United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

Appendix A. Glossary • 527

SACRAMENTS OF HEALING: Designation given to the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. SACRAMENTS OF INITIATION: Designation given to those Sacraments that bring a person into membership in the Church— Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist. SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION: The term communion refers to the Community of the Church. Holy Orders and Matrimony are the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (the community of the Church). This means they are primarily directed toward the salva tion of others. If they benefit the personal salvation of the ordained or married person, it is through service to others that this happens. SACRIFICE: A ritual offering made to God by a priest on behalf of the people as a sign of adoration, grati tude, supplication, penance, and/ or communion. SAINT: A person who, after having lived a life of virtue, dies in the state of grace and has been granted the reward of eternal life by God. The saints enjoy the beatific vision and

unceasingly intercede for those still in earthly life. They also serve as a model and inspiration to us. (See also “Canonization.”)

SANCTIFYING GRACE: See “Grace.”

SATISFACTION : An act by which a sinner makes amends for sin. The penance received from the priest in Confession is a form of satisfaction. All real satisfaction for sin needs to be a participation in the satisfaction for sin won for us by Christ. SCRIPTURE (BIBLE): The books that contain the truth of God’s revelation and that were composed by human authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and recognized by the Church. SCRUTINIES: During three Sundays of Lent, those preparing for entrance into the Church are led through prayerful reflections designed to help them turn from sin and grow in holiness. SENSES OF SCRIPTURE: Tradition notes that there are two senses or aspects of Scripture—the literal and the spiritual. The literal meaning is that meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis following rules of sound interpretation. The