The Catholic Church celebrates the Faith in many ways but the privledged ways are the seven sacraments .  God’s sanctifying grace comes to a soul through the sacraments, but they are not magic nor mere rituals to mark an occasion of life.  They are true encounters with the Living God Who bestows His Life and Love upon a person giving them the strength needed to live out the sacrament they are receiving.  Truly sacraments are not given only for one’s own benefit but for the building up of God’s Kingdom.  We are blessed to be invited by God to participate.  

In order to live the sacraments as we ought, the Church requires an appropriate preparation.  While the sacrament may be conferred, the ultimate effect it has in one’s soul depends on the mode of the recipient and how he or she cooperates with God’s invitation.  The more disposed we are to the grace, the more effect it can have in us.