Vatican II and Sacraments

At the center of all religions, the experience of the Sacred is that of livable relation with the Transcendent, with the Ineffable. Religion links human beings with the Transcendent from reality which they enter in contact by the ritual act. However, many Christians today risk believing that Sacraments contain in fact the holiness which is pre-destined and which will dispense us from any internal activity or effort. This booklet on Vatican II and Sacraments comes to grasp the meaning of sacraments as understood in the context of Vatican II. Firstly, the Sacraments must not merely be considered as actions of the Church in view of the individual members. I articulate this view by showing that they have been focused on the individual, leading to insufficient attention on the human community in which the individual evolves. Secondly, Sacraments make the Church eschatologically, historically, and socially present as the visible reality of God's promise of himself to the world, especially for the individual in his/her concrete situation. Vatican II lays emphasis on the celebration of the whole community. The latter is the subject of the accomplishment of the Sacraments through prayers.