Sacraments are Christ’s
gift to his Church.
YOUCAT Catechism +
Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 175
Ave Maria series
175 Why do the sacraments
belong to the Church? Why cannot anyone
use them however he wants?
Sacraments are Christ’s gift to his Church. It is her duty to administer them and to
protect them from misuse. [1117-1119, 1131]
At left, unseen by the priest, a
penitent kneels behind a screen making her confession. The purple scarf (stole) worn by the priest
is the sign of this particular priestly function. …..175
For me, the Sacrament of Reconciliation has been a source of
peace. Throughout my adult life, every
time I availed myself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation it has bestowed
a peace that I could feel. I
have often reflected that there would be less mental illness if we admitted
personal sin without rationalization and then embraced the confessional
unconditionally?-- Don L. Bragg, catechist
Jesus entrusted his words and signs to specific men, namely,
the apostles, who were to hand them on; he did not hand them over to an
anonymous crowd. Today we would say: He
did not post his inheritance on the Internet for free access but rather
registered it under a domain name.
Sacraments exist for the Church and through the Church. They are for (the Church), because the Body
of Christ, which is the Church, is established, nourished, and perfected
through the sacraments. They exist
through her, because the sacraments are the power of Christ’s Body, for example
in confession, where Christ forgives our sins through the priest.
As each one has received a gift,
employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body
(of Christ) eats and drinks judgment upon himself. 1 Corinthians 11:29
[1117-1119, 1131]
THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
1117 As she has done for
the canon of Sacred Scripture and for the doctrine of the faith, the Church, by
the power of the Spirit who guides her "into all truth," has
gradually recognized this treasure received from Christ and, as the faithful
steward of God's mysteries, has determined its "dispensation."(John 16:13; compare Matthew 13:52; 1 Corinthians 4:1) 34 Thus the Church has discerned over the centuries that
among liturgical celebrations there are seven that are, in the strict sense of
the term, sacraments instituted by the Lord. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition
1118 The sacraments are "of the Church" in the
double sense that they are "by her" and "for her." They are
"by the Church," for she is the sacrament of Christ's action at work
in her through the mission of the Holy Spirit. They are "for the
Church" in the sense that "the sacraments make the Church,"( St. Augustine, De
civ. Dei, 22,17:Patrologia Latina 41,779; compare St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III,64,2 ad 3)35 since they manifest and communicate to men,
above all in the Eucharist, the mystery of communion with the God who is love,
One in three persons. --CCC
1119 Forming "as it were, one mystical person" with
Christ the head, the Church acts in the sacraments as "an organically
structured priestly community."( Lumen gentium 11;
compare Pius XII, Mystici Corporis (1943))36 Through Baptism and Confirmation the
priestly people is enabled to celebrate the liturgy, while those of the
faithful "who have received Holy Orders, are appointed to nourish the
Church with the word and grace of God in the name of Christ." ( Lumen gentium 11
§ 2)37 --CCC
IN BRIEF
1131 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.
Sacrament Penance
Confession
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