1. Means of Grace. Without grace we can do no good work of ourselves towards our salvation. Hence the all-important question is, how can we obtain God's grace?

 

The principal means of obtaining grace are Prayer and the reception of the Sacraments. Prayer will be treated under the Ten Commandments; for the present it will suffice to point out the difference between prayer and the sacraments as means of grace:

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a) The sacraments produce grace in us; prayer obtains it for us.

b) Through the sacraments we obtain those special graces for which they were instituted; through prayer we receive all kinds of graces, except those which are given only by the sacraments.

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The word sacrament comes from the Latin word sacramentum, which the Romans used for any holy or sacred things, such as forfeit money deposited in a temple or the military oath of allegiance. In the early Church it was applied to any religious object, rite, or ceremony which was hidden from the knowledge of the heathen; it was synonymous with mystery. In the course of time it received it present restricted meaning.

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2. A Sacrament is an outward or sensible sign instituted by Christ through which inward grace is imparted to the soul. Hence three things are necessary for a sacrament:

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a) An outward or sensible sign;

b) A corresponding inward or invisible grace;

c) Institution by Christ.

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a) The Outward Sign. An outward or sensible sign is something that can be perceived by one or other of the senses. Its purpose is to make something hidden known to us; thus a word, a movement of the hand, an inclination of the head makes known to us what is hidden in another's mind. The outward signs of the sacraments make known to us the inward grace that is being produced in the soul.

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The outward sign of the sacraments is composed of two things, matter and form. The matter of the sacrament is the sensible thing or exterior act used in its administration, such as water, oil, bread and wine. The form consists in the words pronounced by the minister when he applies the matter, e.g., "I baptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

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To constitute a sacrament, the form must be united to the matter. "Take the word away," says St. Augustine, "and what else is baptismal water except ordinary water? but add the words to the element and it becomes a sacrament" (In Joan. tract. 80: 3).

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The matter of a sacrament is remote or proximate, according as we consider it in itself or in its actual application. Water in itself or in its actual application. Water in itself is the remote, the pouring of the water the proximate matter of the sacrament of Baptism.

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b) The Inward Grace. The outward signs of the sacraments do not merely signify grace, but actually impart the graces which they signify, unless we on our part put some obstacle in the way (Council of Trent, Session VII, Canon 6). When a priest pours water on the forehead of a child and pronounces the words, at that very moment the child is really cleansed from original sin and made holy and pleasing to God.

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c) Institution by Jesus Christ. No sensible things or outward signs have of themselves the power to produce inward supernatural grace, nor can any created being give such power to sensible things. If they have this power, it must have been given to them by God. He who merited grace for us, the God-Man Jesus Christ, attached to certain outward signs the power of imparting inward grace and sanctification to our souls. These signs have thus become the sacred channels through which flow to us the graces which Jesus Christ merited for us by His Passion and Death.

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3. But why, it may be asked, should God bestow His supernatural favors upon us by means of outward signs and material symbols? The reason is because He adapts His methods to our nature. We are not pure spirits, but beings composed of body as well as of soul; so that even in our most physical elements. Thus, when we wish to convey an intellectual idea to others we have to clothe it in language written or oral. In the same way God makes use of visible things as the vehicles of His invisible graces and blessings. We thus have visible pledges of the invisible graces.

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There is another reason why God should convey His graces by visible signs, namely, to unite us all more closely together. "Since the sacraments are conferred under visible forms, we cannot receive them without giving public testimony of our faith, and of our fellowship with the millions of other Catholics spread throughout the world. We thereby prove ourselves to be members of the same Church, and sharers in the same benefits, and sheep of the same divine Shepherd."

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4. Sacramental Ceremonies. Christ gave His Church the power to  administer the sacraments. Hence the Church also has the power to prescribe certain ceremonies and prayers, to be used before and after their administration. Their purpose is: 

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a) To direct our attention to the graces received in the sacraments;

b) To prepare us for those graces;

c) To represent to us the dignity of the sacrament;

d) To increase our devotion and reverence.

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Some of these ceremonies have Christ Himself as their author; others were instituted by the Apostles: others, again, by the Church at different times. As the ceremonies do not belong to the matter and form of the sacraments, they can be omitted or abbreviated in case of necessity.