Got a question? Email [email protected]DONATE to support this channel:http://bit.ly/DonateToAskCatholicsWhat is a sacrament? How do they affect us? Do they give real grace? Are they "works"? Do they "save"? How do we cooperate with God's grace?These are all questions that people have about the pre-denominational church (i.e., the Catholic and the orthodox eastern churches)A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace. “"Seated at the right hand of the Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace. The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify.” (CCC 1084)GRACE: Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an "adopted son" he can henceforth call God "Father," in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.ACTual grace: refers to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.Sanctifying grace: Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love.

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