THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH

"This session is really intended to address the question: "How does God reveal himself through the ages - and especially today?" We will see that the idea behind God's action from the very beginning was what we call sacraments: they are not magical, nor are they always effective in making us holy, because that depends on our free cooperation. BUT because they are actions of God, they are always truly offered."

An extract from The Faith of the Catholic Church by Fr Guy de Gaynesford. For the full text click here.

The Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion

1.  Children 

For information on preparation for Baptism, First Holy Communion or Confirmation of children or young adults go to the Parish Groups page

2.  Adults

Becoming a Catholic through the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA)

Becoming a Catholic is a step of enormous importance and signifies a deep commitment - both to Christ and to his Church.  The Church lays great stress on preparing her candidates for reception with as much care and prayerful attention as she can.  If you are thinking of becoming a Catholic we urge you to speak to your parish priest who will be very ready to help you in whatever way he can.

The Faith of the Catholic Church

The course below was written by Fr Guy de Gaynesford to instruct those seeking to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.  It can equally well be used by those who are already Catholic but who wish  to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the Faith.   You are welcome to print and read the sessions as you make your way through the course, or if you wish to select different sections of particular interest to you, please feel free to do so. 

The Faith of the Catholic Church -  An overview of the course

Section 1: What we believe - The Creed

1. The Most Holy Trinity  A look through Old and New Testaments at the origins of the Church's teaching on the One God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. The Bible: God's Word I and The Bible: God's Word II What the Church believes she is reading in the Scriptures, and how the Scriptures need to exist side by side with the Church's teaching office (the bishops in union with the Holy Father)

3. Jesus Christ – God becomes man  A look at who is Jesus Christ and what the Church proclaims he has achieved for us

 4. The Church – Mystical Body of Jesus Christ  A consideration of the Church as the visible presence of Christ, through which he continues his ministry in our age

5. What is in a Catholic Church building?  What we find in a Catholic Church building, why these things are present and their Jewish origins

6. The Church – God's people  The people who make up the Church – the living (the Church Militant), the holy souls in purgatory (the Church Suffering), and the saints in Heaven (the Church Triumphant)

7. Peter and the Church  A look at the ministry of the Pope and the teaching office of the bishops in union with the Pope

8. The Blessed Virgin Mary  What the Catholic Church teaches about the Mother of Christ and her place in Catholic devotion relative to Christ and to the saints

Section 2: How we worship - the Seven Sacraments

9. God's Continued Presence: the Sacramental Economy  A look at how God has taught and led the human race through the work of the Son, and how the Son continues to be present in the ministry of the Church

10. Sacraments: what are they?  How the seven liturgical sacraments of the Church are the God-made ways in which Christ continues to lead, feed and heal his people through the centuries

11. The Three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism  A look at how the sacrament of Baptism regenerates the believer, making us God's adoptive children, filled with the Holy Spirit and heirs to eternal life

12. The Three Sacraments of Initiation: Confirmation  A look at the sacrament that strengthens baptismal faith, preparing the disciple for adult witness to the Gospel

13. The Three Sacraments of Initiation: the Sacrifice of the Mass  The Mass as our way of offering to the Father the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – a sacrifice of thanksgiving and salvation

14. The Rite of Mass  A look at the structure of the Mass so as to understand better what is there and why it is there

15.  The Two Sacraments of Vocation: Matrimony The calling to image in a human way how God loves his creation, and specifically his Church

16. The Two Sacraments of Vocation: Holy Orders  A look at how Jesus Christ is visibly present in the Church as High Priest and as servant

17.  The Two Sacraments of Healing: Anointing of the Sick   A look at how Jesus Christ is visibly and powerfully present in the Church as healer and physician of the soul

18.  The Two Sacraments of Healing: Confession  A look at how Jesus Christ is visibly and powerfully present in the Church for the forgiveness of our particular sins

19.  The Ceremonies of Lent   A brief look at the specific ceremonies that take place in Lent, especially those involving adults preparing for baptism

20.  The Liturgy of Holy Week   The apex and climax of the Church's year – a single liturgical act of worship spread over three days in three major ceremonies which come to their high point in the Easter Vigil at which candidates are baptised (or received into the Church if they have already been baptised), confirmed and receive Holy Communion

Section 3: How we live - theTen Commandments

21. The Law of Love – the Ten Commandments in the Spirit of the Beatitudes   How the Ten Commandments form the basis of the way the Christian is called to live

22.  Conscience and the Moral Law  What conscience is, what it most certainly is not, and how it guides the path of the Christian

23.  The Ministry of Every Christian  Living within the Church and what this calls us to do

Section 4: How we pray - the Our Father

24. Christian Prayer: raising the heart and mind to God   A look at the nature of Christian prayer, what it is as well as what is certainly is not

25.  The Our Father – summary of the whole Gospel   A close look at what is contained in the seven petitions of the Our Father, and what this tells us about the prayer of the Christian

26. The Coming of the Kingdom – heaven, our home   What theologians call eschatology – a look at the last things, especially the call to live with God for ever in heaven 

An important note:   I have done my best to present these key elements of the Catholic faith as truly as possible, faithful to the formal teaching of the Catholic Church. However, I am very aware that this remains my own attempt to explain the faith – and that I may have done so clumsily, incompletely or misleadingly. While I have made every conscious effort to hand on the Catholic faith to you without prejudice or error, these pages have not received any official seal of approval. I therefore urge you, when reading these pages, to keep your copy of the Catechism open at all times – for if there is any divergence of teaching between the Catechism and anything I have written, then I must stress that you should always be guided by the Catechism. Any errors in the transmission of the faith will have been made by me: the Catechism, on the other hand, is a sure reference point for the teaching of the Catholic Church and should be preferred at all times.      Fr Guy de Gaynesford.