The Sacraments

Q.     What are the sacraments?
A.     The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward
         and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain
         means by which we receive that grace.

Q.     What is grace?
A.     Grace is God’s favor towards us, unearned and
         undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens
         our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.

Q.     What are the two great sacraments of the Gospel?
A.     The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church
         are Holy Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.

Holy Baptism

Q.     What is Holy Baptism?
A.     Holy Baptism is the sacrament by which God adopts us
         as his children and makes us members of Christ’s Body,
         the Church, and inheritors of the kingdom of God.

Q.     What is the outward and visible sign in Baptism?
A.     The outward and visible sign in Baptism is water, in
         which the person is baptized in the Name of the Father,
         and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Q.     What is the inward and spiritual grace in Baptism?
A.     The inward and spiritual grace in Baptism is union with
         Christ in his death and resurrection, birth into God’s
         family the Church, forgiveness of sins, and new life in
         the Holy Spirit.

Q.     What is required of us at Baptism?
A.     It is required that we renounce Satan, repent of our sins,
         and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

Q.     Why then are infants baptized?
A.     Infants are baptized so that they can share citizenship
         in the Covenant, membership in Christ, and redemption
         by God.

Q.     How are the promises for infants made and carried out?

A.     Promises are made for them by their parents and
         sponsors, who guarantee that the infants will be
         brought up within the Church, to know Christ and be
         able to follow him.

The Holy Eucharist

Q.     What is the Holy Eucharist?
A.     The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by
         Christ for the continual remembrance of his life, death,
         and resurrection, until his coming again.

Q.     Why is the Eucharist called a sacrifice?
A.     Because the Eucharist, the Church’s sacrifice of praise and
         thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is
         made present, and in which he unites us to his one offering
         of himself.

Q.     By what other names is this service known?
A.     The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord’s Supper, and
         Holy Communion; it is also known as the Divine
         Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering.

Q.     What is the outward and visible sign in the Eucharist?
A.     The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread
         and wine, given and received according to Christ’s command.

Q.     What is the inward and spiritual grace given in the Eucharist?
A.     The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion
         is the Body and Blood of Christ given to his people, and
         received by faith.

Q.     What are the benefits which we receive in the Lord’s Supper?
A.     The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins,

         the strengthening of our union with Christ and one
         another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which
         is our nourishment in eternal life.

Q.     What is required of us when we come to the Eucharist?
A.     It is required that we should examine our lives, repent
         of our sins, and be in love and charity with all people.

Other Sacramental Rites

Q.     What other sacramental rites evolved in the Church
         under the guidance of the Holy Spirit?
A.     Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church
         include confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony,
         reconciliation of a penitent, and unction.

Q.     How do they differ from the two sacraments of the
         Gospel?
A.     Although they are means of grace, they are not
         necessary for all persons in the same way that Baptism and
         the Eucharist are.

Q.     What is Confirmation?
A.     Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature
         commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the
         Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands
         by a bishop.

Q.     What is required of those to be confirmed?
A.     It is required of those to be confirmed that they have
         been baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian
         Faith, are penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm
         their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Q.     What is Ordination?
A.     Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority
         and the grace of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops,  priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on
         of hands by bishops.

Q.     What is Holy Matrimony?
A.     Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the
         woman and man enter into a life‑long union, make their
         vows before God and the Church, and receive the grace
         and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.

Q.     What is Reconciliation of a Penitent?
A.     Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in
         which those who repent of their sins may confess them
         to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the
         assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.

Q.     What is Unction of the Sick?
A.     Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the
         laying on of hands, by which God’s grace is given for the
         healing of spirit, mind, and body.

Q.     Is God’s activity limited to these rites?
A.     God does not limit himself to these rites; they are
         patterns of countless ways by which God uses material
         things to reach out to us.

Q.     How are the sacraments related to our Christian hope?
A.     Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its
         future fulfillment.