CCC 699

The hand. Jesus heals the sick and blesses little children by laying hands on them.⁵¹ Cf. Mk 6:5; 8:23; 10:16. In his name the apostles will do the same.⁵² Cf. Mk 16:18; Acts 5:12; 14:3. Even more pointedly, it is by the Apostles' imposition of hands that the Holy Spirit is given.⁵³ Cf. Acts 8:17-19; 13:3; 19:6. The Letter to the Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of its teaching.⁵⁴ Cf. Heb 6:2. The Church has kept this sign of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in its sacramental epicleses.