The Sacraments

Sensible sign instituted

by Christ to give grace

DEFINITION OF SACRAMENT
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 1131

EFFICACIOUS SIGNS OF GRACE

INSTITUTED BY CHRIST
ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH
BY WHICH DIVINE LIFE IS DISPENSED TO US

AS EFFICACIOUS SIGNS OF GRACE,

THEY EFFECT WHAT THEY SIGNIFY.

SACRAMENTS BEAR FRUIT
IN THOSE WHO RECEIVE THEM.

EX OPERE OPERATO

AS INSTITUTED BY CHRIST,

THE LITURGY IS AN ACTION OF CHRIST

AND HIS BODY THE CHURCH:
WHEN A PERSON BAPTIZES,
IT IS REALLY CHRIST HIMSELF WHO BAPTIZES

ENTRUSTED TO THE CHURCH

The ordained minister is the sacramental bond that ties the

liturgical action to what the apostles said and did and, through
them, to the words and actions of Christ, the source and
foundation of the sacraments.

BY WHICH DIVINE LIFE IS DISPENSED TO US

The fruit of the sacramental life is that the Spirit of adoption

makes the faithful partakers in the divine nature by uniting
them in a living union with the only Son, the Savior.

sacramentals
Holy things or actions which the church

makes use of to obtain for us from God

spiritual and temporal favors
Sacred signs which bear resemblance to the
sacraments
Examples: blessings given by the priest
Exorcisms
Blessed objects of devotion
Sacred images

Sacraments

Sacramentals

Limited

Not limited

Christ

Church

Ex opere operato

Ex opere eperantis

Necesarry for salvation

ecclesiae(pious disposition
of the person)
Help us to be closer to God
and attain salvation

Nature of the Sacraments

Ongoing saving actions of

Christ
Commemorates the paschal
mystery of Christ
Sacraments prefigure our
glorious future
Christ- the primordial
sacrament
Church- the ground
sacrament of the 7
sacraments
Collaborative encounters
with Christ
Self realization of the church

Efficacy of the sacraments

All sacraments produce grace by reason of the
sacred rite itself
NB. Provided the recipient does not pose an
obstacle
Ex opere operato
They are efficacious because in them Christ is at
work
From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated
in accordance with the intention of the church ,

the power of Christ and his spirit acts in and

through it

Principles
1. the matter and form absolutely are

essential to the validity of the sacraments

and they can not be changed even
accidentally
2. the matter and form must be morally
united at one and the same time(nb. Except
in the sac of reconciliation)
3.ordinarily, the matter and form must be
applied by one and same minister

Types of sacraments
Sacraments of the dead

Sacraments of the living

Sacraments whose

Sacraments whose

purpose is to give the

supernatural life of
sanctifying grace to souls ,
which are spiritually dead
because of sin.
Baptism
Penance

purpose is to give more

grace to souls already
spiritually alive .

According to necessity
For each individual

For the ecclesial society

First 5 sacraments

Marriage
ordination

According to effect
Imprints sacramental
character

Seal
Configuration with Christ

remains forever
Baptism
Confirmation
Holy orders
These sacraments can only
be received once

Short History
Today- 7 liturgical rites of the church where

one experience the paschal mystery of Christ

to grow in the life of grace
Etymology
Greek- mysterion
Latin sacramentum
Mysterion- mystery in the Old testament
Gods saving action in history

Pre Christian era

Sacramentum any pledge in the form of

property or money which which was placed at

the temple and was used as a bond
Payment by the person who lost the case in
the lawsuit
Later used to mean an oath or an allegiance
made by the soldiers to the emperor

New Testament
Mysterion- secrets of the kingdom of God
St Paul- mysterion refers to Christ
Patristic Age(Justyn martyr)

realities of Baptism and Eucharist

Baptism- called reborn or enlightened
Eucharist- through prayer the food becomes

the flesh of Jesus

Tertullian
Introduced the term sacramentum
Sacramentum- that which makes holy
Sacramentum- sacred action, sacred object,

sacred means
2 realities in the sacramentum
A. Element
B. word

St Augustine
Has a fluid notion regarding the sacraments
Allies it with figura, allegoria, symbolism
Speaks about OT sacraments ( circumcission,
sacrifice, altars etc? And NT sacraments (
Baptism, Eucharist, Lords Prayer, Imposition of
hands, etc.)
Sacraments a sacred sign
One joins the word with the element to form the
sacrament
Res- ultimate effect
Sacramentum-element , sign

6th to 12th century

Isidore of Seville- 3 sacraments (B,C, E)
Peter Damien -12 sacraments
Peter Abelard major and minor sacraments
Pope Innocent-introduced the ff.

A. Sacramentum tantum
B. Res et sacramentum
C. Res tantum

Peter Lombard
Determined that there are 7 sacraments
Number of completion, totality and

inclusiveness
Sum of 3 and 4(seasons )
sign cause
Stressed the importance of right intention

St Thomas Aquinas
Function of the sacraments-initiate, restore ,

preserve intensify the life of grace in the

believers
Not only remedies from sin but also produce
new life in Christ
2 efficient cause- Principal cause- God

Instrumental cause

E. Schillebeeckz
Salvation as a personal encounter with Christ
Christ is metahistorical and transtemporal
Christological approach on the sacraments
Christ- central sacrament

7 sacraments- specifications and

manifestations of the original sacrament

K. Rahner
Stresses on the ecclesial foundation of the

sacraments
Sacramentality of the individual sacraments
to be seen in the light of the sacramentality
of the church
Sacraments were instituted by Christ in the
sense that over the generations the church
reflected and determined the 7 rites as
uniquely sacraments.

Jesus: the primordial

sacrament
Any visible sign of the invisible God
Best and most complete visible sign of God is

Jesus
1 col. 1, 15
All other christian sacraments have their
meaning only in and through Jesus
sacramentality

The Church: sacrament of

Jesus
The church is not the church if she does not

mirror the person of Christ.

Through the church and in the church, Jesus
dispenses his grace by means of actions,
objects and words.
whenever each one of the members of the
body of Christ acts in the spirit and name of
Christ, he continues the saving activity of
Jesus in the world.