The Sacramentals: the traits, the various forms, the religiosity. But what are they actually?

Da Paolo Tessione - September 25, 2019

Means of Grace, of God's mercy of defense and protection from the Evil One

Notes taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1667 - "The holy Mother Church instituted the sacramentals. These are sacred signs through which, with a certain imitation of the sacraments, they are meanings and, by the impetration of the Church, especially spiritual effects are obtained. Through them men are prepared to receive the main effect of the sacraments and the various circumstances of life are sanctified. "

THE CHARACTERISTIC TRACTS OF THE SACRAMENTALS

1668 - They are instituted by the Church for the sanctification of some ecclesiastical ministries, of some states of life, of very varied circumstances of the Christian life, as well as of the use of things useful to man. According to the pastoral decisions of the Bishops, they can also respond to the needs, culture and history of the Christian people of a region or era. They always involve a prayer, often accompanied by a certain sign, such as the laying on of the hand, the sign of the cross, sprinkling with blessed water (which recalls Baptism).

1669 - They derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a blessing and to bless. For this reason even lay people can preside over some blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more its presidency is reserved for the ordained minister (Bishop, presbyters or deacons).

1670 - The sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the manner of the sacraments; however, through the prayer of the Church, they prepare to receive grace and arrange to cooperate with it. "The faithful are willing to sanctify almost all the events of life through the divine grace that flows from the paschal mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ, the mystery from which all the sacraments and sacramentals derive their efficacy; and thus every honest use of material things can be directed to the sanctification of man and the praise of God ".

THE VARIOUS FORMS OF SACRAMENTALS

1671 - Among the sacramentals there are first of all blessings (of people, of the table, of objects, of places). Each blessing is God's praise and prayer to obtain his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing" (Eph 1,3: XNUMX). For this the Church gives the blessing by invoking the name of Jesus, and normally making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

1672 - Some blessings have a lasting bearing: they have the effect of consecrating people to God and reserving objects and places for liturgical use. Among those intended for people 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 blessings for some ecclesiastical ministries ( readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). As an example of the blessings concerning objects, we can mention the dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of the holy oils, vases and sacred vestments, bells, etc.

1673 - When the Church asks publicly and with authority, in the name of Jesus Christ, that a person or object is protected against the influence of the evil one and removed from his dominion, one speaks of exorcism. Jesus practiced it; it is from him that the Church derives the power and the task of exorcising. In a simple form, exorcism is practiced during the celebration of Baptism. Solemn exorcism, called "great exorcism", can only be practiced by a priest and with the permission of the Bishop. In this we must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the norms established by the Church. Exorcism aims to drive out demons or free from demonic influence, and this through the spiritual authority that Jesus has entrusted to his Church. The case of diseases, especially psychic ones, whose treatment falls within the field of medical science, is very different. It is important, therefore, to make sure, before celebrating the exorcism, that it is a presence of the evil one and not a disease.

POPULAR RELIGIOSITY

1674 - In addition to the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety of the faithful and popular religiosity. The religious sense of the Christian people, at all times, has found its expression in the various forms of piety that accompany the sacramental life of the Church, such as the veneration of relics, visits to shrines, pilgrimages, processions, the "via crucis », Religious dances, the Rosary, medals, etc.

1675 - These expressions are an extension of the liturgical life of the Church, but they do not replace it: "Taking into account the liturgical times, these exercises must be ordered in such a way as to be in harmony with the sacred liturgy, somehow derive from it, and to it, given its far superior nature, lead the Christian people ».

1676 - A pastoral discernment is necessary to support and favor popular religiosity and, if necessary, to purify and rectify the religious sense that underlies these devotions and to make progress in the knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of Bishops and to the general norms of the Church. «Popular religiosity, in essence, is a set of values which, with Christian wisdom, answers the great questions of existence. Catholic popular common sense is made of synthesis for existence. This is how it creatively unites the divine and the human, Christ and Mary, the spirit and the body, the communion and the institution, the person and the community, the faith and the homeland, the intelligence and the feeling. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every being as a child of God, establishes a fundamental fraternity, teaches to place oneself in harmony with nature and also to understand work, and offers motivations for living in joy and serenity , even in the midst of the hardships of existence. This wisdom is also, for the people, a principle of discernment, an evangelical instinct that makes them spontaneously perceive when the Gospel is in the first place in the Church, or when it is emptied of its content and suffocated by other interests.

In short (Italian only)

1677 - The sacred signs established by the Church whose purpose is to prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and to sanctify the various circumstances of life are called sacramental.

1678 - Among the sacramentals, blessings occupy an important place. They entail at the same time the praise of God for his works and his gifts, and the intercession of the Church so that men can use the gifts of God 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 different cultures. While keeping vigil to illuminate them with the light of faith, the Church favors forms of popular religiosity, which express an evangelical instinct and human wisdom and enrich Christian life.