As Christians, we are all disciples of Christ and are called to bear witness to Christ
in all that we say and do.  To help us in this work, the sacraments fortify us and call us to a life of holiness.  The Latin word "sacramentum" means "a sign of the sacred." The seven sacraments are the life of the Catholic Church. When we participate in them worthily, each provides us with His unseen grace, with the life of God in our spiritual souls, through material symbols which our physical bodies can perceive.

Each sacrament is an "outward sign instituted by God to give grace."   The outward signs of the sacraments have two parts: the "thing" itself which is used (water, oil, etc.), and the words or gestures which give significance to what is being done.  We know that no human power could attach an inward grace to an outward sign; only God can do that, and, thus, the second element in the definition of a sacrament: "instituted by Christ."  The third element in the definition of a "sacrament" is its essential purpose:  "to give grace."  Sanctifying grace is that marvelous supernatural life, that sharing in God's own life that is the result of God's Love, the Holy Spirit, indwelling in the soul.  As each additional sacrament is received (and repeated, when it can be), the level of spiritual vitality rises in the soul, just as the brightness
of a fire increases as more fuel is added.