Although we are baptized and confirmed only once, the effects of these sacraments continue to affect us daily. Every time we dip our fingers into holy water and make the sign of the cross, we profess our dying and rising to new life in Christ. The gifts of the Holy Spirit offered at Confirmation are released only as we have the grace to embrace them. The Holy Spirit, alive in us, enables us to have a fruitful faith. In 1984, I contracted breast cancer. Before surgery, I received the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. When the priest laid hands on me, a sense of peace entered my being and has remained. Regardless of the outcome, I knew all would be well.
God has given us the sacraments to draw us into deeper relationship with him. Who would refuse such grace-filled gifts?
—from “Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church“
by Franciscan Media
