RESEARCH WORK

SACRAMENTS

It is a ritual or a religious ceremony in the Christian Church regarded as

granting a heavenly grace, such as the Sacraments of Baptism, penance and the
Anointing of the Sick. It is also regarded as spiritual communion with god called
the Eucharist having the elements of concentrated or the holy bread and wine
which is the Host. A sacrament is a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality. The
purpose of the sacraments is to make people holy and to be one with Christ. Also
to honor God.

A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important

and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of
such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the
reality of God, as well as a channel for God’s grace. Many denominations,
including the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, and
reformed, hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by Augustine of Hippo:
an outward sign of an inward grace, that has been instated by Jesus Christ.
Sacraments signify God’s grace in a way that is outwardly observable to the
participant.

The Catholic Church, Hussite Church and the Old Catholic Church recognize
seven sacraments: Baptism, Penance (Reconciliation or Confession), Eucharist (or
Holy Communion), Confirmation, Marriage (Matrimony, Holy Orders, and
Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction). The Eastern Churches, such as the
Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodox Church as well as the Eastern
Catholic Churches, also believe that there are seven major sacraments, but apply
the words sacred mysteries corresponding to the Greek word, (mysterica), and also
to rites that in the Western realities, such as the Church itself. Many Protestant
denominations, such as those within the Reformed denomination of Calvinism,
preach just two sacraments instituted by Christ, the Eucharist (or Holy
Communion) and Baptism. The Lutheran sacraments include these two, of ten
adding Confession (and Absolution) as a third sacrament.
Angelican and Methodist teaching is that “there are two Sacraments ordained of
Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord,
and that “those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation,
Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for
Sacraments of the Gospel.

In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, “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.

While the sacraments in the Catholic Church are regarded as means of Divine
Grace, the Catholic definition of sacrament is an event in Christian life that is both
spiritual and physical. The seven Catholic sacraments have been separated into
three groups. The first three sacraments of Initiation are Baptism, Communion, and
Confirmation. The two Healing Sacraments are Anointing of the Sick and Penance.
The two Sacraments of Vocation are Matrimony and Hold Orders.

Though not every individual has to receive every sacrament, the Church affirms
that for believers the sacraments are necessary for salvation. Through each of
them, Christ bestows that sacrament’s particular healing and transforming grace of
the Holy Spirit, making them participants in the divine nature through union with
Christ.

We recognize that the Sacraments have a visible and invisible reality, a reality
open to all the human senses but grasped in its God-given depths with the eyes of
faith. When parents hug their children, for example, the visible reality the hug
conveys is love. We cannot “see” the love the hug expresses, though sometimes we
can see its nurturing effect in the child.
The visible reality we see in the Sacraments is their outward expression, the form
they take, and the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible
reality we cannot “see” is God’s grace, his gracious initiative in redeeming us
through the death and Resurrection of his Son. His initiative is called grace
because it is the free and loving gift by which he offers people a share in his life,
and shows us his favor and will for our salvation. Our response to the grace of
God’s initiative is itself a grace or gift from God by which we can imitate Christ in
our daily lives.

SACRAMENTAL

It is a customary practice similar to the sacraments such as the use of the

holy water or the sign of the cross. It is a sacred sign or a ceremony which has
certain imitation of the sacraments that has spiritual effects and obtaining favor
through prayers of the Church. The church describes them as “signs”. Examples of
this are crucifixes, rosaries, candles, scapulars, holy water, anointing oils, and the
sign of the holy cross.

Blessings are called “sacramental” because they prepare us to receive the grace of
the sacraments and help us to grow to be more like Christ. Blessings consist of
prayer, scripture, and sometimes a special ritual sign.

It is a customary practice similar to the sacraments such as the use of the Holy
water or the sign of the cross. It is a sacred sign or a ceremony which has certain
imitation of the sacraments that has spiritual effects and obtaining favor through
prayers of the Church. The Church describes them as “signs”. Examples of this are
crucifixes, rosaries, candles, scapulars, holy water, anointing oils, and the sign of
the holy cross.

Sacramental, are 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.
Among sacramental blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first.
Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed
by God the Father “with every spiritual blessing”.

Blessings of priests and bishops have the power, so to speak, to turn objects such
as a new rosary or statue into a sacramental. While the laity can bless, their
blessings are more of a prayer or a plea to God.

For example, the blessing at meals is a change to offer God a prayer of praise and
thanksgiving. It makes holy the mere need for nutrition and is a reminder of the
most blessed meal, the Eucharist. In a similar manner, a parent’s blessing of their
children serves as petition to God to keep their kids safe from all evil.

Blessed sacramental are a source of actual grace for the faithful who use them
devoutly. The power of blessed sacramental can strengthen faith, secure hope, and
ignite charity. They provide protection from evil and assist in the daily spiritual
battle. Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church to prepare us to
receive the fruit of the sacraments and to sanctify different circumstances of our
lives. Sacramentals are given to us to make holy certain actions in life’s
circumstances. There are many such sacred signs that are reminders to us of God.

Sacramentals excite good thought by recalling to our minds some special reason
for doing good and avoiding evil. Especially by reminding us of some holy person,
event or thing through which blessings have come to us. So you see, we are a
sacramental people because the Sacraments are, in truth, our lifeline to God. When
we receive and celebrate the Church’s Sacraments, we really encounter the church
that Jesus founded.

Submitted by: JOY MIE D. CANOOG

Submitted to: SR. MELCHIE M. ERAMIZ