YOUCAT Question n. 178 - Part II. If a sacrament is administered by someone who is unworthy, does it fail to have its effect?
(Youcat answer - repeated) No. The
sacraments are effective on the basis of the sacramental action that is carried
out (ex opere operato), in other words, independently of the moral conduct or
spiritual outlook of the minister. It is enough for him to intend to do what
the Church does.
A deepening pening through CCC
(CCC 1131)
The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and
entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us. The visible
rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the
graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with
the required dispositions.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) By all means, ministers of the
sacraments ought to live an exemplary life. But the sacraments take effect, not
because of the holiness of their ministers, but rather because Christ himself
is at work in them. In any case, he respects our freedom when we receive the
sacraments. That is why they have a positive effect only if we rely on Christ.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 1128)
This is the meaning of the Church's affirmation (Cf. Council of Trent (1547):
DS 1608) that the sacraments act ex opere
operato (literally: "by the very fact of the action's being
performed"), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished
once for all. It follows that "the sacrament is not wrought by the
righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of
God" (St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 68, 8). From the moment that a
sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the
power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the
personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments
also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.
(The next question is: Who celebrates the liturgy?)
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