There is, in every sacrament, a spiritual relation, or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified: whence it comes to pass, that the names and effects of the one are attributed to the other.
Signs point to other things; they are not themselves the things to which they point. Next to the street that runs past this building there is a large sign that identifies the building. The sign is not the building. So it is necessary to make a distinction between a sign and the thing signified.
However, there must not be any unnecessary separation, especially when it comes to the sacraments. Spiritually there is a connection, a union, between the sign and that to which it points. Accordingly, the Confession may fairly state that we may speak of baptism and the Supper as having the spiritual graces that God provides through them even though they are signs and not actually the grace. In this sense, a sacrament is not "just" a sign in the same way that a traffic sign really is just a sign. More on this tomorrow.
Tomorrow: Sacraments as means of grace.
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