Asacramental (Latin pl.sacramentalia) is a sacred sign, a ritual act or a ceremony, which, in a certain imitation of thesacraments, has a spiritual effect and is obtained through the intercession of the Church.[1] Sacramentals surround the sacraments like a wreath and extend them into the everyday life of Christians. Sacramentals are recognised by theCatholic Church, theEastern Orthodox Church, theOriental Orthodox Churches, theChurch of the East, theLutheran churches, theOld Catholic Church, theAnglican churches, andIndependent Catholic churches.
In theBible,prayer cloths andholy oil are mentioned in reference to praying for healing.[2][3]Holy water is a sacramental that the faithful use to recall theirbaptism; other common sacramentals include blessed candles (given to the faithful onCandlemas), blessed palms (blessed on the beginning of the procession onPalm Sunday), blessed ashes (bestowed onAsh Wednesday), across necklace (often taken to be blessed by a pastor before daily use), aheadcovering (worn by women, especially during prayer and worship),blessed salt, andholy cards, as well asChristian art, especially acrucifix.[4][5] Apart from those worn daily, such as a cross necklace ordevotional scapular, sacramentals such as afamily Bible, are often kept onhome altars in Christian households.[6][7]Ichthys emblems are sacramentals applied to vehicles to signify that the owner is a Christian and to offer protection while driving.[8][9] When blessed in abetrothal ceremony,engagement rings become a sacramental.[10]
As an adjective,sacramental means "of or pertaining to sacraments".[11]
TheBiblical basis for the use of sacramentals is thatJesus Christ used a form of sacramentals himself; for example, when hehealed a blind man, he made a mud paste that he put over the eyes of the man, before telling him to wash in thePool of Siloam.[12]
Prayer cloths andholy oil are mentioned in reference to praying for healing, as inActs 19:11–12 andJames 5:14–15.[2][3]
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TheCatholic Church defines sacramentals as
sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, 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.[13]: Paragraph 60
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 one to receive grace and dispose a person 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."[14]
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church lists three types of sacramentals:blessings,[15]consecrations anddedications,[16] andexorcisms.[17] At theSecond Vatican Council, the church called for the forms of each sacramental "to undergo a revision which takes into account the primary principle of enabling the faithful to participate intelligently, actively, and easily" and for new sacramentals to be adopted if a need for them "becomes apparent".[13]: Paragraph 79 In special circumstances and at the discretion of the ordinary, sacramentals may be administered by "qualifiedlay persons".[13]: Paragraph 79
Rosary beads, scapulars, medals and religious images are more accurately termeddevotional articles; prayers such as the rosary, the stations of the cross, litanies, and novenas are calledpopular devotions or "expressions of popular piety".[18]
TheLatin Church allows the bestowing of certain sacramentals, such as blessings, "to catechumens and even to non-Catholics unless there is a prohibition of the Church to the contrary.[19]
In Lutheran churches, sacramentals such as palms and crosses, are used by the faithful.[20]
A text of theEpiscopal Church in the United States of America includes items such as theAnglican rosary,ashes, andpalms among objects counted as sacramentals.[21]
Pentecostal theologian Mark Pearson states that theBible speaks of sacramentals, sometimes referred to as points of contact, such as blessedprayer cloths (Acts 19:11–19:12) andholy oil (James 5:14).[2] He states thatGod is the source ofhealing and that Pentecostal clergy "can confidently offerprayer, administer the various sacramentals, andlay hands on the sick".[2]
In Scripture and Church tradition, we read of blessed prayer cloths and holy oil (Acts 19:11-12; James 5:14). ... The historical term in the Church for these things issacramentals.
Clara Saraiva, Peter Jan Margry, Lionel Obadia, Kinga Povedák, José Mapril
Catholic prayers andsacramentals for protection against evil | ||
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