‘‘Baptism,’’ derived from the Greek baptizein meaning ‘‘to plunge or to immerse.’’ The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), quoting in part from the 1439 Council of Florence (DS 1314), describes baptism as ‘‘the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit, and the door which gives access to the other sacraments. Through Baptism we are freed from sin and reborn as sons of God; we become members of Christ, are incorporated into the Church and made sharers in her mission’’ (CCC 1213).

Drawing upon the insights of the Early Church, many theologians today often speak of baptism, along with the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist, as the Church’s ‘‘sacraments of initiation.’’ Baptism is not a private affair between the individual Christian and God, for baptism establishes one as a member of the Universal Church and as a member of a particular faith community, enabling one to participate fully in the Church’s sacramental life. Baptism is also the basis of all ministry within the Church.

The earliest name for this sacrament was paenitentia secunda, from the Latin translation of the Greek metanoia (conversion, repentance): baptism was the first conversion and penance the second. The sacrament is broadly based in the ministry of Jesus who preached repentance and conversion to the reign of God. Forgiveness of sins was prominent in his ministry (Mk 2:3–12), and the early Church believed it was authorized to continue his ministry (Mt 16 :l9, 18:18; Jn 20:22–23).

The sacrament of penance is the sacrament through which Christians ‘‘obtain pardon from the mercy of God for offenses committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by

prayer labours for their conversion’’ (Lumen Gentium 11). Conversion (metanoia) and reconciliation were central to the mission of Jesus and remain the foundation of disciples’ life in Christ. Those preparing for baptism and Eucharist learn to be part of a converting and reconciling community. Those already baptized who sin return to the path of conversion and to the Eucharist in this second sacrament of conversion.

The name Eucharist has been chosen to refer to this sacrament since the times of St. Ignatius of Antioch (early second century). It is a Greek term (eucharistein) meaning “act of thanksgiving,” and it refers to Jesus’ act of thanksgiving when he instituted it, as both the Gospels and St. Paul relate (cf. Mt 26:27; 1 Cor 11:24).

In the Last Supper, Jesus gave the apostles his body and blood to eat. In every Mass, Christ gives himself to us as spiritual food (Holy Communion). The external form of food (bread and wine) is highly appropriate to signify the union with Christ that is caused in this sacrament. However, there is a discrepancy when comparing the Eucharist to food. Whereas the person fed assimilates food, the person receiving the Eucharist becomes assimilated into Christ.

We are filled with wonder as we consider how Christ chose to use bread and wine to remain sacramentally present among us and to give us spiritual nourishment. These are simple and ordinary foods, “fruit of the earth and work of human hands,” as the Offertory of the Mass reminds us. “The miracle of the holy Eucharist is being continually renewed and it has all Jesus’ personal traits. Perfect God and perfect man, Lord of heaven and earth, he offers himself to us as nourishment in the most natural and ordinary way. Love has been awaiting us for almost two thousand years.” Adapted from the book, Christ is Passing By, by St. Jose Maria Escriva

Upon receiving the Eucharist, an intimate union is established between God and the receiver: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56). That is why this sacrament is usually called Communion (“to receive Communion,” “to communicate”). Through this union with Christ, Christian participants in the Eucharist are also united among themselves. The Eucharist is the sacred banquet to which all Christians are invited. “O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us,” says an ancient and well-known liturgical prayer O Sacrum Convivium. The Eucharist is the perfect food for the supernatural life of the soul. The Holy Eucharist nourishes the soul in the same way that ordinary food nourishes the body

One of the three sacraments of Christian initiation. In the Christian East, the sacrament is called ‘‘chrismation.’’ Through this sacrament, Christians ‘‘are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit’’ (Lumen Gentium 11). The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults explains the significance of confirmation in its relationship to baptism. ‘‘The conjunction of the two celebrations signifies the unity of the paschal mystery, the close link between the mission of the Son and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and the connection between the two sacraments through which the Son and the Holy Spirit come with the Father to those who are baptized’’ (Lumen Gentium 215).

Formerly called Extreme Unction, this sacrament is conferred upon Christians in serious illness or in old age. That Jesus exercised a ministry of healing is recorded (Mt 9.35) and that He enjoined this ministry on the Apostles is recorded (Mt 10.1, Mk 6.7, and Lk 9.1). Since anointing with oil had a recognized therapeutic value among the Jews, and oil was staple for many domestic and medicinal purposes in Antique Mediterranean cultures, it is entirely plausible that the Apostles should have elected this as the sign ready-at hand to signify the conferring of a special grace on those in a state of sickness just as an ablution was made a ‘‘new Baptism’’ when it was constituted a sign of Christian regeneration by the annexing to it of Christian grace. In chapter five of his Epistle, St. James, in a context of counselling norms of Christian conduct in several life situations, recommends a special remedy in time of sickness. ‘‘Is any among you sick? Let him bring in the presbyters of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your sins, therefore, to one another, that you may be saved’’ (14–16).

The Christian is anointed with the Oil of the Sick in the name in which he was baptized (Acts 2.38; 8.16; 10.48). The explicit invocation of the powerful name of Jesus excludes any notion of a magical healing power. While the priest is recognized as the only proper minister of this sacrament, all baptized Christians share in this ministry to the sick by helping the sick return to health, by showing love for the sick, and by celebrating the sacraments with them. In particular, family members and friends of the sick person, and those who take care of the sick, share in this special ministry of comfort and mutual charity. (Pastoral Care of the Sick)