An Apologetical Explanation of the

Sacraments

Why did Christ institute the Sacraments as a means of conveying grace?

Jesus came and said to [the eleven disciples]… “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  (Mt 28:19)

[Jesus] took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given up for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”  (Lk 22:19)

God surely can—and does—dispense his grace as he sees fit in countless ways, and he is by no means restricted to the Sacraments that he instituted.  Yet, Christ instituted Seven Sacraments that he directed his Church to use as special venues of grace.

By nature every person is composed of two elements: body and soul—a material, visible body and a spiritual, invisible soul.  As St. Thomas Aquinas explained, human beings are led by things that are physical, that that can be seen and experience by the senses.

We thus have a fundamental need for ritual, for visible expressions of what cannot be seen.  We also have a natural need to “ritualize” the significant events and realities in our lives.  This is why we have graduation ceremonies, awards banquets, family dinners on holidays, and national days of remembrance.  Each of these rituals celebrates something intangible but important in our lives: achievement, gratitude, or patriotism.

Utilizing this aspect of our humanity, Christ instituted the Sacraments to confer grace through physical signs.  The Sacraments give form to spiritual “events” and serve as signs of deeper realities.  The chief difference with the Sacraments is that, unlike merely human rituals, the very act of administering a Sacrament, body and soul, confers the grace that is signified by the act just as Christ intends.  As St. Leo the Great explained, “What was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries” (Sermo., 74, 2: PL 54, 398).

The Sacraments also serve to express the faith that is within us—both individually and as a community—and to provide a model and instruction to help us grow in faith.  Sacramental signs and rites convey something about what we believe, and their visible expression reinforces those beliefs in others and within ourselves.  (Cf. CCC 1123-1126)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraphs 1115 and 1131.

The contents of this page are Copyright © 2014 Rev. James Socias (of the Midwest Theological Forum). These apologetics are reproduced with written consent of said copyright holder for St Patricks Parish, Jaffrey, NH website only. Reproduction of any sort must be approved directly by said copyright holder.

To get a hardcopy of these Apologetics or the Didache Bible please visit the Midwest Theological Forum (publisher) at: http://www.theologicalforum.org