We have been taught that a Sacrament is "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace."  Our ultimate goal is to be One with the Father.  In this life we nourish our bodies with food for sustenance.  Our souls must also be sustained and the Sacraments were instituted by Christ to give us this sustenance.

Baptism washes us clean and initiates us to our spiritual life.  Our faith is affirmed when we decide to receive Confirmation.  When we encounter the Eucharist we are fed the Bread of Life.  Our souls are cleansed through Penance where we reconcile with God and each other.  Anointing of the Sick heals our remedies, eases our pain and carries us back to the Lord.  Matrimony joins a man and a woman together to give support to each other in this life and to create life.  The Sacrament of Holy Orders anoints those who are called by the Lord to lead all of us in prayer and adoration to our Triune God and to preach and teach His Word.

These Sacraments give us sanctifying grace.  These gifts come from the merits of Jesus Christ and His gifts to us so that we can follow the path that He has laid out for us.

We are reborn as a child of God and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.  The water washes us clean as we are not only joined to our earthly family but also to our Christian family.  At least one parent and one Godparent must be a practicing Catholic (i.e. Roman, Orthodox, Independent, etc.).  The intention of this requirement is to ensure that the person to be baptized is raised learning about their Catholicity in preparation for Confirmation and to assist them in living their life in imitation of Christ.

"Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained."  Yes, we can pray to the Father and ask for His Divine Mercy, His Forgiveness.  However, to hear another person forgive us for the sins we have committed, is a cleansing of its own.  We cleanse our mind of guilt at the same time as cleansing our soul.  This is a most important Sacrament as we reconcile ourselves to the Lord and He sees into our very soul and knows our innermost thoughts.  Our intention is laid bare before the Lord.  May God forgive us and may God's representative, His earthly priest, absolve us of our sins so that we can once again be one with Him.

This is the Sacrament where we share in Christ's Last Supper.  Jesus spoke and said, "Take this, all of you, and eat...take this, all of you and drink...Do this in memory of Me."  Jesus offered up his Body and Blood for our sins and He offers it up to us again and again in the unbloody sacrifice of the Eucharist.  He is giving of Himself as He gave of Himself in this life for our sins.  In this community prayer, we all share in His Life, Death and Resurrection.  Through the Mass we hear the Word and receive the Word.  We reunite ourselves to the Lord.