The Sacraments of Initiation: A Primer

What makes the Catholic Church truly different from other denominations? You can argue that how Catholics view the Blessed Mother and the papacy are. But after my last few OCIA classes, I think that is the sacraments of the Church which truly make it different from other denominations. The first set of sacraments to explore are called the Sacraments of Initiation.

But what are the sacraments? Where do they come from? Why are they important? And why do they make the Church different from other denominations? I learned all about the Sacraments of Initiation in my last few OCIA classes.

Before getting into what the three Sacraments of Initiation, I want to provide a little groundwork. First, what even is a sacrament? An excerpt from the OCIA material:

“In the broadest sense, a sacrament can be any person, event, or thing through which we encounter God’s presence in a new or deeper way. A sunset, a period of quiet prayer, the birth of a child, an intimate conversation – all have the potential for revealing God to us in new and deeper ways.

“In the broad sense, we can say that a sacramental experience is an encounter with God through human experience that somehow changes us. Virtually any human experience can provide us with such an encounter.”

Jesus left these physical things behind for us. All throughout Scripture, Jesus used the physical world to show God’s love for us.

         The following verses are good examples of this:

1.    Matthew 8:1-3 (Jesus cleansing a leper by touching him)

2.    Mark 10:13-16 (Jesus holding and blessing little children)

3.    Luke 9:12-17 (Jesus multiplying the loaves through breaking them)

4.    John 9:6-7 (Jesus rubbing mud in the blind man’s eyes)

5.    John 11:35-36 (Jesus weeping when he saw the others weeping)

6.    John 13:4-5 (Jesus washing his disciple’s feet)

7.    John 20:21-22 (Jesus breathing on his disciples)

Through participation, the sacraments provider greater access to the immense grace that God gives us. The following is an excerpt from the OCIA material:

“In the 5th Century, St. Augustine defined sacrament as a ‘visible sign of invisible grace.’ To understand sacrament, we also need to understand what grace means. Grace is the gift of God’s love and presence into which we grow. It’s ‘the help God gives us to respond to our vocation to become his adopted sons and daughters.’ God’s ‘initiative of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits our free response in faith and commitments.” (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults).

“Grace is a relationship between God and us. Our side of the relationship usually develops gradually, but it’s a response to a love that was always there. The gift of God’s grace is totally free and ever present. What we do with that gift is ours to choose, and our eternal salvation is affected by our choice. We express and celebrate our acceptance of it in the sacraments.”

The sacraments cleanse us, nourish us, and fill us with those graces. In short, they help us in our Christian walk.

So, what are the Sacraments of Initiation? They are the three sacraments that celebrate and introduce us to the Christian way of life. They are Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. Baptism incorporates us in the body of Christ. Confirmation strengthens us within the body of Christ. The Eucharist nourishes us with the Body and Blood of Christ.

Let’s take a closer look at the first of these: Baptism.

From my understanding, Baptism is the common denominator amongst all, or at least most, Christian denominations. The word baptism means “plunging.” At our baptism we plunge into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Luke 12:50, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished.” Through this baptism, Christians are united with his saving death and live-giving resurrection.

To put it most simply: we die to our old selves; we are washed clean. Then, we are born anew in Christ.

Now, where do we get Baptism from? Well, if you have read any of the New Testament, then you know good and well. Not only is Jesus himself baptized, but countless others are baptized through the New Testament. If that doesn’t show how important it is, St. Paul emphasizes it a lot in Romans:

1.    Romans 6:4

2.    Romans 6:6-7

3.    Romans 6:9-11

You only need to be baptized once. According to paragraph 1280 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Baptism imprints on the soul an indelible sign, the character, which consecrates the baptized person for Christian worship. Because of the character Baptism cannot be repeated.”

After baptism, we become part of the Body of Christ and heirs to God’s Kingdom. Here is an excerpt from the OCIA material:

“For Christians, community has always been an essential part of life. Christ is at the center, and the community is built around him. Baptism is the way we enter that community and become members of the body of Christ, the Church. Once baptized, we share in the privileges and life of this community of believers.

“Many people think of baptism as a private family affair, but being baptized connects us in a deep and eternal way with a much larger family: the family of God.”

Pretty cool, huh?

Here are some interesting facts I learned about the Catholic Church’s teaching on the sacrament of Baptism:

1.    For those converting from Protestantism (c’mon over folks, it’s great over here!), they do not need to be baptized in the Church as long as they were properly baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. However, they will only be re-baptized if there is significant doubt.

2.    Catholics believe in these two variations of baptism:

a.    “Baptism of blood” – when someone who is not baptized dies for the Christina faith

b.    “Baptism of desire” – pulling directly from the OCIA material: “those who ‘through no fault of their own do not know the gospel of Christ or his Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do his will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.’”

3.    One of the coolest things I learned was that any person who is baptized, can baptize others in the direst of circumstances. The director shared with us that she used to work as a hospital chaplain. There were a few times that she baptized babies who were going to pass away when there was not a priest available. Very sad, but what a gift to be able to do that for that little newborn and their family!

Moving on, we have the second Sacrament of Initiation: Confirmation. The word confirmation means “strengthening.” Where do we get this sacrament from? Well, just like all the sacraments…we get them from Jesus. Just as Jesus gave his spirit to the Apostles, the Apostles were able to lay hands on others and transmit the spirt to them (see Acts 8:14-17).

At confirmation, we are fully initiated, and thus, we are strengthened in our faith. Quoting the OCIA material:

“Christ fulfills his promise to us as well through the sacrament of confirmation. In confirmation, we receive courage and other gifts of the Holy Spirit we need to be witnesses to Christ in our daily lives.” Just prior to that, the material reads: “Many of us lack confidence when it comes to speaking to others about our faith in Jesus Christ.”

As I prepare myself for my own confirmation next Easter vigil, I look forward to the strengthening grace that it provides. There has been plenty of times in the past, and still sometimes now, where I lack the confidence to share the faith with others. The strengthening of my faith, the ability to be a better witness for Jesus, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are many blessings of this sacrament.

What are these gifts of the Holy Spirit? I learned that they are wisdom, understanding, right judgement, courage, knowledge, reverence, wonder and awe. From my reading, there is a lot that can be said about these gifts so I won’t do that here in the interest of time. If you want to see a video on them, please let me know!

Now, let’s move on to the final, and most central, Sacrament of Initiation: The Most Holy Eucharist.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1409, says this:

“The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.”

But it is not just a memorial of Christ’s Passover. Catholics believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly present; his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Intellectually, I am almost there in my belief. However, within my heart, I believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. How is that possible? How does that make sense? Beats me…but in my heart, I just know. When I am unable to receive the Eucharist, I am moved to tears and feel sad during the consecration. On the contrary, when I am able to receive, I am excited and looking forward to it.

So, where do we get this sacrament from? Same as all others: Jesus. Jesus declares this, quite plainly, in multiple passages of the New Testament. Most notably, John 6:22-59 (which is referred to as the “Bread of Life Discourse”) and the Last Supper where Christ institutes the Eucharist. Jesus explicitly states that we need to eat his body and drink his blood. He tells us that if we do not, then we have no life in us. In fact, he lost a lot of his followers after making such a bold claim. He didn’t say, “Oh, I meant it symbolically, guys!” He said what he said, and he meant it literally.

At the Mass, the substance of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This process is called “transubstantiation.” This is done by the priest at the consecration. Since the priest acts “in persona Christi,” or “in the person of Christ,” it is as if Christ is offering us his body and blood, just as he did during the Last Supper.  

The Eucharist is the central point of the Mass, as well as the life of the Catholic. Before I knew the Eucharist, my favorite part of the Mass was the priest’s homily. I thought that is the part where I could learn the most and “get the most” out of Mass. But now the highlight of the Mass is receiving the Eucharist.

There is so much more depth and goodness about these sacraments but not only I am limited in my understanding, this video would be days long. But I sincerely hope this served as a good primer for you. I thank you all for watching, and I hope to see you all in the next one.

God bless!