All tagged sacraments
These are some of the words given by the Church of England for administering the sacrament of anointing. The sacrament of anointing might be more familiarly known as ‘extreme unction’, but this is misleading. There’s nothing extreme about this Sacrament. Anointing with oil has long been, and continues to be, an important part of the Christian life. As ‘Christians’, we are followers of the ‘anointed one’. […]
The Sacrament of Reconciliation (also known a Sacramental Confession or Penance) is one of the most joyful of the church’s sacraments—but it is one of the least known, at least among Anglicans. In essence it is very simple: personal confession of sin to God in the presence of a priest who then gives advice, suggests a “penance” or act of devotion which may be relevant to the matters confessed, and then in the name of Christ and His Church pronounces absolution.
The sacraments, as Fr Ken Leech put it, are not “freak events” in a world which otherwise “runs on quite different rules.” They are a foretaste of God’s new creation, showing us what the world has been made for, and what it will ultimately be. The time of the Church’s sacramental life falls between that of Christ’s decisive victory over sin and death and the time in which the whole creation will enter into the fruits of that victory - when the powers of death are finally destroyed and he is “all in all” […]
When was the last time someone wished you Happy Birthday? It would be a fair bet that it was on your birthday. I’m sorry to tell you that if you’re baptised they almost certainly chose the wrong day. Not because your birth certificate is mistaken, or your parents had a strange sense of humour, but as baptised people your physical birth wasn’t your gateway to life, your baptism was. […]
