As our parish
continues its journey of faith, we will turn our attention to sacraments. Each month we will undertake a study of one
of the sacraments. Before we launch this sacramental expedition, let’s do some
“unpacking” by reviewing what a sacrament is.
The word “sacrament” comes from the
Latin word sacramentum, which means
“holy or solemn oath.” At the time of
the first Christians this term applied to Roman soldiers who took a solemn oath
of loyalty and were permanently marked, branded or tattooed with the emperor’s
mark. Early Christians identified with
this symbolism in regard to the sacrament of Baptism, where vows of faith are
made and a permanent mark is placed on the soul.
It is worth noting that in Hebrew,
the word for oath is shevah or nishevah (seven). That we have seven sacraments (Baptism,
Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders,
and Matrimony) came about over many centuries.
The first Council to officially name the seven sacraments was the Fourth
Lateran Council in 1215, but it was not until the Council of Trent in 1547 that
it was defined that these seven sacraments were a matter of faith.
Article 1131 of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church states:
“The
sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted
to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by
which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper
to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required
dispositions.”
Efficacious means to produce the
desired result. Signs inform us of
something but they don’t, by themselves, make it happen (think “stop sign”). A
sign is most effective when we understand its true intent and meaning and
comply with it. Sacraments are signs of
salvation, part of God’s plan to save us from sin and death.
Sacramental signs are material
things (matter) and are detectable by the human senses. They are made sacred by Christ, who
accomplished our redemption by taking on human nature (with its human senses)
both spiritually and physically in the Incarnation. In our human flesh he was conceived in Mary, was born and grew up
into adulthood. In our human flesh he
experienced death and then he overcame that consequence of sin in the
resurrection. It is that resurrected
human body with its flesh and blood that is enthroned in glory in heaven. As one theologian put it, “So the one who
made matter and spirit redeems matter and spirit and he uses matter and spirit
to redeem us as well.”
At Baptism we feel water poured
over us and are at the same time cleansed inwardly from sin. During Confirmation we feel and smell the
balsam oil rubbed onto our foreheads with the Bishop’s thumb and we are sealed
with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. At
Eucharist we taste what appear to be bread and wine but which are in reality
the Body and Blood of Christ and we are spiritually nourished. In
Reconciliation we hear the words of absolution and our sins are forgiven. During a celebration of the Anointing of the
Sick we feel and smell the olive oil on our hands and forehead and we are
strengthened and healed. In Holy Orders
the ordinand feels the imposition of hands on his head and is invested into the
unbroken apostolic succession. In
Matrimony we hear the consent expressed by the husband and wife and we see the
exchange of wedding rings, both acts indicating the formation of an intimate
communion of faithful life and love signifying the union of Christ and the
Church. These are visible and material signs with inward, invisible spiritual
benefits or graces attached to the Sacraments.
The sacraments are signs that
remind us of the divine presence in our world, the Creator, who saw that all He
created was good. They assist us in
reaching a closer union with God. As
part of God’s plan for salvation, sacramental signs connect us with each other,
they offer us healing and forgiveness, and they unite us to each other in love
and service. The Church, the Body of
Christ, is an extension of Christ’s incarnation, and that extension is present
in the sacraments. It is not news that
God takes the ordinary and does the extraordinary, He takes the natural and
makes it supernatural.
The sacraments may be sorted into
three categories:
- Initiation: Baptism gives us rebirth in Christ;
Confirmation strengthens the Holy Spirit’s presence within us; Holy
Eucharist nourishes our souls.
- Healing: Reconciliation forgives our sins;
Anointing of the Sick strengthens us in our mortality and prepares us for
our eternity
- Vocation: Holy Orders allows us to work for the
salvation of all; Matrimony allows us to work for salvation for and with
our spouse and the children to come
“St. Thomas sums up the various aspects
of sacramental signs: 'Therefore a sacrament is a sign that commemorates what precedes it — Christ's
Passion; demonstrates what it
accomplishes in us through Christ's Passion — grace; and prefigures what that Passion pledges to us — future glory'” (Catechism
of the Catholic Church 1130)
Discussion Questions:
- Discuss a sign that is
present in one of the seven sacraments and what it means.
- Discuss the importance
of preparing to celebrate a sacrament.
- How should the
celebration of a sacrament change a Catholic Christian.