along with the external rites of passage.
The principle effects of sacraments is said to be a “two-fold” grace. The first part is comprised by the individual who performs the sacrament. The grace of a sacrament produced by the dead is “first grace” and those that are produced by the living is known as “second grace.” The second part is made up of the “sacramental grace,” which is the grace needed to attain the end of each sacrament.
The first the sacrament which initiates an individual into the Catholic-Christian community is known as Baptism. This sacrament is also known as the “sacrament of regeneration” because it is the act in which an individual is reborn to spiritual life. Baptism is considered “the door of the church.” This is due to the fact that you cannot receive any other sacrament unless you have been baptized first. The concept of baptism began before Jesus’ passion. Although John the Baptist used water as the rite of passage he stated that “he baptized with water but Christ baptized with the Holy Ghost.” It is believed that Christ baptized the Apostle Peter and he in turn baptized the other Apostles. Baptism fulfills the requisites for a sacrament as it was initiated by Christ, it bestowed the Holy Ghost and it is a defined rite. During the ritual which is an exorcism of the original sin that all children are born with, the child through its sponsors renounces Satan three times is anointed with salt, oil, and water. The child is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and the H...