If, then, the Eucharist be a sacrament, it would be perfected by the use of the matter, and not by its consecration. Therefore the Eucharist is not a sacrament. I answer that, The Church's sacraments are ordained for helping man in the spiritual life. But the spiritual life is analogous to the corporeal, since corporeal things bear a resemblance to spiritual. Reply to Objection 1.
Perfection is twofold.
Reply to Objection 2. The water of Baptism does not cause any spiritual effect by reason of the water, but by reason of the power of the Holy Ghost, which power is in the water. Reply to Objection 3. A sacrament is so termed because it contains something sacred. Consequently, the sacrament of the Eucharist is completed in the very consecration of the matter, whereas the other sacraments are completed in the application of the matter for the sanctifying of the individual.