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The Seven Sacraments

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Baptism
Matthew 28:19
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Baptism is the very first sacrament. It is an official declaration of becoming a Christian and having the Holy Spirit enter you. During baptism the person that is getting baptised gets emerged in the water three times then the priest anoints them 36 times with the holy chrism which is also known as the mayroun. The person that is getting baptised makes a public confession of their faith. First they turn to the west which is a symbol of darkness and death. Then they turn east which represents life and light. At the end of Baptism the sin of Adam is washed away and a new soul is declared. Overall, after a child is baptised, it is then the responsibility for the parents to keep them on the right track and fallow Christ.
Confirmation
John 3:3-5
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
After a childhood or anyone else has been baptised and anointed with the Holy Chrism, the priest usually places a crown upon their head and a scarlet ribbon around their chest. The crown that is put on the head is a symbol of the Crown of Heaven. A sign that new baptised human is now a child of God; the child of King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The scarlet ribbon is a symbol of the Blood of Jesus which was shed on the cross to save us and pay the prices of our sins which redeems us from the power of death. The body is now a temple of the Holy Spirit. These represent the victory that belongs to the faithful Christian who persists to the very end.

Holy Communion
Mark 14:22-24
22 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 23 Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

The most important gift that God has offered to us by is his Salvation. When God came down from heaven and became a man, he died as a sacrifice for us to pay the price of our sins. Even though God died on the cross, that still wasn’t sufficient for our salvation to be complete, because we have to personally accept his gift and by that we have to accept the Sacrament of Holy communion. During Holy Communion we receive the holy body and blood of Christ into our body and soul. This can happen when we attended the liturgy and at a certain time of the mass the priest and the people bow down. The priest then can pray the silent prayer calling upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon the bread and wine and to sanctify and bless who will come forward to receive the bread and wine that is transformed into Holy body and blood of Christ. Jesus is then present with us and in us. One thing that it is important to remember is to pray the before and after Holy Communion prayers.
Confession
1 John 1:9-10
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
When a child is already baptised as a Christian, the tints of sin is washed away. Even as adults that have converted, the same goes for them, which involves having all their sins washed away in baptism, and when that happens they cannot be baptised again. But what happens later on, when the individual sins again, and what should they do? This is where confession comes along, when all the new sins that we have committed are washed away and gone. Confession is like a renewal of baptism and it is also another gift from God. When the priest prays the Absolution Prayer, the sins since baptism are washed away by the Holy Spirit. Then the weight of guilt and sin is gone and taken away. It is usually good to confess at least once a month with your confession priest.

Unction of the sick
Matthew 10:8
8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
At Christ’s time, the disciples were ordered by Jesus to pray for those who were sick anoint them with oil for the healing of the diseases of their body and their spirits. It is now the priest’s job to anoint the sick person. The priest makes a sign of a large cross on the person being anointed. The Holy Spirit is working through this sacrament and there are four anointments the forehead, chest, and one on each wrist. To heal and return to health and thoughts the priest anoints a small cross of oil in the forehead, the heart and feelings on the chest and the actions and deeds on each wrist. This is the foundation of the sacrament of Unction of the Sick.

Marriage
Matthew 19:4-6
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
St. Paul could not find a better comparison then marriage to describe the relationship between Jesus and the church. St Paul compared the sacrificial love of Jesus to the love of the husband, and the obedience of the church to obedience of a wife to her husband in Ephesians 5. The sacrificial and obedient love does not come out of fear and being forced. In chapter 21 of Revelation, the beautiful church is described as the Bride of Christ, it being joyful and peaceful. Marriage is a ‘practice nun’ designed to teach us the definition of love. When a man and women have a marriage relationship, they learn to be completely open and honest to each other. They become one and this is why it is a gift and a sacrament From God.

Holy orders (priesthood)
Matthew 18:18
18 “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
There are three levels of priest hood; bishops, priests and deacon. The first sacrament and the last sacrament are the lead to all the other five sacraments. No one can take part of any other sacraments without getting baptised. To get baptised the church needs an ordained priest to baptise the community. We need the priest for practically everything whether it is baptism, marriage, Holy Communion or confession. Priesthood is a gift from the Holy Spirit and when one is chosen, it is required for the person to make a lifelong commitment to serve God faithfully.

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