The Gift of Holiness: Exploring the Fullness of Salvation
What are the essential sacraments provided by the Church for achieving holiness and spiritual salvation?
Choices: Baptism, Communion, Confession, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, Last Rites
Answer:
The 'fullness of the means of salvation' provided by the Church includes essential sacraments such as Baptism, Communion, Confession, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Last Rites.
When it is said that God "has given the Church 'the fullness of the means of salvation,'" it refers to the provision of all necessary resources within the Christian Church that believers need to achieve holiness and spiritual salvation.
These sacraments serve as markers throughout a person's life and include:
- Baptism - viewed as essential for entering heaven, to purge original sin.
- Communion - the ritual of connecting with God, embodying the belief in transubstantiation.
- Confession - necessary for the forgiveness of sins.
- Confirmation - a pledge of faith taken during young adulthood.
- Marriage - a union believed to be sanctified by God.
- Holy Orders - vows taken by clergy members.
- Last Rites - performed at the moment of death, believed to aid the soul's journey to purgatory.
These sacraments, alongside the belief in the Holy Trinity and adherence to the Ten Commandments, constitute the framework of means that the Church offers to its followers on the path towards salvation.