has endowed the signs of the sacraments so that they truly effect what they signify. More than just signifying faith, the sacraments cause God’s grace to be made present. This is the defining characteristic of the sacraments in Catholic teaching. It was common in scholastic language to refer to the signs given by God in both the New and Old Testaments as sacraments. For example, circumcision was a sacrament. It was a sign that expressed faith in the God of Israel. But scholastic theologians, such