292. Q. What is a sacramental?
      A. A sacramental is anything set apart or blessed by the Church to excite good thoughts and to increase devotion, and through these movements of the heart to remit venial sin.

293. Q. What is the difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals?
      A. The difference between the Sacraments and the sacramentals is:

• The Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ and the sacramentals were instituted by the Church;
• 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.

294. Q. Which is the chief sacramental used in the Church?
      A. The chief sacramental used in the Church is the sign of the Cross.

295. Q. 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.

296. Q. 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.

297. Q. 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.

298. Q. 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.

299. Q. How does the sign of the Cross express the mystery of the Incarnation and death of our Lord?
      A. The sign of the Cross expresses the mystery of the Incarnation by reminding us that the Son of God, having become man, suffered death on the cross.

300. Q. What other sacramental is in very frequent use?
      A. Another sacramental in very frequent use is holy water.

301. Q. What is holy water?
      A. Holy water is water blessed by the priest with solemn prayer to beg God's blessing on those who use it, and protection from the powers of darkness.

302. Q. Are there other sacramentals besides the sign of the Cross and holy water?
      A. Besides the sign of the Cross and holy water there are many other sacramentals, such as blessed candles, ashes, palms, crucifixes, images of the Blessed Virgin and of the saints, rosaries, and scapulars.