So now that we’re done walking through the Mass and understanding why we do what we do, how long we’ve done it, and where we got it from, it’s time to start tackling other big topics that make up our Catholic Faith.
Other than the Mass, one of the biggest things that makes us, well, Catholic, is our recognition of the seven Sacraments. The Sacraments of the Catholic Church have been the topic of many discussions and even straight-up fights over the course of history, and still stir up a little skirmish here and there today. The sacraments, themselves, are as follows: Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. But before we jump into the details of each of them, we need to understand what they are, exactly, and why we continue to observe them.
The Catholic Encyclopedia at NewAdvent.org gives a pretty good, clear, concise definition of a sacrament: “Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification.” This is a super Catholic definition that a Catholic could fully agree with. The reason other denominations of Christianity do not agree is because they choose to not recognize the sacraments as instituted by Christ in the Bible. Don’t worry, I’ll point out every scriptural reference to the sacraments as we unpack each one in their own posts. For now, just trust me…the sacraments ARE in the Bible.
As far as what this definition translates to in plain English, it’s pretty complicated, but surprisingly simple at the same time. Let’s take it apart one thought at a time. First of all, let’s talk about “outward signs.” Think about the sacraments. All the sacraments have some tangible, physical aspects of them that you can experience with your senses. In Baptism water is poured over your head. In Confirmation, oil is traced on your forehead. Even in Reconciliation, you’re physically interacting in a conversation with a priest. There are aspects of all the sacraments that allow us to physically immerse ourselves in the experiences associated with them.
Next part of the definition: “…of inward grace.” Grace essentially comes down to a gift from God to men (and angels, in certain regards that we may or may not dive into in this blog) that helps us on our journey to eternal salvation. So a sacrament being an inward sign of an outward grace means that the sacrament is really a physical way to come to a more tangible understanding of the gifts that we are receiving from God in the gifts that are the sacraments. Think of it this way…God is in heaven. We can’t physically see him. It’s really difficult for us to understand what God tries to grace us with when we can’t physically see God, and can’t physically see the grace he gives us. God understands this—he’s a pretty smart dude. It’d be great if we all had the faith it took to just believe blindly with absolutely no proof, but for most of us, that’s not totally realistic. But to God, that’s ok. He knew that it would be easier for us to understand—and more importantly, appreciate—the graces that he gives us if he had a physical “version” of the graces for us to experience. Boom…sacraments.
Jumping to the last part of the definition—so we can finish the post on a more exciting note—there’s the whole “for our eternal sanctification” bit. This should be pretty self-explanatory. If you’re a regular reader on this blog, you should have gotten the point by now that following God’s rule is all about eternity. The choices you make now—good or bad—play some part in your “eternal sanctification.” Partaking in the sacraments (wow…did I just use the word “partaking”??) allows us to receive graces from God that help keep us on the right path to eternity in Heaven.
Now for the tricky part: “instituted by Christ.” Believe it or not, all seven sacraments CAN be found in the Bible. Not only that, but all seven sacraments were directly mentioned by, performed by, or alluded to by Jesus, himself. Over the next few posts, we’ll dive into each sacrament, individually, and in each explanation of each sacrament, we’ll mention the exact passages in the Bible where the sacraments are pointed to. Until then, Happy Palm Sunday!
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