What is a sacrament?

The classical definition

The classical Catholic definition of a sacrament, drawn from the Roman Catechism and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, has three parts:

1. An outward sign. The sacrament has a visible, audible, or tangible component (water, oil, bread, words, gestures).
2. Instituted by Christ. The sacrament was given to the Church by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry.
3. Gives grace. The sacrament does what it signifies: it actually confers the grace that its sign points to.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 1131 states the classical definition: "The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us."¹

The seven sacraments

The seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are organized into three groups:

Sacraments of Initiation

• Baptism: the gateway to the Christian life. Water and the Trinitarian formula. Removes original sin and any personal sin, makes the recipient a child of God, and incorporates him or her into the Body of Christ.
• Confirmation: the seal of the Holy Spirit. Anointing with sacred chrism by a bishop (in the Latin Rite) or priest (in the Eastern Rites). Strengthens the recipient as a witness of Christ.
• The Eucharist: the source and summit of the Christian life. The bread and wine, by the words of consecration, become the Body and Blood of Christ.

Sacraments of Healing

• Confession (Penance / Reconciliation): the sacrament by which sins committed after Baptism are forgiven through the absolution of a priest.
• Anointing of the Sick: the sacrament for the seriously ill, conferring spiritual strength, the forgiveness of sins, and (where conducive to salvation) bodily healing.

Sacraments at the Service of Communion

• Holy Orders: the sacrament by which a man is ordained to the diaconate, priesthood, or episcopate. The matter is the laying on of hands; the form, the consecratory prayer.
• Matrimony: the lifelong covenant between a baptized man and a baptized woman. The matter and form are the consent of the spouses themselves; the priest or deacon witnesses on behalf of the Church.

Ex opere operato

The Catholic Church teaches that the sacraments work ex opere operato (literally, "from the work done"). This means that the grace of the sacrament is given by the action of Christ through the sacrament itself, not by the holiness of the minister. A sacrament validly conferred by an unworthy priest is fully effective; the priest's sin does not impede the grace of the sacrament. The recipient must, however, be properly disposed; a sacrament received in bad faith is not fruitful.²

The matter and form of each sacrament

Catholic sacramental theology distinguishes the matter (the material element or action) and the form (the words spoken). For example:

• Baptism: matter is the pouring of water; form is the Trinitarian formula ("I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit").
• Eucharist: matter is bread and wine; form is the words of consecration spoken by the priest.
• Confession: matter is the contrition and confession of the penitent; form is the absolution spoken by the priest.

The validity of a sacrament depends on the proper matter, the proper form, and the proper minister with the proper intention.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1113 to 1134, on the sacraments in general. ↩

2. Council of Trent, Session VII (March 3, 1547), Decree on the Sacraments, Canon 8, on ex opere operato. ↩