The Necessity and Power of the Sacraments

Grace Given, Not Earned

It’s common to hear people speak of the sacraments as “just symbols.” But the Catholic Church has never understood them that way. The sacraments are not merely reminders of something interior. They are not subjective expressions of our faith. They are the ordinary means God uses to give grace.

Saint Thomas Aquinas asks whether the sacraments are necessary for salvation. His answer is yes—not because God is bound to the sacraments, but because we are. We are bodily creatures. We learn through our senses. Our wills are wounded, and our passions do not always obey reason. We need help.

This isn’t just theological theory—it’s something every person knows by experience. We often don’t do the good we want to do, and instead we do what we know we shouldn’t. Even with the best intentions, self-control fails us. That struggle between what we know is right and what we actually do is one of the most self-evident realities of human life. And it’s precisely why God, in His mercy, has given us the sacraments. They are not rewards for the strong. They are medicine for the weak.

God, knowing our nature, meets us where we are. He doesn’t wait for us to rise to Him. Instead, He descends to us and gives us what Aquinas calls “spiritual medicine.” The sacraments are remedies. They heal. They strengthen. They communicate the divine life to us in a way suited to our nature.

This is not a new idea. Jesus said it plainly: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). That is not a metaphor. Baptism is the gateway. Without it—or at least the desire for it—we are cut off from supernatural life. This has always been the Church’s teaching.

The early Church knew this well. Tertullian said that “salvation belongs to no one” without baptism. Cyprian rejoiced that “by the help of the water of new birth, the stain of former years had been washed away.” These are not poetic flourishes. They are descriptions of a real, transformative grace.

Yet we must make an important distinction. The sacraments do not work because of our holiness or the minister’s. They work by the power of Christ. This is what the Church means by ex opere operato—that the grace of the sacrament is given by the very fact of the action being done properly. If the essential elements are present—correct matter, proper form, and right intention—then the sacrament is valid. Even if the minister is in a state of mortal sin.

This was the heart of the Church’s response to the Donatist controversy. The Donatists claimed that the sacraments performed by sinful ministers were invalid. Augustine strongly disagreed. He reminded them that it is not the man who baptizes or consecrates—it is Christ who works through the man. Even the worst priest can confect the Eucharist if he intends to do what the Church does. The power comes from Christ, not from the vessel.

At the same time, we must not ignore the role of the recipient. Ex opere operato does not mean automatic grace regardless of the person’s interior disposition. The sacraments are valid when rightly performed, but they are fruitful only when rightly received. This is ex opere operantis—grace given by the working of the one who receives. If someone approaches the Eucharist without faith or in a state of grave sin, he may receive the sacrament, but not its benefits. Worse, he may bring condemnation upon himself.

This is why Saint Paul warns so strongly: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner... eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor 11:27–29). The grace is truly present, but it is rejected. The gift is offered, but the heart is closed.

In this way, the sacraments both reveal and respect our freedom. God does not force His grace upon us. He offers it through means that are visible and certain, but He still calls us to cooperate. We are not saved by the sacraments like machines that are simply plugged in. We are saved by grace, through faith, in a sacramental way that invites our response.

Why This Matters

The sacraments are not optional extras. They are not merely symbols of an invisible faith. They are the ordinary channels of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church. We do not invent them. We receive them. And through them, God shapes and sanctifies us.

To say that the sacraments are necessary is not to place limits on God—it is to recognize how He has chosen to act. God is not constrained by the sacraments, but He has bound us to them for our good. He knows what we need. He made us from dust and breath. He knows that we need water, oil, bread, and wine—not only to live, but to live in Him.

In what areas of your life do you feel most in need of God’s healing grace—and are you actively seeking that grace through the sacraments He has provided