Sacraments & Sacramentals

Sacramentals
Acts 19:11-12- And God did extra ordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

They are holy things or actions of which the Church makes use to obtain for us from God, through its intercession, spiritual and temporal favors.
Jesus sanctioned the use of sacramentals by blessing the loaves and fishes, blessing children, blessing the apostles. Sacramentals are not superstition, because they are used with faith and devotion. Not to be used as lucky charms, for example not to use them to keep one safe from a bullet or to do better in a poker game. We should wear blessed objects, and keep then on our walls at home, which protect us from evil spirits, but also remind us of God, the saints or heaven.

Sacramentals

Sacraments & Sacramentals

CCC 1677 Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs, which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained by the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.
"One of the most remarkable effects of sacramentals is the virtue to drive away evil spirits whose mysterious and baleful operations affect sometimes the physical activity of man. To combat this occult power the Church has recourse to exorcism, and sacramentals Catholic Encyclopedia Sacramentals do not confer grace directly. Rather, by the power of the Churchs prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. Ex: Making the Sign of the Cross and Blessing ourselves with Holy Water prepares us to celebrate Mass.

We receive actual graces from the use of sacramentals. Actual grace is Gods intervention and support for us in the everyday moments of our lives.

Sacraments & Sacramentals

Sacramentals
Objects (blessed objects, such as Scapulars, Rosaries, Holy Cards, Crucifixes, Medals, Holy Water, Relics, Images of Christ and Saints, House, Car, Animals, Salt, Food, Ashes, Candles) Actions (the Sign of the Cross, genuflection, prayers, the washing of the feet on Holy Thursday, etc.). Permanent Blessings such that they consecrate persons (religious vows) or things to God (church, chalice, altar, bells) (set them apart for God) Priests Blessing (Priest stands in the place of Christ) Priests alone have been given the power to bless with a guarantee, as it were, and it is they and they alone who can take a new Crucifix or Rosary and turn them into sacramentals with the power and prayers of the entire Church behind them. Note that only a priest has the power to bless an object and make it a sacramental. One should always ask a priest to bless one of your objects after you purchase it. St. Benedict medals & crucifixes require a special blessing. Laymans Blessing- Parents bless children, Advent wreathes, mealsthese blessings act as mere pleas to God. Indulgences- grace remits the eternal punishment due to sin (partial and plenary. Note: Once an object is blessed by a priest, it cannot be sold or thrown away. It must be burned or buried.

Seven Sacraments

Sacraments & Sacramentals

1. Sacrament: Is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. 2. Only Christ instituted the seven sacraments because only God can endow signs with power to give grace. 3. The outward sign is something perceived by the senses (the sign or ceremony is called matter ). The words are the form of the sacrament. For example, water is the sign for baptism and the words pronounced, I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. is the form. The washing in Baptism signifies the washing of the soul from sin. 4. It is principally through the sacraments we obtain grace from God. They are channels by which grace enters the soul, to feed and nourish them. They give sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is that marvelous supernatural life, that sharing-in-God's-own-life that is the result of God's Love, the Holy Spirit, indwelling in the soul. Sanctifying grace is lost by mortal sin. 5. They are a gift of love from the Son of God, a gift for which He gave His very life. 6. God gives grace outside of the sacraments in answer to prayer. Not only by worthily receiving sacraments can we know definite graces, though not sacramental graces. 7. We come in contact with Christ, through the Sacraments.

Sacraments & Sacramentals The Seven Sacraments

Baptism- The Sacrament of Baptism, the first of the three sacraments of initiation, is also the first
of the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. It removes the guilt, Original Sin & Personal Sin and punishment due to sin. It incorporates the baptized into the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ on earth. Gateway to other sacraments, Gods divine life comes into the soul.

Confirmation -The second of the three sacraments of initiation because, historically, it was
administered immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism. Confirmation perfects our baptism and brings us the graces of the Holy Spirit that were granted to the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday, so that we may be witnesses for Christ.

Holy Communion- The reception of Christ's Body and Blood, was historically the third of the
three sacraments of initiation. This sacrament is the source of great graces that sanctify us and help us grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Confession- It reconciles us to God, by forgiving all of our personal sins, it is a great source of
grace, and Catholics are encouraged to take advantage of it often, even if they are not aware of having committed a mortal sin.

Marriage - A lifelong union between a man and a woman for procreation and mutual support, is a
natural institution, but it is also one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church. It reflects the union of Jesus Christ and His Church.

Holy Orders - The continuation of Christ's priesthood, which He bestowed upon His Apostles.
There are three levels to this sacrament: bishops, priests, and deacons.

Anointing of the Sick - Traditionally referred to as Extreme Unction or Last Rites, the Sacrament
of the Anointing of the Sick is administered both to the dying and to those who are gravely ill or are about to undergo a serious operation, for the recovery of their health and for spiritual strength.

Sacraments & Sacramentals Administration of the Sacraments

1. A sacrament administered against ones will is invalid. 2. Must have proper dispositions for receiving them. Our own attitude matters. Our interior dispositions have an effect on the amount of grace we receive. The more perfect is our sorrow in the sacrament of Reconciliation, the more ardent our love in receiving the Holy Eucharist, the more lively our faith in receiving Confirmationthen the greater will be the grace we receive. Our dispositions do not cause the grace; they simply remove the obstacles to the freer flow of grace and, in a sense, make more room for grace. 3. It is a sacrilege to receive a sacrament in the state of mortal sin. 4. Infants without use of reason (godparents or parents supply faith), or unconscious adults (the intention is supplied by the Church.) 5. All sacraments are valid regardless of the disposition of the one who administers it. (ex opere operato they work by the very fact they are performed.) In another words, regardless of the holiness of the priest, they are still valid. Three things are necessary for a valid sacrament by the one who administers it: 1)He have the power to give it (this means the power of the priesthood except for Baptism and Matrimony) 2) He have the intention of administering the sacrament (the intention of doing what the Catholic Church intends) 3) He perform the essential ceremonies of the sacrament (such as the pouring of the water and the saying of the words in Baptism). 6. CCC 234: Sacraments are powers that come forth from the Body of Christ, which is ever living and life giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in His body, the Church. They are masterworks of God in the new and everlasting covenant.

Sacraments & Sacramentals Sacraments and the Material World

Throughout salvation history, God uses the material world and physical things as symbolic of His relations with us, from circumcision that was a sign of Gods covenant with His Chosen People, Israel (Gen. 17:9 -14), to the blood of the perfect lamb that protected the Israelites from death (Ex. 12:13) and the blood that sealed Gods covenant with His Chosen People on Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:24), to the sacrifice of animals (Ex. 20:24), the burning of incense (Ex. 30:1) and the use ho holy water (Num. 5:17). When God came to visit His people, He did not disdain human flesh, Jesus having taken upon Himself our humanity, knew the importance of physical things in our consciousness. When He became man, He elevated nature. In His public life, Jesus often used physical means to heal. He touched the eyes of two blind men to heal them (Matt. 9:28-30), even touched lepers for the same purpose. But He even went further to show the physical world should not be despised. In curing the deaf man, He put His fingers into the mans ears and touched the mans tongue with spittle (Mk 7:32 35). On another occasion, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the mans eyes with the clay. Jesus also told us of how He would use the material world to sanctify us and save us. He told Nicodemus, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, He cannot enter the Kingdom of God., which was a description of the sacrament of Baptism. He also told a synagogue of people, I am the living bread which came down from heaven, if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise Him on the last day. In this way, Jesus introduced the sacramental understanding of the Eucharist, He instituted at the Last Supper when He changed bread and wine into His body and blood. Our Lord makes the elements of creation as signs of invisible grace poured out upon us.

The Sacraments honor our human nature by making the material world the means to sanctify us.

Sacraments & Sacramentals Sacraments Divided into Groups The Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist Sacraments of Healing: Confession and Anointing of the Sick Sacraments of the Dead: Baptism and Confession. Their purpose is to restore a soul dead in sin to the life of sanctifying grace. Sacraments of the Living: Those sacraments which may only be received by one living in the state of grace. (Confirmation, Eucharist, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, Matrimony) Sacraments of Service: Marriage and Holy Orders (Priesthood) Sacraments that Can Be Received Only Once: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders (All three leave an indelible mark on the soul.) Sacraments that Can Be Received More than Once: Confession, Eucharist, Anointing of Sick, Marriage (death of one). The more often one receives Confession and Communion, the better the soul.