INTRODUCTION

The Council of Trent discussing the problem of justification in order to rule out error, draws attention to the functions of the sacrament when it states that, the most holy sacraments are the means “through which all true justice either begins, or begun is increased or being lost is repaired.”  By this, the Council fathers teach that the sacraments of themselves effect, what they truly represent in those who receive them, the justification and sanctification that proceeds from the paschal mystery of Christ. The sacraments have a telos (end) not easily distinguished from their efficacy.

By sacraments, I mean the full range of possibilities described by the Church as sacrament, namely, Christ (the primordial sacrament of God), the Church (the fundamental sacrament of Christ) and the seven sacraments; and by doing so, I proffer that all sacraments find their end in the paschal mystery of Christ, without which we cannot speak of any proper function of the sacraments. In this essay, I attempt a discussion on the functions of the sacraments as theological (grace) and ecclesiological (faith and unity of persons) with the view also that, all these functions can be assumed into one basic function found in the paschal mystery of Christ, which is the conferment of grace.

FUNCTION(s) OF THE SACRAMENT

Discussion on the sacrament by St. Augustine and Paul Tillich reveals primarily that, the sacrament serves functions that are both theocentric and ecclesiological. For Augustine, “people cannot be united in any religion, whether it be true or false, unless they are brought together through a common sharing of some visible signs or sacraments” This reveals an ecclesiological function of the sacraments, which serves as a means for the gathering of a people. The sacraments become a conditio sine qua non for any true understanding of God and in fact, religion itself. This is easily linked to the notion of the “Church as a sacrament of Christ.”  In Tillich’s view, “any object or event is sacramental in which the transcendent is perceived to be present.”

This presents a theocentric functionality of a sacrament, such that, a sacrament reveals that which it signifies (God), whose presence cannot be perceived by the human powers without some aids, usually referred to as sacrament. These views remain valid, insofar as the sacraments we celebrate today, represent what they communicate. It is no mystery then, that the Council Fathers of the Second Vatican Council state that “the purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the Body of Christ and to give worship to God” on the basis that, they are signs that instruct men about God, they presuppose faith, nourish, strengthen and express it.  To be continued.