Why does the Roman Catholic Church have sacraments?

Answer 1

To teach people about how God wants them to live and what they should do to be real christians. There are seven sacraments and the most important is the holy communion because you receive Jesus' body

Answer 2

The primary definition of the word "sacrament" is: An outward sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, to give grace.

The Catholic Church is most certainly a well recognized, clearly identifiable, worldwide organization.

The Catholic Church was personally instituted by Jesus Christ, while he still walked the earth.

By virtue of its divine foundation, universal nature, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the seven sacraments, and all of its other work, worship and devotions, the Catholic Church constitutes the primary and most essential channel of God's grace, in the world ... and for the world.

This satisfies all of the defined requirements for "sacrament".

The secondary definition of the word "sacrament" is "mystery".

One "mystery" in particular, is how (and why) God could become man, take on the sins of the whole world, die on the cross, and rise again, in order to redeem us.

Inextricably linked with this is how ordinary bread and wine can become the body, blood, soul and divinity of the risen Christ, at Mass, becoming the Bread of Life, for the faithful.

While the bulk of Catholic teachings and observances are easily observable and explainable, certain things still require at least a modicum of faith. Until Jesus Christ comes again at the end of time, some mysteries will continue to exist and a certain amount of faith will always be required.

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Catholic AnswerThe Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the Church as a sacrament in three different senses:

1. Properly, the Church is the universal Sacrament of Salvation:

774 ... The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament."

　

2. In the second sense, the Church is the sacrament of the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit:

738 Thus the Church's mission is not an addition to that of Christ and the Holy Spirit, but is its sacrament: in her whole being and in all her members, the church is sent to announce, bear witness, make present, and spread the mystery of the communion of the Holy Trinity...

and, finally to sum up the "universal sacrament of salvation:

849 The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men": (Ad gentes 1; cf. Mt 16:15) "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; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age." (Mt 28:19-20)

Answer 3

Catholic AnswerThe Church has Sacraments because Our Blessed Lord established them and gave them to her to sanctify her and the people. The Sacraments are seven in number and are: baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, Penance (Confession), Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing (Unction).

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from

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 1994

1114

"Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus . . . of the Fathers," we profess that "the sacraments of the new law were . . . all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Council of Trent {1547}: Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum {1965} 1600-1601)

1115

Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries." (St. Leo the Great, Sermo. 74, 2: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina {Paris: 1841-1855} 54, 398)

Answer 4

It's just Catholic, not Roman Catholic. Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the official Catholic Church.

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The Catholic Church has sacraments because God gave them to her. They are the means He established to give grace to His people and save them.

from the Baltimore Catechism:

Q. 578. Were all the Sacraments instituted by Our Lord?

A. All the Sacraments were instituted by Our Lord, for God alone has power to attach the gift of grace to the use of an outward or visible sign. The Church, however, can institute the ceremonies to be used in administering or giving the Sacraments.

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Q. 579. How do we know there are seven Sacraments and no more or less?

A. We know there are seven Sacraments and no more or less because the Church always taught that truth. The number of the Sacraments is a matter of faith, and the Church cannot be mistaken in matters of faith.

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Q. 580. Why have the Sacraments been instituted?

A. The Sacraments have been instituted as a special means through which we are to receive the grace merited for us by Christ. As Christ is the giver of the grace, He has the right to determine the manner in which it shall be given, and one who refuses to make use of the Sacraments will not receive God's grace.

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Q. 581. Do the Sacraments recall in any way the means by which Our Lord merited the graces we receive through them?

A. The Sacraments recall in many ways the means by which Our Lord merited the graces we receive through them. Baptism recalls His profound humility; Confirmation His ceaseless prayer; Holy Eucharist His care of the needy; Penance His mortified life; Extreme Unction His model death; Holy Orders His establishment of the priesthood, and Matrimony His close union with the Church.

Answer 5

well we need sacrements because they are important in our lives. They bring us closer to God and they are one way ticket to heaven