Sacraments - Need to Know

[Tintin]

I think the most important thing to stress about the sacraments is that (contrary to most of the catechetical resources / programs out there at the moment) the sacraments are not just signs, not just symbolic.

As the old penny catechism used to say “an outward sign of inward grace”

or as the new catechism puts it:

**“1131 **The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions”

In other words, the celebration of a sacrament is symbolic, but it is symbolic of something that is actually happening through that self same celebration.

They are signs, but efficacious signs, the sign has an effect.
And so for instance confirmation is not just a sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit, it actually is the Holy Spirit being given! And so on for all the sacraments.

Sorry for preaching to the converted… This is just something that really gets my goat.
Many people (friends of mine for example) take on the responsibility of working on a program preparing people for reception of the sacraments, and take on this responsibility in all sincerity and in a spirit of service, but quite reasonably assume that they can trust and use the resources given to them. They then find themselves quite unwittingly teaching falsehood.
The thing that really scares me is that the people who write these resources probably know what they’re doing.

 

[TEME525]

In an earlier post part of the definition of a sacrament I used the term “Symbolic”. Again, I used this term in a particular way that, once again, I found best explained by our Holy Father in his work “Introduction to Christianity”. Symbol has a far richer meaning than “a real important sign” (my words).

I read one of the links provided and I would like to make a comment. The article stress “sign” and “ritual” but my immediate reaction to it was that the article failed to developed that in our Roman Catholic understanding of a sacrament, the action does symbolize the reality taking place but the action also causes that reality. Perhaps, he did develop this thought but I just missed it.

Also, in our Roman Catholic thought, we have to understand the sacraments in light of what I was taught as the “Incarnational Principle” (I am bringing this term from another thread but it is a basic principle in my theological understanding). Just as God, who is pure spirit became Flesh (Incarnate) the sacraments make that which is unseen carnate.

This is also important in our understanding of the Church and ourselves as followers in Christ. It is known as the principle of Sacramentality, The actions of the Triune God, is made physical through the visible actions of the Church and through each one of us as members of Christ’d Church. God works through us each and everyday, or atleast it is His Will to Act through us if we don’t become a hinderance. In other words, God uses us to make His Love felt.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

Verbum Caro:

Bruised Reed,

Congratulations on a successful presentation!

I read the update on the sacraments. . I unfortunately had Martos’ “Door to the Scared” as a textbook on the sacraments.

Except for one quote from the Catechism, the rest of the update was very UNedifying. The sacraments are rituals? Ok, check. Now can we talk about what the sacraments DO?

No such luck. Exhibit A from the update:
Oh, sacraments are special occasions! But, wait, I thought that was the definition of a celebration?

.

But what really depressed me is the following excerpt:

The Catholic sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred? Not so! They are sacred.

Catholics “call seven of the their religious ceremonies sacraments”? Ok, but let’s avoid the danger of nominalism here and say that Catholics recognize that there ARE seven sacraments. I don’t think I would read in a biology textbook that scientists “call” lizards reptiles, would I?

VC

Yup, those were my objections to using the update. One look at that thing and one can see the problem. And if one can’t, well… What you can’t see on the web version is a chart with the Seven and the references to Past, Present, and Future that the Sacraments allegedly give. Huh? Exactly. A whole page was wasted on useless information.

Thank God groups like Catholic Answers and others have published information on Church teaching and skipped the drivel.

I’ve seen references to RCIA as meaning Repelling Converts In-Advertently. As with most humor, there is an element of truth.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

TEME525:

In an earlier post part of the definition of a sacrament I used the term “Symbolic”. Again, I used this term in a particular way that, once again, I found best explained by our Holy Father in his work “Introduction to Christianity”. Symbol has a far richer meaning than “a real important sign” (my words).

I read one of the links provided and I would like to make a comment. The article stress “sign” and “ritual” but my immediate reaction to it was that the article failed to developed that in our Roman Catholic understanding of a sacrament, the action does symbolize the reality taking place but the action also causes that reality. Perhaps, he did develop this thought but I just missed it.

Also, in our Roman Catholic thought, we have to understand the sacraments in light of what I was taught as the “Incarnational Principle” (I am bringing this term from another thread but it is a basic principle in my theological understanding). Just as God, who is pure spirit became Flesh (Incarnate) the sacraments make that which is unseen carnate.

This is also important in our understanding of the Church and ourselves as followers in Christ. It is known as the principle of Sacramentality, The actions of the Triune God, is made physical through the visible actions of the Church and through each one of us as members of Christ’d Church. God works through us each and everyday, or atleast it is His Will to Act through us if we don’t become a hinderance. In other words, God uses us to make His Love felt.

When I was preparing I decided I needed to define the difference between a sign and symbol. A sign is something that represents what is there but can’t be seen and a symbol represents what isn’t there. The water in baptism is a sign of what is happening to the soul at that moment.

I think that that is an insufficiant explanation. I forgot to mention it and no one asked, anyway.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

LindaS:

Sorry I didn’t see this sooner. For future reference, Steve Ray put together a “Sacrament Chart” with all the pertinent info on the Sacraments. To get a copy, go to his site www.catholic-convert.com In the Information bar, click on Resources, then on Writings, then on Steve Ray’s Writings. Scroll down to General Topics, and go to Sacrament Chart. I think you will find it very helpful. My dh & I are RCIA catechists at our parish, and we hand it out to our candidates and catechumens whe we discuss the Sacraments.
Peace,
Linda

Aw, man, that would have been perfect! I did use somethings fromSteve Ray’s RCIA program, though.

I can print this up for next week. Sometimes we revisit the previous week so I’ll be ready.

 

[Bruised_Reed]

OutinChgoburbs:

I like the Eastern term, Mysteries, even though I am a Latin Rite Catholic.

I am fond of a Church that has different rites with slightly differnt outlooks in disciplines on the same sacraments, and agrees on the importnat parts.

I like that they are biblically based.

I like that they are encounters with Christ.

I like that they confer grace.

I like that Confirmation is the Gifts of the Holy Spirit- but I especially like that it is the bishop confirming one’s baptism, and not the confirmand confirming his or her own baptism.

If we had had more time I probably would have spent some time on the Eastern rite. I see something complementary to the Latin rite that can flesh things out a bit without going toward something illicit or illegal.

 

[TOME]

BruisedReid,
As I was taught in theology “Symbol” doesn’t represent something that is not present. Rather, it has a deeper meaning than the term “sign” in its representation of a unseen reality.
Symbol has the deeper meaning of going just beyond an outward manifestation of something unseen. As Pope Bnedict XVI points out to understand the meaning of Symbol it is important to comprehend its origins. In short, the term Symbol indicates a “union” of the seen and unseen. In its origin, a symbol was part of a ring that was split in half, usually as part of a covenant agreement, with each person receiving a half. The “symbol” of joining the two halves in the outward sign of the reality that the covenant is completed or consumated.

From this origin, I think we can see then importance of the term symbol, the two halves, one see the other unseen but both expressing a reality. In a sacramental sense, then, the term “Symbol” expresses the reality of the union we come into through each sacrament. This reality is our coming into union with the actions of Christ who is the One acting in the sacrament.

A sign stands for a concept outside of its self, but in deeper understanding of the term symbol, this outward sign becomes the reality of what it actions signify, ex the symbol of water is a sign of cleansing but it is the reality of cleansing of our sins, the sign of water becomes the symbol that Christ is cleansing our sins and in this there is the symbolic reality of rising to new life - all because we are in union with Christ’s actions.

I realize I am doing a very poor job of expressing this concept, that is why I have suggested in earlier post to read Pope Benedict’s work “Introduction to Christianity”. By the way, in my opinion, I think this work should be mandatory for all RCIA programs.

Just a quick note, sometimes I come to this forum as Teme525 other times as Tome. It’s not to fool anyone but to show my limited ability on computers at times and my impatience as well. I couldn’t remember my password one day so I signed up again on a different computer with a different name and I guess I am a bit too lasy to correct this situation.

 

[JimG]

A sacramental sign is one which effects what it signifies.

A stop sign can’t effect what it signifies. You have to see it, know what it means, and put your foot on the brakes. If it effected what it signified, your car would automatically stop. (The stop sign would work ex opere operato!)

A sacramental sign, such as the water of baptism, may signify the washing away of sin, the dying with Christ and rising to new life, but in addition to signifying (or symbolizing) them, it actually causes those realities to come into effect within one’s soul.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

Bruised Reed:

What you can’t see on the web version is a chart with the Seven and the references to Past, Present, and Future that the Sacraments allegedly give. Huh? Exactly. A whole page was wasted on useless information.

Bruised Reed,
I understand what you are saying, and I concur with you that the update is woefully inadequate and misleading. The problem I have with these updates is that they cast a WIDE net, and the authors don’t seem to be aware (or are they?) that these things get distributed on the parish level, to the people in the pews, and (gasp) to RCIA classes.

I suppose that someone who is trained in theology might be able to catch the nuances, avoid misinterpretation, fill-in-the-blanks, and extend benefit of the doubt to the authors. But this is “Catholic Update” and intended to be handed out to the parishoners and to students!

For instance, Mr. Martos has a sizeable preamble in this update discussiong how ceremony in general (and then sacraments in particular) contain elements of the PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE. In itself, there is nothing wrong with that concept. See St. Thomas Aquinas: “Whether a Sacrament is a Sign of One Thing Only”

I answer that: As stated above a sacrament properly speaking is that which is ordained to signify our sanctification. In which three things may be considered; viz. the very cause of our sanctification, which is Christ’s passion; the form of our sanctification, which is grace and the virtues; and the ultimate end of our sanctification, which is eternal life. And all these are signified by the sacraments. Consequently a sacrament is a sign that is both a reminder of the past, i.e. the passion of Christ; and an indication of that which is effected in us by Christ’s passion, i.e. grace; and a prognostic, that is, a foretelling of future glory.

Just so. But note that middle term (THE PRESENT) in which Aquinas points out that a sacrament is an “indication of that which is effected in us. . .i.e grace”.

Mr. Martos doesn’t do Aquinas (nor Trent, nor the Magisterium) justice in his update, because Martos doesn’t adequately stress the efficaciousness of the sacraments to convey grace, as JimG points out above.

VC

 

[Bruised_Reed]

TOME:

BruisedReid,
As I was taught in theology “Symbol” doesn’t represent something that is not present. Rather, it has a deeper meaning than the term “sign” in its representation of a unseen reality.
Symbol has the deeper meaning of going just beyond an outward manifestation of something unseen. As Pope Bnedict XVI points out to understand the meaning of Symbol it is important to comprehend its origins. In short, the term Symbol indicates a “union” of the seen and unseen. In its origin, a symbol was part of a ring that was split in half, usually as part of a covenant agreement, with each person receiving a half. The “symbol” of joining the two halves in the outward sign of the reality that the covenant is completed or consumated.

From this origin, I think we can see then importance of the term symbol, the two halves, one see the other unseen but both expressing a reality. In a sacramental sense, then, the term “Symbol” expresses the reality of the union we come into through each sacrament. This reality is our coming into union with the actions of Christ who is the One acting in the sacrament.

A sign stands for a concept outside of its self, but in deeper understanding of the term symbol, this outward sign becomes the reality of what it actions signify, ex the symbol of water is a sign of cleansing but it is the reality of cleansing of our sins, the sign of water becomes the symbol that Christ is cleansing our sins and in this there is the symbolic reality of rising to new life - all because we are in union with Christ’s actions.

I realize I am doing a very poor job of expressing this concept, that is why I have suggested in earlier post to read Pope Benedict’s work “Introduction to Christianity”. By the way, in my opinion, I think this work should be mandatory for all RCIA programs.

I’m confused by your middle paragraph. I’ll mull it over a bit and see if it sinks in. Otherwise, take another stab at it.
Thanks.

 

[TEME525]

Less I confuse you any more, again I suggest that you read Pope Benedict’s book, written when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, “Introduction to Christianity”. His presentation is far better than I could ever hope to provide.