For all you who hope for the soap (whoa, that sounds like a twist on a famous blog!! Get it, "all you who hope"? I just noticed that!), here we go...
The question was:
What is the difference between a sacrament and a sacramental? (Bonus points for players who can name all seven sacraments and at least five sacramentals.)
And the answers:
Sacraments
A sacrament is "an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace." Sacraments are the channels of God’s grace to our souls. They are the most tangible and direct connection between Heaven and earth, between God and man. They infuse the soul with the very Life of God (sanctifying grace), and they are the ordinary means of salvation.
Sacraments really, truly bring about what they signify. For example, when we are washed with water in Baptism, our souls really are made clean -- not symbolically, but truly. The outward sign (form and matter) of each sacrament signifies the actual transformation which occurs in our soul.
Sacraments are not a “work” that we humans do (as many Protestants believe of Catholics), but they are works of Christ Himself, by the Holy Spirit. The power of the sacraments comes straight from God down to us, and we simply open our hearts to receive His grace. Sacraments give grace ex opere operato, which means “from the act performed.” In other words, God's grace will objectively be there every time a sacrament is conferred, even if we limit or block its infusion into our souls by being poorly disposed to receive it.
The seven sacraments are:
Baptism
Confirmation
Holy Communion (Eucharist)
Confession (Penance, Reconciliation)
Holy Matrimony
Holy Orders
Anointing of the Sick (Last Rites, Extreme Unction)
Sacramentals
A sacramental is a special prayer, action, gesture or blessed object that helps a person grow in holiness. The graces and effects of a sacramental are the result of both the faith of the believer and the prayerful intercession of the Church. In other words, whatever spiritual benefits and graces come from sacramentals are dependent on the individual's faith and the prayers of the Church.
Sacramentals include blessings, novenas, prayers, holy water, holy oils, holy medals, blessed candles, blessed ashes, blessed fire, incense, altars, icons, rosaries, crucifixes, scapulars, wedding rings, vestments, the chalice, the liturgical year itself, genuflection, prostration, the Sign of the Cross, and much, much more.
Soooo.........let's do some compare and contrast:
Essentially, the sacraments are objective. (As St. Thomas Aquinas put it, "the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God.")
By contrast, sacramentals are subjective. Their power or efficacy comes from the faith or piety of the one who makes use of them.
Sacraments are the means of salvation. By contrast, sacramentals do not save. (But sacramentals can remit venial sin. Did you know that the use of holy water before mass and the recitation of the Confiteor are for the remittance of venial sin in preparation for our reception of Jesus in the Eucharist?)
Oh, how I could go on, but God saw fit to give us a mere 24 hours in a day! For more on sacraments, click here. For more on sacramentals, click here.
Now..... drum roll.... the Bubble Awards!!
The Self-Flagellation and Excessive Display of Guilt and Shame Award goes to Tridentine Wife! (You are a convert, so I am impressed!)
The Best Situational Adaptation of a Pop-Culture Reference to a Classic Seinfeld Episode Award goes to This Cross I Embrace! (PS: I'm not sure if there was an "official" change of the name of Last Rites? I know that Anointing of the Sick is more accurate for its use today, since we no longer reserve that sacrament solely for the dying.)
The Spirit of Accusation Award (in an attempt to evade the question) goes to Shannon!
The Sew Award for Being Sew Award goes to Sew! (See, I didn't forget!)
Now, I would love to give the Nerd Mom Award to The Mom (I'm sure that'll come in time), and I would love to give awards to all the first time players, and I would love to give awards to those who brown-nosingly complimented my new graphic, and I would love to give a holey soap to all those who have the right answers, but I am practicing restraint and prudence and tough love.
So, the GRAND PRIZE must go to the member of the Church Militant who was the first to give me the fullest right answer, including all bonus points and an inclusion of non-objects as sacramentals! And that solider of Christ is.....
Mrs. Mike!!!!!!!!!
{wild applause, but also some unkind grumblings from those contestants who feel the judge is unjust and who have not yet been perfected in humility and charity}
Mrs. Mike (should she be so trusting as to email her address to me) will be the lucky recipient of a holey object that is not blessed and is not a sacramental.....
(And isn’t it ironic, or perhaps providential, that soap produces...BUBBLES???!!!!)
Come back soon and join us for more good clean fun in the Bubble!
