More Q & A on the Sacraments

Read the Catechism in a Year

Catechism in a Year: Day 158

Part Two: How We Celebrate the Christian Mysteries
- Section One: God Acts in Our Regard by Means of Sacred Signs
-- Chapter One: God and the Sacred Liturgy
Question 174: Why is faith in Jesus Christ not enough? Why does God give us the sacraments, too?

We can and should come to God with all our senses, not just with the intellect. That is why God gives himself to us in earthly signs—especially in bread and wine, the Body and Blood of Christ.

People saw Jesus, heard him, could touch him and thereby experience salvation and healing in body and soul. The sensible signs of the sacraments show this same signature of God, who desires to address the whole man—not just his head.

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Question 175: Why do the sacraments belong to the Church? Why cannot anyone use them however he wants?

Sacraments are Christ’s gift to his Church. It is her duty to administer them and to protect them from misuse.

Jesus entrusted his words and signs to specific men, namely, the apostles, who were to hand them on; he did not hand them over to an anonymous crowd. Today we would say: He did not post his inheritance on the Internet for free access but rather registered it under a domain name. Sacraments exist for the Church and through the Church. They are for her, because the Body of Christ, which is the Church, is established, nourished, and perfected through the sacraments. They exist through her, because the sacraments are the power of Christ’s Body, for example in confession, where Christ forgives our sins through the priest.

Dig Deeper: Corresponding CCC section (1117-1152) and other references here.
Recommended Listening: The Holy Eucharist by Fr. William Casey C.P.M.