SACRAMENT IN GENERAL

MODULE 2

The world is full of the signs of God’s presence...of the Lord’s presence. We call these signs
SACRAMENTAL signs. We need the interior eye of faith to see God in all the things around us, and
those things happening around us/to us… even during this time of COVID-19 pandemic. But God in
Jesus has made some signs as concrete signs and symbols of his abiding presence in our midst. These
signs are celebrated and when they are celebrated, God’s presence is made present and active in our
lives and in our midst. These signs and symbols are called SACRAMENTS!
THE WORD SACRAMENT UNDERSTOOD FROM ITS ETYMOLOGY:

 In Greek, sacrament is "Mysterion" which when translated in English means "Mystery" .

However, mystery does not mean unknowable but something that is revealed by God.
 In Latin, the Greek word "Mysterion" was translated as "Sacramentum" which in English means
sacrament as there is no Latin word for mystery.
MEANING OF SACRAMENT FROM DIFFERENT CHURCH TRADITIONS

 Though these 3 have varying understanding of the Sacrament, there is something common
among them, that is, sacrament is a visible earthly sign of the mystery of God's grace revealed
and given to us... that through the sacraments we have earthly connections with God and that
Sacrament makes visible what is invisible and what is initially untouchable comes down and
touches us.
o A Sacrament is an efficacious sign of God's grace instituted by Christ and entrusted to
the Church, by which life is dispensed to us. (CCC 1131) As an efficacious sign, the
Sacrament is effective, that is, it communicates grace.
o Sacraments are powers that come forth from the Body of Christ, which are ever living
and life giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They
are the MASTERWORKS of God in the new and everlasting Covenant. (CCC 1116)

The Church is about more than just an organization or an institution. The Church is the Body of Christ.
Jesus came to found the Church. He continues His work through the Church. So every sacrament is Jesus
continuing His ministry. By the power of the Holy Spirit He does it through the Church which He
founded. So the Sacraments communicate what the faith professes.

Your spiritual life begins at baptism. It is maturing at Confirmation, your soul is healed in Reconciliation,
your body is healed in the Anointing of the sick, families are made with marriage, the Church is
sustained with Holy Orders and Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist. The sacraments are what Christ
did on earth. Christ told us that we must be born of water and spirit to enter his kingdom (Jn.3:16). --
Baptism. He desires us to receive His Holy Spirit (JN 20:22), -Confirmation, he forgives the sins of his
children (Mk 2:5)--Reconciliation, Christ wants us to live in peace and to be cured of our illness (MK
5:34) ...Anointing of the Sick, He brings 2 people together and makes them one flesh (Mt. 19:6)…
Marriage, he called Peter to be our first Pope and the apostles our first leaders (…Holy Orders, and he
gave his flesh and blood to be received (Jn 6:56)...Holy Eucharist.

Everything he did, he still does in the sacraments: three (3) sacraments give us the grace we need be to
holy in this life and spread the Gospel to the world (Sacraments of Initiation), two (2) sacraments heal us
from our wounds, either body or in soul (Sacraments of Healing; two (2) sacraments are directed
towards the salvation of others (Sacraments of Vocation). The 7 sacraments are sacraments of our faith.
The sacraments nourish our faith, they are not just to be received, they are to be celebrated, they are to
be lived... we receive them in the Church.
PURPOSE OF THE SACRAMENT

 Sanctify men and women

 Build up the Church, the Body of Christ (gives sanctification to the Church to help carry on work
one earth
 Give worship to God. (All we do should bring us to closer relationship with God and should bring
Him glory
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF THE SACRAMENTS

 EACH SACRAMENT REQUIRES THREE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS, WITHOUT WHICH, IT IS NULL AND
VOID
o MINISTER – He is the person administering the Sacrament
o MATTER – It is the Sensible Element used for the Sacrament.
o FORM – It is the Formula used in the celebration such as in the Eucharist.
EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENTS

 We are perfectly bound to the Church as sons and daughters of God

 Unites us more closely to Christ
 Increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us and makes us strong
 Cause us a deeper relationship to the Church
 Makes us resilient witnesses of Christ in thoughts, words and actions

The Church likes to break the 7 sacraments into 3 categories to help us understand how they affect us.

1ST CATEGORY: SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION

 Baptism
o where we die with Christ and where we rise with him symbolized by pouring or
immersion into the water
 Confirmation
 o with the anointing of the Holy Spirit symbolized and effectively administered through
the oils in the anointing of the priest or the bishop.
 Eucharist
o where we receive the Body and Blood of Christ

2ND CATEGORY: SACRAMENT OF HEALING

 Reconciliation
o with serious sin, we go to the Lord who continues his work through the Church and the
priest stands in Christ, the High Priest. When we confess our sins, we are set free, they
are forgiven and forgotten...and we're made new. The wound of sin is healed.
 Anointing of the Sick
o The early Church understood that "if there is anyone sick among you let him call on the
others" (James). The Church continues to pray for the Sick and through the priest, Jesus
Christ, the High Priest, continues to heal the Sick.

3RD CATEGORY: MISSION AND SERVICE

 Holy Orders
o There are 3 Orders in Holy Order
1. Deacon- ordained unto the ministry
2. Priest- ordained unto the priesthood and stands in Christ, the High Priest
3. Bishop- fullness of the Holy Order
 Matrimony
o The Catholic Church affirms that Marriage is God's plan. But it's more than that in Jesus
Christ; he elevated it to a sacrament. It reveals Christ's love for His Church: Christ is the
bridegroom and the Church is the Bride and it is a means of holiness for the couple. As
they learn to love in Jesus and became a sign of Jesus' love for the Church. The
Sacraments then are gifts...they are wonderful gifts that the Lord continues to offer to
all of us who are members of the Church and to the whole world as men and women
hear His Word and are born again and become members of His Body. So....to live the
Catholic way is to live the sacramental way of life.

SUMMARY:

 Your spiritual life begins at baptism. It is maturing at Confirmation, your soul is healed in
Reconciliation, your body is healed in the Anointing of the sick, families are made with marriage,
the Church is sustained with Holy Orders and Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist. The
sacraments are what Christ did on earth. Christ told us that we must be born of water and spirit
to enter his kingdom (Jn.3:16). --Baptism. He desires us to receive His Holy Spirit (JN 20:22), -
Confirmation, he forgives the sins of his children (Mk 2:5)--Reconciliation, Christ wants us to live
in peace and to be cured of our illness (MK 5:34) ...Anointing of the Sick, He brings 2 people
together and makes them one flesh (Mt. 19:6)… Marriage, he called Peter to be our first Pope
and the apostles our first leaders (…Holy Orders, and he gave his flesh and blood to be received
(Jn 6:56)...Holy Eucharist.
 Everything he did, he still does in the sacraments: three (3) sacraments give us the grace we
need be to holy in this life and spread the Gospel to the world (Sacraments of Initiation), two (2)
sacraments heal us from our wounds, either body or in soul (Sacraments of Healing; two (2)
sacraments are directed towards the salvation of others (Sacraments of Vocation). The 7
sacraments are sacraments of our faith. The sacraments nourish our faith, they are not just to
be received, they are to be celebrated, they are to be lived... we receive them in the Church.