What is a Sacrament?

"When you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near." St. Luke, 21 :31.

Jim was a sophomore in college. He had but lately turned twenty. But that twentieth birthday was an important one, for his father had promised that when the young man graduated, he would become owner and manager of a large plantation in the Philippines.

Upon graduating, Jim discovered that he did not have enough money even to make the trip, much less to equip and staff the work on the land that was given him. He went to his older brother, Bill, who had a sizeable bank account. Bill told Jim that he could draw on that bank account for anything he needed. The last I heard, Jim was doing well, and was paying back to Bill the money he had borrowed.

Each one of us is in the position of Jim. Our heavenly Father has promised us a kingdom. The kingdom will be ours if we manage and run it properly. But, like Jim, we need help. Our older brother, Christ, has an exhaustless bank account of merits and grace. We can draw upon that spiritual account as often and as much as we wish. He even arranged several ways to help us. Christ has given us seven ways in which we can secure the means to take care of our spiritual kingdom.

Those seven ways we call the seven sacraments. The word sacrament comes from the Latin word, "sacrare," which means to make sacred, to make holy, to set apart for the service of another. A sacrament is something which makes us holy, or helps to make us holy and pleasing to God.

The early Christian Church used the word sacrament for the many sacred things which Christ left us. Almost everything in the Church was called a sacrament, something sacred. And such it was. However, in the twelfth century the Church gave a special and limited meaning to the word. From then on a sacrament meant what it means today:
It is an outward sign of inward grace instituted by Christ.

An outward sign is something which we can see, feel, or hear. God gave us a body and a soul. The body can be seen, felt, and heard. When God gave us these helps for our souls, the sacraments, He gave to each of those sacraments something we could see or feel or hear, some outward sign which would show that the soul was receiving that help. In other words, God planned that whenever our souls would receive help or grace through the sacraments, our senses, our bodies, should know about it.

In Baptism, for instance, you can see the priest pouring the water over the head of the one being baptized, you can hear the words, "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Tho person baptized can hear those words and feel the water. But nobody can see the soul being washed of its sins. The pouring of water and saying of the words are the outward sign. We can see that. Inside takes place the washing from sin and the giving of grace. That we cannot see.

But why did Christ connect such beautiful things of the soul with such commonplace, earthy things as water, oil, bread and wine? For many reasons. Jesus Himself united in Himself the great glory of God with the common clay of man. Furthermore, since the Church is a society which can be seen, it is fitting that God's grace be given in a manner which we can see. Another reason we have already mentioned: Man is made of body and soul. To reach the soul you must, so to speak, go through the body.

Finally, when grace is given through something we can see or hear or feel, we know, as far as human beings can know, that the grace Christ promised is received. This certainty we could not have were there no outward sign.

St. Augustine points out that our Lord wishes His followers to have certain signs by which they might recognize one another, be united as a group, and be distinguished from unbelievers. The sacraments unite Catholics in their worship. They unite us in the spiritual society of the Church. They unite us in prayer and love and faith.

The third requirement of a sacrament is that it be instituted by Jesus Christ. Of this we will speak in a following lesson.

Today Jesus tells us of the signs which will warn the world of His coming to judge us. "When you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near."

In a similar sense Christ gave us signs of His coming to our hearts, the outward signs of the sacraments. As we receive those sacraments we can repeat the words of Christ: "When you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near." Yes, that kingdom of God's grace is very near, it is in your very heart.

Like that young man Jim, who was responsible for a big plantation, we need help in winning God's kingdom. Christ offers that help through the sacraments, much as Jim's older brother offered help through his bank account.

The real thing is the inner grace and help which comes to us from the boundless spiritual bank account of our elder brother, Christ, who has won all merits for us.

Be sure to thank God for His goodness and generosity shown in the sacraments. Be sure to make the most of these helps offered us so liberally, so lovingly. Use the means, use the helps, and the kingdom of heavon will be yours. Amen.

Adapted from "Talks on the Sacraments"(1947) by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM