Etiqueta: Catholic Sacraments
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Last Rites: The Church at the Threshold
From the earliest days of the Church, the sick were not left alone. Prayer, anointing, and the Eucharist were brought to them as they approached the end of life. This reflection explores what the Church has always done in that final moment—and why it is a return, not a defeat.
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Confirmation: Strengthened by the Holy Spirit
In the earliest centuries of the Church, Baptism was immediately followed by the laying on of hands and the anointing with oil. Through this act the apostles invoked the Holy Spirit upon the newly baptized. The sacrament we now call Confirmation continues that same moment of strengthening in the life of the Church.