4. The Sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation

As far as I know, here in the Philippines this Sacrament is called Confession or Reconciliation, confession of sins to a Priest or Bishop is an essential part of this sacrament and it is only through this sacrament that we are again reconciled with God. Without confession there will be no reconciliation with God, no forgiveness of our sins. It is only through this that we are cleansed from our sins be it Mortal sin or Venial sin.

During confession, all sins must be recounted or recalled so that there will be complete healing on our soul. Without confession we will be forever be burdened by our conscience, from time to time we will feel the guilt of our sins and we will not be able to achieve peace of mind.

What if during confession we unintentionally forget to confess some of our sins. For so long as we humbly and truthfully submit ourselves to this sacrament, those sins that we forget to confess has been forgiven also. But let us say that we submitted ourselves to this sacrament then, for reasons known only to ourselves we willfully did not confess some of our sins. Those sins are not forgiven.

The spiritual effects of the sacrament of Confession are:
· reconciliation with God by which the penitent recovers grace;
· reconciliation with the Church;
· remission of the eternal punishment incurred by mortal sins;
· remission, at least in part, of temporal punishments resulting from sin;
· peace and serenity of conscience, and spiritual consolation;
· an increase of spiritual strength.

One of the many Biblical passages related to this Sacrament is this. "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week," Jesus showed himself to his apostles. "He breathed on them, and said to them: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained'" (John. 20:19, 22-23).

NB: The Apostles in Jesus time is now represented by Bishops and Priests by virtue of their ordination.

By his humanity Jesus has also lived to administer this Sacrament.

Again, this is a short essay the responsibility to know more is within us.

3. The Sacrament of Confirmation

Last March 18, I received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was conferred to me by our Bishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle DD. I remember that he recited this prayer "Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit." I said Amen! then he anointed me with chrism oil on my forehead. (see picture, the man whose hand is on my shoulder is our Parish Priest Leonardo R. Bagos, who was also my Godparent during the Confirmation)

Those who are anointed, share more completely with the mission of Jesus Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit with which he is filled so that their lives may give off "the aroma of Christ. (2nd Corinthians 2:15). By anointing the confirmand receives the "mark," the seal of the Holy Spirit, (Deuteronomy 32:34). A seal is a symbol of a person, a sign of personal authority. By way of confirmation he now becomes a soldier of Christ. Jesus himself declared that he was marked with his Father's seal, (John 6:27). This seal of the Holy Spirit marks our total belonging to Christ and his Church.

It is evident from this celebration that the effect of the sacrament of Confirmation is the special outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost. (John 20:22), (Acts 2:1-4).

Every baptized Catholic not yet confirmed can and should receive the sacrament of Confirmation.

Again, the responsibility to discover more is within us.

2.The Sacrament of Holy Communion

In other countries this is called Sacrament of the Eucharist, here in the Philippines this is known as the Sacrament of Holy Communion because by this Sacrament we unite ourselves with Jesus when we accept his Body in the form of the Consecrated Host.

The center of the Mass are the bread and wine that, by the words of Jesus and by the invocation of the Holy Spirit, it becomes Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do this in his memory. This is what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . . ." "He took the cup filled with wine… (Luke 22:17-20).

During the second part of the Mass which is called the Liturgy of the Eucharist the Priest Consecrates the bread and wine. By virtue of consecration it now becomes the Body and Blood of Christ.

In the miracle of the loaves/bread, when Jesus said the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves/bread through his disciples to feed the people shows the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist. (Matthew 14:13-21) .

Who Can Receive Communion?

The Catholic Church has guidelines on how we should prepare ourselves to receive the Lord’s body during Communion. To receive Communion worthily, you must be in a state of grace, has observed the Eucharistic fast, (not eating anything for at least one hour before the Mass). Not living as husband & wife outside of the Sacrament of Matrimony (Marriage). Has been to confession for at least once a year or you must have been to confession since your last mortal sin. The Bible contains lists of mortal sins ( 1st Corinthians. 6:9–10 and Galatians. 5:19–21). For more information on mortal sin, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Again, what I have presented here is a short essay of the Sacrament of Communion. The responsibility to discover more is within us.

1.The Sacrament of Baptism

Baptism is the gateway to the other Sacraments, we first have to be baptised before we receive the other sacraments. During Baptism we are freed from the doctrine of Original Sin and we officially become a member of the Church.

All the Old Covenant prophecies has its fulfilment in Christ Jesus. He begins his public life after having himself baptized by St. John the Baptist in the Jordan. (Matthew 3:13).
After his resurrection Christ gives this mission to his apostles which is represented now by Deacons, Priests & Bishops. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 28:19-20).

Anyone who has not received the sacrament of Baptism is eligible to have it provided that the parents are willing to satisfy all the requirements of the church. The same rules applies for an adult who wants to be Baptised.

What I have presented here is a short essay of the Sacrament of Baptism. The responsibility to discover more is within us.

The Seven Sacraments of The Roman Catholic Church

There are Seven (7) Sacraments inside the Catholic church, The first is the sacrament of Baptism, second is the sacrament of Communion third is the sacrament of confirmation fourth is the sacrament of the Holy Orders the fifth is the sacrament of Holy Matrimony (Marriage) the sixth is the sacrament of Confession and the seventh is the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.

What is the relevance of these sacraments in our life's journey? The sacraments are there to accompany us as we travel in this world, remember that the first sacrament is Baptism and the last sacrament is the anointing of the sick. Baptism is the start of our christian life and the Anointing of the Sick is the end. Majority of those who are being anointed are old and are near to the next life. But strictly speaking the Anointing of the sick is not only given when somebody is old and dying. anybody regardless of age who is gravely sick or set to undergo a major operation is eligible to this sacrament.

In my forthcoming blogs I will be discussing each sacraments and its relevant Biblical verses. I will start with Baptism. I am doing this with the hope of educating those Catholics who are not deeply immersed in their faith so as to avoid their migration to other christian faiths.

Visiting the Sick.

Last Saturday (Aug. 4) We visited my sick auntie (Gilda) in Las Piñas. I left Carmona around 6:30 am and I arrived there 8:00, she was not in there house because she went out with my sister (Grace) to see her Doctor for her check-up.

After 30 mins. they arrived, upon seeing her I immediate went to her to bless her hand and I said "How are you auntie?" she replied, I am OK, but closely looking at her it's undeniable that she has a serious health problem. I was told before that her problem was her liver, it's not working very well that's why she's losing weight and her stomach was unusually bigger. I can't help but pause and admire her courage and strong determination to live and fight her oppressive illness.

We may ask, why is she suffering big time? Is this her punishment from God? This is my opinion based on what I know as an Extra Ordinary Minister of the Holy Communion. She is undergoing these trials for her and for us also, to know that there's a supreme being that governs us all and that is God, in spite of the modern medical technology, in spite of material wealth, there's God who's way above all of these temporal things. Her predicament is not a punishment from God, rather it's God's way of saying come to me, rely on nobody but me and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

After staying with her for more than two hours, We said our goodbyes I kissed her on her cheek and I said take good care of your health always and we will be seeing you again next month and she replied you always Pray for me... then she said, "I always Pray for all of you."

Why do we visit her often? Why do we allocate a portion our precious time with her? To my mind we visit her often because she has helped us become what we are today, in a special way she has also showed her love for us specially during the time when she took care of us. This is actually our special way of saying to her that we remember those days and we are still very grateful for the things that she has done for us all.

Finally, we visit her often because of these Bible verses on Matthew 25:35-40. 

Marino J. Dasmarinas: Recollection and Retreat Facilitator

I conduct and facilitate Recollections and Retreats for Government and Private organization.

My emails adds: mjdasma@yahoo.com /  mjdasma@gmail.com