Introduction

to
Sacraments
Liturgy and Sacraments
 LEARNING
At the end of the discussion, students will be able to:
- UnderstandCOMPETENCIES
the meaning and nature of the Sacraments
- Bear witness to their love for God by receiving the sacraments
worthily
- Pray that their sacramental life be nurtured by the Holy Spirit
- Understand that receiving the sacraments is necessary for our
salvation.
- Be able to help to those who are in need spiritually through the
help of the grace received.
- Be hopeful that by and through the sacraments, our life will be
sanctified.
 CHRISTIAN MESSAGE
Doctrine
The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to
build up the body of Christ, and finally, to give
worship to God.
God wants us to be saved. He instituted the
Sacraments and necessitated for our salvation.
Moral
The faith of a well-disposed heart
receives the Word of God. We are
Worship
The Holy Spirit prepares us for the reception of the
called to grow in the grace of God.

sacraments through the Word of God and

through faith.
Fervently pray for the conversion of sinners and to
overcome temptations during this time.
Learning Time
Output
Symbol Duration
4 hours
Making
PART I. THE
SACRAMENTS

What is a
sacrament?
A sacrament is an external
or sensible sign, instituted
by Christ, which causes the
grace it signifies.
• As a sign- it points to another reality
• A sensible sign- it can be sensed or perceived with our
senses
• Instituted by Christ- the Church follows whatever
Christ did and said on performing the sacrament
• It causes grace- through it, God gives us the graces
necessary in our current needs. The grace it dispenses
does not depend also on the doer (celebrant) or
receiver (recipient)
 SIGN
A visible reality that point to something
else, usually having only one basic
meaning.
Conveys one meaning.
The given examples above are easily
recognizable and the meaning is the
same with everyone.
SYMBOL
signs with deeper and more complex
meanings
Conveys two or more meanings.
The gesture above could have two
meanings depending on who views it
and the situation it is presented. It
could mean Peace for some or Scissors
in the game JackNPoy.
 Why is the Sacraments
important to the Catholic
Church?
The Sacraments are “by the Church” because
she is the sacraments of Christ’s action at
work in her through the Holy Spirit. The
Sacraments are “for the Church” because they
make and sustains the Church. These
sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from
the Body of Christ, which is 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 )
Does the celebrant’s disposition
affect the graces of the
The sacraments act ex Sacrament?
opere operato
(literally: "by the very fact of the
action's being performed"), i.e., by
virtue of the saving work of Christ,
accomplished once for all. It follows
that "the sacrament is not wrought by
the righteousness of either the celebrant
or the recipient, but by the power of
God." (CCC 1128)
 Can the celebrant modify the
celebration of the Sacraments?
No, sacramental rite may be
modified or manipulated at the will
of the minister or the community.
Even the supreme authority in the
Church may not change the liturgy
arbitrarily, but only in the obedience
of faith and with religious respect
for the mystery of the liturgy. (CCC
1125 )
How may the sacraments be
classified?
There are divisions and categories of
the sacraments. The 7 sacraments
may be divided and categorized
based on their functions and use.
 Division of Sacraments
DIVISION SACRAMENTS
INITIATION Baptism, Confirmation, Holy
Eucharist
HEALING Confession, Anointing of the
Sick
SERVICE OF COMMUNION Matrimony, Holy Orders
 Initiation
The sharing in the divine nature given to men
through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness
to the origin, development, and nourishing of
natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism,
strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and
receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By
means of these sacraments of Christian initiation,
they thus receive in increasing measure the
treasures of the divine life and advance toward the
perfection of charity. (CCC 1312)
 Healing
The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and
bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and
restored him to bodily health, has willed that his
Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit,
his work of healing and salvation, even among
her own members. This is the purpose of the two
sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance
and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. (CCC
1421)
 Service of
Two other
Communion
sacraments, Holy Orders and
Matrimony, are directed towards the
salvation of others; if they contribute as well
to personal salvation, it is through service to
others that they do so. They confer a
particular mission in the Church and serve to
build up the People of God. (CCC 1534)
 Categories of Sacrament
CATEGORIES SACRAMENTS
SACRAMENTS OF THE LIVING Confirmation, Eucharist, Holy Orders,
Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick
SACRAMENTS OF THE DEAD Baptism, Penance
■ Sacraments of the Living – receivable only by those
who are in the state of grace (did not commit any
mortal sins)

■ Sacraments of the Dead – receivable by those who

are spiritually dead because of mortal sins
 The Role of the Sacraments on the Different Needs in
Christian Life
SACRAMENTS SPIRITUAL NEEDS
Baptism Birth
Confirmation Growth
Eucharist Nutrition
Penance Cure in Sickness
Anointing the Sick Preparation for the soul’s union with
God
Holy Orders The Christian priesthood
Matrimony The Christian family
PART II: DO WE REALLY NEED THE
Necessity of the
SACRAMENTS?

Sacraments
 Our physical body needs essential things like food, water,
shelter, clothing and etc. We need them for a specific and basic
reason; for us to be strong, to be healthy and to survive our
everyday life. Without them, our bodies will weaken and
eventually die. Just like our earthly body, our spiritual body needs
these sacraments for us to be saved. Losing the opportunity to
receive them, we cannot attain salvation.

The Church affirms that the sacraments are necessary for

salvation for the believers of the New Covenant. We need
sacraments in order to outgrow our petty human life and to
become like Jesus through Jesus; children of God in freedom and
glory. (YOUCAT)
 According to St. Thomas Aquinas, five are necessary for an
individual – Baptism, Penance, Eucharist, Confirmation, and
Anointing of the Sick- and two sacraments are necessary for
Christian community- Holy Orders and Matrimony. But among
the seven sacraments, two of them are the most necessary,
Baptism and Penance, since without these two, there is no
salvation.
 What are the effects of the
Sacraments?
We have all known our human physical needs for us to be
strong, but it is not enough to know that these things will just
make us strong and healthy. Each need has its own benefit or
effect in our body. For example, food provides us minerals and
vitamins to be able to do our daily work and tasks.
 It is now clear that everything we need has its own result or
effect to us. We do not just need them just because we need them
but they serve for such purposes. Just as we have learned that
sacraments are necessary for salvation, we can come to think that
they also bestow effects to our soul.
 The Effects of the
Sacraments
1. SANCTIFYING GRACE – a free gift of God that produces a
supernatural participation in the divine nature, thus making us
children of God. (Belmonte, 1993). Baptism and Penance
produce this grace for the first time while the other five
sacraments increase sanctifying grace by themselves depending
on the attitude and disposition of the recipient. It raises us above
the natural level and enables us to share in God’s nature. (2 Pt.
1:4). It is also called as “habitual” grace because it remains
permanently in the soul, making it holy and pleasing to God.
 The Effects of the
Sacraments
2. SACRAMENTAL GRACE – a special or
specific type of grace; described as the right to
receive the actual graces needed to fulfil the
obligations born of the sacrament or to better
achieve its end. Actual grace is the specific
supernatural help that is needed to perform a good
action. (Belmonte, 1993)
 The Effects of the
Sacraments
3. CHARACTER – an indelible spiritual sign impresses
on the soul. Three of the sacraments confer this kind of
effect – Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Orders. Baptism
confers the character of a Christian. Confirmation confers
the character of a soldier of Christ. Holy Orders confers
the character of a priest of Christ.
 Reflection

With the sacraments

already granted to you, how
were you able to live the
graces of having such
sacraments, and how were
you be able to be a means
of grace to other people?
 Application
Create your own symbol of the seven sacraments. For a change,
create symbols that you think explain the effects or the descriptions
of the sacraments instead.
- Do not make use of the symbols that were originally used for
each symbol like water for baptism or dove for confirmation and
the likes.
- Make use of application or free sites on the internet.
- If you prefer to draw on your own, clearly take a picture of it then
submit it.
SCORING RUBRICS FOR SYMBOL
MAKING

Cohesion Creativity
Between Ideas
References
1. Catholic Church. (1994). Catechism of the
Catholic Church. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice
Vaticana.
2. Belmonte, Charles. (2006). Faith Seeking
Understanding. Mandaluyong: Studium
Theologiae Foundation, Inc.
3. YOUCAT. (2010). San Francisco: Ignatius
Press.
Introduction
to
Sacraments
Liturgy and Sacraments