What are the Sacraments? The sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us through the work of the Holy Spirit (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1131; cf. no. 774)

Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification. Sacraments are mysteries; they are signs of the sacred presence of our God we cannot see. They are more than mere signs, however. Sacraments actually give grace.