Sacrament and the Sacramental
Sr. Elizabeth Adeyemi, DHS.
INTRODUCTION
In instituting the sacraments Christ did not determine the matter and form down to the slightest detail, leaving this task to the church, which should determine what rites were suitable in the administration of the sacraments. These rites are indicated by the word Sacramentalia, the object of which is to manifest the respect due to the sacrament and to secure the sanctification of the faithful.
SACRAMENTS
Sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace ordained by Jesus Christ by which grace is given to our soul. The catechism of the Catholic Church defines sacrament “as an efficacious signs of Grace instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church by which divine life is dispensed to us.” The sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those who receive them with the proper disposition. St. Thomas Aquinas defined sacraments as a “sign signifying three things: the passion of Christ which he underwent in the past, the grace which is the effect of his passion in the present, and eternal glory to which Christ’s passion and grace bring to us in the future.” This implies that sacrament is something sensible aptly used to signify spiritual things.
In every sacrament three things are necessary: the outward sign, the inward grace; Divine institution. A sign stands for and represents something else, either naturally, as smoke represents fire, or by the choice of an intelligent being, as the red-cross indicates an ambulance. Sacraments do not naturally signify grace; they do so because they have been chosen by God to signify mysterious effects. The sacrament provides an opportunity for Church members to ponder and remember with gratitude the life, ministry, and atonement of the Son of God. The broken bread is a reminder of His body and His physical suffering especially His suffering on the cross. It is also a reminder that through His mercy and grace, all people will be resurrected and given the opportunity for eternal life with God.
Partaking of the sacrament is a witness to God that the remembrance of His Son will extend beyond the short time of that sacred ordinance. Part of this ordinance is a promise to remember Him always and a witness of individual willingness to take upon oneself the name of Jesus Christ and to keep His commandments.
SACRAMENTALS
The Catechism of the Catholic Church no1667 defines Sacramentals as “sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through 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.” This implies that they are sensible signs often with matter and form and they are public means of sanctification. They are intended to produce “mainly spiritual” effects in the faithful and their administration belongs to the public worship of the Church.
sacrosanctum concilium 60 define sacramental as “sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly spiritual natures which are obtained through the intercession of the Church.” The Church instituted sacramentals in other to sanctify certain offices and situations in our life. Canon 1166 states that “Sacramentals are sacred signs by which, somewhat after the fashion of the sacraments, effects, especially spiritual ones, are signified and are obtained through the intercession of the Church.” They are intended to produce mainly spiritual effects in the faithful and their administration belongs to the public worship of the Church.
Sacramentals always include a prayer, usually a sign or action such as laying on of hands or counting beads or making the sign of the cross or sprinkling with another sacramental, holy water or preparing the body. They are small, often pocket sized, blessed objects that remind us what a mighty God we serve and prompt us to actually serve God almighty. Sacramentals give us words and deeds to actually do something in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Sacramentals prepare us as we hope to next receive God’s grace. Sacramentals help us to call on God’s blessing. They help us to be a blessing in the service of the Lord. The Book of Numbers 21:4-9 also portrays the example of Sacrament and Sacramental. ".......and God replied, 'Make a fiery serpent and raise it as a standard. Anyone who is bitten and looks at it will survive.' Moses then made a serpent out of the bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived." The bronze serpent is the object of Sacramental through which the Israelites received grace and the Sacrament of Healing.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SACRAMENT AND SACRAMENTAL
Sacramentals is linked to the sacraments (there are seven sacraments in the Catholic Church which are baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, matrimony and holy orders), sacramentals like sacraments, are sacred signs, and they produce supernatural effects, even though their efficacy is not ex opera operato but ex opera operantis Ecclesiae. This means that sacramentals are both sanctifying and worshipping actions and there is a relation between sacramentals and sacraments, especially with the Eucharist. As far as sacraments are concerned when they are established and administered validly, they produce their effects, principally the sacramental grace, ex opera operato, that is, without the influence of the moral dispositions of a minister or even of the receiving subject.
In respect of the sacramentals we can differentiate between ex opera operantis Ecclesiae and ex opere operantis. The ex opera operantis effects by the minister or subject refer to the fact that God grants His gifts in such quantity or quality as is determined by virtue of the merit and dispositions concurring in the person who administers. Critically examining the sacraments and sacramentals we can make some difference between the two. Sacraments are of divine institution, while sacramentals are of ecclesiastical institution. In the sacraments, Christ himself brings efficacy into operation, the intervention is immediate. In sacramentals, this intervention takes place through the Church, specifically through the hierarchy though in some cases lay administration is permitted. The effects obtained by ex opera operantis Ecclesiae include the very intercessory prayers of the Church in all sacramental matters and the acceptance by God of the objects and persons that receive constitutive consecration or blessing, as being reserved to its exclusive use.
SACRAMENT AND SACRAMENTAL
Sacramentals, like the Sacraments, are signs of the Church’s faith, and both Sacraments and Sacramentals produce spiritual effects, albeit in different ways. Unlike the Sacraments, the Sacramentals were instituted by the Church, not by Christ. The different ceremonies used by the Church explain why the use of one blessed item (Blessed Salt) is said to produce different effects when compared to the use of another item (say a Rosary). Additionally, this means that when there are different ceremonies and prayers used in the blessing of similar items, say two Rosaries blessed using different ceremonies and prayers, the possible divine favours associated with the use of one will be different from the divine favors associated with the use of the other. Not all blessings are the same, nor do all blessings request God to provide the same divine gifts.
It is advantageous to the faithful, then, not only to have their items blessed, but also to ensure that the blessings used fully express the specific effects the Church wishes to attach to each different type of item in order to ensure that the greatest possible spiritual benefit, from the reverent and devout use of their Sacramentals, may be received.
Among the sacramental, blessings occupy an important place, because they prepare us to receive the grace of the sacraments and help us to grow to be more like. Blessings consist of prayer, Scripture, and sometimes a special ritual sign of Christ. People are accustomed to seeing bishops, priests, and deacons blessing objects or persons in the name of the Church. Indeed, “the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry” (CCC no.1669), often with the participation of the local parish community gathered in prayer. Whenever an ordained minister is present, he should be called upon to give the blessing.
CONCLUSION
The sacraments and sacramentals are intrinsically connected because they both work for the growth and sanctification of the believers. They confer grace on us and lift up our heart to God. While sacraments give us Divine grace, sacramentals prepare us to receive that grace. In this Season of Lent which is also a season of Sanctification depicts another experience of us in the wilderness of our sins where we find ourselves after being lost in sin. Like the Israelites who received grace and comfort through looking at the bronze serpent is a way of encouraging us also to go back to Christ through the reception of the Sacramens especially the Sacrament of Penance for the Cross of Jesus which is far greater than the bronze serpent made in the Old Testament stands as our only means of Salvation. As we continue our journey of Sanctification towards the Cross which will be lifted up like the bronze serpent, let us take the pain to also look up to the Cross during this Season of grace that we might be saved.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cathechism of Catholic Church, Nigeria: Society St. Paul 2013.
Vatican Council II, vol 1, The Conciliar Document, Austine Flanery (ed), 1975.
Richard Mcbrien, Catholicism, Great Britain: Geoffrey Chapman, 1996.
Edward. j. Gratsch, Aquinas’ Summa: An Introduction and Interpretation, Bangalore: Theological Publication in India, 1990.
The Code of Canon Law.
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