The Sacraments in the Christian Life

By M. M. Philipon, O.P. Holiness is imitation of Christ to the point of identification with Christ. Instituted by Christ himself and dispensed by the Church over the centuries, the sacramental order is the ordinary means by which God communicates to the faithful the grace to live, love, suffer, and die in his Son. M. M. Philipon, O.P., treats the seven sacraments in turn and explains their place and power in the Christian life. Baptism supplies the Church with its members; Confirmation constitutes them its defenders; the Eucharist, “source and summit of the Christian life,” unites them to Christ; Penance absolves them of sin and reconciles them with God and the Church; Extreme Unction prepares them for their departure from this world to meet Christ in the next; Marriage increases the Church’s membership and sanctifies the human love of husband and wife; and Holy Orders grants sacred power to the priestly ministers to teach, celebrate the sacraments, and govern the Church. Do you not