Chapter III: The Sacramentals

1. Whereas the object of the Sacraments is to bring the more important events of human life into relation with the grace of God, and thereby to sanctify them, the Sacramentals¹ were instituted for the purpose of placing the whole of life under the special protection of Providence, either by warding off the influence of the devil and his cohorts, or by calling down the blessing of God upon certain persons and things and dedicating them to His service and the pious use of the faithful.²

¹ Cfr. St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 33, Suppl., qu. 29, art. 1: "The difference is this: that action of the Church which attains the effect principally intended in the administration of the Sacraments is called a Sacrament; but an action which, although it does not attain that effect, is nevertheless ordered in some way to that principal action is called a sacramental."

² Matt. XX, i; Mark XVI, 17 sq.; 1 Tim. IV, 4 sq. —St. Thomas, Summa Theol., 3a, qu. 65, art. 1, ad 3 and 6.

2. The Catholic, who is expected to employ all things for the honor of God,³ has a special duty in connection with the Sacramentals, namely, to respect and use them with faith and confidence and with a contrite and humble heart for the salvation of his soul as well as to obtain temporal blessings.

³ 1 Cor. X, 31.

The number of the Sacramentals may not be limited. The most popular are: the sign of the cross, pronouncing the holy name of Jesus,⁴ the use of Holy Water,⁵ and various blessings of objects commonly employed by man, e. g., the house in which he lives, the field he tills, the fruits he raises, etc. Needless to say, these objects, when blessed by the Church, should be used with due respect but without superstition.

⁴ Cfr. Tertullian, De Corona, c. 3: "At every advance and movement, at every entrance and departure, when dressing and putting on shoes, at baths, at tables, at lights, at beds, at seats—whatever occupation engages us—we mark the forehead with the sign of the cross." (Ed. Leopold, P. I, 188). —St. Jerome, Epist., 22, n. 37: "At every action, at every step, let the hand trace the Lord’s cross." (Migne, P. L., XXII, 421).—St. Augustine, De Cat. Rud., c. 20, n. 34 (P. L., XL, 335).

⁵ A. Gastoué, L'Eau Benite, Paris 1907.—A. A. King, Holy Water: A Short Account of the Use of Water for Ceremonial and Purificatory Purposes in Pagan, Jewish, and Christian Times, London 1926.

"It would be quite natural to apprehend that the blessing of ordinary objects should lead to a profanation and degradation of sacred things. However, this is not the case. These objects are in reality destined for a higher service and a superior form of existence than that which they now have, and the blessing pronounced upon them by the Church is but an anticipation of that supernatural form of being which was typified in Paradise immediately after the Creation. That the use of the Sacramentals sometimes gives rise to profanation or superstition does not diminish their religious and moral importance." ⁶

⁶ F. X. Linsenmann, Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie, p. 248.

READINGS. —Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. I, 2nd ed., St. Louis 1917, pp. 111 sqq. —Chr. Pesch, S.J., Praelectiones Dogmaticae, Vol. VI, 3rd ed., pp. 141 sqq. —G. Arendt, S.J., De Sacramentalibus Disquisitio, 2nd ed., Rome 1900. —A. A. Lambing, The Sacramentals of the Holy Catholic Church, New York 1892. —F. Probst, Die kirchlichen Benediktionen, Tubingen 1857. —H. Leclercq, O.S.B., art. "Sacramentals," in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII. —Sabetti-Barrett, S.J., Compendium Theologiae Moralis, pp. 531 sqq. —H. Noldin, S.J., Summa Theologiae Moralis, Vol. III, pp. 49 sqq.