Where in the Bible are Sacramentals?

During the Protestant Reformation, sacramentals were one of the first things the Reformers abandoned. The Reformers sought to have a church that was more centered on the Bible and so took great lengths to eliminate anything “extra.”

However, as we will see, sacramentals are far from “extra” and not only have roots in Sacred Scripture, but have a long history that dates back to the very beginnings of the Church.

While sacramentals are, strictly speaking, instituted by the Church, they all have a common foundation in Sacred Scripture. In fact, in the updated Book of Blessings we read how the first part of every blessing is to have passage from Scripture. This is meant “to ensure that the blessing is a genuine sacred sign, deriving its meaning and effectiveness from God’s word that is proclaimed.” Even in the Roman Ritual we see echoes of events in Salvation History embedded in the prayers of blessing. The Church has always been mindful to not institute a sacramental without some sort of biblical basis. To help illustrate this reality, I will go through a few examples.

The first sacramental that is most used is the Sign of the Cross. Most of us wouldn’t think of the Sign of the Cross as a sacramental, especially since we use it on a daily basis before and after every prayer. However, the Church has always seen it as a powerful “outward sign” that conveys grace to all who piously perform it.

Saint Francis de Sales describes the Sign of the Cross as “a Christian ceremony that represents the Passion of our Lord by tracing the shape of the Cross with a simple motion.” By itself the action of tracing the Sign of the Cross is neither good nor bad, but “when the sign is employed so as to give honor to God…it becomes a holy ceremony, one that God uses to many good ends.” Biblically speaking, the Sign of the Cross recalls the Passion of Jesus Christ and tracing it over the body with the hand is recorded in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. We read in Ezekiel,

The “Thau” or “Taw” was a letter of the Hebrew alphabet that was derived from an Egyptian letter that looked like a “t” or “x” and later would influence the Greek and Latin letter “T.” This “mark” is given new meaning in the book of Revelation,

This mark or “sign” then is what distinguishes Christians in the prophetic words of Revelation.

The act of singing oneself with the cross then started in apostolic times and was common in the Early Church. For example, Saint Ephraim in the fourth century wrote,

Others like Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose and Tertullian all attest to Christians making the Sign of the Cross daily.

Another example of a sacramental that has biblical basis is “holy water.” This particular symbol is extremely rich and can be found throughout the Old and New Testaments. Water cleansed the world in the great flood and saved the Hebrews from the Egyptians after they walked through the Red Sea. During the time of Jesus, a ritual cleansing was commonplace, which is why Saint John the Baptist was “baptizing” people even before Jesus sanctified the waters of Baptism.

Water has always been viewed, even by non-Christian religions, as a symbol of spiritual cleansing. The use of holy water as a separate sacramental from the water at Baptism is always meant to remind us of our own Baptism. Jesus also used water as a sign of spiritual cleansing, such as in the case of the man born blind (cf. John 9). Jesus asked him to wash in the pool of Siloe so that he could not only be cured, but be brought back into the spiritual life of the Jews, who thought he was blind on account of his sins or the sins of his parents.

These are just two examples of how sacramentals, even though Jesus did not establish them, have roots in Sacred Scripture.

Are Sacramentals Found in the Bible?

While you will not find people in the Bible fingering rosary beads, wearing scapulars or donning Miraculous Medals, there are a number of passages of Scripture that support the use of sacramentals:

* In the Old Testament, Naaman went to Elisha for a cure for his leprosy. Elisha told him, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean” (2 Kgs 5:10).

* When the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet (see 2 Kgs 13:20-21).

* Jesus healed the blind man using mud (see Jn 9:6-12).

* The woman with hemorrhages was healed by touching Jesus’ garment (see Lk 8:44).

* In Acts 19:11-12, it is recounted that when face cloths or aprons that had touched the skin of Paul and were applied to the sick, diseases were healed and evil spirits released.

There are a number of sacramentals that are directly referenced in the Bible:

Holy Water — Numbers 5:17 states, “In an earthen vessel [the priest] shall take holy water, as well as some dust from the floor of the tabernacle and put it in the water.” Water was also used for ceremonial cleansing (see Ps 16:4).

Sign of the Cross — St. Paul states emphatically, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified for me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14).

In the Old Testament: “The Lord said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark an X on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it. Old and young, male and female, women and children — wipe them out! But do not touch anyone marked with the X” (Ez 9:4,6).

Blessed Salt — Jesus referred to this sacramental in the Gospel of Mark: “Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another” (9:49-50).

In the Old Testament: “When you have completed the purification, you must bring an unblemished young bull and an unblemished ram from the flock and present them before the Lord. The priests shall throw salt on them and sacrifice them as burnt offerings to the Lord” (Ez 43:23-24).

Finally, although the Rosary was not yet created during the time of the Bible, repetitive prayer is mentioned. Yes, the Rosary is often criticized due to its repetitious nature, which is forbidden in Matthew 6:7: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words.” However, that is the only verse in Scripture that condemns such practice. There are several biblical passages that state otherwise on this issue.

In the Agony of the Garden, Jesus prays three times that the cup would pass from Him (see Mt 26:39-44). Similarly, in Psalm 136, God is praised numerous times, and in Revelations 4:8, the four living creatures cry out day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty.

https://www.simplycatholic.com/what-are-sacramentals/

conveys grace to all who piously perform it.

sorry,
i stopped reading right there.

so...do something..get grace ?

that makes it a form of works , that directly contradicts the following scripture

Eph 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Eph 2:9

not of works, lest anyone should boast.

let me repeat that for the biblicaly stiff necked

NOT OF WORKS

( grace means unmerited favor btw )

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