SACRAMENTALS – PART II DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SACRAMENTS AND SACRAMENTALS?

DRE, Ibadan Archdiocese

  1. Sacramentals do not produce sanctifying grace, but sacraments do.
  2. Sacraments were instituted directly by Jesus Christ while Sacramentals came to be through the power given to the Church by Christ; hence, Sacramentals should never take the place of Sacraments.
  3. Sacraments are necessary for salvation; While Sacramentals are not. Nevertheless, the prayers, pious objects, sacred signs, and ceremonies of the Mother Church are means to salvation.

HOW SACRAMENTALS WORK

  1. Sacramentals obtain favours from God through the prayers of the Church offered by those who make use of them, and through the devotion they inspire.

 

  1. Sacramentals should not be thought of as contracts, investments, or good luck charms. To wear the scapular does not give us free reign to commit mortal sin and still be assured of heaven.

 

  1. The scapular for instance is a symbol of Marian devotion and a silent prayer to Our Blessed Mother in heaven for salvation that she most certainly will not ignore.

 

  1. Using holy water is not an infallible wiping away of our venial sins unless we have contrition for our sins when we use it.

The power of Sacramentals, then, depends greatly on the devotion of both the Priest who blesses it and the person who uses the sacramental. The efficacy of the sacramental(s) depends on the prayers of the Church, the prayers of the blessings that are imposed on them, and the merits of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Mother, and the Saints.

Of themselves they do not save souls, but they are the means for securing heavenly help for those who use them properly.

Regarding blessed objects of devotion, it is good to remember that it is the blessing the Priest gives an object that makes it a sacramental. The blessing gives God’s ownership over the object and dedicates it to Him, and He then works through it. That is why it is very important to have Sacramentals blessed; without the blessing they do not hold any of the graces of benefits promised by the Church. To believe otherwise is to degrade the sacramental to the level of a good luck charm. It is superstition to hold that the grace and spiritual benefit one may receive comes from the sacramental itself; all grace comes from God.