SACRAMENTAL THEOLOGY

GOD
GOD

natural
tendency or
innate desire

to relate with
a Supreme
Being
Tower of Babel Menkaure Tomb

Khufu Tomb
 Aztec Pyramid

Mayan Ruins, Chichen Itza, Mexico

 Teo City, Mexico

Pyramid in Java
White Pyramid, China

Temple of Dendara, Egypt

 GOD
God wanted and still the great, impenetrable,
wants to communicate incomprehensible
with man. mystery.

because of immediate
the total disparity communication
between between them
God and man, seems to be
impossible.
natural tendency or innate desire human mind cannot comprehend God
fully; human language cannot describe
to relate with the Supreme Being Him accurately
 GOD

God wanted and still wants to

communicate with man.

But since a direct/

…a kind of
medium
immediate
communication is
impossible, mediation
that lies within the
this communication receptive capacity
requires a MEDIATION of man.
 within a person

1) through the
divine word: GOD

logos
GOD

2) through
requires spiritual indwelling
INTERPRETATION shekinah
and ACCEPTANCE
 outside a person

2) events

1) other people
require
INTERPRETATION
and ACCEPTANCE 3) created universe
SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
or STRUCTURE GOD
= the word made
reveals communicates
flesh (Jn 1:14)

a te = the image of the

u ltim u e
n iq invisible God
(Col 1:15; cf also 2 Cor 4:4)

u medium
= Mediator of the
New Covenant (Heb 9:15)
= anyone who has seen me
has seen the Father (Jn 14:9)
= the reflection of the
Father’s glory, the exact
representation of the
Father’s being (Heb 1:3)
Man responds
JESUS CHRIST

Sacrament of the encounter

with God

Non est enim aliud

Dei sacramentum
nisi Christus.
- St. Augustine
CREATION

God created
the World
through the
Logos by the
power of His
Holy Spirit
REDEMPTION

The Eternal Logos took

on flesh in obedience to
the Father through the
power of the Holy Spirit
SANCTIFICATION
The Holy Spirit descended
and made its dwelling in the
Church as Christ promised
his Apostles his presence in
the world for the greater
glory of the Father
The salvific action of the
Holy Trinity continues
through the covenants
made in the Old and New
Testament and continues in
the Church for Christ
promised that "remember I
will be with you always to
the end of the age." (Mt
28,19-20) through the
indwelling of the Holy
CCC 1150 Signs of the Covenant.

The Chosen People received from God distinctive

signs and symbols that marked its liturgical life.
These are no longer solely celebrations of cosmic
cycles and social gestures, but signs of the
covenant, symbols of God's mighty deeds for his
people. Among these liturgical signs from the Old
Covenant are circumcision, anointing and
consecration of kings and priests, laying on of
hands, sacrifices, and above all the Passover. The
Church sees in these signs a prefiguring of the
sacraments of the New Covenant.
CCC 1151 Signs taken up by Christ.

In his preaching the Lord Jesus often makes use of

the signs of creation to make known the mysteries
of the Kingdom of God. He performs healings and
illustrates his preaching with physical signs or
symbolic gestures. He gives new meaning to the
deeds and signs of the Old Covenant, above all to
the Exodus and the Passover, for he himself is the
meaning of all these signs.
CCC 1152 Sacramental Signs.

Since Pentecost, it is through the sacramental signs

of his Church that the Holy Spirit carries on the
work of sanctification. The sacraments of the
Church do not abolish but purify and integrate all
the richness of the signs and symbols of the cosmos
and of social life. Further, they fulfill the types and
figures of the Old Covenant, signify and make
actively present the salvation wrought by Christ,
and prefigure and anticipate the glory of heaven.
The SACRAMENTS are “efficacious
signs of grace instituted by Christ
entrusted to the Church, by which
divine life is dispensed to us” (CCC
1131) by the power of the Holy
Spirit. They are celebrated by
means of “visible rites which the
sacraments are celebrated signify
and make present the graces
proper to each sacrament” also by
the power of the Holy Spirit. They
bear fruit in those who receive
them with the required
disposition.
A saving symbolic act,
arising from the ministry
of Christ and continued in,
by and for the Church,
which, when received in
faith, fashions us into
likeness to Christ in his
Paschal Mystery, through
the power of the Holy
Spirit.
►JESUS is the
Primordial
Sacrament because
he is the Sacrament
of the Father.
The Church is the Foundational/
Basic Sacrament and a Mystery
(CCC 774)
a. Sign and Instrument of Union
with God
b. Sign and Instrument of Unity
of the Human Race
c. “Great Mystery” (mysterion):
union of Christ and Church
(Eph 5; CCC 772-73)
The Sacraments of the
Church are expressions
of God the Father
through Christ in the
Church by the power of
the Holy Spirit
ETYMOLOGY

SACRAMENT comes from the Latin Word

Sacramentum

a. Secular Definition: an oath of loyalty taken by

a soldier, or an oath in general
b. Sacred Definition: a sacred or holy thing
c. Latin Vulgate: translation of “mystery” (Gk
μυστεριον mysterion); something hidden or
secret
Differences in Emphasis and
Usage:
a. Sacramentum: emphasize the visible sign
of the hidden reality
b. Mysterium: emphasizes the hidden reality
behind the visible sign
c. Latin Church: speaks of the seven
“sacraments”
d. Eastern Churches: speak of “the holy
mysteries”
Some of the earliest records of the Christian
community are the letters of the apostle Paul to
various churches between 50 and 60 A.D. They do
not mention the word ‘sacraments’ but do mention
various actions or rituals performed by the first
Christians such as baptism, the laying on of hands,
sharing of the Lord’s supper, anointing the sick and
appointing leaders of the community. The earliest
followers of Jesus performed these rituals that they
believed were ‘from the Lord’ or approved by God,
and they repeated them in roughly the same manner
each time.
The term ‘sacrament’ comes from the Latin word
sacramentum. In Roman times, it meant an oath of
allegiance made by soldiers to their commander and
the gods of Rome which involved a religious
ceremony in a sacred place. Tertullian, a Christian
writer in the second century, borrowed the term and
used it to talk to his Roman contemporaries about the
ceremony of Christian initiation. He explained that
baptism was something like the sacramentum
administered to new recruits—it was a ritual through
which people began a new life of service to God.
He would actually watch soldiers in boot
camp. As the training was completed,
Caesar would gather them all together and
ask them to take an oath, a sacramentum.
“Vow to me, in good times and bad, in
sickness and in health, your allegiance.”
They would respond, “Caesar, we will be
loyal soldiers to you, even to death for you.
We will go to war for you…etc.” Once
they made this oath, they were branded as
soldiers of Caesar and there was no way
out. Except death. The vow was for life.
Tertullian borrowed the term and concept
from Roman military practice when he was
examining what Christians were doing in
the waters of death and enlightenment.
By the fifth century, any sacred symbol
or ceremony could be called a
sacrament. Although the word was still
used primarily in regard to the
ceremony of initiation, it could also be
applied to blessings, liturgical feasts,
and holy objects. Augustine defined
sacrament as “a sign of a sacred
reality,” a “visible sign of invisible
grace,” “an outward sign instituted by
Christ to give grace.” He noted that
according to this general definition
anything in the world could be
considered a sacrament since all of
creation was a sign of God.
By the twelfth century, Christian usage became more
restricted and was applied only to the seven church
rituals known to Catholics as the sacraments. After
the sixteenth century the use of the word was
restricted still further by those Protestants who
limited the number of sacraments to fewer than
seven.
The Baltimore Catechism
definition, “an outward sign
instituted by Christ to give
grace” comes from Augustine
and the definition still works
fairly well. However, with our
renewed theology and
reformed liturgical rites, it
just doesn’t go far enough.
Today we have come to see
sacraments in a much broader
sense. We have come to see
them more like Augustine saw
And development goes on. Not long
ago, the Catholic understanding of the
word “sacrament” referred exclusively
to seven liturgical rites. Since the
Second Vatican Council (1960s),
however, Catholic theologians have
expanded the meaning of the term. In
the broad sense, a sacramental
experience is an encounter with God
through human experience which
somehow changes us. And virtually
any human experience can provide us
with such an encounter.
The Old Testament is full of sacramental events
touching the lives of the Hebrew people long
before the Church defined or categorized
sacraments, e.g., the dove returning to Noah
carrying an olive branch, the flood, and Creation.
Through the Exodus event (escape of the Israelites
from slavery in Egypt), they came to recognize
Yahweh in an entirely new way, and their whole
history was altered. As a result, they told and
retold the story, not just in words but in symbols
and actions through their Passover ritual.
“A sacrament is an outward sign”

a SIGN points out from itself to something

else. But sacraments are more than
“outward signs,” they are SYMBOLS which
have multiple meanings which point into
themselves, into their own depth to
express what cannot be expressed in any
other way. They bring us in touch with the
familiar and mysterious simultaneously.
“Instituted by Christ”

The sacraments arise out of the story of Jesus’ life

and actions, and flow from his values and
teachings. He allowed himself to be baptized, and
he broke bread and shared it—out of those special
events come Baptism and Eucharist. He saw very
basic values and experiences (forgiveness, concern
for the sick, marriage, service) and he transformed
those ordinary human values into spiritual values
by helping people see God’s love made visible
through the living of those values.
Sacraments and the Christian Community

Sacraments happen not simply to

individuals. They can be understood
completely only in relation to the Body of
Christ, which is the Church. This is why the
new rites insist that the sacraments be
celebrated in the Christian assembly, with
the community present and actively
participating.
The seven sacraments touch
all the stages and all the
important moments of
Christian life: they give birth
and increase, healing and
mission to the Christian's
life of faith. There is thus a
certain resemblance
between the stages of
natural life and the stages
of the spiritual life. CCC
1220
 PARALLELISM BETWEEN
SACRAMENTS and
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT GOD
Spiritual ReGeneration

CHURCH
CHURCH
CHURCH
LITURGY
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
SACRAMENTS

Eucharist
Baptism Confirmation

Birth Growth Maturity

Nourishment
hysical Generation
 GOD

CHURCH
CHURCH
CHURCH
LITURGY CHURCH CHURCH
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
LITURGY LITURGY
SACRAMENTS LITURGY
SACRAMENTS SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS

Eucharist Matrimony
Baptism Confirmation Penance
H. Orders

Birth Growth Maturity Particular Sin/Error

Nourishment Vocation healing
 OVERVIEW OF THE SACRAMENTS &
LITURGY
as encounters between God and man GOD
through Christ and his body the Church
by the power of the Holy Spirit
TOGETHER
to get there
CHURCH
CHURCH
CHURCH
LITURGY CHURCH CHURCH
CHURCH

LITURGY
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
LITURGY LITURGY
SACRAMENTS LITURGY SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS

Anointing
Eucharist of the Sick/
Matrimony
Baptism Confirmation Penance Viaticum
H. Orders

Life’s Milestones: S A C R A M E N T S
Life’s
Birth Growth Maturity Particular Sin/Error Sickness/
Nourishment Vocation healing Old Age/Death
 OVERVIEW OF THE SACRAMENTS &
LITURGY
as encounters between God and man GOD
through Christ and his body the Church TOGETHER
by the power of the Holy Spirit
to get there
CHURCH
CHURCH
CHURCH
LITURGY CHURCH CHURCH
CHURCH

LITURGY
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
LITURGY LITURGY
SACRAMENTS LITURGY SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS

Anointing
Eucharist of the Sick/
Matrimony
Baptism Confirmation Penance Viaticum
H. Orders

Life’s Milestones: S A C R A M E N T S
Life’s
Years Liturgical Year
Weeks Sunday Mass
Days Daily Mass
Hours Liturgy of the Hours
Sacramentals
Sacramentals &
& Popular
Popular Devotion
Devotion
 OVERVIEW OF THE SACRAMENTS &
LITURGY
as encounters between God and man GOD
through Christ and his body the Church
by the power of the Holy Spirit
TOGETHER
to get there
CHURCH
CHURCH
CHURCH
LITURGY CHURCH CHURCH
CHURCH

LITURGY
LITURGY
SACRAMENTS
LITURGY LITURGY
SACRAMENTS LITURGY SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS SACRAMENTS

SACRAMENTS

Anointing
Eucharist of the Sick/
Matrimony
Baptism Confirmation Penance Viaticum
H. Orders

Life’s Milestones: S A C R A M E N T S
Life’s
Years Liturgical Year
Weeks Sunday Mass
Days Daily Mass
Hours Sacramentals Liturgy
Liturgy of the Hours
Sacramentals &
& Popular
Popular Devotion
Devotion
We celebrate the Sacraments in the Liturgy
Christ is present
in various modes
or ways: Word
Minister Eucharistic Species

Sacraments

Church that sings

and prays
CCC 1123 "The purpose of the sacraments is to
sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and,
finally, to give worship to God. Because they are
signs they also instruct. They not only presuppose
faith, but by words and objects they also nourish,
strengthen, and express it. That is why they are
called 'sacraments of faith."'
In each of the seven sacraments we
see special ways in which Jesus' life
reveals God's presence and the
power of God's love. Through the
sacraments we are healed, nourished
and made holy. The sacraments also
give us grace, the gift of sharing in
God's life. Each of the sacraments
allow us to respond to God's love and
grace in the ordinary, everyday
events of life.