Holy Matrimony

And so you grow up and become men and women, and many of you will want to get married and have your own home.  And here again God is at hand to help you, and in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony to give you the grace you need for your home to be a Christian home.  So you take one another “till death us do part”.

Holy Order

Apart from the Sacraments of Holy Baptism, and also Holy Matrimony, all the Sacraments we have mentioned can be administered only by a priest – with the exception of Confirmation which the bishop administers.  So you can see that a Sacrament is needed to ordain bishops, priests and deacons in order that people may be able to receive the Sacraments.  This particular Sacrament is called the Sacrament of Holy Order, and it can be administered only by a bishop.

Holy Unction (Anointing of the Sick)

So we come to the seventh Sacrament, that of Holy Unction or the anointing of sick people with oil which has been specially blessed for the purpose by a bishop.  This Sacrament is for people who are seriously ill or in danger of death because of old age, and especially for those who are dying.  And so we see that, at the end of our life, God is still at hand to help us through the Sacraments of his Church.  If we are fortunate enough to have warning that we are going to die, we then make our last Confession and our last Communion, and we receive the Sacrament of Holy Unction to support us as we pass from this life, at peace with God.  Thus, as we began with him so we also end with him.

And even then, when we have gone from this world, we are still helped on our way through Purgatory to Heaven by the Requiems offered to God on our behalf by those we have left behind.  So these Eucharists offered for us will bring us God’s grace to strengthen and refresh our souls in Purgatory.