Sacramentals sample

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Sacramentals Explaining actions, signs and objects that Catholics use

by Fr Richard Whinder

All booklets are published thanks to the generous support of the members of the Catholic Truth Society

CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY PUBLISHERS TO THE HOLY SEE

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Contents Discovering Sacramentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Sacramental Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Candles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Palms and Ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Sacred Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Relics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Scapulars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Medals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Chaplets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Items for Use in Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Sacramental Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Liturgical Gestures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Exorcism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

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Discovering Sacramentals This booklet provides an introduction to the Sacramentals – things and actions through which the Church conveys a blessing. Some of these will be very familiar to most Catholics, whether objects such as rosaries or holy medals, or common gestures such as the Sign of the Cross or genuflection. Others will be less familiar.

An attempt has been made to offer a brief theological introduction to this subject. However, if you are simply looking up information on a particular sacramental, the index provided at the back will take you directly to the page you need.

We have tried to include as many different varieties of sacramental as practical, and to offer adequate information as to their use. Inevitably, there will be omissions. However, we hope the booklet succeeds in its aim, which is to make these riches of the Church better known to our readers.

What is a sacramental?

The Decree of the Second Vatican Council on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, gives us the following definition of sacramentals:

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‘These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual kind, which are obtained by the Church’s intercession. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the Sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.’1 Sacramentals are distinguished from the seven Sacraments (Baptism, Penance, Holy Eucharist, Confirmation, Ordination, Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick) in two main ways. Firstly, the seven Sacraments were all instituted by Our Lord Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry. They form such a fundamental part of God’s plan for us that to receive them is necessary for our salvation (although, obviously, it is not essential for each individual Christian to receive all seven Sacraments). By contrast the sacramentals have mostly been instituted by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Their number is not fixed, and the Church has the power to institute new sacramentals according to the spiritual needs of the faithful.

Channels of grace The second main distinction between Sacraments and sacramentals concerns the conferral of grace. Grace is the gift of union with God, first given in baptism. Throughout 1

Sacrosanctum Concilium, 60.

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our lives we are called to grow in grace, which we do most importantly through the regular reception of the Sacraments; thus we grow closer to God, increase in holiness and are able to practice the Christian virtues more easily. The Catholic Church teaches that in the Sacraments grace is given ex opere operato (literally: ‘by virtue of the act’). This means that the grace of a Sacrament is caused directly by the action of God, and is not dependent on the worthiness of the human minister nor on the recipient (of course, if we receive the Sacraments with the wrong dispositions – if we put obstacles in the way of God’s action – then they will not produce good fruit in us. God will act, but the action will bring us no benefit). With sacramentals the case is different. These are said to work ex opere operantis (literally: ‘by virtue of the one acting’).

This means that any increase in grace will be directly dependent on the dispositions of the one making use of the sacramental. To put it simply, if we use a sacramental superstitiously, carelessly or in ignorance it will do us no good whatsoever.

On the other hand, these sacramentals can be a valuable spiritual tool if used piously, reverently and with understanding. Moreover, using a sacramental is not purely a private devotion. Traditionally, theologians have also spoken of them working ex opera operantis ecclesiae (‘by virtue of the Church acting’). This means that

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someone using a sacramental gains more benefit from this than if they had just undertaken a good work on their own initiative – the sacramentals have an efficacy as petitions of the whole people of God, working through the impetratory power of the Church.

One last point should be noted: as we said above, the seven Sacraments instituted by Christ are necessary for our salvation – no Christian can afford to ignore these principal channels of grace. On the other hand, the use of sacramentals is left to our discretion: we can choose among them according to our own devotion. Once again, it is hoped that this booklet, by explaining what sacramentals are and the ways in which we can use them, will encourage individual believers to make use of those sacramentals which are suitable to their state of life and to their own particular needs.

Different types of sacramental The Church has the power to institute new sacramentals as the needs of the faithful require. This means that, in theory, there could be an almost infinite number of sacramentals. In practice, there are indeed a great number – too many for us to do justice to them fully here. We can only offer an introduction which we hope will be useful.

To begin with, let us look at the different types of sacramental which the Church provides. In the early

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centuries of Christianity, the word ‘sacrament’ was often used to designate any type of sacred symbol or ceremony (although it was always understood that some were directly instituted by Christ and some not, and that only some were necessary for salvation). The more precise definition between ‘Sacraments’ and ‘sacramentals’ derives from the Middle Ages, especially the work of the great scholastic theologians, Peter Lombard and St Thomas Aquinas. At this time, the sacramentals were commonly grouped into six categories, as follows: • orans – prayer • tinctus – use of holy water or blessed oil • edens – eating blessed food • confessus – general confession of sins (as at Mass or in the Divine Office, at Night Prayer) • dans – giving alms • benedicens – blessings, by the Pope, a bishop or priest A more straightforward approach is to divide the sacramentals into two groups: • Things: covering all blessed objects, such as medals, holy water etc • Actions: liturgical gestures, blessings and exorcisms This two-fold division is the simpler method which we shall follow in this booklet.

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- Sacramental Objects Food Food and drink are essential to our existence as humans without them we would die. It is not surprising therefore that the Church should encourage us to make use of our meal times both to remind us of our dependence on God, and to foster our human relationships, which are the context in which we live out our journey of faith here on earth.

Grace before and after meals We should always say grace before and after meals, most especially when sharing food with our family or with friends. In doing so we render thanks to God from whom all good things come, and we remind ourselves that there are others far less fortunate than us, hungry and thirsty in many parts of the world. Saying grace is also a way of inviting God to be part of our meal, and so, part of our lives. The simple act of sharing a meal can create and strengthen all sorts of relationships – not only human, but divine. We remember how in the Bible, from the very earliest times, meals were often seen as having a sacred significance (for example, the meal which Abraham prepared for the three heavenly messengers: Genesis 18).

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Grace before and after meals can be said by anyone. Most appropriately it is said by the senior person present – the head of the family, or the leader in a community. If grace is said by a priest or deacon they can also bless the food with the Sign of the Cross. When possible, grace should be said aloud, and standing – a simple ceremony to begin and end the meal itself. When this is not possible, the prayers can be said seated and quietly, or even silently. If you are the only Catholic present at a meal you can still say grace silently to yourself and without any outward action – although making the Sign of the Cross (when appropriate) can be a good act of Christian witness in a very secularised world.

The traditional form of grace before meals, most often used by Catholics, runs as follows: Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts Which we are about to receive from thy bounty Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grace after meals goes like this (it is usual to end with a short remembrance of the Holy Souls, perhaps especially those who have shared our meals in the past): We give thee thanks, Almighty God For these and all thy benefits Who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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Other blessings of food In addition to encouraging us to sanctify all our meals by saying grace, the Church also blesses some foods at particular times of the year. These blessings tend to vary very much according to local custom.

For example, at Easter time some places have the custom of blessing the lamb for Easter dinner – other p l a c e s b l e s s eg g s . T h e r e i s a l s o a t r a d i t i o n o f blessing wine on St John’s Day (27th December) and loaves on St Agatha’s Day (5th February). All these customs are very much to be encouraged, for they have the effect of bringing God into the heart of our everyday lives.

Fasting and abstinence As well as encouraging us to bless the food we eat, the Church sometimes asks us to restrain our appetites through fasting and abstinence. Fasting means not eating at all (or eating very little) for a given period: abstinence means giving up some particular food or drink – traditionally abstinence for Catholics has meant giving up meat.

Fasting and abstinence have a long history both in Christianity and in Judaism before it. It is worth noting that Jesus obviously assumed that his followers would fast (Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35). Indeed, almost all religions have found the practice spiritually

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useful. We can summarise the benefits of fasting, or abstaining from food we enjoy, in these ways. Firstly, by fasting we are saying ‘no’ to our physical appetites. As fallen creatures, if we give in blindly to all our desires, they will certainly lead us astray. Exercising self-restraint is a healthy part of being human. Secondly, by allowing ourselves to experience hunger, we unite ourselves in solidarity in some way with those who are deprived, neglected or suffering. Lastly, for the Christian, fasting has a special value: we can unite our voluntary mortification with the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross, and so, in some tiny way, our own self-denial has a share in the work of salvation.

Rules on fasting Unfortunately, it is probably true to say that fasting, and self-denial of any sort, are little valued by many Catholics today. The nearest many people get to this concept is ‘giving something up for Lent’ – and even this is often done rather for health reasons than with any spiritual purpose in mind. Other people have the idea that fasting and abstinence are practices which the Church used to encourage ‘in the old days’ and that they are outmoded now. In this context it is useful to see what the 1983 Code of Canon Law has to say on the subject:

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Can. 1249: All Christ’s faithful are obliged by divine law, each in his or her own way, to do penance…

Can. 1250: The days and times of penance for the universal Church are each Friday of the whole year and the season of Lent.

Can. 1251: Abstinence from meat, or from some other food as determined by the Episcopal Conference, is to be observed on all Fridays, unless a solemnity should fall on a Friday. Abstinence and fasting are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Can. 1252: The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year. The law of fasting binds those who have attained their majority, until the beginning of their sixtieth year…

Can. 1253: The Episcopal Conference can determine more particular ways in which fasting and abstinence are to be observed. In place of abstinence or fasting it can substitute, in whole or in part, other forms of penance, especially works of charity and exercises of piety.

Friday fasting From the above we can see that the Church by no means considers self-denial to be something which belongs to the past. Put simply, we are all bound to fast (if between the ages of 14 and 60) and abstain from meat every Ash

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Wednesday and Good Friday. We are also obliged to do penance on other Fridays of the year (in memory of the first Good Friday when Jesus died for our sins). The precise way in which our Friday penance is to be performed is determined by our local Bishops’ Conference. In England and Wales the Bishops have decided that it may be fulfilled in a wide variety of ways: • by abstaining from meat or some other food • by abstaining from alcoholic drink, smoking or some form of amusement • by making the special effort involved in family prayer, taking part in the Mass, visiting the Blessed Sacrament or praying the Stations of the Cross • by fasting from all food for a longer period than usual and perhaps by giving what is saved in this way to the needy at home and abroad • by making a special effort to help someone who is poor, sick, old or lonely It can often happen when you give people too much choice that they become confused, and this certainly seems to have happened with English Catholics as regards the Friday penance – most people now make little or no attempt to fulfil this duty, and many are not even aware that they should.

This is a great shame – and certainly is not the mind of the Church. Indeed, notwithstanding the widespread

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confusion in this country, it remains the case that we are obliged, by the universal law of the Church, to undertake some definite form of penance every Friday. Not to do so, deliberately and regularly, would even be a sin. It is probably best then, unless we habitually perform some other act of penance, to retain the old custom of abstaining from meat on the Fridays of the year. In this way we can be sure of fulfilling the requirements of the Church, and we make a good act of public witness to our faith. After all, other religions frequently follow quite complex dietary rituals, and are respected for it. Why should we be ashamed to identify ourselves as Catholics in a similar way?

Summary To sum up: food can have a sacramental value, whether blessed and eaten or given up for a higher purpose. It is not only essential to our physical well-being, but can be a valuable tool in the spiritual life as well.