Ex opere operato
Ex opere operato is a Latin phrase meaning "from the work worked" that, in reference to sacraments, signifies that they derive their efficacy not from the minister (which would mean that they derive it ex opere operantis, meaning "from the work of the worker"), nor from the recipient, but—independently of the merits of either—from the sacrament itself. According to the ex opere operato interpretation of the sacraments, any positive effect comes not from any human worthiness or faith, but from the sacrament as an instrument of God.