Seeing the sacraments as necessary for salvation

The formal definition and nature of the sacraments are distinguishing characteristics of Catholicism. As I discuss in Chapter 8, a sacrament is a physical act that expresses an inner transformation. While Protestants believe that sacraments are the outward expression that you do after you’ve changed on the inside, Catholics believe that sacraments are the “change agents” in a Christian’s life and the way that God uses to hand out his saving grace. As a result, sacraments aren’t just recommended or important to a Catholic, they’re an integral part of receiving God’s saving grace. This view is often called the high view of sacraments.

Catholics believe that the seven sacraments represent the major stages of spiritual development in a normal Christian’s life. These include

Baptism: The sacrament of birth

Confirmation: The “sequel” to baptism; the sacrament of coming of age

Holy Eucharist: The sacrament for spiritual nourishment

Penance: The sacrament for the confession of sins

Marriage: The sacrament for establishing a family (not essential)

Holy Orders: The sacrament for becoming a member of the clergy (not essential)

Anointing of the Sick: The sacrament for the sick or dying

Orthodoxy has a high view of sacraments as well, but the Orthodox Church doesn’t define the exact set of sacraments or their role in salvation as precisely as Catholics do.

The sacramental system developed gradually during medieval times. Catholicism says that Jesus Christ ordained the Church to serve as mediator for the sacraments, thus becoming a crucial part of a Christian’s spiritual life. Check out Chapter 8 for a full discussion on sacraments and Chapter 13 for more on the integral role of the Church in a Christian’s life.

Adoring Mary, the mother of Jesus

Jesus’ mother holds a special place in the hearts of Catholics. Although Catholics insist that they don’t worship Mary, they do express affection and adoration (often called veneration) to her. Given the intimate relationship between a mother and child, the Catholic Church believes that the same relationship can and should be expressed between the mother of Jesus Christ and each Christian.

Taking cue from Luke 1:48 (“All generations will call me blessed”), Catholics refer to the mother of Jesus as the Blessed Virgin Mary. Since the fifth century, Christians have referred to Mary as the Mother of God. Catholics explain that this term doesn’t mean that she’s actually the mom of the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit – see Chapter 7), but instead is a reference to the divine nature of Jesus as God in the flesh. Catholics also refer to her as the Mother of the Church.

In conjunction with adoration for Mary, Catholic Sacred Tradition says that she was always a virgin, both before and after the birth of Jesus. In fact, although the Bible speaks of Jesus having a brother James (Matthew 13:55), Catholics say that the word for brother actually means “relative” or “cousin.” Sacred Tradition also claims that Mary didn’t die a physical death, but went directly to heaven as an encouragement to the rest of humanity, a preview of what’s to come for other Christians.