The Catechism: The Sacraments

Q. What are the sacraments?
A. The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and
spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace.

Q. What is grace?
A. Grace is God's favor toward us, unearned and undeserved; by grace
God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and
strengthens our wills.

Q. What are the two great sacraments of the Gospel?
A. The two great sacraments given by Christ to his Church are Holy
Baptism and the Holy Eucharist.

The Catechism: Other Sacramental Rites

Q. What other sacramental rites evolved in the Church under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit?
A. Other sacramental rites which evolved in the Church include
confirmation, ordination, holy matrimony, reconciliation of a
penitent, and unction.

Q. How do they differ from the two sacraments of the Gospel?
A. Although they are means of grace, they are not necessary for all
persons in the same way that Baptism and the Eucharist are.

Q. What is Confirmation?
A. Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to
Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.

Q. What is required of those to be confirmed?
A. It is required of those to be confirmed that they have been
baptized, are sufficiently instructed in the Christian Faith, are
penitent for their sins, and are ready to affirm their confession of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

Q. What is Ordination?
A. Ordination is the rite in which God gives authority and the grace
of the Holy Spirit to those being made bishops, priests, and deacons, through prayer and the laying on of hands by
bishops.

Q. What is Holy Matrimony?
A. Holy Matrimony is Christian marriage, in which the woman and man
enter into a life-long union, make their vows before God and the
Church, and receive the grace and blessing of God to help them fulfill their vows.

Q. What is Reconciliation of a Penitent?
A. Reconciliation of a Penitent, or Penance, is the rite in which
those who repent of their sins may confess them to God in the presence of a priest, and receive the assurance of pardon and the grace of absolution.

Q. What is Unction of the Sick?
A. Unction is the rite of anointing the sick with oil, or the laying
on of hands, by which God's grace is given for the healing of spirit, mind, and body.

Q. Is God's activity limited to these rites?
A. God does not limit himself to these rites; they are patterns of
countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us.

Q. How are the sacraments related to our Christian hope?
A. Sacraments sustain our present hope and anticipate its future
fulfillment.

The Catechism: The Holy Eucharist

Q. What is the Holy Eucharist?
A. The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament commanded by Christ for the
continual remembrance of his life, death, and resurrection, until his coming again.

Q. Why is the Eucharist called a sacrifice?
A. Because the Eucharist, the Church's sacrifice of praise and
thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made
present, and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself.

Q. By what other names is this service known?
A. The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord's Supper, and Holy Communion;
it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great
Offering.

Q. What is the outward and visible sign in the Eucharist?
A. The outward and visible sign in the Eucharist is bread and wine,
give and received according to Christ's command.

Q. What is the inward and spiritual grace given in the Eucharist?
A. The inward and spiritual grace in the Holy Communion is the Body
and Blood of Christ give to his people, and received by faith.

Q. What are the benefits which we receive in the Lord's Supper?
A. The benefits we receive are the forgiveness of our sins, the strengthening of our union with Christ and one another, and the foretaste of the heavenly banquet which is our nourishment in eternal life.

Q. What is required of us when we come to the Eucharist?
A. It is required that we should examine our lives, repent of our
sins, and be in love and charity with all people.

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^{Text sourced from the BCP E-text, edited by John E. Goodwin, contributed by members of the ANGLICAN email list at American Methodist University.}