SACRAMENT= an efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by

which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

-A Sacrament is a sign. Example: signs on the side of the highway. Sacraments are signs that
point to God. It is an “efficacious” sign, which means it has an effect on us. Something about us
changes when we receive a Sacrament.

- All the Sacraments come from words and actions of Jesus.

-Each Sacrament is passed down to us through Tradition of the Church, through the
generations since the Apostles.

-God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is present in every Sacrament. In every Sacrament, God
offers His grace for us in our lives.

-The Catholic Church has 7 sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation,

Matrimony, Holy Orders, Anointing of the Sick.

-There are 3 Sacraments of INITIATION, which welcome us into the Church community:
Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

-There are 2 sacraments of HEALING, which celebrate God healing us:

Reconciliation, and Anointing of the Sick.

-There are 2 sacraments of SERVICE OF COMMUNION, which celebrate our calling to love
God and others, and to build up the Church: Matrimony, Holy Orders.

Sacraments are very important for Catholics because we have a strong sacramental view of the
world. This means that we believe that God is everywhere and we see God working through
creation. We can see God in all the little things and big things we experience in the world. This
view of the world is called the principle of sacramentality.

PRINCIPLE OF SACRAMENTALITY= God is always actively present with us in the

world

- In order to recognize God around us, we have to be attentive to God. Regular prayer and
reception of the Sacraments help us recognize that God is always with us.
- The Sacraments celebrate the principle of sacramentality in a special way. Each sacrament
celebrates how God is present in ordinary, everyday events, such as a meal, or an illness or a
married couple.

-When we’re attentive to God and regularly acknowledge God’s presence in our lives, we can
become more Christ-like in our words and actions. This is one of the great gifts of the
sacraments, and is called sacramental personalism.
 SACRAMENTAL PERSONALISM= Regular reception of the Sacraments graces us to
become more like Christ in word and action

Mother Teresa of Calcutta is an excellent example of this sacramental personalism. She said,
“Seeking the face of God in everything, everyone, all the time, and his hand in every happening.
This is what it means to be contemplative in the heart of the world. Seeing and adoring the
presence of Jesus, especially in the lowly appearance of bread, and in the distressing disguise
of the poor.”

Rite of a Sacrament:
When we talk about the Rite, we are talking about the symbolic rituals or signs surrounding the
celebration of a Sacrament.
People have used rituals to express their relationship with God for millenia. For example,
circumcision is a sign of the covenant between the Jewish people and God. Catholics celebrate
the Sacraments as signs of a deepening relationship with God.
RITE= the combination of words, actions, and objects used in the celebration of a
Sacrament.
Often, the Rite is described as the form and matter of a Sacrament.
FORM= words used in the Rite of a Sacrament
MATTER= actions and objects used in the Rite of a Sacrament

BAPTISM: object-water, oil; actions- pouring or immersing 3 times, anointing; words- “I baptise
you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.
CONFIRMATION: objects- oil, bishop; actions- anointing; words- “Be sealed with the gifts of the
Holy Spirit”.
EUCHARIST: objects- bread, wine, priest; actions- blessing, breaking, sharing; words-
Eucharistic prayer
RECONCILIATION: objects- priest; actions- confessing, expressing sorrow, blessing; words-
Act of Contrition, prayer of absolution
ANOINTING OF THE SICK: objects- oil, priest; actions- anointing; words- prayer of blessing
MATRIMONY: objects- rings, man, woman; actions- holding hands, blessing; words- promises
of consent
HOLY ORDERS: objects- priest, bishop; actions- prostrating, imposition of hands, blessings

GRACE= the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to His call to become
children of God.
We receive 2 important forms of grace in the Sacraments:
● SANCTIFYING GRACE= “Sanctifying” means “to make holy”. It is the gift of
God’s divine life, making us more holy and Christ-like. First received in Baptism,
we receive this grace in every Sacrament.
● ACTUAL GRACE= God’s gift of strength in intellect and will, guiding us in making
good decisions. We receive this grace whenever we are tempted to sin or
whenever we feel the urge to do a good work.
The Sacrament is effective, even if we don’t feel or see the effects right away. God is still
present and is offering us grace. Our attitude towards the Sacrament determines how soon or
how well we see the effects of the Sacrament on our everyday life. But the grace is still there.
The Church uses two Latin terms to describe this:
● EX OPERE OPERATO= from the power of the work itself.--) God always offers
grace in the Sacraments
● EX OPERE OPERANTIS= from the power of the person taking part in the work.
Our attitude when receiving the grace of the Sacrament. We need to actually use
it to see the effect is has on our life.