Title: What is a sacrament in the Catholic Church?
Headings: What is a sacrament in the Catholic Church?
What is a sacrament in the Catholic Church?
Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ, and entrusted to the Church, to give grace.
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Content: What is a sacrament? The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives a basic definition of a sacrament. The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions. ( CCC 1131)Sacraments are “powers that comes forth” from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are “the masterworks of God” in the new and everlasting covenant.(CCC 1116)
One way to talk about the sacraments is to think of them as channels, through which God gives to the faithful particular graces at specific points in their life. We all need help in our walk of life, especially in such areas as marriage. In this case, God has given us a sacrament through which we receive the graces (divine help) we need to fulfill our duties.