Lesson 2

What is a Sacrament?

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Welcome back to our Lenten Lessons on the Sacraments. My name is Fr. Rocky, and I am very happy to teach you a little bit more about our Catholic Faith.

Let’s begin with the word Sacrament.  It comes to us in English from both Latin and Greek, and it means a “Sacred Mystery”.  Sacred is something holy, and God is the source of holiness, so Sacraments can only come from God.

So just what is a Sacrament?  I like the simple definition from the Baltimore Catechism: “A sacrament is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, to give grace.”

What is an “outward sign”?  That is something that you can perceive with one or more of your five senses:  sight, smell, taste, touch, or hearing.  Although Sacraments are mysteries, they are not invisible or “make-believe.”

When we say a Sacrament is “instituted by Christ”, we can find evidence of the moment of the institution in Sacred Scripture or Tradition.

Finally, the phrase “to give grace” means that each of the seven Sacraments has the effect of giving the soul an increase in grace: Sanctifying grace, Sacramental grace, and Actual grace.  And what is grace?  It is the participation in the life of God.  A soul in grace is like a light turned on.  A soul out of the State of Grace, is like a light turned off.  It’s the difference between light and darkness, life and death, joy and sorrow.  So, the more grace in our soul, the happier we will be!  The more grace we have, the more we will be like God.

So tune in every day of Lent to learn more about your Catholic faith, because if you Learn it, then you can Live it; and if you Live it, you will Love it; and if you Love it, you will never Leave it!

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