Chapter I — On the Sacraments in general

§ 1. Nature of the sacraments

1. What is treated of in the fourth part of Christian Doctrine?

In the fourth part of Christian Doctrine, the sacraments are treated.

2. What is meant by the word sacrament?

By the word sacrament is meant a sensible and efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Jesus Christ to sanctify our souls.

3. Why do you call the sacraments sensible and efficacious signs of grace?

I call the sacraments sensible and efficacious signs of grace because all the sacraments signify, by means of sensible things, the divine grace which they produce in our soul.

4. Explain by an example how the sacraments are sensible and efficacious signs of grace.

In Baptism, the pouring of water on the head of the person, and the words "I baptize thee," that is, "I wash thee," "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," are a sensible sign of what Baptism does in the soul; because, as water washes the body, so the grace given by Baptism cleanses the soul from sin.

5. How many and which are the sacraments?

The sacraments are seven, namely: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, Matrimony.

6. How many things are required to make a sacrament?

To make a sacrament there are required the matter, the form, and the minister, who has the intention to do what the Church does.

7. What is the matter of the sacraments?

The matter of the sacraments is the sensible thing which is used to make the sacrament; as for example natural water in Baptism; oil and balsam in Confirmation.

8. What is the form of the sacraments?

The form of the sacraments is the words that are pronounced to make it.

9. Who is the minister of the sacraments?

The minister of the sacraments is the person who makes or confers the sacrament.

§ 2. On the principal effect of the sacraments, which is grace

10. What is grace?

The grace of God is an internal, supernatural gift, given to us without any merit of our own, but for the merits of Jesus Christ, in view of eternal life.

11. How is grace distinguished?

Grace is distinguished into sanctifying grace, which is also called habitual, and actual grace.

12. What is sanctifying grace?

Sanctifying grace is a supernatural gift inherent in our soul, which makes us just, adopted children of God, and heirs of Paradise.

13. Of how many kinds is sanctifying grace?

Sanctifying grace is of two kinds: first grace and second grace.

14. What is first grace?

First grace is that by which man passes from the state of mortal sin to the state of justice.

15. And what is second grace?

Second grace is an increase of first grace.

16. What is actual grace?

Actual grace is a supernatural gift which enlightens our mind and moves and strengthens our will, that we may do good and abstain from evil.

17. Can we resist the grace of God?

Yes, we can resist the grace of God, because it does not destroy our free will.

18. By our own powers alone, can we do anything that avails us for eternal life?

Without the help of the grace of God, by our own powers alone, we can do nothing that avails us for eternal life.

19. How is grace communicated to us by God?

Grace is communicated to us by God principally by means of the holy sacraments.

20. Besides sanctifying grace, do the sacraments confer other grace on us?

Besides sanctifying grace, the sacraments also confer sacramental grace.

21. What is sacramental grace?

Sacramental grace consists in the right that is acquired by receiving any sacrament whatever, to have at the opportune time the actual graces necessary to fulfill the obligations that derive from the sacrament received. Thus we, when we were baptized, received the right to have graces in order to live as Christians.

22. Do the sacraments always give grace to those who receive them?

The sacraments always give grace, provided they are received with the necessary dispositions.

23. Who has given the sacraments the power to confer grace?

The power to confer grace was given to the sacraments by Jesus Christ through His passion and death.

24. Which are the sacraments that confer the first sanctifying grace?

The sacraments that confer the first sanctifying grace, which makes us friends of God, are two: Baptism and Penance.

25. What are these two sacraments therefore called?

These two sacraments, namely Baptism and Penance, are therefore called sacraments of the dead, because they are instituted principally to restore to souls dead by sin the life of grace.

26. Which are the sacraments that increase grace in him who possesses it?

The sacraments that increase grace in him who possesses it are the other five, namely Confirmation, the Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony, which confer second grace.

27. What are these five sacraments therefore called?

These five sacraments, namely Confirmation, the Eucharist, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony, are called sacraments of the living, because those who receive them must be without mortal sin, that is, already alive to sanctifying grace.

28. What sin does one commit who receives one of the sacraments of the living knowing that he is not in the grace of God?

One who receives one of the sacraments of the living, knowing that he is not in the grace of God, commits a grave sacrilege.

29. Which are the sacraments most necessary for our salvation?

The sacraments most necessary for our salvation are two: Baptism and Penance: Baptism is necessary for all, and Penance is necessary for all those who have sinned mortally after Baptism.

30. Which is the greatest of all the sacraments?

The greatest of all the sacraments is that of the Eucharist, because it contains not only grace, but also Jesus Christ, the author of grace and of the sacraments.

§ 3. On the character which some Sacraments impress

31. Which sacraments can be received only once?

The sacraments that can be received only once are three: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders.

32. Why can the three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, be received only once?

The three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, can be received only once, because each of them imprints the character.

33. What is the character which each of the three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, imprints on the soul?

The character which each of the three sacraments, Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders, imprints on the soul is a spiritual sign, which is never effaced.

34. What use is the character that these three sacraments imprint on the soul?

The character that these three Sacraments imprint on the soul serves to mark us out in Baptism as members of Jesus Christ, in Confirmation as His soldiers, and in Holy Orders as His ministers.