Two things to be kept in view by the Pastor, in his explanation of the Sacraments.On the subject of the Sacraments in general, these are the matters of instruction which we proposed to deliver. In communicating them to the faithful, the pastor will keep in view, principally, two things: the one, to impress on the minds of the faithful a deep sense of the honour, respect and veneration, due to these divine and celestial gifts; the other, to urge on all the necessity of having recourse, piously and religiously, to those sacred institutions established by the God of infinite mercy, for the common salvation of all; and of being so inflamed with the desire of attaining Christian perfection, as to deem it a deplorable loss to be, for any time, deprived of the salutary use, particularly, of Penance, and of the Holy Eucharist. These important objects the pastor will find little difficulty in accomplishing, if he press frequently on the attention of the faithful, what we have already said on the august dignity and salutary efficacy of the Sacraments—that they were instituted by the Lord Jesus, from whom nothing imperfect can emanate—that when administered, the most powerful influence of the Holy Ghost is present, pervading the inmost sanctuary of the soul—that they possess an admirable and unfailing virtue to cure our spiritual maladies, and communicate to us the inexhaustible riches of the passion of our Lord—in fine, that the whole edifice of Christian piety, although resting on the most firm foundation of the corner stone, unless supported on every side by the preaching of the divine word, and by the use of the Sacraments, must, it is greatly to be apprehended, having partially yielded, ultimately fall to the ground; for as we are ushered into spiritual life by means of the Sacraments; so, by the same means, are we nurtured and preserved, and grow to spiritual increase.
ON THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM.
Importance of the knowledge of the Sacraments in particular.From what has been hitherto said on the Sacraments in general, we may judge how necessary it is, to a proper understanding of the doctrines of the Christian faith, and to the practice of Christian piety, to know what the Catholic Church proposes to our belief on the Sacraments in particular. Of Baptism.That a perfect knowledge of Baptism is particularly necessary to the faithful, an attentive perusal of the epistles of St. Paul, will force upon the mind. The Apostle, not only frequently, but also in language the most energetic, in language full of the Spirit of God, renews the recollection of this mystery, exalts its transcendant dignity, and in it places before us the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, as objects of our contemplation and imitation.[1] The pastor, therefore, can never think that he has be
- ↑ Rom. vi. 3. Colos. ii. 12, 13.
