SACRAMENTS
298
SACRAMENTS
ated if they do not mean that the sacramental cere-
mony is in some sense the cause of the grace conferred,
(b) Tradition clearly indicates the sense in which
they have been interpreted in the Church. From
the numerous expressions used by the Fathers we
select the following: "The Holy Ghost comes down
from heaven and hovers over the waters, sanctifying
them of Himself, and thus they imbibe the power of
sanctifying " (Tertullian, De bapt ., c. iv.) . " Baptism
is the expiation of sins, the remission of crimes, the
cause of renovation and regeneration" (St. Gregory
of Xyssa, "Orat. in Bapt.). "Explain to me the
manner of nativity in the flesh and I will explain to
you the regeneration of the soul . . . Throughout,
"by Divine power and efficacy, it is incomprehensible:
no reasoning, no art can exjilain it" (ibid.). "He that
passes through the fountain [baptism] shall not die
but rises to new life" (St. Ambrose, De sacr., I, iv).
'"WTience this great power of water", exclaims St.
Augustine, "that it touches the body and cleanses the
soul?" (Tr. 80 in Joann). "Baptism", writes the
same Father, "consists not in the merits of those
by whom it is administered, nor of those to whom
it is administered, but in its own sanctity and
truth, on account of Him who instituted it" (Cont.
Cres., IV). The doctrine solemnly defined by the
Council of Trent had been announced in previous
councils, notably at Constantinople (381 ; Symb. Fid.),
at Mileve (416; can. ii) in the Second Council of
Orange (529; can. xv); and in the Council of Florence
(1439; Deer. pro. Armen., see Denzinger-Bannwart,
nn. 86, 102, 200, 695). The early Anghcan Church
held fa-st to the true doctrine: "Baptism is not only
a sign of profession and a mark of difference, whereby
christened men are discerned from those that be not
christened, but is also a sign of regeneration or New-
Birth, whereby as by an instrument they that receive
Baptism rightly are grafted into the church" (Art.
XXVII).
(c) Theological Argument. — The Westminster Confession adds: "The Baptism of children is in any wise to be retained in the church as most agreeable with the institution of Christ." If baptism does not confer grace ex opere operato, but simply excites faith, then we may a.sk: (1) Of what use would this be if the language u.sed be not understood by the recipient, i. e. an infant or an adult that does not understand Latin? In such ca.ses it might be more beneficial to the by- standers than to the one baptized. (2) In what does the baptism of Christ surpass the baptism of John, for the latter could excite faith? Why were those baptized by the baptism of John rebaptized with the baptism of Christ? (Acts, xix). (3) How can it be said that baptism is strictly necessary for salvation since faith can be excited and expressed in many other ways? Finally Episcopahans and Anglicans of to- day would not revert to the doctrine of grace ex opere operalo unless they were convinced that the ancient faith was warranted by Scripture and Tradition.
(5) Mfitler and Form of the Sacraments. — Scho- la.stic writers of the thirteenth century introduced into their explanations of the sacraments terms which were flerived from the philosophy of Aristotle. William of Auxerre (d. 1223) was the first to apply to them the words matter (nuiteria) and form Cjorma). As in physical bodies, so also in the sacramental rite we find two elements, one unfic'tcrrnined, which is called the matter, the other flefermining, called the form. For instance, water may be u.sed for drinking, or for cool- ing or cleansing the body, but the words pronounced by the minister when he pours water on the head of the child, with the intention of doing what the Church docs, determinf« the meaning of the act, so that it signifies the purification of the m)\i\ by grace. The matter and form (the re« et x)erha) make up the exter- nal rite, whieh has its special significance and efficacy from the institution of Christ. The words arc the
more important element in the composition, because
men express their thoughts and intentions principally
by words. "Verba inter homines obtinuerunt prin-
cipatum significandi" (St. Augustine, "De doct.
Christ. ", II, hi; St. Thomas, III, Q. Ix, a. 6). It must
not be supposed that the things used for the acts per-
formed, for they are included in the res, remarks
St. Thomas (loc. cit., ad 2uin) have no significance.
They too may be symbolical, e. g. anointing the body
with oil relates to health; but their significance is
clearly determined by the words. "In all the com-
pounds of matter and form the determining element is
the form" (St. Thomas, loc. cit., a. 7).
The terminology was somewhat new, the doctrine was old: the same truth had been expressed in former times in different words. Sometimes the form of the sacrament meant the whole external rite (St. Augus- tine, "De pecc. et mer. ", xxxiv; Cone. Milev., De bapt.). What we call the matter and form were re- ferred to as "mystic symbols " ; " the sign and the thing invisible"; "the word and the element" (St. Augus- tine, tr. SO in Joann.). The new terminology imme- diately found favour. It was solemnly ratified by being used in the Decree for the Armenians, which was added to the Decrees of the Council of Florence, yet has not the value of a concihar definition (see Den- zinger-Bannwart, 695; Hurter, "Theol. dog. comp.", I, 441 ; Pourrat, op. cit., p. 51). The Council of Trent used the words matter and form (Sess. XIV, cap. ii, iii, can. iv), but did not define that the sacramental rite was composed of these two elements. Leo XIII, in the "Apostolicse Cura;" (13 Sept., 1896) made the Scholastic theory the basis of his declaration, and pro- nounced ordinations performed according to the an- cient Anglican rite invalid, owing to a defect in the form used and a lack of the necessary intention on the part of the ministers. The hylomorphistic theory furnishes a very apt comparison and sheds much light on our conception of the external ceremony. Never- theless our knowledge of the sacraments is not depend- ent on this Scholastic terminologv, and the comparison must not be carried too far. The attempt to verify the comparison (of sacraments to a body) in all de- tails of the sacramental rite will lead to confusing subtilities or to singular opinions, e. g., Melchior Cano's (De locis theol., VIII, v, 3) opinion as to the minister of matrimony (see Marriage ; cf . Pourrat, op. cit., ii).
III. Origin (cause) of the Sacraments. — It might now be asked : in how far was it necessary that the matter and form of the sacraments should have been determined by Christ? (1) Power of God. — The Council of Trent defined that the seven sacra- ments of the New Law were instituted by Christ (Sess. VII, can. i). This settles the question of fact for all Catholics. Reason tells us that all sacraments must come originally from God. Since they are the signs of sacred things in as far as by these sacred things men are sanctified (St. Thomas, III, Q. Ix, a. 2 c. et ad I); since the external rite (matter and form) of itself cannot give grace, it is evident that all sacra- ments properly so called must originate in Divine appointment. "Since the sanctification of man is in the power of God who sanctifies", writes St. Thomas (loc. cit., a. 5), "it is not in the competency of man to choose the things by which he is to be sanc- tified, but this must be determined by Divine insti- tution". Add to this that grace is, in some sense, a participation of the Divine nature (see Grace) and our doctrine becomes unassailable: God alone can decree that by exterior ceremonies men shall be par- takers of His nature.
(2) Power of Christ. — God alone is the principal cause of the sacraments. He alone authoritatively and by innate power can give to external material rites the power to confer grace on men. Christ as God, equally with the Father, possessed this principal,
