Sacramentals

1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy."[171]

The characteristics of sacramentals
1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water (which recalls Baptism).

1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and to bless.[172] Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings; the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).[173]

1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the sanctification of men and the praise of God."[174]

Various forms of sacramentals
1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."[175] This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects.

1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcizing.[176] In a simple form, exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called "a major exorcism," can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. 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. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.[177]

Popular piety
1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals,[178] etc.

1675 These expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not replace it. They "should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some way derived from it and lead the people to it, since in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them."[179]

1676 Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies these devotions so that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ.[180] Their exercise is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the Church. At its core the piety of the people is a storehouse of values that offers answers of Christian wisdom to the great questions of life. The Catholic wisdom of the people is capable of fashioning a vital synthesis.... It creatively combines the divine and the human, Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person as a child of God, establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to encounter nature and understand work, provides reasons for joy and humor even in the midst of a very hard life. For the people this wisdom is also a principle of discernment and an evangelical instinct through which they spontaneously sense when the Gospel is served in the Church and when it is emptied of its content and stifled by other interests.[181]

IN BRIEF
1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.

1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy an important place. They include both praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church's intercession for men that they may be able to use God's gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel.

1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular piety, rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith, the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a human wisdom and that enrich Christian life.

CHRISTIAN FUNERALS
1680 All the sacraments, and principally those of Christian initiation, have as their goal the last Passover of the child of God which, through death, leads him into the life of the Kingdom. Then what he confessed in faith and hope will be fulfilled: "I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."[182]

I. THE CHRISTIAN'S LAST PASSOVER
1681 The Christian meaning of death is revealed in the light of the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ in whom resides our only hope. The Christian who dies in Christ Jesus is "away from the body and at home with the Lord."[183]

1682 For the Christian the day of death inaugurates, at the end of his sacramental life, the fulfillment of his new birth begun at Baptism, the definitive "conformity" to "the image of the Son" conferred by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and participation in the feast of the Kingdom which was anticipated in the Eucharist- even if final purifications are still necessary for him in order to be clothed with the nuptial garment.

1683 The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's end, in order to surrender him "into the Father's hands." She offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of his grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory.[184] This offering is fully celebrated in the Eucharistic sacrifice; the blessings before and after Mass are sacramentals.

II. THE CELEBRATION OF FUNERALS
1684 The Christian funeral confers on the deceased neither a sacrament nor a sacramental since he has "passed" beyond the sacramental economy. It is nonetheless a liturgical celebration of the Church.[185] The ministry of the Church aims at expressing efficacious communion with the deceased, at the participation in that communion of the community gathered for the funeral and at the proclamation of eternal life to the community.

1685 The different funeral rites express the Paschal character of Christian death and are in keeping with the situations and traditions of each region, even as to the color of the liturgical vestments worn.[186]

1686 The Order of Christian Funerals (Ordo exsequiarum) of the Roman liturgy gives three types of funeral celebrations, corresponding to the three places in which they are conducted (the home, the church, and the cemetery), and according to the importance attached to them by the family, local customs, the culture, and popular piety. This order of celebration is common to all the liturgical traditions and comprises four principal elements:

1687 The greeting of the community. A greeting of faith begins the celebration. Relatives and friends of the deceased are welcomed with a word of "consolation" (in the New Testament sense of the Holy Spirit's power in hope).[187] The community assembling in prayer also awaits the "words of eternal life." The death of a member of the community (or the anniversary of a death, or the seventh or fortieth day after death) is an event that should lead beyond the perspectives of "this world" and should draw the faithful into the true perspective of faith in the risen Christ.

1688 The liturgy of the Word during funerals demands very careful preparation because the assembly present for the funeral may include some faithful who rarely attend the liturgy, and friends of the deceased who are not Christians. The homily in particular must "avoid the literary genre of funeral eulogy"[188] and illumine the mystery of Christian death in the light of the risen Christ.

1689 The Eucharistic Sacrifice. When the celebration takes place in church the Eucharist is the heart of the Paschal reality of Christian death.[189] In the Eucharist, the Church expresses her efficacious communion with the departed: offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit the sacrifice of the death and resurrection of Christ, she asks to purify his child of his sins and their consequences, and to admit him to the Paschal fullness of the table of the Kingdom.[190] It is by the Eucharist thus celebrated that the community of the faithful, especially the family of the deceased, learn to live in communion with the one who "has fallen asleep in the Lord," by communicating in the Body of Christ of which he is a living member and, then, by praying for him and with him.

1690 A farewell to the deceased is his final "commendation to God" by the Church. It is "the last farewell by which the Christian community greets one of its members before his body is brought to its tomb."[191] The Byzantine tradition expresses this by the kiss of farewell to the deceased: By this final greeting "we sing for his departure from this life and separation from us, but also because there is a communion and a reunion. For even dead, we are not at all separated from one another, because we all run the same course and we will find one another again in the same place. We shall never be separated, for we live for Christ, and now we are united with Christ as we go toward him . . . we shall all be together in Christ."[192]

Adoration
Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament draws the worshiper into spiritual communion with God. Whether done on one's own time or at a scheduled service, adoration of the eucharistic presence of Christ fosters our devotion for participation in the Mass. Jesus instituted the Eucharist for our eating and drinking. Sharing communion at Mass brings us nourishment, healing and sustenance. There is no substitute for participation in the Eucharist; eucharistic adoration in your personal and community life should enhance it, not replace it.

Catholics reserve leftover communion breads in a tabernacle. The primary purpose for this custom is to have the Body of Christ ready for the dying at any time. The tabernacle also provides communion for the sick or those unable to come to Mass. Because it houses the sacramental Body of Christ, it serves as a place for adoration. Adoration may be private or public. When adoring the Blessed Sacrament in private, Catholics usually go to any church, where the communion hosts are kept inside the tabernacle. They say whatever prayers they wish. Public adoration may take place in the context of a brief service (traditionally called "Benediction" although that only refers to the blessing which concludes it) or over a more extended period of time. The Blessed Sacrament is usually presented for adoration outside the tabernacle on an altar or a stand. Extended periods of adoration that used to be common are now coming back into our life. They filled the void for people who were not receiving communion frequently. However, in the twentieth century, the church has urged people to more frequent communion and has forbidden exposition during Mass. Prolonged periods of adoration happens in church where a large number of the faithful gather every Thursday (from 9.15 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.) Whether the Blessed Sacrament is inside or outside the tabernacle, adoration may invite us into prayer and prepare us for the Eucharist.

BENEDICTION
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is a service of worship and blessing centered on the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. It began in the Middle Ages as a popular devotional exercise. In recent years the frequency of its celebration has lessened, but it remains in our liturgical books. Some older Catholics remember it fondly; some younger Catholics have never heard of it. After Vatican Council II, the Catholic Church revised its order of service for Benediction along with all the other liturgical rites. The full title, “ Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and Benediction,” helps explain its purpose. The faithful gaze at an unconsumed host from a previous Mass and worship the presence of the risen Christ in that host.

The ceremony has four parts: exposition, adoration, benediction, and reposition. During exposition, the minister goes to the tabernacle and removes a large host reserved there. Placing it in a monstrance (a windowed liturgical vessel which displays the host), the minister sets the object of our devotion on the altar. The period of adoration may be lengthy. Prayers, Scripture readings, songs, homily, and silence may fill the time. At the close of this period, if the minister is a priest or a deacon, he blesses the assembly with the monstrance and says a concluding prayer. This blessing is the benediction from which the service derives its name. If a communion minister is presiding, he or she does not give a blessing. Finally, the minister removes the Blessed Sacrament from the monstrance and places it back in the tabernacle, an action called “reposition.”

Traditionally, Catholics have sung two popular eucharistic hymns during the adoration, “O Salutaris Hostia” and “Pange Lingua” but any eucharistic hymn will serve. A litany of acclamations to God, “The Divine Praises,” usually concluded benediction, but the revised liturgy does not specifically include them. Any acclamation or song of praise may close the service. Benediction enhances our devotion to the Eucharist and whets our appetite for the Mass. The main reason we have eucharistic bread is to consume it in communion with one another and with Christ. However, it may also serve as an object of praise, a vision of the great treasure we share at every Mass.

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