Sacramentals and embodied prayer

Question 292

What is a sacramental?

A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin.

Question 293

What is the difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals?

The difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals is: 1st, The Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ and the sacramentals were instituted by the Church; 2d, The Sacraments give grace of themselves when we place no obstacle in the way; the sacramentals excite in us pious dispositions, by means of which we may obtain grace.

Question 294

Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?

The chief sacramental used in the Church is the sign of the Cross.

Question 295

How do we make the sign of the Cross?

We make the sign of the Cross by putting the right hand to the forehead, then on the breast, and then to the left and right shoulders, saying, In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Question 296

Why do we make the sign of the Cross?

We make the sign of the Cross to show that we are Christians and to profess our belief in the chief mysteries of our religion.

Question 297

How is the sign of the Cross a profession of faith in the chief mysteries of our religion?

The sign of the Cross is a profession of faith in the chief mysteries of our religion because it expresses the mysteries of the Unity and Trinity of God and of the Incarnation and death of our Lord.

Question 298

How does the sign of the Cross express the mystery of the Unity and Trinity of God?

The words, In the name, express the Unity of God; the words that follow, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, express the mystery of the Trinity.

Question 299

How does the sign of the Cross express the mystery of the Incarnation and death of our Lord?

The sign of the Cross expresses the mystery of the Incarnation by reminding us that the Son of God, having become man, suffered death on the cross.

Question 300

What other sacramental is in very frequent use?

Another sacramental in very frequent use is holy water.

Question 301

What is holy water?

Holy water is water blessed by the priest with solemn prayer to beg God's blessing on those who use it, and protection from the powers of darkness.

Question 302

Are there other sacramentals besides the sign of the Cross and holy water?

Besides the sign of the Cross and holy water there are many other sacramentals, such as blessed candles, ashes, palms, crucifixes, images of the Blessed Virgin and of the saints, rosaries, and scapulars.

Sacraments and sacramentals

Questions 292, 293

Sacraments were instituted by Christ and confer the grace they signify; sacramentals are instituted by the Church and dispose people to receive grace and cooperate with it. Neither should be treated as magic.

The sign of the Cross

Questions 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299

Tracing the Cross while naming Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is bodily prayer: the words profess the Trinity and the cross-shaped gesture recalls the Incarnation and redemption. Accuracy of motion serves attention, but faith is not a test of motor perfection.

Blessings, holy water, and devotion

Questions 300, 301, 302

Holy water recalls Baptism and the Church's prayer. Blessings, ashes, palms, medals, pilgrimages, and other approved devotions direct ordinary life toward God; objects must never be credited with independent power or used as charms.

Matthew 28:16–20

Jesus' baptismal command names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and grounds the Trinitarian profession.

16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Romans 6:3–11

Paul connects Baptism with Christ's death and risen life, the mystery recalled by holy water and the Cross.

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.