The Latin word sacramentum means “a sign of the sacred.” The Sacraments, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, are efficacious signs of grace perceptible to the senses. Through them divine life is bestowed upon us. See 224 Compendium of The Catechism of The Catholic Church.
The sacraments are ceremonies that point to what is sacred, significant and important for Christians. They are special occasions for experiencing God’s saving presence. The visible rites by which the sacraments are celebrated signify and make present the graces proper to each sacrament. They bear fruit in those who receive them with the required dispositions.”
While the Church itself is the universal sacrament of salvation, the sacraments of the Catholic Church in the strict sense are seven sacraments that “touch all the stages and all the important moments of Christian life: they give birth and increase, healing and mission to the Christian’s life of faith”.