| Preface | XI |
| Introduction: History and Sacraments | XIII |
| Part 1 | A History of Sacraments | |
| I. | Sacraments in All Religions | 3 |
| II. | The Beginnings of the Christian Sacraments | 19 |
| 1. | Israel and the Roman Empire | 20 |
| 2. | The Early Christian Community | 23 |
| 3. | The Patristic Period | 28 |
| 4. | The Sacramental Seal | 32 |
| 5. | Augustine and Afterward | 40 |
| III. | The Development of the Catholic Sacraments | 47 |
| 1. | Seven Liturgical Sacraments | 48 |
| 2. | Sign and Reality | 51 |
| 3. | The Sacramental Character | 56 |
| 4. | Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Sacraments | 60 |
| 5. | Legalism, Nominalism, and Magic | 65 |
| IV. | Catholic and Protestant Sacraments | 77 |
| 1. | Luther and the Protestant Reformation | 80 |
| 2. | Trent and the Catholic Counter-Reformation | 88 |
| 3. | The Modern Centuries | 93 |
| V. | The Sacraments Today | 102 |
| 1. | Twentieth-Century Developments | 103 |
| 2. | Contemporary Sacramental Theology | 108 |
| 3. | Contemporary Sacramental Practices | 127 |
| Part 2 | Histories of the Sacraments | |
| VI. | Baptism | 147 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 148 |
| 2. | Baptism and Christian Initiation | 148 |
| 3. | Baptism in the Middle Ages | 160 |
| 4. | Baptism in Modern Times | 169 |
| 5. | Baptism in Contemporary Catholicism | 174 |
| VII. | Confirmation | 184 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 185 |
| 2. | Receiving the Holy Spirit | 186 |
| 3. | From Consignation to Confirmation | 191 |
| 4. | Confirmation in Modern Times | 198 |
| 5. | Confirmation in the Contemporary Church | 201 |
| VIII. | Eucharist | 209 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 210 |
| 2. | From the Last Supper to the Liturgy | 214 |
| 3. | The Mass and Eucharist in the Middle Ages | 231 |
| 4. | The Lord's Supper and the Modern Mass | 246 |
| 5. | Liturgy and Eucharist in the Twentieth Century | 258 |
| IX. | Reconciliation | 275 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 276 |
| 2. | Repentance and Reconciliation in Early Christianity | 278 |
| 3. | Confession and Penance in the Middle Ages | 291 |
| 4. | The Modern Sacrament of Penance | 305 |
| 5. | Sacramental Reconciliation in the Church Today | 313 |
| X. | Anointing | 325 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 326 |
| 2. | Healing and Anointing in the Early Church | 328 |
| 3. | From Anointing the Sick to Anointing the Dying | 332 |
| 4. | The Modern Sacrament of Extreme Unction | 339 |
| 5. | Return to Anointing of the Sick | 343 |
| XI. | Marriage | 351 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 352 |
| 2. | Early Christian Marriage | 355 |
| 3. | From Secular to Ecclesiastical Marriage | 368 |
| 4. | Marriage in the Modern Church | 380 |
| 5. | Marriage in Contemporary Catholicism | 385 |
| XII. | Ordination | 400 |
| 1. | Parallels and Precedents | 401 |
| 2. | Christian Ministries and Sacred Orders | 404 |
| 3. | Holy Orders in the Middle Ages | 425 |
| 4. | The Modern Catholic Priesthood | 437 |
| 5. | Ministries in the Church Today | 445 |
| Conclusion: Sacraments and the Future | 467 |
| Index of Names and Topics | 471 |
