The Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church

"An essential guide for Catholic students at every level of catechetical and theological formation"Leading Catholic theologian Romanus Cessario offers an in-depth explanation of the seven sacraments celebrated in the Catholic Church."Christ's love for us has led him to share the infinite bounty of his passion, death, and resurrection in the seven sacraments of the Church, pouring from his side the blood 'of which a single drop has power to win all the world forgiveness of its world of sin' (Adoro te devote). In its magisterial presentation of the theology of the sacraments and of their divinely assured efficacy in every circumstance of the Christian life, this wonderful book makes clear on every page that we must rely not our own resources but on the power of God's grace in giving us communion with the Blessed Trinity, forgiving our sins, and providing us with the bread of angels. This is an essential guide for Catholic students at every level of catechetical and theological formation."--Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia, OP, Vatican City"In this lucid account of the 'holy signs' of the New Covenant, Romanus Cessario seeks to show that sacramental theologians cannot be mere copies of social-anthropological students of myth and ritual. Only a robust metaphysic can bring out the way divine agency is set to work in the sacraments, the 'separated instruments' of the Word incarnate, for the restoration and perfection of the 'image of God' in human life. The author succeeds admirably in this attempt."--Aidan Nichols, OP, Sometime Pope John Paul II Lecturer in Roman Catholic Theology, University of Oxford"With a rare combination of learning and lucid expression, Romanus Cessario tells us everything we need to know about the sacraments. This is a book that should deepen any reader's experience of the way each sacrament confers, strengthens, or restores holiness."--Mary Ann Glendon, Learned Hand Professor of Law, emerita, Harvard University