Saints LightHoly Water, Medals and Scapulars: Are They Magic?
Holy water, blessings, medals and scapulars are signs the Church gives us to turn ordinary life toward God. They work through prayer and faith, not like magic charms.
What this lesson teaches
- Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church that prepare us for grace through the Church's prayer.
- Sacraments were instituted by Christ and give grace by his action; sacramentals work through prayer and our disposition.
- Laypeople can bless too: parents blessing children and families saying grace are using sacramentals.
- Treating a sacramental as a charm that works automatically is superstition, not faith.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1667-1673
- CCC 1674-1676
- CCC 2111
- CCC 2117
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: Numbers 6:24-26; Acts 19:11-12; 2 Kings 13:21 (4 Kings in Douay-Rheims).
A sample question from this lesson
How do sacramentals differ from sacraments?
- Sacramentals are more powerful because the Church made them
- There is no real difference; they are two names for the same thing
- Sacramentals work only for priests and religious
- Sacraments were instituted by Christ and give grace by his action; sacramentals were instituted by the Church and prepare us for grace
Show the answer
Sacraments were instituted by Christ and give grace by his action; sacramentals were instituted by the Church and prepare us for grace. The lesson, following CCC 1670 and the Baltimore Catechism, explains that sacramentals dispose us to receive grace through the Church's prayer.
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Sacramental
- A sacred sign instituted by the Church, such as holy water or a blessing, that prepares us to receive grace.
- Scapular
- Two small pieces of cloth worn over the shoulders, a miniature religious habit and sign of devotion.
- Superstition
- Treating religious practices as if they worked like magic, apart from faith and conversion of life.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"Holy Water, Medals and Scapulars: Are They Magic?" is lesson 9 of The Seven Sacraments. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- After the Water: How Do I Live My Baptism Every Day? (Baptism, free)
- The First Commandment: God Comes First (The Commandments)
- Patron Saints, Relics and Living with the Saints (Mary and the Saints)