#12457 Are the Sacraments Necessary for Salvation? Faith and Grace - William Albrecht

Summary

Podcast Summary: Catholic Answers Live – "Are the Sacraments Necessary for Salvation? Faith and Grace" with Tom Nash (#12457, Nov 13, 2025)

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Main Theme and Purpose

This episode of Catholic Answers Live features in-house apologist Tom Nash responding to caller questions about the necessity and role of the sacraments in Catholic belief, especially regarding salvation, grace, and their scriptural foundations. The episode explores topics such as baptism, confession, the Eucharist, holy orders, and marriage, aiming to clarify why Catholics view the sacraments as vital channels of grace and how they relate to faith, works, and salvation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Are the Sacraments Necessary for Salvation?

• Normative Necessity: Tom Nash clarifies that, according to Catholic teaching, the sacraments are "normatively necessary" for salvation. God has bound salvation to the sacraments, but He Himself is not bound by them (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1257–1261).
  • “If someone is invincibly ignorant about that reality, then we commit them to God’s mercy … God, who has bound salvation to the sacraments, is himself not bound by the sacraments.” (Tom Nash, [02:19])
• Scriptural Basis: Emphasizes Matthew 28:18–20 (the Great Commission) and John 6:68 (Peter’s confession) as foundational passages for sacramental theology.

2. Sacraments as Channels of Grace and Their Biblical Foundations

• Baptism: Connects Old Testament circumcision to New Testament baptism as an entrance into the people of God (Colossians 2).
• Eucharist and Holy Orders:
  • The Eucharist as instituted in the Last Supper (“Do this in remembrance of me” – Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11).
  • The phrase “remembrance” is not mere recollection, but a real participation in Christ’s sacrifice.
    • “In biblical remembrance, you access the power of a past event and experience it in the present.” (Tom Nash, [06:43])
  • Holy Orders derive from Christ commissioning the apostles at the Last Supper, authorizing them as priests.
• Other Sacraments: Each sacrament is linked to grace for distinct purposes (see Q&A below).

3. The Role and Benefit of Confession Beyond Venial Sin

• Confession is not only for mortal sins but is a regular means of growing in holiness, supported by the practice of saints such as Pope John Paul II who confessed weekly.
  • “We make ourselves accountable to Jesus through the ministerial priesthood … it’s benefiting from the sacramental graces that you can’t get otherwise from this particular sacrament.” (Tom Nash, [15:50], [18:06])

4. Sacramental Marriage and Validity (Caller Questions)

• Marriage Between Baptized Non-Catholics: If both spouses are baptized (even outside the Catholic Church), their marriage is sacramental.
  • “A sacramentally valid marriage is between two baptized Christians... from the point upon which you did get baptized... it would be a sacramental marriage.” (Tom Nash, [31:36], [33:29])
• Convalidation Not Required: If both are validly baptized, and have no impediments, their marriage is already valid and sacramental upon baptism.

5. Explaining the Purpose and “Why” of Sacraments (to Non-Catholics)

• The sacraments are “vehicles to extend grace... and strength on our journey towards sanctification."
  • “Yes, that would definitely be correct, Bill … they are graces that can be accessed regularly... the gift that keeps on giving and ultimately, the greatest gift is the Eucharist.” ([20:11], [22:49])
• Baptism brings one into Christ; confirmation strengthens; Eucharist nourishes; confession reconciles; anointing of the sick heals; marriage and holy orders serve the community.
• For Non-Catholics: Invite to inquiry, witness of saints as proof of sacramental power, and the unique graces provided through sacraments (e.g., adoration, confession).

6. Comparing Jewish and Catholic Rites (Caller Q&A)

• Infant baptism in Catholicism is analogous to circumcision in Judaism (entry into covenant community), more so than with the presentation of infants or Bar/Bat Mitzvah.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Actions speak louder than words... if you have baptism, but you’re not there weekly at Mass, what are you conveying to your children?”
  – Tom Nash ([04:13])
• “The whom we go to is Jesus Christ. Because he founded the Church on the rock of St. Peter and the other apostles, we go to him, so we're honoring him.”
  – Tom Nash ([05:26])
• Caller Mario on marriage:
  • “How can I explain to someone that marriage is more than just a piece of paper and that it’s a sacrament?” ([12:25])
• On Confession and Growth in Grace:
  • “A good thing about confession is that we do get extra graces, not simply about forgiveness of sins. And it’s that intimate encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ.” ([18:06])
• On Explaining Sacraments to Protestants:
  • “Would it be fair... to state that these are vehicles to extend grace to us and strength to us on our journey towards sanctification?”
    • “Yes, that would definitely be correct.” ([20:11])
• On Sacramental Marriage in Mixed Backgrounds:
  • “You already have a sacramental marriage because that’s why, for example, our Protestant brothers and sisters... we have to examine your marriage...” ([31:36])
• On Church Rules and Marriage Validity:
  • “Jesus Christ makes the rules for our benefit, because he gives us the truth that sets us free, and he works through His Church...” ([35:35])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:19 | Are sacraments necessary for salvation? (Normative necessity, Catechism quotes)
• 04:13 | Scriptural basis for sacraments, necessity for Catholics to practice
• 06:43 | Biblical evidence for Holy Orders and the Eucharist as more than symbolic
• 12:25 | Sacrament of Marriage explained to a Protestant inquirer
• 15:11 | Confession, venial sins, and the psychological/spiritual value of regular confession
• 20:11 | Sacraments as channels of grace; explainer for non-Catholic conversations
• 31:14 | Marriage validity and sacramental status for converts/Protestant spouses
• 41:12 | Analogies between Jewish and Catholic rites (baptism, confirmation, circumcision, Bar Mitzvah)
• 50:48 | Non-Catholic asks: "Why the sacraments?"; Relationship-building through them

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Tone & Style Notes

• The tone throughout is friendly, accessible, and pastoral, aiming to educate both Catholics and the curious non-Catholic audience.
• Tom Nash frequently references Scripture and the Catechism in a conversational way, aiming to both clarify and invite deeper understanding.
• The hosts encourage curiosity and repeat invitations for both Protestants and non-Christians to reach out, emphasizing that questions and doubts are welcome.

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Summary Prepared for Listeners Seeking Key Content, Theological Clarification, and Catholic Perspective on the Necessity and Grace of the Sacraments.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Welcome to Catholic Answers Live. My name is Edgar Lujano, producer for the show Call screener as well. And today your fill in host SI's out for the day. So you get me and you get me for the full two hours. Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid about. Sy will be back tomorrow for an episode with the one and only Jimmy Akin. But today we have an awesome show for you guys. Second hour, Tim Staples is going to be an ask Me anything about Catholicism so you can ask him what you want there. But for this hour we have one of our in house apologists and newest in the office we have Tom Nash here in the office.

[C]

Tom, great to be here with you. Edgar, filling in for sigh and looking forward to our program and talking about the sacraments of salvation.

[B]

Absolutely. Yeah. We're going to be talking about it's an ask me anything or your questions on the sacraments. So any question on the sacraments you're more than welcome to call for. From baptism to marriage to confession to the Eucharist, ask those questions. Tom is a wealth of knowledge close to Saint Isidore Seville, the patron saint of the Internet.

[C]

Saint Isidore, pray for us.

[B]

Amen. Amen to that. So if you have a question you want to ask Tom, you're more than welcome to call. The number is 888-318-7884. That's triple, 831-TRUTH. To ask your question to Tom again one more time, it's 888-318-7884. So Tom, let's jump right into it. Whenever we talk about the sacraments, there's one thing that our Protestant brothers and sisters always say, you Catholics think that these things are necessary for your salvation. And that is absurd. So Tom, let me ask you, are the sacraments necessary for our salvation?

[C]

They are normatively necessary. Necessary. If someone is invincibly ignorant about that reality, then we commit them to God's mercy. And if they are truly, invincibly ignorant, God can find a way, as it says in the Catechism of the Catholic church, Edgar, number 1261, that God, who has bound salvation to the sacraments is himself not bound by the sacraments. In other words, he has instituted them for our salvation. But he's not limited. That's what we Speak about in Trent of the boundaries, baptism by desire for one who's a catechumen. But at the same time, as they say in Catechism 1261, that was in 1257, I should say in 1261, it mentions how, you know, young people, infants, in fact, babies who die without baptism. That is, maybe they were aborted or maybe they died before they could get baptism. Well, this is just a reminder that what our Lord says is, the kingdom of God belongs to the little ones. Matthew 8:18 1:4, verse 1 to 4, Matthew 18, and also in, excuse me. Yes. And then Matthew 19, 13, 15. These are crucial passages to remind us that God wants us to be involved. He wants to be involved in our life from the very beginning. And similar to circumcision, which is where a young boy would be circumcised on the eighth day, so in the new covenant, as St. Paul says in Colossians 2, the circumcision of the heart, that is baptism. And analogously, we come into the people of God in the New Covenant through baptism, which not only washes away our sins, but regenerates us with the Holy Spirit.

[B]

Okay, all right. So necessary to those who know about it, I guess would be a simple way of putting it. Yes.

[C]

And it really points out the Great Commission, Matthew, chapter 28, verses 18 to 20, that go make disciples of all nations, teaching them all that I have commanded you, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit. This is what we are called to do. This is what Catholic parents need to do when their children are born, and not put it off. And also look at it as not merely as a rite of passage, because too oftentimes I talk to my priest friends who are pastors that you will have people who show up for the baptism, but they're not going to Mass every week, or are they there for their son's Confirmation, another sacrament, but they're not there weekly at mass. And it's like, so what are you conveying to your children when actions speak louder than words? In other words, if you have a.

[B]

Question for Tom, ask me anything on the sacraments. Give us a call. 888-318-7884. That's 8831 truth to ask a question on the sacraments here with Tom Nash. So, Tom, I see you have a book there that you wrote about Peter and Peter's on the COVID Peter's on the COVID And so what's the title of the book?

[C]

It's to Whom shall we go, Edgar? To whom?

[B]

The biblical case.

[C]

The biblical case for the Catholic Church. Also available on our online bookstore. But I, you know what I like about this as far as the Catholics? I love how the artist, graphic artist, bolded whom. In other words, that it's just not about Peter. It's about this quote, unquote, man made institution. It's not a man made institution. It's founded by Jesus Christ. And the whom we go to is Jesus Christ. And because he founded the church on the Rock of St. Peter and the other apostles, we go to him, so we're honoring him. It comes from the words of St. Peter in Matthew, Excuse me, John 6:68, after many people turned away because of they couldn't accept one of the sacraments, that is the Eucharist, Eat my body, drink my blood. So the whom, everything we talk about on Catholic Answers ultimately goes back directly or indirectly to our Lord Jesus Christ and how he has instituted his one Catholic Church and how he calls everyone into that Catholic Church, whether full communion, if they're already Christian, or to come in for the first time to know Jesus Christ. So baptism.

[B]

So if Christ is the one that founded the church on Peter, that to me makes me think of holy orders.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

So where is that evidence for holy orders, at least in Scripture, or that we know that that's what Jesus instituted?

[C]

Well, we can see where he says, do this in remembrance of me. Right. He's commissioning them to carry on his work of salvation. People say, well, what do you mean? Do you remember? That's just like a recollection, like we might do on in the United States of America. The analogy would be July 4th, where we might dress up as colonists, right. And we might march, do a little March thing, but we don't get access to the actual event. In fact, in biblical remembrance, you had the power. You access the power of past event and experience. I should say you draw on the power event and experience it in the present. And with the Old Testament you had priests and they were Levites and they served periodically, you know, age 30 to 50. Also you have the lambs. They could only be one and done, obviously because they get slaughtered in the process of being offered. But God's one sacrifice, there was a trans historical aspect to it. Not to go too far afield on it. But the thing is when he's saying do this in remembrance of me, he's commissioning them to be priests. And then we see this in the early church, it's not just our opinion. We see this in the early church where in various documents where they make reference to the Eucharist and doing in remembrance of doing exactly what Jesus said. And what do we have access to? Not merely a symbol, not merely bread and wine, but the signs point to a greater reality, a transubstantiation into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. So the priests are designated to do that and they designated at the Last Supper. And we see it quite frankly in the early church as well. St Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 11, and he says that you can partake of the body and blood in an unworthy manner. And what does that mean? You know, that you eat and drink a judgment upon yourself. And some people have died and even got, you know, gotten sick and even died. Well, how does that happen with just mere bread or grape juice or wine if it's they're just, you know, unless they somebody's putting some arsenic or some death dealing additive into them. No, it's precisely because we have access to that one sacrifice that culminated in everlasting glory. Each and every time we are at.

[B]

Mass, we're taking questions on the sacraments. So if you have any question in regard to any of the sacraments that are out that we have the seven sacraments, either from the Eucharist to confession, maybe confirmation or baptism or even marriage and of course, holy orders. If you have a question on any of those, Tom is here to take your question. There's plenty of lines open, so go ahead and give us a call when we come back. We'll go ahead and take some calls. 888-318-7884. That's 88831 Truth. Catholic Answers Live.

[A]

We're here for you.

[C]

Call now.

[A]

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[D]

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[A]

Lives the year was 1981.

[C]

The FCC licensed to operate a second satellite earth station. The first ever given to an order of nuns was granted to Our lady of the Angels Monastery. Mother Angelica flips the switch and EWTN begins transmitting from Irondale, Alabama.

[A]

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[B]

Welcome back. Catholic Answers Live. We are taking questions on the sacraments. So if you have any question on any of the sacraments, you're curious why we have them. What's the biblical context? How do we know that we Catholics have it right when it comes to it? Or even if you're not Catholic and you have a question on the sacraments, the lines are open for you. Go ahead and give us a call. 888-318-7884. Once again, that's 888-318-7884 to ask your question to Tom Nash. So, Tom, let's go ahead and make our way over. Before we do that, thank you to Tyler on YouTube for that super chat of 99 cents. It's not a super chat. It's an emoji of 99 cents. Thank you for that. And Jeff, coming through with all the emojis, or not the emojis, the sound effects. There we go. All right, let's go over to Janelle in West Palm Beach, Florida, listening or watching us on YouTube. Janelle, welcome to the show.

[E]

Hello. Thank you for all that you guys do.

[D]

Mike.

[B]

Oh, Janelle, I think you cut off there.

[C]

Darn.

[B]

Janelle, are you there? Oh, okay. Janelle, I can't hear you. We'll come back to her. Come back to her in a second here. Let's see. All right, let's go over to Mario. Actually, you know what, John, can you check to see if she's there? I don't know if she dropped off, but let's go over to Mario in Waco, Texas. Mario, you are on the air with Tom Nash here. Go right ahead.

[E]

Oh, hello.

[B]

Hey, Mario, go right ahead. You're on the air.

[E]

So my question is about the sacrament of marriage. And I was wondering, how can I explain to someone that marriage is more than just a piece of paper and that it's, well, a sacrament and something that we need to do to involve God in our marriage.

[C]

Yes, we know that marriage as a natural institution, Mario, is instituted by God. And we see it in Genesis 2, 23, 24. Right. That what God is joined together, no one should put asunder. And what we see in the New Testament, we see, well spoken about marriage, of how that marriage in Christ is something quite different. And it speaks about this St. Paul does in chapter five of his letter to the Ephesians. And he talks about how husbands, for example, are to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that he might sanctify her. So we see. Then it goes on. It says, for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife. Reference to Genesis 2, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery. And I mean in reference to Christ and the Church. So that, in other words, that this is a means by which we can draw closer to Christ as one. That is for those who are married in the Church, that those who are born again through baptism. John 3, 3, 5. And, of course, we see the command of Jes. And the great Commission to baptize all nations, to, excuse me, to make disciples of all nations through baptism, that once you are baptized, and then you're a temple of the Holy Spirit and you marry someone else who also is a temple of the Holy Spirit, you are in Christ in a particularly special way through marriage. And you are in some ways grafted into that great mystery of Jesus Christ, the great bridegroom, and his sacramental or mystical bridegroom, that is the Church. So it is through all that. And we see this early on in the Church as being affirmed. And that's why in a valid marriage between two Christians, it cannot be dissolved. It cannot be. You know, now you can talk about an annulment, because annulment means there was a deficiency at the beginning of consent, one way or another, some kind of a problem. But in a valid marriage, like Christ himself, who is faithful to his spouse, if there is a valid marriage between two Christians, it is indissoluble.

[B]

How's that, Mario?

[E]

Okay, that answers my question. Thank you.

[C]

You're welcome, Mario. God bless you.

[B]

Thank you, Mario. God bless. Let's go back to Janelle. Let's see if you're still there. Janelle, are you there?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay, perfect. We have you now. Go right ahead.

[C]

Okay.

[E]

Hi. My question is about the Sacrament of Congress confession. So if I understand correctly, the Catholic Church teaches that each time you receive the Eucharist, you receive forgiveness for venial sins.

[B]

Correct?

[C]

Yeah. Yes, that's correct. So.

[E]

Yes. So if you receive. If. I guess, like, my question is if you go to confession in a state of grace.

[C]

Yes.

[E]

And you have, like, say, like, you've received the Eucharist recently, like, what's the point of going to confession if your venial sins are already forgiven anyway? Like, the priest absolves you.

[C]

Sure.

[E]

Is there anything forgiven?

[C]

Well, certainly those sins would be forgiven. You know, if you're doing it between Sunday Mass, there's other ways, too. Holy water can Bless. But here's the thing, number one, from a merely psychological standpoint, it helps us to recollect, even if we might not have committed any mortal sins, Janelle, that we recollect and say, what have I done wrong? We make ourselves accountable, and we make ourselves accountable to Jesus through the ministry of the ministerial priesthood, that is an ordained priest. So that's good from a psychological standpoint and to look at ourselves and to grow in holiness, which happens in the sacrament of confession in a way that it won't happen elsewhere. And that's why we also have the sacramental seal, so that that is inviolable and therefore so that one can always come and unburden himself or herself. In addition, it's similar to prayer. Each day, say you're in a state of holiness, you don't stop praying. And you might look upon. It's a poor analogy, but periodic checkups that one takes his or her car to the dealer or to some other mechanic of their choice and they wanted get the oil, change this and that. A good thing about confession is that we do get extra graces, not simply about forgiveness of sins. And it's that intimate encounter with our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's a special way that he has instituted. We unburden ourselves. We make ourselves available, say, lord God, please bless me abundantly with the graces that I might go forward to be a witness to your kingdom. And so this is what he himself has set up, right? Even after baptism, he envisioned that people would still commit sins. And so this is the reality that Jesus Christ institutes when he institutes, recognizes the reality when he institutes the sacrament of confession. Because people say, well, I've just been saved. I'm once saved, always saved. Well, then what is Jesus doing? Even though he's instituted baptism and it's Sunday night, the first Easter evening, and what is he doing? He says, breathes on them In John, chapter 20, verses 21, 23, receive the Holy Spirit. If you hold men's. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven. If you retain them, they are retained. So Jesus is saying that this is something I'm going to give you for the journey, the sacrament. So not simply about forgiveness of sin. It's having that intimate encounter with Jesus. It's benefiting from the sacramental graces that you can't get otherwise from this particular sacrament and just a growth in holiness. So never feel like you can't benefit from going to confession, even if you don't have any mortal sins on your heart, and consider the actions of some of the great Saints. And Pope St. John Paul II, he went every week. Now, we can be pretty confident that he didn't have anything, quote, unquote, need of any grave sins, but he wanted to grow in holiness. He wanted to stay in that encounter. And when you look at the great saints, they all have great love to our Lord in terms of the Eucharist, celebrating Mass, if they're priests, receiving, if they're lay people, or even if they're priests, whatever the case is always receiving the Eucharist, spending time in adoration, and also going to confession regularly so we can look to the lives of the saints as well as the Lord's words to see why it makes very good sense to receive the sacrament of confession, I think, you know, regularly or more, if needed? Regularly, I would say on a monthly basis or more when needed.

[B]

Does that answer your question, Janelle?

[E]

Yes. Thank you.

[C]

You're welcome, Janelle.

[B]

Thank you very much. Janelle, thanks for your question. We do have a line open if you want to ask your question to Tom Nash on the sacraments, any of the sacraments, if you have any question on them, you're more than welcome to call us 888-318-7884. That's 288831 truth to give us a call. Let's go over to Bill in Tulsa, OKLAHOMA, Listening on St. Michael radio. Bill, it's good to hear from you, my friend. You are on the air.

[E]

Hey, hello, Edgar. How are you, sir?

[B]

I'm doing great. How about yourself?

[E]

Doing good. You've always been so helpful when I call, and I want to thank you for that.

[B]

Well, thank you, Bill. Thank you so much. That's very kind of you. Go right ahead.

[E]

My question for Tom is would it be fair in conversations with those who are not Catholic in explaining the sacraments to basically state that these are vehicles to extend grace to us and strength to us on our journey towards sanctification?

[C]

Yes, that would definitely be correct, Bill. People will look and see that the apostles, for example, in chapter eight of Acts, he says, now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. One would, to be precise, a greater experience of the Holy Spirit because you're baptized in the name of The Father, Son, the Holy Spirit. You receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at baptism and also absolution of all personal sin, original sin, and then the consequences, I should say not the consequences, because we retain concupiscence the side of the grave, but you also have any temporal punishment removed. So, yes, and we see the grace manifested on that first Pentecost lost day because they were able to boldly proclaim the Gospel. And we see that with St. Peter in Acts chapter two, where he says, what must we do to be saved? And he talks about being baptized, reaffirming what Jesus Christ said to be baptized. Now he says, in the name of Jesus. People say, oh, see, that's only. It's the name of Jesus, not the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Peter is. We don't read Peter. We don't read Jesus in light of Peter. We read Peter in light of Jesus, that is the Lord is Jesus. And when he says baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, what In fact, baptism in the name of Jesus is a shorthand for saying that, because there were other baptisms that were out there, including the baptism of John, various Jewish types of baptisms, even like in Mithraism, the pagans, they had a form of baptism. So baptism in the name of Jesus is simply saying baptized according to the Trinitarian manner in distinguishing Jesus versus some other types of baptism that existed. It is not to refute or contradict or overrule what Jesus himself established clearly in Matthew 28. But yes, definitely grace channels of graces. We see that as they speak boldly, we see that as some of them receive the gift of tongues, and that being the ability to speak languages that they had never studied before, all in deference to the kingdom. So when we look at baptism, baptism is for the benefit of the individual who receives the Holy Spirit, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and is saved, put in a state of grace as a result. Confirmation is to turn that saved person who's in a state of grace toward the community in general, to proclaim and to help his family, his friends, and indeed to witness to the whole world according to his vocation. God has put for him so definitely graces. And they're graces that can be accessed regularly, right? That if one is married, they can access, saying, lord, please bless us as husband and wife, as a priest who has ordained, he can celebrate sacraments that a non priest cannot celebrate. So we have access to these sacraments. They're the gift that keep on giving and Ultimately, the greatest gift is the Eucharist, which culminated in everlasting glory, that is the sacrifice of Jesus and made present at every Mass on the altars, on the appearances of bread and wine, which is indeed according to the order of Melchizedek.

[B]

Bill, how's that?

[E]

Just one quick thing here, Tom.

[C]

Yes, sir.

[E]

Also to say that. That what Christ did on the cross gave us the opportunity for salvation.

[C]

Absolutely in order.

[E]

In other words, he gave us an opportunity to be saved by accepting him and what he did on the cross as our Savior and Lord.

[C]

Yes. Then.

[E]

Then that, then that begins the process of sanctification until the day we die. And so the sacraments are those elements that will help us in that process of sanctification to stay, stay close to Jesus, to maintain our salvation until the day we die.

[C]

Yes. And not just simply sanctification, but indeed to restore us, first of all with baptism and mortal sin is a reality to restore us to that state of grace, that state of original justification. And just a couple of thoughts. It's an ongoing reality. It's not just a one and done. Because if it's a one and done, then, for example, the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5, 7, among other passages, make no sense because Jesus demands an account from us that we not that we earn our salvation, but we say yes or no to Jesus Christ and his gift of salvation through our concrete choices. In addition, that it's not simply, it is finished, as in done, and the sacrifice is completely over when Jesus says this in John 19:30, but rather, no doubt, Jesus doesn't suffer anymore. He doesn't die. He dies. Once we see this mentioned in Hebrews 7 and Hebrews 9, but the sacrifice, he rises from the dead. He tells Mary Magdalene, do not cling to me. So as great as Easter was, and it is the high point of the liturgical year, he says, I have not yet ascended to my Father. And your Father. What is he ascending for? To complete the Old Covenant sacrifice of Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, which our Jewish friends still commemorate in an imperfect way because they don't have the temple anymore, in an imperfect way, typically in September, October, depending on when the Jewish calendar falls. But for us that we see that Jesus goes in, he takes not the blood of goats and calves, but his own Matthew 19, 11, 12. And thus he has this secures us an eternal redemption. And we have access to that sacrifice every time under the appearances of bread and wine, every time we celebrate Mass according to the order of Melchizedek.

[B]

Bill, thank you so much for your question. It's always great to hear from you, my friend. When we come back, more questions on the sacraments with Tom Nash.

[A]

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[D]

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[D]

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[B]

Welcome back. Catholic Answers live. Edgar Lujano, producer for the show, filling in for Sykela today. But have no fear, he will be back tomorrow. So it's always a great show when Saizon arguably might be better when I'm on, but you know we're not gonna get there.

[C]

It's good to have self esteem, Edgar.

[B]

My head's gonna inflate so big I'm not gonna be able to walk out of the studio.

[C]

Speaking of which, I saw the Goodyear blimp. Just I saw it the Other day too, speaking inflatables. But yeah, because I.

[B]

That's usually over la, isn't it?

[C]

Well, it depends. I mean, back in the day before they had satellite. Well, you even had satellites back then. But I remember in the 70s when Michigan, I went to the University of Michigan and when there was a big game, the blimp would come into town to give that aerial view and. Yeah, so that was when the blimp was in town. You knew there was a big game coming up. And now, of course, all the games are televised, all of them. But not all of them are as big as each and every one of them.

[B]

Fair enough. All right, I got to do this pitch because Carrie told me it's a one day only thing. You see right here on this desk, we got a bunch of Bibles. We have the Great Adventure Bible, the Dedicate Bible. We have, of course, Ignatius Press's Bible. Well, if you guys, I don't know if you guys knew this, but we carry [e-mail] and if you go right now, every single Bible and catechism is on sale 25% off. But it's only today, so go to shop.catholic.com you have to put the promo code in Must have as one word.

[C]

Just must have Question for those who are buying, is it Pacific or Eastern time when the clock strikes 12 to.

[B]

Friday, that's a Kerry question. So you gotta call Kerry for that one.

[C]

Hopefully they'll give them a grace. If it's between 9 and 12 and you're on the east coast, hopefully I'm sure they'll go PT Pacific time.

[B]

They'll allow it. So type in the promo code must have as one word. Must have. And you can get 25% off all Bibles and Catechisms that we have at shop.catholic.com Honestly, these Bibles that we have here are all great options. The Great Adventure Bible by Ascension, the Didache Bible, and then we also have the Ignatius Press Bible, which is absolutely fantastic. So go check them out. It's always a good deal. If you're looking for a Bible and you know what Christmas is around the corner, Bible is a great gift. And a catechism.

[C]

Yes, absolutely. Because you can return to them again and again and to dive deeper into them and benefit because it's God's word.

[B]

Amen. Amen to that. All right, let's go over to Jared. He was in. Is it Poseyville? How do you say that? Poseyville. Poseyville, Indiana. Jared, how do you pronounce the Name of your town. Hold on, give me one second. I'm gonna hit the wrong button. I know it. And Jared, you're on the air. Go ahead. How do you pronounce the name of your town?

[E]

Poseyville.

[B]

Poseyville. All right, cool. I got it. You're on the air, Jared. Go right ahead.

[E]

Yeah, I just had a question about marriage. My wife and I were married, but she was not Catholic and I was actually atheist when we got married.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

And now I'm an ocia.

[C]

God bless you.

[E]

Is our marriage sacramental? And if not, how do we bring that up to a sacramental marriage?

[C]

Sure. And by the way, your wife, is she baptized? Was she baptized before she married you or since then?

[E]

Yes, she was baptized, but within, like the Protestant.

[C]

But was it trinitarian Father, Son and Holy Spirit, do you know? So that would make her baptism valid. And you yourself were not in. You noted you're coming from an atheistic background. You've never had baptism yet, correct?

[E]

Well, so I became Christian about almost three years ago, and I went and I was baptized in a trinitarian formula within the baptism.

[C]

Well, then you, my friend, I'm happy to to tell you you are in a sacramental marriage because a sacramentally valid marriage is between two baptized Christians. Now, some people might say, hey, wait a second, after you come in to receive the other sacraments come Easter, right? That they might convolidate or whatnot, your marriage. But you are actually, as my friend Edward Peters, a great canon lawyer based in the Detroit area, would know that quite clearly you already have a sacramental marriage, but yet you are not yet come into full communion. Is your wife in OCIA as well?

[E]

No, not yet.

[C]

Okay, well, that's fine. But you would already have because you're both baptized. That is a sacramental marriage in itself. Because that's why, for example, our Protestant brothers and sisters, and maybe they had a divorce, God forbid, but they were coming in, they themselves. Wait, I'm not a Catholic. I'd say, yeah, but we have to examine your marriage because you were married to another person. And therefore, as a Christian, we have to see whether that is a valid marriage or not. Because a valid marriage between two baptized people cannot be written asunder. So, yes, you already have one.

[E]

Even though I wasn't baptized when we got married. It's like retroactive.

[C]

Yeah, well, not retroactive, but from the point upon which you did get baptized, now it would have been a valid marriage from the beginning, natural marriage. And of course, the only thing that would impede that if people have previous marriages that have to be adjudicated. That's not the case here, but it would be from the point on you are baptized, but it would be a valid marriage, natural marriage, and it would be sacramental from the point in which you got baptized. And if someone tells you something different, that's not correct.

[E]

Okay, well, that's a great blessing to hear. And I'm even more happy about my baptism.

[C]

Yeah. And you know what I say as you're going through ocia, I'm so inclined to say rcia, but it's ocia. Now, sometimes when I'm writing it, I put rcia, ocia, for those who know the different acronyms. But I would say to you is call on, say, lord, I am a child of God. Please, Lord Jesus, please bless me. Please bless me abundantly, my family. I am your son, adopted son in your Lord Jesus, in the Lord Jesus Christ. So ask the Lord to stir up those graces every day and to bless your family to help you draw closer to him. And just wishing you all the best as you progress towards the easter vigil come 2026.

[E]

Thank you so much. Awesome.

[B]

Thank you.

[C]

God bless you.

[B]

Thank you, Jared. Question for you, Tom. So he's coming through ocia. His marriage is sacramental, but does he still have to get it convalidated in the Church?

[C]

No. That's despite what some people would say. I mean, you have. You can. I mean, if a marriage is already valid, Edgar. And then they are. Somebody was coming in, and it's between two people who are Christians. Two Christians. They already have that. What they do get is getting full communion and all the access to the graces that come with the other sacraments. But it would be, in fact, already a valid marriage.

[B]

Would they have to get it blessed by the church at all?

[C]

You know, you could have a blessing from the church, but blessing is really talking about validity, and it's already valid, so that's not strictly needed. We're talking about some other people. If I'm a Catholic, and God forbid I went to Vegas and decided to get married to somebody, and she was a baptized Christian herself, maybe a Catholic, we would still have to have our marriage validated in the church because Jesus Christ makes the rules for our benefit, because he gives us the truth that sets us free. And he works through his church, which has the power to bind and loose. And with the church giving the rules, you have to be baptized, not baptized, but rather that you are married within the church, with the church present a witness of the church that would be needed for validity. And this is where, again, we can't go our own way when it's at odds with the church, despite what Fleetwood Mac said.

[B]

Oh, man. I'm sorry, Tom. You constantly make references to Fleetwood Mac.

[C]

You can go your own way.

[B]

I know Fleetwood Mac from that one viral video of the Native American guy who is on a skateboard drinking cranberry juice. All right, well, that's why, Noah. Fleetwood Mac is.

[C]

Thankfully, the church bridges all cultures and all in the sacraments for 2,000 years, despite cultural references that might not be ascertained by.

[B]

If you're listening on the radio. Tom and I are different generations, and we're very different cultures. And he makes a lot of great references.

[C]

I'm a big fan of Our Lady Guadalupe.

[B]

Okay, don't be.

[C]

I want all the good Mexican people out there to know, and Latin Americans in general, that I am a great lover of Our Blessed Mother and in particular, of the Mexican American culture and Mexico in general.

[B]

All right, but do you know Our lady of Los Lagos or do you know Our lady of Lujan? I'm gonna start going off on all the Hispanic ones.

[C]

Our lady of Lujan versus Our lady of Lujano.

[B]

Yeah, there we go. The reason I mentioned her is.

[C]

What about Our Lady? Zapopan.

[B]

Zapopan.

[C]

See? Yeah.

[B]

Okay. All right. This man is cultured in the Hispanic world. But you know what? The only reason I bring that up is because I love you, Tom. I just don't always understand the cultural references you make because I think it's more of a generational thing than it is of a cultural thing.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Because I see myself in terms of culture as a Mexican American and the emphasis on the American side, because I talk to family from Mexico and there's a connection there. But I am not exactly like them because I grew up in the States.

[C]

By the way, how about a great movie? If I can mention that can break.

[B]

I bet you I'm not gonna know what this movie is.

[C]

Well, have you ever heard of Daniela Romo? Yes.

[B]

She's a.

[C]

Come on, now Diana knows who Daniela Romo is. She knew she was a great singer. Anyway, the movie is One Man's Hero. It's about Irish Catholics who fought on the side of Mexico along with others.

[B]

Oh, you're talking about the one man's hero. St. Patrick's Battalion. Yeah. See, Daniela what? Romo.

[C]

Daniela Romo. R O, M A R, O, M O. Not Tony Romo. Daniela Romo. So it's like.

[B]

All right, okay, I'll have to look.

[C]

That up later, and then Tom Behringer's the lead. It's a worthwhile movie.

[B]

All right. Sounds good. With that, we're gonna go to our final break for the hour. When we come back, we'll get to all of our colors, so hang in there. We have Stan, Kevin the John from Oklahoma. Hang in there. We'll get to you guys when we get back from this break right here on Catholic Answers Live.

[E]

Hello, this is Archbishop Salvatore Cordiglione of San Francisco. Keep your dial tuned to Catholic Answers.

[C]

Live.

[A]

In Morse code. The sequence SOS is a distress call. It's been said that it stands for Save Our Souls. Well, right now our world is in big trouble, and we're putting out an SOS call for help. Will you answer that call? St. Paul Street Evangelization, a Catholic nonprofit, has hundreds of teams who share the.

[C]

Good news with souls who don't know Jesus.

[A]

Catholic Answers is supported in part by St. Paul Street Evangelization. Visit streetevangelization.com to get involved. St. Carlo Acutis shared a dream in which Sister Lucia appeared to him, saying the First Saturday Devotion could change the destiny of the world. The Blue army of Our lady of Fatima invites you to practice this Devotion. Join a First Saturday virtual pilgrimage beginning December 6th. Experience spiritual meditations while traveling virtually through Portugal and Spain to 12 sacred sites tied to the Fatima story. Track your journey with a passport and stamps. Visit bluearmy.com and select First Saturday Pilgrimage to learn more. Sponsored by Our Lady's Blue Army.

[B]

He is only one of four popes honored as the great Matthew Bunsen and.

[A]

The Doctors of the church.

[B]

St. Leo. I was pope at a time when Roman civilization was being overrun by barbarian armies. He stood as a light in the.

[A]

Darkness and even saved the city of.

[B]

Rome from destruction by Attila and the Huns. Leo died in 461.

[A]

For more about the Doctors of the Church, visit doctorsofthechurch.com.

[B]

And we are back. Ask me anything on the sacraments. Let's go straight to the calls because we had a little bit of banter there. So, Stan in Wilkes County, Georgia, listening on St. Paul radio. Stan, thanks for being patient. You are on the air with Tom Nash.

[E]

Hey, can you hear me okay?

[B]

Yeah, loud and clear. Go ahead.

[E]

Yeah. Tom Nash. I get a tear in my eye every time I hear your name.

[B]

You and me both.

[E]

Father Tom Nash, OSA. He taught at St. Augustine Seminary in Holland, Michigan. And he was a dear spiritual counselor. So just a name that makes me glad.

[C]

Praise God. And by the way, you Mentioned Holland, Michigan, osa, the Augustans. And that's where for at least a little while. Pope Leo was a student seminarian out that way. So how about that? Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

[E]

He was a class behind me in the seminar.

[C]

How about that?

[B]

Wow, cool.

[E]

Yeah, we're planning to go see him next year. A bunch of us alumni. So, yeah, I was hoping.

[B]

Make sure you get some Chicago deep dish pizza and take it to him. All right.

[C]

How you will preserve it for the trip is another question.

[B]

There we go. Stan, go ahead with your question that.

[E]

Quickly as a 55. I've been teaching catechism for 55 years. Can I put a quick plug in for your book of Catholic answers? It is so well done. And I'm recommending all my confirmation parents or sponsors to get that for their Kung Fu Maddie, because that is just a great book.

[B]

Which book are you talking about?

[C]

I think the Big Book.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. Are you familiar? Did you know that we have a volume two on that?

[E]

No, I'm waiting for it. Is it out now?

[B]

It is. You know what? After this call, go ahead and wait. John will get your information and we'll send that book out to Signs of the Faith.

[E]

Really well done.

[B]

Yeah. Thank you.

[E]

Go ahead, Sam, I had a question about. Is there a comparison to be made between baptism and presentation of an infant in the Jewish tradition and confirmation and bar mitzvah?

[C]

I would say that the analogy or the comparison would be with circumcision, right? That one comes into the Old Covenant on the eighth day, a male child was circumcised. In the New Covenant, we talk about infant baptism. I mentioned Matthew 18:1 4 and Matthew 19:13, 15, that the children do not hinder them. The kingdom of God belongs to them. Not only mere children, but of course, all of us are called to be childlike throughout our whole lives relative to God. And so we would see that circumcision in the Old Covenant is circumcision of the heart, as Paul says in Colossians 2, Circumcision of the heart, which is baptism. So there would be that God wants us to be involved in our lives and not just simply being raised, but indeed dwelling in our hearts in a very special way through the sacrament of baptism. And, you know, I would think you can make some sense of a confirmation bar mitzvah, because bar mitzvah is, you know, a rite of passage going into young adulthood for young men or bat mitzvah for young ladies. And confirmation, though, although depending on it can go much earlier. But it is a Sending out, if you will, confirmation is to embolden the baptized person to therefore go and proclaim courageously and give witness to Christ in thought, word and deed. So you can make an analogy of sorts, but I don't think it's as close as circumcision, Old covenant and baptism, New covenant.

[E]

Okay, thank you.

[C]

You're welcome.

[B]

All right, thanks, Dan. Hang on the line. We'll get that book out to you, volume two. And thanks for promoting that. Really appreciate it. All right, let's go over to Kevin, who's in Tulipo. Is that Mississippi?

[C]

Tupelo.

[B]

Tupelo. Tupelo, Mississippi, Listening on Sirius xm. Actually, I think we might have dropped Kevin. Actually, you know what, let's go over to. I know this man, the John from Oklahoma. John, you're on the air. Go ahead.

[E]

Hey, you are always a great stand in when you're on, Edgar. You do a great job.

[B]

Thank you. Make sure whenever size on. And you call again, you mention that and you drill down. All right. He needs, he needs to be aware of this. All right. All right. Let me clip this video and send it to the bosses, too. Go ahead, John. Okay.

[E]

So you know I'm a new Catholic. Yes, sir, you know, just last Easter. But my thing, it is when it comes to the sacrament of confirmation and seeing a lot of what's going on in the news today, how do I. And we know that you have to be in a state of grace when you are confirmed. And we know that homosexuality, even with the church is not in being actively homosexual is not being in a state of grace. So how do I explain the. What Father James Martin did when confirming somebody the other day in a home in a openly homosexual relationship and having his partner as his sponsor, as his sponsor to somebody else?

[C]

Yeah. But I would just say, well, I guess if someone's an adult, for example, if I'm an adult and I'm getting baptized and I'm living in serious sin, well, what is it supposed to do? It's supposed to remove not simply original sin, but my personal sins. That if I'm consciously living a gravely wrong lifestyle, for example, me living with a woman not in reality, but just as a hypothetical for the sake of argument, then I would be receiving that sacrament in vain. Similarly, if I go to confession and withhold, you know, withhold a grave sin, I'm not going to be absolved. I know a friend who went into. We were in college and told the priest, my pastor at the time, because I lived in Ann Arbor, went to University of Michigan that he was living with a gal. And he goes, well, I can give you my blessing, I can't absolve you. He goes, well, I'll take that. So he gave him a blessing, but God bless, Monsignor, at the time he did not absolve him because he was living in that relationship. I would say to Father James Martin, I don't know all the particulars, but if someone is living in a state, right, in a state of grave sin that is not simply having an orientation but actively living on it, well, it's to make a mockery and it's a rationalization which is not good for anybody. Anybody who would go and to be confirmed, to be strengthened, it's not going to be beneficial because you're living a lifestyle, you're supposed to be confirmed and receive the Holy Spirit, but yet at the same time you're doing things which are contrary to the gospel that are contrary to walking with the Holy Spirit. And so no one's going to be benefited from that, from that. I don't know all the details, but I would just say to anybody. And that's why we talk about when people come into full communion of the church at Easter time, they are encouraged to go to, in fact, require typically to go to confession in advance unless they're being baptized for the first time, which that covers the basis for those who just haven't been baptized before. But for those who are already baptized, you go to confession. All of us, whoever we are, whatever our challenges, whatever vices we might struggle with, we all need God's mercy and we don't do anybody any favors by affirming them in a lifestyle, whatever that lifestyle might be, and then trying to confer a sacrament on them. It's delusional and it's contrary to the gospel and indeed it's spiritually perilous for all concerned.

[E]

So does that invalidate that confirmation that was performed?

[C]

Well, it certainly. It's an interesting question. There's got to be a disposed person to that, right? And if you're not.

[B]

No.

[E]

Well, the person is a very public person, very well known in.

[C]

No, I understand what you're saying. I understand. I know who Father James Martin is. But you're talking about the person that was confirmed, or you talk about the priest who did the confirmation, conferred the sacrament?

[E]

Well, no, the person who.

[B]

Dropped off. So let me go ahead and finish this. So basically what John was saying was the person who was being entered into the church is actually a public figure and is publicly has a quote unquote husband.

[C]

Yes, I got that. And so just as the sacrament of baptism would be vainly received and it would invalidate because you're not indisposed, you're not taking advantage, at the very least, you're not taking advantage of the graces that one would be conferred. Of course we can say clear cut and confession. If you withhold a mortal sin, you are not speaking of receiving the confirmation of the sacrament. In that case, when you are clearly living. The only thing I could say is somebody by chance, and only God can tell whether someone is invincibly ignorant what's going on in someone's life. God judges perfectly. I cannot do so. But objectively, what is going on there is a scandal. It talks about this giving scandal in Catechism 2284-2287. And there clearly one who goes through the motions of that is not going to benefit from that ceremony at all.

[B]

John, sorry, I don't know what happened there with your call dropping out, but thanks for your question. It's always good to hear from you. Let's go over to Robert in San Antonio, Texas, listening on the Guadalupe Radio Network. Robert, you're, you're on there. Go right ahead with your question.

[E]

Yeah, my question is coming from a non Catholic who just found this radio station within the last few days and I've been tuning in on the mornings and evenings. What is like the purpose or the why behind this? The sacraments, just because I don't understand them, I don't know much about them. And how do they strengthen that relationship with God for you versus me, someone who doesn't do them or perform them?

[C]

Yes. And Robert, I would say we just follow the Lord of our Lord Jesus Christ, the lead of our Lord Jesus Christ, who instituted the sacraments beginning with baptism. I'm not sure if you are baptized or not, Robert, but that would be one means by which we benefit and become temples of the Holy Spirit, whether as adults or as infants. And then our Lord also gave us the other sacraments, the Eucharist he speaks about in John chapter six in the Bread of Life discourse. Eat my body and drink my blood. You know, as far as having eternal life in us, we get graces from receiving his body and blood, soul and divinity as the new covenant, Passover Lamb that we receive under the appearances of bread and wine, that is according to the order of Melchizedek. In addition to that, there are other sacraments, confirmation, which we were talking about a second ago, which is to strengthen the baptized person that he or she may Go out and make disciples of all nations. And also there are other sacraments, including sacraments of service, that being priesthood and married life. And so that is to strengthen the faithful, to help them raise, if they're married, raising children in the family of God through baptism and the other sacraments. And the priest can perform sacraments that non priests cannot do, that is confession. Because after baptism, people might sin gravely, as we noted earlier in the program, and they can be reconciled to God anointing of the sick, which is toward the end of life. Well, not necessarily at the end of life, but oftentimes associated with the end of life, where they could be strengthened and if they are so disposed, their sins are forgiven. And then being able to ordain priests, you know, the sacrament of holy orders, that is something that a priest can only be ordained by a bishop. But there are certain sacraments, as I mentioned, that only a priest or bishop can confer. And those being Eucharist and confession and anointing of the sick.

[B]

Robert, did that help clarify.

[E]

Yeah, it definitely helps clarify the kind of the general purpose of a bunch of them. I guess if I could I. To follow up then, like for someone who isn't Catholic but is. I grew up like Protestant. Sure, I was baptized, but not until I was like 15, 16.

[C]

Is.

[E]

Am I missing something then in my.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[C]

I'd encourage you, Robert, to look into a parish down there in San Antonio. And did you explore ocia? You can just sit in on the classes. You're not obligated to say, hey, if I'm in this class, I need to go through. Nobody would want to force you to go through. Come into full communion. They want you to be freely and willing to do so. But yes, there are graces that God makes available to us. There are confession, the ongoing, not just baptism where we have forgiven of original sin, but ongoing forgiveness of sin through confession and to grow in holiness and have a marriage. If you're baptized and your wife's baptized, that would make your marriage a sacramental marriage. So sacramental marriage. So yes, these are all things receiving the Eucharist and growing in holiness, the proof of the reality and power of the sacraments. We see this in the lives of the saints. So look at the saints and you'll see that all of them had a great devotion to our Holy Lord in the Eucharist. And you don't need to be Catholic to go into Eucharistic adoration. Anybody can do that, just for starters.

[B]

Robert, thank you so much for calling because you said you just discovered Catholic radio. I want to send you a couple of free books. I want to send you why we're Catholic and the 20 answers booklet that we have on the sacraments. So hang on the line. John will pick up and get your contact information and feel free to call us on a future day. We'd love to continue the conversation with you. That's going to do it for this hour with Tom Nash. Next hour we're going to have an ask me anything on Catholicism. So if you are on the line, Julie, Patricia, hang on the line. We'll definitely take your question in the next hour. So hang in there. Tom Nash, thank you so much for joining us and see you next time. I'll see you around the office.

[C]

Thank you, brother. Great to be with you in the audience. God bless you.

[B]

God bless you. Thank you. And we'll be right back in just a couple of minutes.