Video Transcript
Emily: It’s so hard to be far away from someone you love. I love my family and when we’re apart, I have this photo of us on vacation together that I like to look at. Sometimes I’ll even play music for my sister’s favorite band. It reminds me of them and makes me feel like I’m not so far away.
Edmund: It’s interesting how objects and activities can take on this deeper significance in our lives. Like, think of a special blanket from childhood made by your mother or your dad’s favorite song. These things become more than just a normal object. They become a sign that reminds you of someone or something important.
Emily: There were even times that Jesus would use physical things in a way that gave them greater significance. Think of the time Jesus spat in the dirt and made mud, wiping it on the blind man’s eyes to heal him. Did Jesus need to use mud? No. Jesus could heal people with just a word or a touch, but in this situation, he decided to use mud.
Edmund: Yeah, I can imagine if you’re miraculously healed by Jesus wiping his spit mud into your eye, you’d have a very different reaction the next time you see mud.
Emily: The Church in an even greater way has instituted certain signs that resemble the sacraments. Remember, Jesus gave the Church the sacraments as a way to dispense his divine life to us here on earth. But the Church has also instituted something called sacramentals. These sometimes resemble the sacraments, and they’re signs that help us to be open to and receive the sacraments.
Edmund: Sacramentals help us to become more open to God’s grace in our lives. Think of our example. A photo of your family isn’t actually your family, but the photo reminds you of your love for them. And it warms your heart before you’re actually able to be united with them again. It’s important to remember that sacramentals are not sacraments. Sacraments dispense sacramental grace to us and allow us to share in God’s divine life.
Emily: Having photos of your loved ones around your house reminds you of your love for them and their love for you, and could help you to be more loving in difficult times. Sacramentals draw their power from the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and they aid us in our life as disciples of Jesus. They’re guideposts and support us throughout our lives, helping draw us deeper into the sacramental life of the Church, and therefore draw us closer to Jesus.
Edmund: Sacramentals are signs instituted by the Church through which the Church intercedes and prays for us to be open to God’s grace.
Emily: There are three main types of sacramentals: blessings, consecrations and dedications, and exorcisms. Sacramentals always include a prayer and some specific sign, such as laying on of hands, or the sign of the cross, or sprinkling with holy water.
Edmund: Let’s talk about the first type of sacramentals: blessings. In a blessing, the Church prays and intercedes for us that we will use God’s gifts for His glory and our sanctification. Blessings can be of people, meals, objects, or places. The Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus in prayer and usually by also making the sign of the cross. This then becomes a way for these objects, moments, or places to remind us of the way the church is calling us to enter more deeply into the sacramental life.
Emily: Then we have consecrations or dedications. They’re very similar to blessings. Certain blessings have lasting importance because they consecrate a person to God or reserve an object or place for liturgical use.
Edmund: Some examples of blessings that we would consider consecrations are blessings of parents, widows, catechists, or even lectors who read the Word of God at Mass. There are also consecrations where the Church blesses a church, an altar, holy oils, vessels, investments, or bells for example.
Emily: The third type of sacramental might surprise you. Exorcisms are also sacramentals. An exorcism is when the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus that a person or object be protected against the power of the evil one. Jesus performed exorcisms and has given the Church the power to exercise in His name.
Edmund: A simple exorcism is performed at every baptism. These are called minor exorcisms. So if you’ve been baptized, you’ve participated in an exorcism. This shouldn’t be scary, and it’s very different than what we see in movies.
Emily: There are also formal exorcisms that can be performed only by a priest and with permission from the bishop. A formal exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority, which Jesus entrusted to his Church.
Edmund: So the Church has established certain sacramentals as signs that prepare us to receive the sacraments. But there are also many practices that have developed over the years that are what we call popular piety. This is because they’re rooted in different cultures and traditions.
Emily: Some examples are relics, sanctuaries, metals, rosaries, the stations of the cross, or special processions. These do not replace the liturgy and are not the same as the sacraments. These devotions are intended to help us enter more deeply into the sacraments and increase our desire for communion with Jesus through the sacraments. In a similar way that looking at a photo of your family reminds you of your love for them or makes you long to be with them.
Edmund: These are expressions and outpourings of love and devotion for Jesus that developed over the history of the Church. Eventually, the Church has recognized these as helpful signs for our life as disciples because they properly prepare us to receive the sacraments.
Emily: We don’t worship created things. We worship the creator. A blessed medal or statue of Jesus, Mary, or the saints can be an aid in our life as disciples because it reminds us of Jesus and opens our heart to receiving the sacraments.
Edmund: Going to the stations of the cross, or participating in a blessing or other sacramentals, these are directed toward increasing our desire to receive Jesus in the sacraments. It’s also a powerful way we can bring holiness to our surroundings and the moments in our life. Through sacramentals, God showers us with grace and prepares us to receive the sacraments.
