What are Sacraments? What are the sacraments instituted by Christ himself? What is the purpose of the sacraments? 1. What is a sacrament? In a simple and general sense, a sacrament is something we see, which points to something we cannot see. It’s a sign of something else, something greater. For example, all creation is fundamentally sacramental because it points to its Creator, in the same way a Van Gogh painting unmistakably suggests the artist. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.” Christian faith is incarnational. The Word became flesh. God became man. Christianity understands that human beings are both material and spiritual, and that physical things can point the believer to spiritual realities. --- Charles J. Chaput, OFM, Living the Catholic Faith. 2. Christ instituted the sacraments of the new law. There are seven: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), the Eucharist, Penance, the Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven sacraments touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life (Cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, 65, 1): 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 the spiritual life. -- Catechism of the Catholic Church. 3. 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.” --- Catechism of the Catholic Church
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 23:42:19 +0000
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