What are Sacraments?

     The prayers and ceremonial actions of the liturgy are meant to be the ritual context in which the sacraments of the Church are carried out. What are the sacraments of the Church? Word sacramentum means a “sacred oath” in secular Roman literature and corresponds to the Greek word mysterion, which denotes the secrets of God. 

     The sacraments are still sometimes referred to as “mysteries.” By simple definition a sacrament is a sensible sign instituted by Christ that gives grace. The Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent taught that a sacrament is “a thing perceptible to the senses, which on the ground of the divine institution possesses the power both of effecting and signifying sanctity and righteousness” (RC II 1, 8). Thus, we have three elements in the concept of a sacrament:

• The external; a sensibly perceptible sign of sanctifying grace – the sacramental sign
• The actual conferring of grace
• Its institution by God; or more specifically, by the God-Man Jesus Christ