17. Sacraments

17. Lineamenta on Sacraments

The Meaning of Sacraments in People’s Lives

God calls us gratuitously and freely to participate in his divine life through Jesus Christ in whom we have become a new people of God (Lumen Gentium [LG], 2 & 9). As a new people of God or Church, we manifest Jesus Christ’s presence on earth as the “primordial sacrament of the Father” whose saving mission is to bring the life of fullness. As Church we are a “kind of sacrament of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all mankind” (LG, 1). Just as human beings make use of signs and symbols to express man’s relationship with God, God also uses signs to communicate with us. Arguably, the seven sacraments of the Church are the sensible and effective signs of Christ’s presence in our midst, sanctifying us and nourishing us to sustain and strengthen our faith-life. Through the sacraments, Christ encounters and saves us. “As actions of Christ and of the Church, they are signs and means by which faith is expressed and strengthened, worship is offered to God and our sanctification is brought about. Thus they contribute in the most effective manner to establishing, strengthening and manifesting ecclesiastical communion” (Canon 840).
1) Baptism. The first of the three sacraments of initiation and the gateway to all other sacraments, it incorporates men and women into Christ. It obtains forgiveness of their sins and incorporates them into the Church, the community of faith, hope and charity and calls them to the common sharing of gifts and efforts to exercise Church’s mission.
2) Eucharist. It is the source and summit of all the Church’s worship and of the entire Christian life wherein all other Church’s activity are bound up with it for it contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, Jesus Christ himself. Every Christian community is rooted and has its center in the Eucharist which is “the indispensable starting point for leading people to a sense of community”(Presbyterorum Ordinis [PO], 6). The Eucharist brings about the unity of the people of God, bringing them to perfection, nourishing them in charity and providing them the foretaste of the heavenly banquet (Sacrosanctum Concilium [SC], 8). In the Diocese of San Carlos, the Eucharist which shows forth Christ’s preaching of the good news, death and resurrection is the center of the local Church up to the GKK level. It fosters the community spirit in such a way as to make all feel united with their brothers and sisters in the communion of the local and universal Church and even in some way with all humanity.
3) Confirmation. In this sacrament the baptized continue the path of Christian initiation where, in the giving of the Holy Spirit, the believer is conformed more fully to Christ and strengthened to bear witness to Christ, in building the Christian community in faith and love. It reawakens the Christian community to the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit who bestows the members the different gifts which help in the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.
4) Penance and Reconciliation. Instituted by Jesus Christ the Lord so that sinners may receive pardon from God’s mercy at the same time may have reconciliation with the Church and with our brothers and sisters who are always harmed by our sins. Here the Church finds herself face to face with the human person—in all his/her weakness, wounded and affected by sin in the innermost depths of his/her being and yet desirous to be freed from the bondage of sin and be reconciled back to God, to other people and to the whole creation. In our Diocese, this profound grace of conversion and reconciliation is celebrated in three forms: a) Individual confession, b) Communal preparation followed by individual confession and absolution and c) a collective form of reconciliation with a single, general absolution in special occasions allowed by the local Church.

5) Matrimony. This sacrament cooperate celebrated by the couple - and with solemn witness of the bishop, priest or deacon and other witnesses - signifies the mystery of unity and fruitful love that exists between Christ and his Church (Ephes. 5:32). The institution of marriage requires fidelity to the couple’s covenant where the irrevocable consent that the spouses freely give to and receive from each other manifests Christ’s nuptial bond with the Church. Its purpose is the procreation and education of children where the couples with the love of the Creator, who through them, will constantly enrich and enlarge Christ’s own family.
6) Holy Orders. In this sacrament, some of Christ’s faithful who answer their call to the priesthood “are taken from among men and made their representative before God” (Hebr. 5:1). They are set apart, through their vocation and ordination, not that they may be distant from the people or from any human being but that they may be totally dedicated to the work for which the Lord has raised them up. They fully live the Church mission and exercise it in different ways in communion with the entire people of God.
7) Anointing of the Sick. This sacrament is a sign of Christ’s concern for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the sick. The Church, through her care and ministry for the sick, commends to the Lord the faithful who are sick so that the Lord strengthens the sick and provide him/her with the strongest means of support. This sacrament as a community aspect where the family and some members of the community shall show concern and care for the sick. This is not a sacrament for those who are at the point of death only but for all who are sick.

Through this sacraments, Christ encounters and saves us and are formed into a community of Christ’s faithful people.

Questions for small group discussions:
How shall we celebrate our sacraments so that they express Christ saving action and at the same time is building up our local Church in the context of our local culture and situation?
How shall we prepare those who will receive the sacraments so that they will find meaning and sense in the liturgical celebration of the sacraments?
What norms and guidelines shall guide us for the better celebration of the sacramental liturgy?