Block, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, edit, move, protect
30,891
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
created new article - Sacramentals
'''Sacramental''' designates any object or action which the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[church]] makes available to persons as an aid to [[salvation]] and increased [[spiritual]] growth toward [[God]]. It is [[Intention|intended]] as a [[sacred]] [[sign]] or representation of supernatural [[grace]] or [[blessing]] and also for protection of God from evil.
Sacramentals fundamentally differ from [[sacrament]]s. While sacraments are said to actually confer the grace of God by the established ordinance of the Lord by the [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]] power of the [[Holy Spirit]], sacramentals are helps that predispose those who are already in a state of grace who use them properly to be more open to the grace of God. They produce grace through the Church's prayer to God as the body of Christ [[Intercession|interceding]] for the salvation of the world and the protection and help of Christian believers.
Only certain sacramentals require a particular predisposition on the part of the person using them: [[Holy water]], the [[Sign of the Cross]], the blessed ashes of [[Ash Wednesday]], the [[Rosary]], praying the [[Liturgy of the Hours]], personal attendance at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] or the Divine Liturgy, the wearing of blessed objects and holy medals dedicated to the honor of [[saints]] as servants and representatives of [[Jesus Christ]] as their Lord and Savior, such as the Scapulars Brown, Red, White, Blue, Black and the [[Miraculous Medal]], the medal of [[Saint Benedict]] and others, blessed candles, [[vestment]]s, and hallowed ground such as a church or cemetery.
[[Vatican II]] teaches:{{quotation|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 kind, which are obtained through 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 <br> —SC 60 (''Documents of Vatican II: Sacrosanctum Concilium'' Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy)}}
Only the [[Holy See]] alone, as representative head of the body of Christ as the earthly temple and representative of God, has authorization by [[apostolic succession]] to constitute new sacramentals and abolish, change, or interpret those already in use.
[[category:Catholic Church]]
Sacramentals fundamentally differ from [[sacrament]]s. While sacraments are said to actually confer the grace of God by the established ordinance of the Lord by the [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]] power of the [[Holy Spirit]], sacramentals are helps that predispose those who are already in a state of grace who use them properly to be more open to the grace of God. They produce grace through the Church's prayer to God as the body of Christ [[Intercession|interceding]] for the salvation of the world and the protection and help of Christian believers.
Only certain sacramentals require a particular predisposition on the part of the person using them: [[Holy water]], the [[Sign of the Cross]], the blessed ashes of [[Ash Wednesday]], the [[Rosary]], praying the [[Liturgy of the Hours]], personal attendance at [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]] or the Divine Liturgy, the wearing of blessed objects and holy medals dedicated to the honor of [[saints]] as servants and representatives of [[Jesus Christ]] as their Lord and Savior, such as the Scapulars Brown, Red, White, Blue, Black and the [[Miraculous Medal]], the medal of [[Saint Benedict]] and others, blessed candles, [[vestment]]s, and hallowed ground such as a church or cemetery.
[[Vatican II]] teaches:{{quotation|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 kind, which are obtained through 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 <br> —SC 60 (''Documents of Vatican II: Sacrosanctum Concilium'' Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy)}}
Only the [[Holy See]] alone, as representative head of the body of Christ as the earthly temple and representative of God, has authorization by [[apostolic succession]] to constitute new sacramentals and abolish, change, or interpret those already in use.
[[category:Catholic Church]]