This following was written as a comment in the ACH group by member Andrés Méndez. I found it to be the most concise explanation of the Catholic faith AND why it is the fulfillment of Judaism.
Having a relationship with God is the very first step in your spiritual journey from a Catholic perspective and should be kept all throughout your life.
Because Catholicism is a Hebrew religion, the 7 sacraments flow from the Second Temple period and are intended to aid and facilitate the believer’s relationship with God, often at different stages of the believer’s life, and according to their callings. They are often presented throughout history in a Greco-Roman language in a setting where many things are not clearly Hebraic from the outset. But let me try.
Baptism corresponds to that initial Mikveh that was/is necessary upon conversion to the religion of the Hebrews. You are to be born by water and spirit signaling you are entering into the covenant between God and Israel. Most importantly for Catholics, baptism also includes the forgiveness of Adam’s first rejection of God.
Confirmation arrives with the age of reason, and is not unlike the bar/bat mitsvah or the practice among the Essenes in so far as this would be the point where the believer signals his or her willing desire to join and continue to be a part of the covenant community.
Penance/Confession – Is intended to be a very personal encounter with Christ through the priest, which is often called, “in persona christi” or “in the person of Christ”. You bring your sins before Christ who forgives you for them, but there is added benefit to this, not unlike Yom Kippur and the ancient biblical ashes and sackcloth public mourning, in that it is meant to be a transformative experience, because there is also a public element to it, in which you recognize your sins, this is might be a catalyzing force that drives change and helps you stick to your yetser hatov over your yetser hara.
The Eucharist/Pascha – The Eucharist is the crown jewel and the summit of Catholic life. Not unlike Pesach, partaking of the Pascha, allows us to commune with Christ Who is the only one who has achieved the Resurrection/’olam haba thus far. This means, you’re saved by the merits of Jesus’s sacrifice, and that by communing with Him, you might fulfill St. John’s words “He must increase and I must decrease”.
Anointing of the sick – The anointing of the sick is based on the idea of the anointing and careful care that is given to the deceased bodies. Because the faith moves us to pray and anoint those who are seriously ill, we hope for the graces of a speedy recovery and, should it be necessary, a peaceful rest should it come to that.
Matrimony – The union between a man and a woman is part of God’s plan and includes, or should include, His bringing them both together, as it was in the beginning. Because we are commanded to be “fruitful and multiply”, those who have this calling enter into a communion, in a sense, like that of the Eucharist, between the two spouses and the three persons of the Godhood.
Holy Orders – And finally, like the kohanim and leviim, the priestly orders is a sacrament where those who have the calling to become “fathers” to the people of God, can, by the grace of the sacrament and union with Christ, tend to His sheep.
As you can see, the sacraments are a beautiful way to bolster your connection with God in ways that are both physical and spiritual, but which deepen that initial personal relationship you already have with Him.
– by Andrés Méndez
