General Sacrament Question

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fern88

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Can someone give me a good definition of a sacrament? I went to Catholic school and memorized a textbook definition but I honestly need a better answer. My boyfriend is not Catholic and I am trying to explain sacraments to him. thanks!
 
The Baltimore Catechism answer is that a sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

The current Catechism defines a sacrament as 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 (774, 1131). The sacraments (called “mysteries” in the Eastern Churches) are seven in number: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance or Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony (1210).

My personal definition would be that a sacrament is an outward sign that signifies inner grace.
 
Thank you for than answer.
However, now I have another question.
My boyfriend’s response to that statement would be:
He is not allowed to partcipate in the sacrament of the Eucharist since he is not catholic, but he would be allowed to participate in matrimony when we get married.
why?
 
The sacraments are mysteries of the faith that Jesus instituted and gave to the Catholic Church as the normal conduits of His grace. They are designed to help us grown in faith, through His grace, so that we turn away from sin and toward God. They are designed to be used in His church so that we grow in faith as we grow through life.
 
fern88 said:
Thank you for than answer.
However, now I have another question.
My boyfriend’s response to that statement would be:
He is not allowed to partcipate in the sacrament of the Eucharist since he is not catholic, but he would be allowed to participate in matrimony when we get married.
why?
Click to expand...
Well, this would actually depend.

If he is not baptized, your marriage (with the proper dispensations) would be a valid, but non-Sacramental marriage.
It would be seen as a Valid, Real, and Natural marriage, but would not receive the sacramental graces that come with a Sacramental marriage.

If he is baptized, then you two (with the proper dispensations) could contract a Sacramental marriage together, as baptism is the gateway to the other sacraments.
However, the sacraments confer grace from God to us. We must accept this grace. How much this grace might benefit a baptized person, but a non-Catholic in such a situation, I do not know.

And, if he is baptized, then he can participate in the Eucharist, following the same rules we do. He must fully accept and profess the teachings of the Church and must be free of mortal sin. Of course, at this point, he would be a Catholic then wouldn’t he.
If he were to recieve the Eucharist outside of these norms, he would be not only be causing scandal, commiting sacrilege, but would also be harming himself. To quote St. Paul: “He who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks his own condemnation; and for this reason many of you are week, and ill, and some have died” 1 Cor. 11:29-30

I feel like I might be forgetting a thing or two, so forgive me if I am :o

I’m sure a more learnt dweller will respond as well to help answer your questions.
 
fern88 said:
He is not allowed to partcipate in the sacrament of the Eucharist since he is not catholic, but he would be allowed to participate in matrimony when we get married. why?
Click to expand...
Someone else covered the matrimony issue; I’d like to expand on the Eucharist issue.

When we just the sacrament “Eucharist”, we forget the other aspect: it is also called “Holy Communion”, because that is what it is: it is the Holy Communion between the one receiving it and the Church that Jesus Christ established.

Receiving Holy Communion is only allowed if you are in communion with the Church. That’s why non-Catholics may not receive it.
 
Eucharist is a sign that we are “in communion - in unity” with one another and with Christ. Because your boyfriend is not Catholic, he is not in full union with the Church; receiving Communion then would be like saying “I seriously don’t agree with you about what you say Christ taught, but I am going to do an act that says I do” - in other words, his act would be a lie.

Receiving the Eucharist, because the act of reception is a statement - “I believe”, becomes a lie if I do not believe.

Marriage is a sacrament between two baptized persons. They confer the sacrament on each other; the priest does not “marry” them, but rather is the official witness required by Catholic Church law (unless permission is given to a Catholic for a different ceremony). The two people “marry (confer the sacrament)” on each other. For two non Catholics who are baptized, they do not have the law of the Church to follow ( that is, they do not have to have a priest as official witness); and they “marry (confer the sacrament)” on each other if they intend to do so (in other words, if one of them considers at the time of the wedding that marriage is just for a time, as in not permanent, there may be no sacrament). Thus, being Catholic is not intrinsic to the sacrament of marriage; the intent is not to profess the Catholic faith by reception, but to marry permanently by vows. So he can marry you and receive the sacrament of marriage, as the meaning of the act of marrying is different than the meaning of the reception of the Eucharist.
 
A simple explanation of a sacrament is that it is an action of Christ.

A sacrament is an action of Christ that happens “efficaciously” when the sign is performed by the minister of the sacrament. When the priest performs the sign in our physical, material world, it makes happen the action of Christ in the spiritual world.

For example, in the sacrament of Baptism, when the priest performs the sign of the sacrament (saying “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” while pouring on, or immersing in, water 3 times) that makes happen the action of Christ, which is the forgiveness of original and personal sin and our receiving of sanctifying grace.
 
Another aspect of Communion is that it is the 3rd sacrament of initiation. If he has not yet been confirmed, he should not be receiving Communion till he is confirmed.

The only exception is if he is a candidate (all children raised in the faith are assumed to be candidates till their confirmation) on his journey to confirmation and is in need of the graces of Communion. He can then receive prior to his confirmation.

He should also receive his first confession prior to his first communion.
 
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