Introduction
This section will discuss sacramentals, the official teachings regarding them, and their basis in scripture and sacred tradition.
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Sacramentals and Catholic Teaching
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
SACRAMENTALS
1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover,
instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a
resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a
spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the
Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the
sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."173
The characteristics of sacramentals
1668
Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain
ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of
circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to
man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they can also
respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian
people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer,
often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands,
the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls
Baptism).
1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless.174
Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing
concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration
reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).175
1670
Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that
the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to
receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed
members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals
sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace
which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and
Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and
sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of
material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification
of men and the praise of God."176
Various forms of sacramentals
1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of
persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises
God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God
the Father "with every spiritual blessing."177 This is why
the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually
while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.
1672 Certain
blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to
God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those
blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with
sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a
monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of
religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the
Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or
blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels,
and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings
that concern objects.
1673 When
the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus
Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the
Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus
performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and
office of exorcizing.178 In a simple form, exorcism is
performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called "a
major exorcism," can be performed only by a priest and with the
permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence,
strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is
directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic
possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his
Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different
matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore,
before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one
is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.179
Popular piety
1674 Besides
sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account
the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The
religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in
various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such
as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages,
processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary,
medals,180 etc.
1675 These expressions of
piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it.
They "should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical
seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some way derived from
it and lead the people to it, since in fact the liturgy by its very
nature is far superior to any of them."181
1676 Pastoral
discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if
necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies
these devotions so that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the
mystery of Christ.182 Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church.
- At its core the piety of the people is a storehouse of
values that offers answers of Christian wisdom to the great questions
of life. The Catholic wisdom of the people is capable of fashioning a
vital synthesis. . . . It creatively combines the divine and the human,
Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and
community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is
a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person
as a child of God, establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to
encounter nature and understand work, provides reasons for joy and
humor even in the midst of a very hard life. For the people this wisdom
is also a principle of discernment and an evangelical instinct through
which they spontaneously sense when the Gospel is served in the Church
and when it is emptied of its content and stifled by other interests.181
IN BRIEF
1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted
by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments
and sanctify different circumstances of life.
1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy
an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and
gifts, and the Church's intercession for men that they may be able to
use God's gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel.
1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian
life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the
different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of
faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an
evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life.
173 SC 60; Cf. CIC, can. 1166; CCEO, can. 867.
174 Cf. Gen 12:2; Lk 6:28; Rom 12:14; 1 Pet 3:9.
175 Cf. SC 79; CIC, can. 1168; De Ben 16,18.
176 SC 61.
177 Eph 1:3.
178 Cf. Mk 1:25-26; 3:15; 6:7, 13; 16:17.
179 Cf. CIC, can. 1172.
180 Cf. Council of Nicaea II: DS 601; 603; Council of Trent: DS 1822.
181 SC 13 § 3.
182 Cf. John Paul II, CT 54.
183 CELAM, Third General Conference (Puebla, 1979), Final Document § 448 (tr. NCCB, 1979); cf. Paul VI, EN 48.
