BINER
569
BINET
abolishing all these customs, Pope Innocent III
(d. 1216) prescribed that a simple priest should say
but one Mass daily, except on Christmas, when he
might offer the Holy Sacrifice tliree times; while
Honorius III (d. 1227) extended this legislation to
aU dignitaries. This then is the discipline of both
the Eastern and Western Church, from which no one
may recede without grave sin.
It must be noted, nevertheless, that the Church has found it advisable under certain conditions to modify her discipline in this regard. Thus moral theology permits a priest to say two Masses on Sun- days and Holy Days of obhgation, in case of necessity, when, namely, a number of the faithful would other- wise be deprived of the opportunity of hearing Mass. This would be verified, for example, were a priest in charge of two parishes or missions with no other celebrant available, or were the church too small to accommodate at one time all the parishioners (See Bull, "Declarasti", of Benedict XIV, Bullarium IV, 32 sqq., 16 March, 1746; Leo XIII, Lift. Apost. "Trans Oceanum", 18 April, 1897). The ordinary of the di&cese, however, is to judge, in these and similar ca.ses, of the necessity of binating. For similar causes, the gravity of which is not quite so apparent, Rome grants to priests of missionary countries the privilege of saying two Masses (three in Mexico, ac- cording to an indult of Pope Leo XIII, Acta S. Sedis, XIII, 340, XXIX, 96) on Sundays and Holy Days of obligation, under conditions practically the same as stated above (See Bull "Aposrolicum minis- terium", of Benedict XIV, for the Anglican Missions, 30 May, 1753, Bullarium, X, 197 sqq.; Cone. Plen. Bait. Ill, Tit. iii, cap. i; Acta et Decreta Cone. Plen. America; Latinae, no. 348 sqq.; Putzer, "Com- mentarium in Facultates Apost.", no. 159 sqq.). As regards permission to binate, theologians are agreed that it should not be given unless about thirty per- sons would otherwise be put to notable inconvenience to avoid missing Mass. In certain extraordinary eases this number is reduced to twenty, while, if there is question of those detained in prison or bound by the laws of the papal cloister, from ten to fifteen inmates will suffice to permit bination. It must be borne in mind that even in such cases a priest is permitted to say a second (never a third) Mass only in case another celebrant may not be had; that a stipend may not be accepted for the second Mass; that the ablutions are not to be taken at the first Mass, as this would break the fast prescribed. A celebrant who is to say two Masses in the same church uses the same chalice for both, not purif^nng it at the first Mass. If the second Mass is to be said in a different church, the celebrant immediately after the last Gospel of the first Mass returns to the centre of the altar, consumes whatever drops of the Precious Blood may still remain in the chalice, and then purifies the chalice with water only. This water, which is poured from the chalice into a glass on the altar, is consumed together with the second abhition of a subsequent Mass, or emptied into the sacrarium. It might even be given to a lay penson who is in the state of grace and fasting, as is done with the water in which the priest's fingers are cleansed, when Holy Communion is given to the sick. The chalice thus purified at the end of the first Mass may be used for the second Mass or not, as the celebrant may see fit.
Pope Benedict XIV (d. 1758) conceded to all priests, secular and regular, of the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal the privilege of saying three Masses on All Souls' Day (2 November). This privilege still holds for all places which belonged to one or other of these kingdoms at the time when it was granted. The ordhiary stipend is allowed for one only of these Masses; while the other two must be offered for all the souls of purgatory.
Hergenrother in Kirchenlex., s. v. Bination; Bamberger,
Pastoralblatl, 1878, N. 46-48; Neher, Die Bination (Ratis-
BON, 1874); Inatructio S. C. de Propag. Fide, 24, May 1870.
Andrew B. Meeh.vn.
Biner, Joseph, canonist, historian, and theologian, b. at Gluringen, Switzerland. 1697; d. at Rottenburg, Germany, 24 March, 1766. His fame rests principally on a truly amazing erudition. He entered the So- ciety of Jesus in 1715, received the usual training of its members and was later professor of canon law in the universities of Ingolstadt, Dilingen, and Inns- bruck. He entered zealously into all the contro- versies with the sectaries of his time, especially with the Swiss heretics. As a consequence, all his works have a polemical tinge.
In 1739 appeared his "Catholische Anmerkung liber die neueste uncatholische Controvers-Schreiber ", directed against certain opponents in Zurich. This was followed in 1744 by " Indifferentismus", a treatise on religious indifference and liberalism in dogmatic teaching. Biner published "Heihgkeit der Kirche" in 1750, discussing the marks of the true Church and giving sketches of eminent Catholics. The best of his polemical works, one of enduring merit, is "De Summa Trinitate, Fide Catholica et Hierarchia Ecclesiastica ". It appeared in 1765 and shows him at his best as a theologian and canonist. His last controversial treatise, which appeared the same year and was published like all the others at Vienna, is entitled: "Kurzer Begriff der heutigen Cilauben- streitigkeiten". It is an examination and refutation of various Protestant confessions of faith.
Biner's chief work of a purely canonical character is "Dissertationes juridicae de beneficiis ecclesiasticis" (Innsbruck, 1746). His masterpiece is the "Appara- tus eruditionis ad jurisprudentiam ecclesiasticam". The work, despite its title, is not restricted to canon law, but is also historical, polemical, and theological. It was published at Vienna, 1754-66 in eight quarto volumes. It is a work of vast erudition and a veri- table storehouse of history and canon law. Dividing his material by centuries, Biner treats of the various species of law, of the history of the church councils, of the political and religious vicissitudes of the various nations, of treaties and concordats, etc. Interspersed in the work are many valuable excursuses on Jansen- ism, Probabilism, Public Penance, Origin of Imperial Electors, etc. It is to be regretted, however, that a work displaying such stupendous industry and eru- dition should be rendered less valuable for students by an unscientific arrangement of material and the want of an index. The vastness of the knowledge which Biner displays, however, has received its meed of praise even from his opponents. He wrote many other works besides those mentioned in the text. which may l>e found in De Backer and Sommervogel.
HuRTER. Nomenclator (Innsbruck. 1895), III; De Backer. Bibl. dea Ecrivains. S. J. (Liege, 1853); Sommeryogel, Bibl. de la c. de J. (Brussels, 1890).
William H. W. Fanning.
Binet, Etienne, Jesuit author, b. at Dijon, France, 1569; d. at Paris, 1639. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1590 and was rector of the colleges at Rouen and Paris, and provincial of Paris, Lyons, and Cham- pagne. He was the author of forty-five published works, the first of which, on devotion to the Blessed Virgin, passed through eleven editions. His " Flowers from the Psalms" (Rouen, 1615) was translated into Italian and Latin; "Consolation and Joy for the Sick and the Afflicted" (Rouen, 1616) was repub- lished fourteen times in eight years; an " Essay on Na- ture's Wonders" (Rouen, 1621) was one of the most popular scientific works of the century; it passed fhrough twenty-four editions before 1658. Father Binet published a "Life of St. Ignatius "and a "Life of St. Francis Xavier", in 1622, when these saints were canonized. His "Vies des SS. Elz6ar et Daupliine"
