Ex opere operato
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ex opere operato is a Latin theological expression meaning literally "from the work having been worked" and with the specific meaning "by the very fact of the action's being performed." It refers to the idea that the sacraments work from the mere fact of having been administered, rather than from the status of the performer—that is, they actually confer grace when the sacramental sign is validly effected, not as the result of the good standing of the celebrant, or activity on the part of the recipient, but by the power and promise of God.
According to the Roman Catholic Church, to receive the fruits of the sacraments requires one to be properly disposed. This means reception of grace via the sacraments is not automatic. There must be, at least in the case of an adult, a predispositional receptivity to receive the grace which is always available in a validly effected sacrament.
The ex opere operato nature of the Catholic sacraments affirms that while a proper disposition is a necessary precondition to receiving grace in those sacraments, it is not the cause of the grace. What God offers in the sacraments, Catholics argue, is purely a free gift. Not even a person's own dispositions, as good as they may be, produce God's supernatural life in that person.
The principle of ex opere operato also exists in other denominations, notably in the Anglican tradition. Article XXVI of the Thirty-nine Articles (Of the unworthiness of ministers which hinders not the effect of the Sacrament) states that the "ministration of the Word and Sacraments" is not done in the name of the one performing the sacerdotal function, "neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness," since the sacraments have their effect "because of Christ's intention and promise, although they be ministered by evil men."
