The seven sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church are as follows: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony.

“CANON I.-If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or, that they are more, or less, than seven, to wit, Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony; or even that any one of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament; let him be anathema.” (The Council of Trent, The Seventh Session, https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct07.html)

On March 3, 1547, the Council of Trent declared that the sacraments are necessary for salvation. All Roman Catholics are obligated to affirm this. A curse of anathema was put upon all who would not agree with Trent’s decree. The council of Trent declared that these seven sacraments are necessary for salvation.

CANON IV.-If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous; and that, without them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God, through faith alone, the grace of justification;-though all (the sacraments) are not indeed necessary for every individual; let him be anathema.”  (The Council of Trent, The Seventh Session, https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct07.html)

The Council of Trent taught that the sacraments contain grace.  That’s right. They “contain” grace in them.

“CANON VI.-If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law do not contain the grace which they signify; or, that they do not confer that grace on those who do not place an obstacle thereunto; as though they were merely outward signs of grace or justice received through faith, and certain marks of the Christian profession, whereby believers are distinguished amongst men from unbelievers; let him be anathema.” (The Council of Trent, The Seventh Session, https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct07.html)

Remember, according to Roman Catholicism, grace is infused into the soul.

“The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1999, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1999.htm)

Roman Catholic Anathema

Anathema in Catholicism is an exclusion of the believer from the church. It is an ex-communication. “In the New Testament, anathema no longer entails death, but the loss of goods or exclusion from the society of the faithful…At an early date, the Church adopted the word anathema to signify the exclusion of a sinner from the society of the faithful; but the anathema was pronounced chiefly against heretics…Anathema remains a major ex-communication which is to be promulgated with great solemnity. ” (https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01455e.htm).  Paul said in Gal. 1:8-9, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now if any man is preaching to you(pl) a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”  This is so important that Paul repeats himself in these two verses. The word “accursed” is the Greek ἀνάθεμα anáthema.  It occurs six times in the New Testament: Acts 23:14; Rom. 9:3; 1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Cor. 16:22; Gal. 1:8-9.  In Gal. 1:8-9.  In the context of a false Gospel, anathema is pronounced. Biblically, we must conclude that Gal. 1:8-9 is speaking of damnation. After all, a false gospel leads to damnation.

In light of this, in the statements “ON THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL,” the Council of Trent pronounced the condemnation of anathema on anyone who taught…

1. That the sacraments are all of equal value, Canon III
2. That the sacraments “are not necessary unto salvation,” Canon IV
3. that the sacraments “do not contain the grace which they signify,” Canon VI
4. that “faith alone in the divine promise suffices for the obtaining of grace,” Canon VIII
5. “that all Christians have power to administer the word, and all the sacraments,” Canon X

Now, to be clear, Catholics say that this anathema does not necessitate damnation but ex-communication. Okay, but doesn’t ex-communication mean that the individual is outside the church’s proper teaching and practice and deserves condemnatory judgment? It would seem so. The Roman Catholic Church is condemning those who disagree with its views on all the sacraments.

The seven sacraments of the Catholic church explained briefly

1. Baptism
   1. “Baptism is the sacrament of regeneration by water in the word (per aquam in verbo). St. Thomas Aquinas (III:66:1) gives this definition: “Baptism is the external ablution of the body, performed with the prescribed form of words.”  https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#iii
   2. “…Baptism is not the mere washing; but rather is it “the regeneration, the seal, the safeguarding, the enlightenment…” https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4066.htm
2. Confirmation
   1. “Confirmation, a sacrament in which the Holy Ghost is given to those already baptized in order to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/confirmation
3. The Eucharist
   1. “The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1366, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1366.htm
   2. “Eucharist (Gr. eucharistia, thanksgiving), the name given to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar under its twofold aspect of sacrament and Sacrifice of the Mass, and in which, whether as sacrament or sacrifice, Jesus Christ is truly present under the appearances of bread and wine.” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/eucharist
4. Penance, Reconciliation
   1. “Penance (poenitentia) designates (I) a virtue; (2) a sacrament of the New Law; (3) a canonical punishment inflicted according to the earlier discipline of the Church; (4) a work of satisfaction enjoined upon the recipient of the sacrament.” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/penance
   2. “Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as “the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1446, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1446.htm
5. Extreme Unction, Anointing of the sick
   1. “Extreme Unction is a sacrament of the New Law instituted by Christ to give spiritual aid and comfort and perfect spiritual health, including, if need be, the remission of sins, and also, conditionally, to restore bodily health, to Christians who are seriously ill; it consists essentially in the unction by a priest of the body of the sick person, accompanied by a suitable form of words.” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/extreme-unction
6. Order, Holy Orders
   1. “Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry. It includes three degrees: episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate.” Catechism of the Catholic Church 1536, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1536.htm
   2. “Orders, HOLY.—Order is the appropriate disposition of things equal and unequal, by giving each its proper place (St. August, “De civ. Del,” XIX, xiii). Order primarily means a relation. It is used to designate that on which the relation is founded and thus generally means rank (St. Thom., “Suppl.” Q. xxxiv, a. 2, ad 4um). In this sense, it was applied to clergy and laity (St. Jer., “In Isaiam”, XIX, 18; St. Greg. the Great, “Moral.”, XXXII, xx).” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/holy-orders
7. Matrimony
   1. “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.”  Catechism of the Catholic Church 1601, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1601.htm
   2. “Marriage, SACRAMENT OF.—That Christian marriage (i.e. marriage between baptized persons) is really a sacrament of the New Law in the strict sense of the word is for all Catholics an indubitable truth.” https://www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/sacrament-of-marriage

Conclusion

The Roman Catholic Church has seven sacraments. But whether or not they are really sacraments according to the Bible is up to debate. The Bible clearly teaches at baptism and the Lord’s supper are important elements in the Christian walk. However, neither are said to be necessary for salvation according to Scripture. But the Catholic Church, in its centuries-old sacred tradition, has added so much to the body of “true Christian doctrine,” that the gospel message has been lost amongst its plethora of do’s and don’ts, requirements and rituals, and distortion of biblical truth.