Baptism, -> CONFIRMATION, and Holy Orders. These -> SACRAMENTS imprint an indelible mark on the soul of the Christian. Baptism and Confirmation make him once and for all a child of God and Christlike. Holy Orders similarly leaves an imprint on a Christian man. [1121]
Just as someone always is and remains a child of his parents (and not just “sometimes” or “a little bit”), so also through Baptism and Confirmation one becomes forever a child of God, Christlike, and a member of his Church. Similarly, Holy Orders is not a “job” that a man does until retirement; rather, it is an irrevocable charism (gift of grace). because God is faithful, the effect of these sacraments is maintained forever for the Christian – as receptivity to God’s call, as a vocation, and as protection. Consequently these sacraments cannot be repeated.
