The most solemn, majestic, and beautiful gifts that Jesus Christ gave to
the world are His sacraments. He endowed them with unprecedented and
unparalleled power--power to change lives, save souls, and share God's
very life. The sacraments are the ordinary means by which God directs
the course of each human life and all of world history.
The Church celebrates seven sacraments: baptism, Eucharist,
confirmation, matrimony, holy orders, confession, and anointing of the
sick. Each was established by Jesus for the sake of salvation. When
Jesus spoke of the sacraments, He made clear that they were essential:
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of God (Jn 3:5) . . . unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and
drink His blood, you have no life in you (Jn 6: 53).
In "Swear to God," Dr. Scott Hahn explores the richness of Christ's
sacraments--their doctrine, history, symbols, and rituals. Drawing upon
the Bible and the Church's tradition, he shows how God's covenants--with
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David--became the driving forces in
history. When Jesus came to fulfill all these covenants, He established
a new covenant, with greater power than ever before. Christians are
God's children now. Joined to Christ by baptism, we can already share in
the eternal life of the Trinity, a life we hope to know fully in heaven.
But heaven is with us, even now, in the sacraments.
