There are SEVEN sacraments - the two major ones of Baptism and Eucharist, and the five minor of Confirmation, Confession, Unction, Ordination and Marriage.
WHAT IS A SACRAMENT? - Firstly we have to remember there is both an outward and an invisible part. God takes the outward or visible material and uses it to become something else which is invisible. For example in the sacrament of holy unction God uses holy oil to bestow the gift of healing. Every sacrament is a special means of God's grace to His children begun in baptism.
CONFIRMATION - Originally Confirmation, that is, the receiving of the gift of the Holy Spirit, was part of the initiation rite into the Church (it still is in the Orthodox Church and in adult initiation). When infant baptism became the normal procedure for becoming a member of the Church, Confirmation was performed at a later age. In this sacrament the confirmee receives the seven-fold gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, knowledge, fortitude, ghostly strength,understanding, counsel and fear of the Lord. The outward sign is the laying on of hands. The essential element is the anointing with chrism on the forehead, signifying the sealing of the Holy Spirit. Like Baptism, Confirmation can only be performed once
Sometimes Confirmation is also seen as assuming the responsibilities that our Godparents made on our behalf at Infant Baptism as the rite of Confirmation begins with the renewal of the Baptismal vows and the profession of faith by the confirmee.
CONFESSION - Baptismal water washes away original sin and actual sin to that point in life. After Baptism we sin often, very often, and so this sacrament enables the penitent to confess one's sins to God through the medium of a priest who absolves the penitent from all those sins confessed "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit". It is important to be a regular penitent in the pilgrimage to heaven as it is one of the best ways of having a healthy spiritual life. There is nothing more wonderful to hear those words "your sins are forgiven; go and sin nor more". It give the penitent a a sense of recommitment to live one's life open to the Holy Spirit.
UNCTION -. This is the sacrament for healing. In many parishes this sacrament is administered regularly as we all need healing of some kind. If not physically, we always need some spirital healing. In sickness the faithful are anointed with oil by the priest on the forehead and hands for healing. This has been preceded by the laying on of hands by the priest. When we receive this sacrament we are conscious that Christ indeed is the great healer, and we are joined with all those who Christ healed during His ministry on earth. When death is near the Viaticum is also adminstered to have Christ within us as we travel on our journey to the new Jerusalem.
ORDINATION - Those who are called to be part of the three-fold Catholic and Apostolic ministry of the Church receive laying -on-of-hands from bishops to receive the gifts of the respective office of deacon, priest or bishop.
Deacons receive grace to serve and "to assist the Priest in divine service, and specially when he ministers the holy Communion, and to help him in the distribution thereof, and to read holy scriptures and Homilies in the congregation, and to instruct the youth in the Catechism, [and] to Baptise." He is to inform the parish priest through his visiting of "the sick, poor, and impotent people of the parish", and he can also preach, "if he be admitted thereto by the bishop."
Mostly these days the diaconate is the probationary for the priesthood (although there are some permanent deacons). When a bishop lays hands on deacons as the representative of Christ they receive the Holy Spirit for the office of a priest. "Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you do forgive, they are forgiven: and whose sins you do retain, they are retained: and be you a faithful dispenser of the word of God, and of his holy Sacraments." Yet his first duty must always be to proclaim the Gospel.
Although all Christians belong to the royal priesthood of God as the first Petrine letter tells us, priests are given a ministry special, which sets them apart from the laity. Thus they alone can celebrate the Eucharist, hear confessions and pronounce absolution, anoint the sick, exorcise and pronounce blessings.
When a priest is consecrated, by at least three bishops, he receives the Holy Spirit for the office of a bishop that makes him superior to a priest in four areas: administration, discipline, guardianship of the faith and his authority to confirm and ordain. Nevertheless bishops are essentially shepherds for their flock, both priests and people, and should be "like the great shepherd, the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Shepherd Who was guardian of our souls.'"
Jesus asks every bishop to tend My flock and my lambs. They are His and not the bishops.
MATRIMONY - The Church never marries a couple - they marry one another when they promise fidelity to one another. What the Church does is to bless the union and bestow God's grace upon the couple. Without the Holy Spirit marriage would be hard work. In marriage the ring is the outward sign of the vows the couple exchange to be faithful to one another whilst they live.
One of the positive aspects of this sacrament is that it makes one look at oneself honestly.
I see myself as God sees me. I cannot excuse my sins or blame somebody else for them. They are mine, but I know God that God's grace is greater. With that I can acknowledge them and know that God's love embraces the sinner. I think it is a good sign if a Christian can always acknowledge that he/she is foremost a sinner rather than a righteous person.