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The Parish of Porth Newydd

Sacraments

The Catechism defines sacraments as "outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace". There are seven sacraments altogether.

The two greater sacraments are those which Jesus himself commanded us to use:

Holy Baptism (Matt.28:19) is the entrance into the Family of God, the Church. Its sign is the water poured over the candidate's head (or immersion).
Holy Eucharist (Luke 22:17-20) is the continual remembrance of and thanksgiving for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Its signs are bread and wine.

The five lesser sacraments are:

Confirmation where the commitment to Jesus Christ made at baptism is confirmed and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received The sign is the laying on of hands by a bishop.
Absolution where, after confession of sins (wrong deeds, thoughts or words) a priest gives a person the assurance of God's forgiveness by saying an absolution. The sign is the saying of the words of absolution.
Healing may be of body, mind or spirit through the grace of God. The sign is anointing with oil or the laying on of hands by a priest.
Ordination whereby the Holy Spirit is given to those who are are to serve as bishops, priests or deacons. The sign is the laying on of hands by bishops.
Holy Matrimony. A man and woman are joined in a life-long union and receive God's grace and blessing to help them fulfil their vows. The signs are the giving of a ring, the making of vows and the saying of a blessing by a priest.

Holy Baptism - Baptism is the outward sign (sacrament) by which people, usually as babies but sometimes as adults, become members of the Christian Church. Since we are given our Christian names during Baptism the service is sometimes also called a Christening. At Baptism water is always used to show the washing away of evil (sin) and the beginning of a fresh "clean" Christian life. The priest also uses water to make the sign of the cross (the membership badge of the Church) on the forehead. Baptism takes place at the font (a basin holding water - the word "font" reminds us of fountain), which is normally placed by the main door of the church because Baptism marks entry into the Church.
The Service of Holy Baptism is set out in the Book of Common Prayer: Volume Two. The person being baptised (or the godparents on behalf of a baby) makes the promises required of a member of the Church. Godparents also promise to encourage a baby, when grown up, to confirm its promises before a bishop at Confirmation.

Jesus told his disciples to baptise people (Matt 28:19); Baptism is one of the two dominical (Latin: dominus = Lord) sacraments.
Holy Eucharist - "Eucharist" means thanksgiving and this service of thanksgiving is at the heart of the Christian life of worship. It is the one service Jesus gave to his church and commanded us to use. (Luke 22:19)
The pattern of the service is very simple. It falls into two parts.

In the first, after preparing ourselves by asking God to forgive us for the wrong things we have done, we hear again in readings from the Bible about what God has done for us, culminating in the Gospel reading, a story of Jesus. The readings are explained in a sermon before everyone joins together to say in the Creed what they, as Christians, believe .

The second part expresses our response to God, beginning with prayers for the world and everyone in it. Then, after greeting one another with a sign of peace, we bring our thank-offerings to the altar - money, and especially bread and wine, as symbols of the gifts of the earth worked by human hands. In the great Prayer of Thanksgiving the bread and wine become the sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus. We then offer ourselves to the love of God asking Him to accept us and we receive the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Then we go out from the service to live our daily life in God's love and to His glory.

(The service of Holy Eucharist may also be called Holy Communion, Mass, Family Communion, the Lord's Supper or Parish Communion). Click HERE for pictures of a typical Eucharist Altar set up.
Confirmation is one of the five lesser sacraments. The baptismal commitment made to God and the Christian Church is confirmed and the gift of the Holy Spirit is received. The sign is the laying on of hands by a bishop. Click Here for some pictures of a Confirmation Service
Absolution - where, after confession of sins (wrong deeds, thoughts or words) a priest gives a person the assurance of God's forgiveness by saying an absolution. The sign is the saying of the words of absolution.
Healing - may be of body, mind or spirit through the grace of God. The sign is anointing with oil or the laying on of hands by a priest.
Ordination- whereby the Holy Spirit is given to those who are are to serve as bishops, priests or deacons. The sign is the laying on of hands by bishops.
Holy Matrimony - A man and woman are joined in a life-long union and receive God's grace and blessing to help them fulfil their vows. The signs are the giving of a ring, the making of vows and the saying of a blessing by a priest.