05/11/2021
There are seven Sacraments of the New Law: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction [Annointing of the Sick], Orders, and Matrimony. The first five of these Sacraments are intended to bring about the perfection of the individual man in himself; whereas the other two, Orders and Matrimony, are so constituted that they perfect and multiply the entire Church.
(Saint Thomas Aquinas)
By Saint Thomas Aquinas
The spiritual life conforms to the physical life. In the physical life man is perfected in three chief ways: first, by generation, in that he is born into this world; secondly, by growth, through which he is brought up into stature and perfect strength; thirdly, by food which sustains man’s life and powers. This would suffice were it not that man is attacked by illnesses, and hence, fourthly, he needs something which will bring him back to health.
This also holds true in the spiritual life. First, man needs regeneration or re-birth which is brought through the Sacrament of Baptism: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Secondly, it is necessary that man develop perfect strength, which is, as it were, a spiritual growth, and this indeed comes to him in the Sacrament of Confirmation. This is like the strengthening which the Apostles received when the Holy Ghost came upon them and confirmed them. The Lord had said to them: “But stay you in the city of Jerusalem till you be endued with power from on high.” The third similarity is that man must be fed with spiritual food: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. “Fourthly, man must be healed spiritually through the Sacrament of Penance: “Heal, O Lord, my soul, for I have sinned against Thee. “Lastly, one is healed both in soul and in body in the Sacrament of Extreme Unction: “Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him. “Two of the Sacraments, Orders and Matrimony, are instituted for the common good of the Church. Through the Sacrament of Orders the Church is ruled and is spiritually multiplied; and through Matrimony it is increased physically in numbers.
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Where are the Seven Sacraments in the Bible?
Baptism
John 3:5 – “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 28:19 – “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”
Confirmation
Luke 24:49 – “But stay you in the city of Jerusalem till you be endued with power from on high.”
The Eucharist
John 6:54 – “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you.”
Sacrament of Penance [Confession]
Psalm 41:4 – “Heal, O Lord, my soul, for I have sinned against Thee.”
John 20:22-23 – “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”
Anointing of the Sick [Extrem Unction]
James 5:14-15 –“Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
Matrimony
Matthew 19:4-6 – “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
Holy Orders
Matthew 10:1 –Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
John 20:22-23 – “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.’”
