What Are Sacraments?

Like most symbols, the sacraments can have different meanings to different people. Joseph Martos explores the meaning and purpose of the sacraments in the life of the Church, the parish community and the individual Christian.

“A sacrament’s meaning is multidimensional because it points to three different time dimensions: past, present, and future. A sacrament also has multiple levels of depth because it can be personally meaningful for an individual at one level, it can have a shared meaning for a particular group at another level, it can have a general meaning for the whole Church at yet a third level,” writes Martos. He includes a helpful chart that briefly explains each sacrament and its past, present and future dimensions.

Updated in 2018.