sacramental

The Biblical basis for the use of sacramentals is that Jesus Christ used a form of sacramentals himself; for example, when he healed a blind man, he made a mud paste that he put over the eyes of the man, before telling him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.{{cite web|url=https://www.osv.com/Article/TabId/493/ArtMID/13569/ArticleID/16133/What-Are-Sacramentals.aspx|title=What Are Sacramentals?|last=O'Neill|first=Eddie|date=1 November 2014|publisher=Our Sunday Visitor|language=en|access-date=14 March 2017|archive-date=8 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808202537/https://www.osv.com/Article/TabId/493/ArtMID/13569/ArticleID/16133/What-Are-Sacramentals.aspx|url-status=dead}}

Prayer cloths and holy oil are mentioned in reference to praying for healing, as in {{Bibleverse|Acts|19:11-12|NRSV}} and {{Bibleverse|James|5:14-15|NRSV}}.

File:Holy_Land_2018_(1)_P043_Holy_Sepulchre_palm_procession.jpg – both the procession and the palm branches are sacramentals]]

The Catholic Church defines sacramentals as{{quote|sacred signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments: they signify effects, particularly of a spiritual nature, which are obtained through the Church's intercession. By them men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in life are rendered holy.Second Vatican Council, [https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html Sacrosanctum Concilium], published on 4 December 1963, accessed on 28 June 2025{{rp|Paragraph 60}}}}

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 one to receive grace and dispose a person 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."[http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1670]

The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists three types of sacramentals: blessings,Catechism of the Catholic Church § 1671 consecrations and dedications,{{sfn|Catechism § 1672}} and exorcisms.{{sfn|Catechism § 1673}} At the Second Vatican Council, the church called for the forms of each sacramental "to undergo a revision which takes into account the primary principle of enabling the faithful to participate intelligently, actively, and easily" and for new sacramentals to be adopted if a need for them "becomes apparent".{{rp|Paragraph 79}}

Rosary beads, scapulars, medals and religious images are more accurately termed devotional articles; prayers such as the rosary, the stations of the cross, litanies, and novenas are called popular devotions or "expressions of popular piety".{{sfn|Catechism § 1674}}

The Latin Church allows the bestowing of certain sacramentals, such as blessings, "to catechumens and even to non-Catholics unless there is a prohibition of the Church to the contrary.[https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P48.HTM Code of Canon Law 1170]

In Lutheran churches, sacramentals such as palms and crosses, are used by the faithful.{{cite web |last1=Kavouras |first1=Dean |title=Blessed Is He - Blessed Are We |url=https://www.christlutherancleveland.org/sermons/sermon/2021-03-27/blessed-is-he-blessed-are-we |publisher=Christ Lutheran Church |language=en}}

File:Anglican Breviary.jpg and the Book of Common Prayer]]

A text of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America includes items such as the Anglican rosary, ashes, and palms among objects counted as sacramentals.{{cite book |last=Armentrout |first=Don S. |title=An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g4_P098HhHMC&pg=PT541 |access-date=9 April 2014 |date=1 January 2000 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-89869-701-8 |page=541}}

File:Prayer cloth 1.jpg distributed by the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, a Pentecostal apostolate]]

Pentecostal theologian Mark Pearson states that the Bible speaks of sacramentals, sometimes referred to as points of contact, such as blessed prayer cloths ({{Bibleverse|Acts|19:11-19:12|NRSV}}) and holy oil ({{Bibleverse|James|5:14|NRSV}}).{{cite book |last=Payne |first=Leanne |title=Restoring the Christian Soul: Overcoming Barriers to Completion in Christ through Healing Prayer |url=https://archive.org/details/restoringchristi00payn |url-access=registration |date=1 March 1996 |publisher=Baker Books |language=en |isbn=978-1-4412-3957-0 |page=277}} He states that God is the source of healing and that Pentecostal clergy "can confidently offer prayer, administer the various sacramentals, and lay hands on the sick".

• {{cite book|chapter=Chap. IV. Sacramentals|title=A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion|year=1912|publisher=Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss|first= Joseph|last=Deharbe|translator=Rev. John Fander}}
• {{Cite CE1913 |last=Leclercq |first=Henri |wstitle=Sacramentals |short=x}}
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Sacramentals |volume=23 |short=x}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt4.shtml#art1 Catechism of the Catholic Church: Sacramentals]

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Category:Christian belief and doctrine