THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
227. With our own strength alone we cannot believe and practice what is necessary to save us, but we need divine grace.
228. Divine grace is of two kinds: habitual or sanctifying grace, and actual or helping grace.
229. Sanctifying grace is a divine gift, which makes man a son of God and heir to heaven.
More briefly, it can be said that the sanctifying grace is friendship with God.
Nothing is more precious than sanctifying grace.
To have sanctifying grace is to have the same God as Friend and Father, and to be united with Him.
We receive sanctifying grace for the first time in Holy Baptism.
230. Sanctifying grace is lost only by mortal sin.
231. The sanctifying grace lost by mortal sin is recovered: 1) by the holy Sacrament of Penance dully received; 2) by an act of perfect contrition, with the purpose of confessing as soon as possible.
He who has lost the grace of God should not live quietly, because at any moment can die and condemn himself. He must therefore recover, as soon as possible, the lost grace.
Present life is the way of eternity.
Eternity, for us, will be heaven or hell.
He who lives in the grace of God follows the way of heaven.
He who lives in mortal sin follows the way of hell.
Each one goes to the place where he is led by the way he follows.
If we want to go to heaven, we must follow the way of heaven.
To desire to go to heaven and follow the path of hell is simply foolishness.
This foolishness is unfortunately committed by many people.
The greatest happiness we can have in this world is to live and die in God’s grace.
The surest way to live and die in God’s grace is to confess and receive communion with much frequency and devotion.
[Jesus Christ, in the Messages of Our Lady of the Roses (www.tldm.org) commands us frequent confession and daily Communion]
The greatest misfortune is to live and die in mortal sin.
Then, all our efforts must be to live and die in the grace of God.
It is advisable to take Communion daily, or at least once a week.
Never too much is done to ensure the salvation of the soul.
[It is very important to do the Communion of the first nine Fridays of consecutive months in honor of the Sacred Heart, read the Promises of the Sacred Heart to those who have His image honored in their homes. It is also very important to make the reparative Communion of the first 5 Saturdays, where Our Lady of Fatima requested that we meditate 15 min. the mysteries of the Holy Rosary in reparation to Her, to pray a rosary, and confess and communicate putting that intention (in reparation to Her Immaculate Heart). In each of these devotions we are promised salvation. Once we have done them for ourselves, let us do it for our loved ones. ]
The salvation of the soul is the most important matter we have.
232. The sanctifying grace is increased: 1) by the holy sacraments dully received; 2) for every good work practiced in state of grace.
Sanctifying grace is in two ways: first and second.
First grace is when the one who has mortal or original sin receives sanctifying grace through the Sacrament of Baptism or Penance.
Second grace is the increase of grace in which he already has it.
The sacraments instituted to give the first grace are Baptism and Penance.
For this reason they are called Sacraments of the dead, because they give life of grace to souls who have died because of mortal sin.
The other five Sacraments are called living, because they must be received in grace of God.
He who receives a sacrament of living, knowing that he is not in the grace of God, commits a grave sacrilege.
Sacramental grace, is the right to special graces, to achieve the proper end of each sacrament.
The Sacraments always give grace to those who receive them with proper dispositions.
Jesus Christ is the One who has given to the Sacraments the virtue of conferring grace.
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Actual grace
233. The actual or helping grace is a supernatural gift, by which the Holy Spirit illuminates our understanding and moves our will to avoid evil and work the good.
234. We need actual graces to begin, continue or conclude any work leading to eternal life.
The actual grace is a certain help and disposition with which God prepares us to receive or increase sanctifying grace.
God grants all men sufficient grace to be saved.
He who is not saved, it is because he has resisted grace.
Grace does not oblige the will; only helps it to do good, leaving it in complete freedom.
We must therefore cooperate with grace and not resist it.
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THE SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
The Sacraments of the Church are seven: the first five it is necessary to receive them in fact or desire, because if they are left by contempt, it is not possible to be saved; the other two are of will, because all Christians are not obliged to receive them.
235. The Sacraments of the Church are seven: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Sacred Order, and Marriage.
236. The sacraments are sensitive and effective signs of grace, instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ to sanctify us.
The Sacraments, through sensible things, signify and produce divine grace in our souls.
For example: in Baptism, water washes the body; this means cleansing from every stain of sin, which at the same time divine grace produces in the soul.
With the seven Sacraments, God provides for spiritual life in the same order that He provides for natural life.
For natural life, seven things are necessary, namely: to be born, to grow up, to feed oneself, to recover the lost health, to repair the forces consumed by illness, superiors who govern and parents who preserve the human race.
Thus, for the spiritual life:
By Baptism one is born.
Confirmation makes grow and fortifies us.
Penance heals spiritual diseases.
The Eucharist feeds.
The Extreme Anointing removes the residue of sins.
The Order perpetuates the succession of ministers of the Church
And marriage provides spiritual children.
The most necessary sacraments are baptism and penance.
Baptism (in fact or, at least, of desire) is necessary to all.
Penance (of fact or desire) is necessary to all those who have committed mortal sin after Baptism.
Regarding dignity, the greatest of the Sacraments is the Eucharist, because it contains the same Lord Jesus Christ, author of grace and of the Sacraments.
A Sacrament requires matter, form and minister who intends to do what the Church does.
Matter, is the sensible thing that is used for the Sacrament, as water in Baptism.
Form, are the words that are uttered to make the Sacrament.
Minister, is the person who makes or confers the sacrament.
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Sacraments that imprint character
237. The sacraments that can be received only once, because they imprint character, are three: Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Order.
238. The character is a spiritual sign that is never erased.
Baptism imprints the character of a Christian; Confirmation, that of a Soldier of Jesus Christ; and the Holy Order, that of a Minister of Jesus Christ.