(the intercession of the Church as the mode of efficacy is evident)...because the Church in her rites makes use, not of affirmative, but of deprecatory expression, which shows that she looks to the divine mercy for the effect.- Joseph Pohle and Arthur Pruess, The Sacraments: A Dogmatic Treatise. Vol.1. (St.Louis:B. Herder Book, 1945), 118.
This aspect of the efficacy discussion needs to be addressed: the distinction between appealing to God's justice and God's mercy. Where in a sense, because the sacraments are instituted by Christ and we are instructed to use them for our salvation, they are part of the divine mandate, where God gives us a supernatural means for the supernatural end to which he has called us, and to not provide a means for something he is asking us to accomplish would be unjust and cruel. (I'm not articulating this well, lots more to say on this subject)
Is this true with the temporal effect AND spiritual effects? Good question.
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