sacramentals.info
Title
Sacramentals.info - Helping Us Reach Towards God
What Are Sacramentals
Sacramentals are objects which are used by people to provide inspiration, direction and focus in their efforts to achieve communion with God. In many cases, the sacramental object is also used as a teaching tool, or as a mnenomic device to help the faithful become better acquainted with the concepts of his or her respective faith.
The root of the word "sacramental" is the word "sacrament," which comes from the Latin word for "badge." A sacrament was originally used to describe the pin that was used to hold up a Roman citizen's toga, and later on, different styles of sacrament pins were used to differentiate officer's ranks in the Roman army.
Eventually, the word sacrament became associated with Catholicism's major ritual observances, which just like a toga pin, served as a badge, or identifier, of a practicing Catholic. An object which was used during these ritual observances was known as a "sacramental."
During the ensuing centuries, the word sacramental gradually became associated not only with objects used during the formal liturgy and ritual, but also with objects used outside of the formal liturgy, such as during private meditations and devotions. These non-ritual objects were used as spiritual tools during one's private prayer, to help with one's concentration, focus and to enable better communion with God.
The four major worldwide religions featured on this site (Roman Catholic, Orthodox Catholic, Jewish and Muslim) literally have dozens of sacramentals (although only Roman Catholics generally use the word "sacramental" to describe one of these spiritual tools).
The items displayed in this collection include over a dozen variations of rosaries, several types of crucifixes and crosses, many icons and pictures, a variety of prayer ropes (komboskini), chimes, mezuzot, menorot, scrolls, candles and many, many other objects. Also included are what we call "shared sacramentals," items which are used by all four faiths, in much the same fashion and with a similar objective in mind.
A list of sacramentals has been placed on the right side of the webpage for a given faith. In addition, two or three pictures of the faith's most common sacramentals are also shown below the list.
The sacramental list for a given faith is not meant to be all-inclusive; such a list, even if it was possible to create, would take many pages. The sacramental lists included for each faith on this site are meant to showcase the most common sacramentals for that faith as are present in our collection.
Certain sacramental "look-alikes" are marked with an asterisk in the sacramental lists. These objects have no religious significance, but are frequently mistaken as spiritual tools. Such look-alikes might include objects such as the komboloi, or worry beads, which appear similar to the Rosary, but actually are a traditional fashion accoutrement used primarily by the male residents of Greece.
Contact
- Museum Curator at 860-306-0038
Address
- South Quaker Lane
- Elmwood, CT, USA
Additional Information
- Museum is open by appointment only
- See website at Sacramentals Museum for more info
