What Is a Sacrament?

By Linda L. Gaupin, PhD

Yesterday one of our directors of religious education expressed her frustration over people’s attitudes towards sacraments. She lamented the fact that last year she had 250 children in first communion preparation and had only 15 of these same children register for religious education this year. “Why do people think it’s just about ‘getting’ a sacrament?” she said.

What is a sacrament?
Sacraments are, indeed, more than about “getting” something. Catechists and teachers are called to form people into the rich understanding of the sacramental life of the church. This means more than just learning about the parts of the sacrament. It also means that we must reexamine our sacramental catechesis and our catechetical structures for sacramental preparation. Unless we do this we will continue to put “new wine into old wineskins.”

The purpose of sacraments is to sanctify, to build up the Body of Christ, to give worship to God, and to nourish, strengthen, and express our faith (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 59). This is a far cry from some of the mechanical and privatized notions of sacraments that people may still have today.

The Catechism says: “The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the church, by which divine life is dispensed to us” (1131). Throughout Part II of the Catechism we see how this definition is unfolded to reveal the beautiful reality of the meaning of sacraments in our lives.

• “It is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of all people.” (1074)
• “The sacraments make the church since they manifest and communicate to all…the mystery of communion with God who is love.” (1118)
• “The sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in the church.” (1126)
• “Liturgical services are not private functions but are celebrations of the church which is the sacrament of unity.” (1140)
• “A sacramental celebration is woven from signs and symbols.” (1145)
• “A sacramental celebration is a meeting of God’s children with their Father, in Christ and the Holy Spirit.” (1153)

Getting beyond getting a sacrament
So how do we get beyond the attitude of people coming to “get” a sacrament or attitudes of participating in religious education just for “sacramental moments”?

Parish If the sacraments are the summit and source of our lives, how do we evidence this in our parish life? Is sacramental preparation seen as one among many other activities sponsored by the parish, or are sacramental programs given priority in terms of scheduling, space, and the best of our resources?

Programs Sacramental preparation is a special time in the parish. It is separate from religious education and should not be used as a moment to teach everything we know about the faith because we may not see the participants again until they need another sacrament. In many parishes sacramental preparation is done within the context of the parish, the Body of Christ. This very structure emphasizes the communion of faith and promotes unity.

Catechesis Then we need to evaluate the quality of our catechesis. Do our sacramental programs merely inform about sacraments, or do they really lead people to conversion? Often, our preparation for sacraments has no connection with the sacramental celebration. They are merely classes one must attend in order to receive a sacrament. Sacramental catechesis must feed and nourish people in the sacramental life. They should lead people to truly encounter the mystery of Christ they are about to celebrate in the sacrament. It could be that people come to “get” a sacrament and perhaps not return again because our programs are not feeding and nourishing them. We may be maintaining programs that do not transform people and that are led by people who have not been transformed themselves.

Celebration Celebrating sacraments is the most important thing we do as church. The Catechism describes this process as initiating “people into the mystery of Christ (mystagogy) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the ‘sacraments’ to the mysteries” (1075). This kind of catechesis—a catechesis leading to conversion—is not easy. It uses all the resources of catechesis that are available to us: liturgy, Scripture, doctrine, community, human experience, and lived faith. It provides an extraordinary environment wherein we are able to put people gradually in touch with the sacramental reality they are about to truly encounter.

Conversion Finally we must have sacramental catechesis that is led by those who themselves live and love the sacramental life. This begins with the community. The National Directory for Catechesis states that sacramental catechesis “is intended for all members of the Christian community, takes place within the community and involves the whole community of faith” (114). The presence of the community sends a message that sacramental programs are not a “burden” required for those who need to prepare for sacraments but that our faith calls us to deepen our appreciation for the sacraments throughout our lives.

The catechist
Catechists and teachers must be people who themselves have been transformed by sacraments and who live the sacramental life. It also goes without saying that they know the meaning of sacrament as set forth in the revised sacramental rites of the church. In my ministry of forming catechists it is not uncommon to find catechists who are unaware that the ritual forms of reconciliation have changed from “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned” or that the Rite of Confirmation makes no mention of “soldiers of Jesus Christ.”

It is our duty as catechists to do all that we can to lead people to a deeper appreciation of sacraments. In our ministry we become initiators who open the way for people to encounter our God and thereby be so totally transformed that they forever embrace the sacramental life. Sacraments are so much more than something we “get.” They are the way we live our faith. We are a sacramental people.

Parish Self-Evaluation

• Do our sacramental programs lead people to transformation?
• Do they enable people to be more fully in communion with God who is love?
• Do they deepen communion with the church?
• Do they foster unity?
• Do they unpack the depth and richness of our sacramental symbols?
• Do they lead people to meet God?

Linda L. Gaupin, PhD

Linda L. Gaupin, PhD, is a Sister of Divine Providence from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is currently the diocesan director of religious education for the Diocese of Orlando. Linda has served as the chairperson of the theology department as La Roche College, Pittsburgh, Director of worship for the Diocese of Wilmington; and the associate director of the Secretariat for the Liturgy for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.