English

Adjective

sacramental ‎(comparative more sacramental, superlative most sacramental)

1. Used in, or relating to, a sacrament.

   The altar boys were sacked after they were caught sampling the sacramental wine instead of just passing it to the priest before communion.

Noun

sacramental ‎(plural sacramentals)

1. (Christianity, chiefly Roman Catholicism) An object (such as holy water or a crucifix) or an action (such as making the sign of the cross) which is regarded as encouraging devotion and thus spiritually aiding the person who uses it.
   • 1997, James Monti, The king's good servant but God's first:

     But under the twofold pressure of solafideism’s rejection of "good works" for the sake of merit and sola scriptura’s denial of anything not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, sacramentals such as images, relics, blessings, and pilgrimages became the objects of the dissenters' most bitter condemnation and scorn.

   • 2000, Michael Theisen, Exploring Catholicism, page 17:

     The activities in this strategy immerse the young people in the many sacramentals that are part of the daily, weekly, and seasonal Catholic individual and communal religious expressions.

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:sacramental.

Quotations

• 1898, Hermann Rolfus, Illustrated explanation of the holy sacraments, page 294:

  The Sacramentals.

  Besides the holy sacraments there are things which the Church blesses in order that by the pious use of them the Christian may obtain from God temporal benefits and spiritual health. Now as these things bear a certain resemblance to the sacraments, they are called sacramentals.

Translations

Spanish

Etymology

From Ecclesiastical Latin sacrāmentālis.

Noun

sacramental m ‎(plural sacramentales)

1. sacramental