Q. 1060.  How may persons sin in using Sacramentals?  A. Persons may sin in using Sacramentals by using them in a way or for a purpose prohibited by the Church; also by believing that the use of Sacramentals will save us in spite of our sinful lives.  We must remember that Sacramentals can aid us only through the blessing the Church gives them and through the good dispositions they excite in us.  They have, therefore, no power in themselves, and to put too much confidence in their use leads to superstition.

Q. 1061. {293} What is the difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals?  A. The difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals is:  1st.  The Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ and the sacramentals were instituted by the Church; 2d.  The Sacraments give grace of themselves when we place no obstacle in the way; the sacramentals excite in us pious dispositions, by means of which we may obtain grace.

Q. 1062.  May the Church increase or diminish the number of Sacraments and Sacramentals?  A. The Church can never increase nor diminish the number of Sacraments, for as Christ Himself instituted them, He alone has power to change their number; but the Church may increase or diminish the number of the Sacramentals as the devotion of its people or the circumstances of the time and place require, for since the Church instituted them they must depend entirely upon its laws.

Q. 1063. {294} Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?  A. The chief sacramental used in the Church is the sign of the cross.

Q. 1064. {295} How do we make the sign of the cross?  A. We make the sign of the cross by putting the right hand to the forehead, then on the breast, and then to the left and right shoulders, saying, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.”

Q. 1065.  What is a common fault with many in blessing themselves?  A. A common fault with many in blessing themselves is to make a hurried motion with the hand which is in no way a sign of the cross.  They perform this act of devotion without thought or intention, forgetting that the Church grants an indulgence to all who bless themselves properly while they have sorrow for their sins.

Q. 1066. {296} Why do we make the sign of the cross?  A. We make the sign of the cross to show that we are Christians and to profess our belief in the chief mysteries of our religion.

Q. 1067. {297} How is the sign of the cross a profession of faith in the chief mysteries of our religion?  A. The sign of the cross is a profession of faith in the chief mysteries of our religion because it expresses the mysteries of the Unity and Trinity of God and of the Incarnation and death of our Lord.

Q. 1068. {298} How does the sign of the cross express the mystery of the Unity and Trinity of God?  A. The words, “In the name,” express the Unity of God; the words that follow, “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” express the mystery of the Trinity.