To discuss Catholic sacramental theology is to enter into a discussion about the very essence of what it means to be Catholic. Even in a secular country like this Australia, you only need mention the words ‘Mass’ or ‘Confession’ and most people will realise that you are talking about the Catholic faith. The sacraments are an essential part of what identifies us – even though most of us do not have much of a clue of what they are really about.

The Sacraments

What is a Sacrament? Why Do We Need Them?

Time 5:28

What is a sacrament? What are the seven sacraments? In this episode of Aquinas 101: The Sacraments, join Fr. Dominic Langevin, O.P., a Dominican friar from the Province of St. Joseph, as he explains what the sacraments are.

The Sacraments

Time 7:42

From the one tree trunk of Christ has come forth seven branches, seven sacraments. Each offers us a form of Christ's holiness, particularized to the needs of our souls. So, with this sacramental goodness, we want to have devotion in our sacramental practice—let us participate in the abundance well.

The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1131.

The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1131.