“INTRO TO THE SACRAMENTS”

I. IMPORTANCE 3-fold meaning of sacraments:

 RELATION TO REVELATION 1. Represents Passion, Death and Resurrection

- God created man so man can share God’s - Sacraments resemble these mysteries and present
Union, Love, Joy and Happiness. them in a kind of dramatic imitation.
2. Bestows holiness
GOD MAN with FREEDOM - Makes sacred the recipient through the graces
received in each sacrament.
But man broke this relationship when he committed sin 3. Symbolizes the fullness of Eternal life which man
against God. receives in his resurrection.

God Man
3 elements to consider in this definition:
sin A. an outward sign
 sensible signs, tangible signs which give meaning
So God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus to save man and produces grace.
and restored the union between God - sign vs. symbol
and man. - Sign merely indicates or points to something
CHRIST = God Man like traffic lights.
- Symbol has deeper meaning than what it
 After Christ indicates
God Man
sin Sacramental signs are not conventional or arbitrary
- Man is destroyed by our sin, especially mortal sin. signs but as symbols that make present the spiritual
- Christ instituted the sacraments as a means to reality they express. They are efficacious signs.
restore this union such for example as Baptism
and Penance. Examples:
a)
Matter- prescribed thing or action
II. DEFINITION ex. Water and act of pouring – effects
cleansing of sin and purification Holy
 ETYMOLOGY: b) Form- Formula or prayer uttered by the
o From the Latin word Sacramentum which means priest.
“to make sacred”. ex. “ N. I baptized you…”
 GENERAL MEANING:
o Sacred ceremony whose substance was B. Instituted by Christ
instituted by Christ for man’s sanctification. - Christ is the cause and origin
o An external act of worship through his church - Primary agent
and minister signifies and produces sanctification Ex. Christ Himself baptizes and forgives etc.
of man who has right disposition. An expression - Does not mean that Jesus taught his Apostles in detail
of the reverence and honor which man offers to that there were to be 7 sacraments and how to
God. In general, external acts of worship have administer them.
two functions;

They express a man’s inner devotion, and they

serve to stimulate and increase that inner devotion. In
particular, the sacrament differs from other acts of
worship: here man does not offer something to God, as
he does in sacrifice; rather, he dramatizes his reception
of God’s gift of holiness.
a) Reformers / Protestants- not all sacraments are instituted by Christ but only Baptism and Eucharist.
- sacraments are derived from pagan rites which are purified by Christians.
- Christ did not determine the sacramental grace with regard to the sacrament.

b) Catholic
- only Christ has the power to establish the sacraments.
- all sacraments are instituted by Christ.
- Scriptures, however, does not certain in a formal and explicit way the institution of the 7 sacraments.

Some are impliedly contain and later on were progressively specified by ecclesiastical and theological reflection.

3 Sacraments directly and explicitly instituted by Christ

a) Baptism- Mt. 28: 19; Mk. 16: 15- 16; Jn. 3:5
b) Eucharist- Mt. 26:26-28; Mk. 14:22-24; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26
c) Penance- Jn. 20:21-23
 Indirectly or implicitly found in the Scriptures
a) Confirmation- Jn. 7:37-39; Lk. 24:49; Acts 2:1-4
b) Anointing- Mk. 6:13; Jas. 5:14-15; Jn. 14-15
c) Holy Order- Acts 6:6; Num. 27: 18-23; 2 Tim. 1:6; 1 Tim. 4:14
d) Matrimony- Jn. 2: 1-11; Mt. 19:3-12; Mk. 10:1-9

How did Christ institute the sacraments?

Mode of institution
 Mediate- Christ conferred the power of instituting the sacraments in the Apostles but leaving to them the
right to determine the sign or form of the Sacraments.
 Immediate- Christ himself determined the meaning of the Sacraments. He gave at least some general
indication of the rites to be used and instructed his Apostles to carry out his will.
 Generic- Christ has limited himself in determining the seven-fold graces of the Sacraments and the gestures in
which these graces are affected. The way of celebration is left to the church.
 Specific- Christ also specifically established the matter and form of the Sacraments.

DOCTRINE:
The seven Sacraments are instituted by Christ, some implicitly others impliedly but their substance and
basic meaning are immutably fixed for all time. The church foes not have the power to add or abolish any of
the Sacraments instituted by Christ. The administration and accidental rites however, are left to the church
provided the substances are unimpaired. Christ’s institution the Sacraments expresses the essential link
between Sacraments and Christ.