Where does it say that sacraments convey grace?

[PeterJohn]

How do I show a non practicing catholic that he ought go to church? When I invited him back to mass he said in so many words that by grace he is saved not works, like going to mass and participating in the sacraments.

 

[TimothyH]

Mass and the sacraments are not works.

Loving your neighbor is a work. Serving other human beings are works.

Mass is worship. Worship is God’s by right.

-Tim-

 

[Isaiah45_9]

How do I show a non practicing catholic that he ought go to church? When I invited him back to mass he said in so many words that by grace he is saved not works, like going to mass and participating in the sacraments.

Ask him,

What is Grace?

and

What is it for?

and Does being saved mean that we are free to choose what we want to do or does it mean that we obey Jesus?

 

[MarcoPolo]

Grace is the divine life of the Spirit.

Confirmation
Acts 8:14-17 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then** they laid hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.**

Baptism
Acts 2:38 But Peter said to them: Do penance, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Holy Orders
Acts 19:6 And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Eucharist
John 6:53 So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (obviously divine life, not physical life)

etc…

 

[chimo]

How do I show a non practicing catholic that he ought go to church? When I invited him back to mass he said in so many words that by grace he is saved not works, like going to mass and participating in the sacraments.

The Mass is the work of God. So in a way he is correct. When you and I come to Mass we are witnesses to the great act of love of our God. Whatever we do outside the Mass is therefore our work before God. We are never spectators in this Christian way of life. Our response to the Lord’s great sacrifce of the Mass and the Divine Liturgy determines if we are willing to work with His Grace. Our work says Jesus will be those “mustard seeds” by which helps His work to sprout 10, 20, 30, 100 fold for His Kingdom. In other words to make it simple we are trade with what God gives to us from the Mass. What does He gives to us but another investment of the Holy Spirit. This investment says Jesus needs to be traded or in simple words shared. By sharing to those around you and exercising mercy when available you are in a small way imitating the Lord. You are actually making His investment bigger and in the parable of the talents or minas the Lord points to that work of us for His investment to have any importance and meaning for all. It is important that we cooperate with God.

 

[EricFilmer]

How do I show a non practicing catholic that he ought go to church? When I invited him back to mass he said in so many words that by grace he is saved not works, like going to mass and participating in the sacraments.

Is it possible that your friend simply doesn’t want to go to church (because he thinks its boring, he would rather stay in bed or watch TV, etc.)? If so, then rational explanations of the importance of going to Mass and participating in the sacraments may not have much of an impact on him. Still, I think it is a noble effort on your behalf to give it a shot.

It sounds like he has a pretty loose idea of what a “work” is. Ask him how grace enters into our souls, and whether or not we have to do anything on our part in the process. If he says that we don’t have to do anything, and that grace is automatically placed within us, then, consequently, this means that everyone is automatically saved. But the Bible clearly teaches that there are those who will not be saved.

If he admits that we are, indeed, expected to “do” something in the process of receiving and benefiting from grace (such as believing in Jesus, being a good person, etc.), then the things he says we must “do” are still works (at least in the general sense of the term). Then you can ask him why the works he says we must do are better than the sacraments that Jesus gave to the Church expressly for the purpose of conveying grace in very powerful ways.

Also, if the things that he says we must do also allow for him to stay at home goofing off, while the thing he says that have no value are the things that require someone to go to church, then this indicates that he is probably just looking for excuses not to go to church. If you notice this, then maybe you can point it out to him and see if he’s willing to discuss the real issue at hand.