Which principle states that the effects of the sacrament depend on the recipient's willingness and reception?

Which principle states that the effects of the sacrament depend on the recipient's willingness and reception?

• A. ex opere operato
• B. In persona Christi
• C. ex opere operantis
• D. Per the recipientis

Answer: (C)

The effect of a sacrament on a person depends on that person’s openness and response to grace. This is captured by the principle ex opere operantis, which emphasizes that the recipient’s disposition—faith, repentance, willingness to receive—shapes the actual fruits of the sacrament. The sacraments confer grace by the act itself (ex opere operato) when their proper form and matter are present and the minister acts validly, but the personal reception and growth in grace hinge on the recipient’s disposition, which is what ex opere operantis highlights. In persona Christi refers to the priest acting in Christ’s place, not the recipient’s reception, and the term per the recipientis isn’t a standard concept.

The effect of a sacrament on a person depends on that person’s openness and response to grace. This is captured by the principle ex opere operantis, which emphasizes that the recipient’s disposition—faith, repentance, willingness to receive—shapes the actual fruits of the sacrament. The sacraments confer grace by the act itself (ex opere operato) when their proper form and matter are present and the minister acts validly, but the personal reception and growth in grace hinge on the recipient’s disposition, which is what ex opere operantis highlights. In persona Christi refers to the priest acting in Christ’s place, not the recipient’s reception, and the term per the recipientis isn’t a standard concept.