Swear to God The Promise and Power of the Sacraments

The most solemn, majestic, and beautiful gifts that Jesus Christ gave to the world are His sacraments. He endowed them with unprecedented and unparalleled powerpower 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). InSwear to God, Dr. Scott Hahn explores the richness of Christ's sacramentstheir doctrine, history, symbols, and rituals. Drawing upon the Bible and the Church's tradition, he shows how God's covenantswith Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Davidbecame 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.

<p><b>SCOTT HAHN</b> is professor of biblical theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. He also holds the Cardinal Laghi Chair in Theology at the Pontifical College Josephinum. He is president of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology and director of the Institute of Applied Biblical Studies. An internationally renowned Catholic lecturer and theologian, he is the author of many books, including, most recently, <i>Lord, Have Mercy. </i>He lives in Steubenville, Ohio.</p>