authoritative, innate power. As man He had another power which St. Thomas calls "the power of the principal ministry" or "the power of excellence" (III, Q. Ixiv, a. 3). "Christ produced the interior effects of the sacraments by meriting them and by effecting them. The passion of Christ is the cause of our justification meritoriously and effectively, not as the principal agent and authoritatively, but as an instrument, inasmuch as His Humanity was the instrument of His Divinity" (ibid.; cf. III, Q. xiii, aa. 1, 3). There is theological truth as well as piety in the old maxim: "From the side of Christ dying on the cross flowed the sacraments by which the Church was saved" (Gloss. Ord. in Rom. 5; St. Thomas, III, Q. lxii, a. 5). The principal efficient cause of grace is God, to Whom the Humanity of Christ is as a conjoined instrument, the sacraments being instruments not joined to the Divinity (by hypostatic union): therefore the saving power of the sacraments passes from the Divinity of Christ, through His Humanity into the sacraments (St. Thomas, loc. cit.). One who weighs well all these words will understand why Catholics have great reverence for the sacraments. Christ's power of excellence consists in four things: (1) Sacraments have their efficacy from His merits and sufferings; (2) they are sanctified and they sanctify in His name; (3) He could and He did institute the sacraments; (4) He could produce the effects of the sacraments without the external ceremony (St. Thomas, Q. Ixiv, a. 3). Christ could have communicated this power of excellence to men: this was not absolutely impossible (ibid., a. 4). But, (1) had He done so men could not have possessed it with the same perfection as Christ: "He would have remained the head of the Church principally, others secondarily" (ibid., ad 3). (2) Christ did not communicate this power, and this for the good of the faithful: (a) that they might place their hope in God and not in men; (b) that there might not be different sacraments, giving rise to divisions in the Church (ibid., ad 1). This second reason is mentioned by St. Paul (I Cor., i, 12, 13): "every one of you saith: I indeed am of Paul; and I am of Apollo; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul then crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?"

(3) Immediate or Mediate Institution. The Council of Trent did not define explicitly and formally that all the sacraments were instituted immediately by Christ. Before the council great theologians, e. g. Peter Lombard (IV Sent., d. xxiii), Hugh of St. Victor (De sac., II, ii), Alexander of Hales (Summa, IV, Q. xxiv, 1) held that some sacraments were instituted by the Apostles, using power that had been given to them by Jesus Christ. Doubts were raised especially about confirmation and extreme unction. St. Thomas rejects the opinion that confirmation was instituted by the Apostles. It was instituted by Christ, he holds, when he promised to send the Paraclete, although it was never administered whilst He was on earth, because the fullness of the Holy Ghost was not to be given until after the Ascension: "Christus instituit hoc sacramentum, non exhibendo, sed promittendo' (III, Q. lxii, a. 1, ad 1um). The Council of Trent defined that the sacrament of Extreme Unction was instituted by Christ and promulgated by St. James (Sess. XIV, can. i). Some theologians, e. g. Becanus, Bellarmine, Vasquez, Gonet, etc. thought the words of the council (Sess. VII, can. i) were explicit enough to make the immediate institution of all the sacraments by Christ a matter of defined faith. They are opposed by Soto (a theologian of the council), Estius, Gotti, Tournely, Berti, and a host of others, so that now nearly all theologians unite in saying: it is theologically certain, but not defined (de fide) that Christ immediately instituted all the sacraments of the New Law. In the Decree "Lamentabili", 3 July, 1907,

Pius X condemned twelve propositions of the Modernists, who would attribute the origin of the sacraments to some species of evolution or development. The first sweeping proposition is this: "The sacraments had their origin in this that the Apostles, persuaded and moved by circumstances and events, interpreted some idea and intention of Christ" (Denzinger-Bannwart, 2040). Then follow eleven propositions relating to each of the sacraments in order (ibid., 2041-51). These propositions deny that Christ immediately instituted the sacraments, and some seem to deny even their mediate institution by the Saviour. (4) What does Immediate Institution Imply? Power of the Church.-Granting that Christ immediately instituted all the sacraments, it does not necessarily follow that personally He determined all the details of the sacred ceremony, prescribing minutely every iota relating to the matter and the form to be used. It is sufficient (even for immediate institution) to say: Christ determined what special graces were to be conferred by means of external rites: for some sacraments (e. g. baptism, the Eucharist) He determined minutely (in specie) the matter and form: for others He determined only in a general way (in genere) that there should be an external ceremony, by which special graces were to be conferred, leaving to the Apostles or to the Church the power to determine whatever He had not determined, e. g. to prescribe the matter and form of the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders. The Council of Trent (Sess. XXI, cap. ii) declared that the Church had not the power to change the "substance" of the sacraments. She would not be claiming power to alter the substance of the sacraments if she used her Divinely given authority to determine more precisely the matter and form in so far as they had not been determined by Christ. This theory (which is not modern) had been adopted by theologians: by it we can solve historical difficulties relating, principally, to confirmation and Holy orders.

(5) May we then say that Christ instituted some sacraments in an implicit state? That Christ was satisfied to lay down the essential principles from which, after a more or less protracted development, would come forth the fully developed sacraments? This is an application of Newman's theory of development, according to Pourrat (op. cit., p. 300), who proposes two other formulæ; Christ instituted all the sacraments immediately, but did not himself give them all to the Church fully constituted; or Jesus instituted immediately and explicitly baptism and Holy Eucharist: He instituted immediately but implicitly the five other sacraments (loc. cit., p. 301). Pourrat himself thinks the latter formula too absolute. Theologians probably will consider it rather dangerous, and at least "male sonans". If it be taken to mean more than the old expression, Christ determined in genere only the matter and the form of some sacraments, it grants too much to development. If it means nothing more than the expression hitherto in use, what is gained by admitting a formula which easily might be misunderstood?

IV. NUMBER OF THE SACRAMENTS. (I) Catholic Doctrine: Eastern and Western Churches.-The Council of Trent solemnly defined that there are seven sacraments of the New Law, truly and properly so called, viz., baptism, confirmation, Holy Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, orders, and matrimony. The same enumeration had been made in the Decree for the Armenians by the Council of Florence (1439), in the Profession of Faith of Michael Palæologus, offered to Gregory X in the Council of Lyons (1274) and in the council held at London, in 1237, under Otto, legate of the Holy See. According to some writers Otto of Bamberg (1139), the Apostle of Pomerania, was the first who clearly adopted the number seven (see Tanquerey, "De sacr."). Most probably

this honour belongs to Peter Lombard (d. 1164) who in his fourth Book of Sentences (d. i, n, 2) defines a sacrament as a sacred sign which not only signifies but also causes grace, and then (d. ii, n. 1) enumerates the seven sacraments. It is worthy of note that, although the great Scholastics rejected many of his theological opinions (list given in app. to Migne edition, Paris, 1841), this definition and enumeration were at once universally accepted, proof positive that he did not introduce a new doctrine, but merely expressed in a convenient and precise formula what had always been held in the Church. Just as many doctrines were believed, but not always accurately expressed, until the condemnation of heresies or the development of religious knowledge called forth a neat and precise formula, so also the sacraments were accepted and used by the Church for centuries before Aristotelean philosophy, applied to the systematic explanation of Christian doctrine, furnished the accurate definition and enumeration of Peter Lombard. The earlier Christians were more concerned with the use of sacred rites than with scientific formula, being like the pious author of the "Imitation of Christ", who wrote: "I had rather feel compunction than know its definition" (I, i).

Thus time was required, not for the development of the sacraments-except in so far as the Church may have determined what was left under her control by Jesus Christ-but for the growth of knowledge of the sacraments. For many centuries all signs of sacred things were called sacraments, and the enumeration of these signs was somewhat arbitrary. Our seven sacraments were all mentioned in the Sacred Scriptures, and we find all of them mentioned here and there by the Fathers (see THEOLOGY; and articles on each sacrament). After the ninth century, writers began to draw a distinction between sacraments in a general sense and sacraments properly so called. The ill-fated Abelard ("Introd. ad Theol.", I, i, and in the "Sic et Non") and Hugh of St. Victor (De sacr., I, part 9, chap. viii; cf. Pourrat, op. cit., pp. 34, 35) prepared the way for Peter Lombard, who proposed the precise formula which the Church accepted. Thenceforward until the time of the so-called Reformation the Eastern Church joined with the Latin Church in saying: by sacraments proper we understand efficacious sacred signs, i. e. ceremonies which by Divine ordinance signify, contain and confer grace; and they are seven in number. In the history of conferences and councils held to effect the reunion of the Greek with the Latin Church, we find no record of objections made to the doctrine of seven sacraments. On the contrary, about 1576, when the Reformers of Wittenberg, anxious to draw the Eastern Churches into their errors, sent a Greek translation of the Augsburg Confession to Jeremias, Patriarch of Constantinople, he replied: "The mysteries received in this same Catholic Church of orthodox Christians, and the sacred ceremonies, are seven in number-just seven and no more" (Pourrat, op. cit., p. 289). The consensus of the Greek and Latin Churches on this subject is clearly shown by Arcadius, "De con. ecc. occident. et orient. in sept. sacr. administr." (1619); Goar (q. v.) in his "Euchologion" by Martène (q. v.) in his work "De antiquis ecclesiæ ritibus", by Renaudot in his "Perpétuité de la foi sur sacraments" (1711), and this agreement of the two Churches furnishes recent writers (Episcopalians) with a strong argument in support of their appeal for the acceptance of seven sacraments (cf. Tanquerey, "De sacr.", i, 24; Pourrat, op. cit., pp. 84, 85).

(2) Protestant Errors.-Luther's capital errors, viz. private interpretation of the Scriptures, and justification by faith alone, logically led to a rejection of the Catholic doctrine on the sacraments (see LUTHER; GRACE). Gladly would he have swept them all away, but the words of Scripture were too convincing and

the Augsburg Confession retained three as "having the command of God and the promise of the grace of the New Testament". These three, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and penance were admitted by Luther and also by Cranmer in his "Catechism" (see Dix, "op. cit.", p. 79). Henry VIII protested against Luther's innovations and received the title "Defender of the Faith" as a reward for publishing the "Assertio septem sacramentorum" (recently re-edited by Rev. Louis O'Donovan, New York, 1908). Followers of Luther's principles surpassed their leader in opposition to the sacraments. Once granted that they were merely "signs and testimonies of God's good will towards us", the reason for great reverence was gone. Some rejected all sacraments, since God's good will could be manifested without these external signs. Confession (penance) was soon dropped from the list of those retained. The Anabaptists rejected infant baptism, since the ceremony could not excite faith in children. Protestants generally retained two sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the latter being reduced by the denial of the Real Presence to a mere commemorative service. After the first fervour of destruction there was a reaction. Lutherans retained a ceremony of confirmation and ordination. Cranmer retained three sacraments, yet we find in the Westminster Confession: "There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ Our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord. Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures but yet have not like nature of sacraments with Baptism and the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God" (art. XXV). The Wittenberg theologians, by way of compromise, had shown a willingness to make such a distinction, in a second letter to the Patriarch of Constantinople, but the Greeks would have no compromise (Pourrat, loc. cit., 290).

For more than two centuries the Church of England theoretically recognized only two "sacraments of the Gospel" yet permitted, or tolerated other five rites. In practice these five "lesser sacraments" were neglected, especially penance and extreme unction. Anglicans of the nineteenth century would have gladly altered or abolished the twenty-fifth article. There has been a strong desire, dating chiefly from the Tractarian Movement, and the days of Pusey, Newman, Lyddon, etc. to reintroduce all of the sacraments. Many Episcopalians and Anglicans to-day make heroic efforts to show that the twenty-fifth article repudiated the lesser sacraments only in so far as they had "grown of the corrupt following of the Apostles, and were administered 'more Romamensium"", after the Roman fashion. Thus Morgan Dix reminded his contemporaries that the first book of Edward VI allowed "auricular and secret confession to the priest", who could give absolution, as well as "ghostly counsel, advice, and comfort", but did not make the practice obligatory: therefore the sacrament of Absolution is not to be "obtruded upon men's consciences as a matter necessary to salvation" (op. cit., pp. 99, 101, 102, 103). He cites authorities who state that "one cannot doubt that a sacramental use of anointing the sick has been from the beginning", and adds, "There are not wanting, among the bishops of the American Church, some who concur in deploring the loss of this primitive ordinance and predicting its restoration among us at some propitious time" (ibid., p. 105). At a convention of Episcopalians held at Cincinnati, in 1910, unsuccessful effort was made to obtain approbation for the practice of anointing the sick. High Church pastors and curates, especially in England,

frequently are in conflict with their bishops because the former use all the ancient rites. Add to this the assertion made by Mortimer (op. cit., I, 122) that all the sacraments cause grace ex opere operato, and we see that "advanced" Anglicans are returning to the doctrine and the practices of the Old Church. Whether and in how far their position can be reconciled with the twenty-fifth article, is a question which they must settle. Assuredly their wanderings and gropings after the truth prove the necessity of having on earth an infallible interpreter of God's word.

(3) Division and Comparison of the Sacraments.(a) All sacraments were instituted for the spiritual good of the recipients; but five, viz. baptism, confirmation, penance, the Eucharist, and extreme unction, primarily benefit the individual in his private character, whilst the other two, orders and matrimony, primarily affect man as a social being, and sanctify him in the fulfillment of his duties toward the Church and society. By baptism we are born again, confirmation makes us strong, perfect Christians and soldiers. The Eucharist furnishes our daily spiritual food. Penance heals the soul wounded by sin. Extreme unction removes the last remnant of human frailty, and prepares the soul for eternal life, orders supplies ministers to the Church of God. Matrimony gives the graces necessary for those who are to rear children in the love and fear of God, members of the Church militant, future citizens of heaven. This is St. Thomas's explanation of the fitness of the number seven (III, Q. lv, a. 1). He gives other explanations offered by the Schoolmen (see Pourrat, op. cit., pp. 177, sqq.) but does not bind himself to any of them. In fact the only really sufficient reason for the existence of seven sacraments, and no more, is the will of Christ: there are seven because He instituted seven. The explanation and adaptions of theologians serve only to excite our admiration and gratitude, by showing how wisely and beneficiently God has provided for our spiritual needs in these seven efficacious sings of grace.

(b) Baptism and penance are called "sacraments of the dead", because they give life, through sanctifying grace then called "first grace", to those who are spiritually dead by reason of original or actual sin. The other five are "sacraments of the living", because their reception presupposes, at least ordinarily, that the recipient is in the state of grace, and they give "second grace", i. e. increase of sanctifying grace (q. v.). Nevertheless, since the sacraments always give some grace when there is no obstacle in the recipient, it may happen in cases explained by theologians that "second grace" is conferred by a sacrament of the dead, e. g. when one who has only venial sins to confess receives absolution and that "first grace" is conferred by a sacrament of the living (see St. Thomas, III, Q. lxxii, a. 7 ad 2 um; III, Q. lxxix, a. 3). Concerning extreme unction St. James explicitly states that through it the recipient may be freed from his sins: "If he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him" (James, v. 15).

(c) Comparison in dignity and necessity.-The Council of Trent declared that the sacraments are not all equal in dignity; also that none are superfluous, although all are not necessary for each individual (Sess. VII, can. 3, 4). The Eucharist is the first in dignity, because it contains Christ in person, whilst in the other sacraments grace is conferred by an instrumental virtue derived from Christ (St. Thomas, III, Q. Ivi, a. 3). To this reason St. Thomas adds another, viz., that the Eucharist is as the end to which the other sacraments tend, a centre around which they revolve (loc. cit.). Baptism is always first in necessity; Holy orders comes next after the Eucharist in the order of dignity, confirmation being between these two. Penance and extreme unction could not have a first place because they presuppose defects (sins).

Of the two penance is the first in necessity: extreme unction completes the work of penance and prepares souls for heaven. Matrimony has not such an important social work as orders (loc. cit., ad 1 um). If we consider necessity alone-the Eucharist being left out as our daily bread and God's greatest gift-three are simply and strictly necessary, baptism for all, penance for those who fall into mortal sin after receiving baptism, orders for the Church. The others are not so strictly necessary. Confirmation completes the work of baptism; extreme unction completes the work of penance; matrimony sanctifies the procreation and education of children, which is not so important nor so necessary as the sanctification of ministers of the Church (St. Thomas, loc. cit., a, 4). (d) Episcopalians and Anglicans distinguish two great sacraments and five lesser sacraments because the latter "have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained by God" (art. XXV). Then they should be classed among the sacramentals since God alone can be the author of a sacrament (see above III). On this point the language of the twenty-fifth article ("commonly called sacraments") is more logical and straightforward than the terminology of recent Anglican writers. The Anglican Catechism calls baptism and Eucharist sacraments "generally (i. e. universally) necessary for salvation". Mortimer justly remarks that this expression is not "entirely accurate", because the Eucharist is not generally necessary to salvation in the same sense as Baptism (op. cit., I, 127). The other five he adds are placed in a lower class because, "they are not necessary to salvation in the same sense as the two other sacraments, since they are not necessary for everyone" (loc. cit., 128). Verily this is interpretation extraordinary; yet we should be grateful since it is more respectful than saying that those five are "such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures" (art. XXV). Confusion and uncertainty will be avoided by accepting the declaration of the Council of Trent (above.) V. EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENTS.-(I) Catholic Doctrine.-(a) The principle effect of the sacrament is a two-fold grace: (1) the grace of the sacrament which is "first grace", produced by the sacraments of the dead, or "second grace", produced by the sacraments of the living (supra, IV, 3, b): (2) The sacramental grace, i. e., the special grace needed to attain the end of each sacrament. Most probably it is not a new habitual gift, but a special vigour or efficacy in the sanctifying grace conferred, including on the part of God, a promise, and on the part of man a permanent right to the assistance needed in order to act in accordance with the obligations incurred, e. g., to live as a good Christian, a good priest, a good husband or wife (cf. Pourrat, op. cit., 199; St. Thomas, III, Q. lxii, a. 2). (b) Three sacraments, baptism, confirmation, and orders, besides grace, produce in the soul a character, i. e. an indelible spiritual mark by which some are consecrated as servants of God, some as soldiers, some as ministers. Since it is an indelible mark, the sacraments which impress a character can not be received more than once (Conc. Trid., sess. VII, can. 9; see CHARACTER).

(2) How the Sacraments cause Grace.-Theological controversies. Few questions have been so hotly controverted as this one relative to the manner in which the sacraments cause grace (St. Thomas, IV, Sent., d. 1, Q. 4, a 1.). (a) All admit that the sacraments of the New Law cause grace ex opere operato, not ex opere operantis (supra, II, 2, 3). (b) All admit that God alone can be the principal cause of grace (supra 3, I). (c) All admit that Christ as man, had a special power over the sacraments (supra, 3, 2). (d) All admit that the sacraments are, in some sense, the instrumental causes either of grace itself or of something else which will be a "title exigent of grace"

(infra e). The principal cause is one which produces an effect by a power which it has by reason of its own nature or by an inherent faculty. An instrumental cause produces an effect, not by its own power, but by a power which it receives from the principal agent. When a carpenter makes a table, he is the principal cause, his tools are the instrumental causes. God alone can cause grace as the principal cause; sacraments can be no more than his instruments "for they are applied to men by Divine ordinance to cause grace in them" (St. Thomas, III, Q. Ixii, a. 1). No theologian of to-day defends Occasionalism (see CAUSE) i. e. the system which taught that the sacraments caused grace by a kind of concomitance, they being not real causes but the cause sine quibus non: their reception being merely the occasion of conferring grace. This opinion, according to Pourrat (op.cit., 167), was defended by St. Bonaventure, Duns Scotus, Durandus, Occam, and all the Nominalists, and "enjoyed a real success until the time of the Council of Trent, when it was transformed into the modern system of moral causality". St. Thomas (loc. cit., III, Q. lxii, aa. 1, 4; and "Quodlibeta", 12, a. 14), and others rejected it on the ground that it reduced the sacraments to the condition of mere signs.

(e) In solving the problem the next step was the introduction of the system of dispositive instrumental causality, explained by Alexander of Hales (Summa theol., IV, Q. v, membr. 4), adopted and perfected by St. Thomas (IV Sent., d. 1, Q. i, a. 4), defended by many theologians down to the sixteenth century, and revived in our days by Father Billot, S. J. ("De eccl. sacram. I, Rome, 1900, pp. 96 sq., 107 sq.). For controversy on this subject, see "Irish Eccles. Record", Nov., 1899; "Amer. Eccl. Review", May and June, 1900, Jan. and May, 1901. According to this theory the sacraments do not efficiently and immediately cause grace itself, but they cause ex opere operato and instrumentally, a something else the character (in some cases) or a spiritual ornament or formwhich will be a 'disposition" entitling the soul to grace ("dispositio exigitiva gratia"; "titulus exigitivus gratia", Billot, loc. cit.). It must be admitted that this theory would be most convenient in explaining "reviviscence" of the sacraments (infra, VII, c). Against it the following objections are made: (a) From the time of the Council of Trent down to recent times little was heard of this system. (8) The "ornament", or "disposition", entitling the soul to grace is not well explained, hence explains very little. (7) Since this "disposition" must be something spiritual and of the supernatural order, and the sacraments can cause it, why can they not cause the grace itself? (8) In his "Summa theologica" St. Thomas does not mention this dispositive causality: hence we may reasonably believe that he abandoned it (for controversy, see reviews sup. cit.).

(f) Since the time of the Council of Trent theologians almost unanimously have taught that the sacraments are the efficient instrumental cause of grace itself. The definition of the Council of Trent, that the sacraments "contain the grace which they signify", that they "confer grace ex opere operato" (Sess. VII, can. 6, 8), seemed to justify the assertion, which was not contested until quite recently. Yet the end of the controversy had not come. What was the nature of that causality? Did it belong to the physical or to the moral order? A physical cause really and immediately produces its effects, either as the principal agent or as the instrument used, as when a sculptor uses a chisel to carve a statue. A moral cause is one which moves or entreats a physical cause to act. It also can be principal or instrumental, e. g., a bishop who in person successfully pleads for the liberation of a prisoner is the principal moral cause, a letter sent by him would be the instrumental moral cause, of the freedom granted. The expressions used

He

by St. Thomas seem clearly to indicate that the sacraments act after the manner of physical causes. says that there is in the sacraments a virtue productive of grace (III, Q. lxii, a. 4) and he answers objections against attributing such power to a corporeal instrument by simply stating that such power is not inherent in them and does not reside in them permanently, but is in them only so far and so long as they are instruments in the hands of Almighty God (loc. cit., ad lum and 3um). Cajetan, Suarez, and a host of other great theologians defend this system, which is usually termed Thomistic. The language of the Scripture, the expressions of the Fathers, the Decrees of the councils, they say, are so strong that nothing short of an impossibility will justify a denial of this dignity to the sacraments of the New Law. Many facts must be admitted which we cannot fully explain. The body of man acts on his spiritual soul; fire acts, in some way, on souls and on angels. The strings of a harp, remarks Cajetan (In III, Q. lxii) touched by an unskilled hand, produce nothing but sounds: touched by the hands of a skilful musician they give forth beautiful melodies. Why cannot the sacraments, as instruments in the hands of God, produce grace?

Many grave theologians were not convinced by these arguments, and another school, improperly called the Scotistic, headed by Melchior Cano, De Lugo, and Vasquez, embracing later Henno, Tournely, Franzelin, and others, adopted the system of instrumental moral causality. The principal moral cause of grace is the Passion of Christ. The sacraments are instruments which move or entreat God effectively and infallibly to give his grace to those who receive them with proper dispositions, because, says Melchior Cano, "the price of the blood of Jesus Christ is communicated to them" (see Pourrat, op. cit., 192, 193). This system was further developed by Franzelin, who looks upon the sacraments as being morally an act of Christ (loc. cit., p. 194). The Thomists and Suarez object to this system: (a) Since the sacraments (i. e. the external rites) have no intrinsic value, they do not, according to this explanation, exert any genuine causality; they do not really cause grace, God alone causes the grace: the sacraments do not operate to produce it; they are only signs or occasions of conferring it. (8) The Fathers saw something mysterious and inexplicable in the sacraments. In this system wonders cease or are, at least, so much reduced that the expressions used by the Fathers seem altogether out of place. (7) This theory does not sufficiently distinguish, in efficacy, the sacraments of the Gospel from the sacraments of the Old Law (cf. Billuart, "Summa St. Thoma", ed. Lequette, tome VI, p. 137). Nevertheless, because it avoids certain difficulties and obscurities of the physical causality theory, the system of moral causality has found many defenders, and to-day if we consider numbers alone, it has authority in its favour.

Recently both of these systems have been vigorously attacked by Father Billot (op. cit., 107 sq.), who proposes a new explanation. He revives the old theory that the sacraments do not immediately cause grace itself, but a disposition or title to grace (supra e). This disposition is produced by the sacraments, neither physically nor morally, but imperatively. Sacraments are practical signs of an intentional order: they manifest God's intention to give spiritual benefits; this manifestation of the Divine intention is a title exigent of grace (op. cit., 59 sq., 123 sq.; Pourrat, op. cit., 194; Cronin in reviews, sup. cit.). Father Billot defends his opinions with remarkable acumen. Patrons of the physical causality gratefully note his attack against the moral causality, but object to the new explanation, that the imperative or the intentional causality, as distinct from the action of signs, occasions, moral or physical instruments (a) is conceived with

VI. MINISTER OF THE SACRAMENTS. (1) It was altogether fitting that the ministration of the sacraments be given, not to the angels, but to men. The efficacy of the sacraments comes from the Passion of Christ, hence from Christ as a man; men, not angels, are like unto Christ in His human nature. Miraculously God might send a good angel to administer a sacrament (St. Thomas, III, Q. Ixiv, a. 7). (2) For administering Baptism validly no special ordination is required. Any one, even a pagan, can baptize, provided that he use the proper matter and pronounce the words of the essential form, with the intention of doing what the Church does (Decr. pro Armen., Denzinger-Bannwart, 696). Only bishops, priests, and in some cases, deacons may confer baptism solemnly (see BAPTISM). It is now held as certain that in matrimony the contracting parties are the ministers of the sacrament, because they make the contract and the sacrament is the contract raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. Leo XIII, Encycl. "Arcanum", 10 Febr., 1880; see MATRIMONY). For the validity of the other five sacraments the minister must be duly ordained. The Council of Trent anathematized those who said that all Christians could administer all the sacraments (Sess. VII, can. 10). Only bishops can confer sacred orders (Council of Trent, sess. XXIII, can. 7). Ordinarily only a bishop can give confirmation (see CONFIRMATION). The priestly order is required for the valid administration of penance and extreme unction (Conc. Trid., sess. XIV, can. 10, can. 4). As to the Eucharist, those only who have priestly orders can consecrate, i. e. change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Consecration presupposed, any one can distribute the Eucharistic species but, outside of very extraordinary circumstances this can be lawfully done only by bishops, priests, or (in some cases) deacons. (3) The care of all those sacred rites has been given to the Church of Christ. Heretical or schismatical ministers can administer the sacraments validly if they have valid orders, but their ministrations are sinful (see Billot, op. cit., thesis 16). Good faith would excuse the recipients from sin, and in cases of necessity the Church grants the jurisdiction necessary for penance and extreme unction (see EXCOMMUNICATION: V, EFFECTS OF EXCOMMUNICATION).

(4) Due reverence for the sacraments requires the minister to be in a state of grace: one who solemnly and officially administers a sacrament, being himself in a state of mortal sin, would certainly be guilty of a sacrilege (cf. St. Thomas, III, Q. lxiv, a. 6). Some hold that this sacrilege is committed even when the minister does not act officially or confer the sacrament solemnly. But from the controversy between St. Augustine and the Donatists (q. v.) in the fourth century and especially from the controversy between St. Stephen and St. Cyprian (q. v.) in the third century, we know that personal holiness or the state of grace in the minister is not a prerequisite for the valid administration of the sacrament. This has been solemnly defined in several general councils including the Council of Trent (Sess. VII, can. 12, ibid., de bapt., can. 4). The reason is that the sacraments have their efficacy by Divine institution and through the merits of Christ. Unworthy ministers, validly conferring the sacraments, cannot impede the efficacy of signs ordained by Christ to produce grace ex opere operato (cf. St. Thomas, III, Q. Ixiv, aa. 5, 9). The knowledge of this truth, which follows logically from the true conception of a sacrament, gives comfort to the faithful, and it should increase, rather than diminish, reverence for those sacred rites and confidence in their

efficacy. No one can give, in his own name, that which he does not possess; but a bank cashier, not possessing 2000 dollars in his own name, could write a draft worth 2,000,000 dollars by reason of the wealth of the bank which he is authorized to represent. Christ left to His Church a vast treasure purchased by His merits and sufferings: the sacraments are as credentials entitling their holders to a share in this treasure. On this subject the Anglican Church has retained the true doctrine, which is neatly proved in article XXVI of the Westminster Confession: "Although in the visible church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil hath the chief authority in the ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by His commission and authority, we may use their ministry both in hearing the Word of God and in receiving the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness nor the grace of God's gifts from such as by faith, and rightly, do receive the sacraments ministered unto them; which be effectual, because of Christ's institution and promise, although they be administered by evil men" (cf. Billuart, de sacram., d. 5, a. 3, sol. obj.)

(5) Intention of the Minister. (a) To be a minister of the sacraments under and with Christ, a man must act as a man, i. e. as a rational being; hence it is absolutely necessary that he have the intention of doing what the Church does. This was declared by Eugene IV in 1439 (Denzinger-Bannwart, 695) and was solemnly defined in the Council of Trent (Sess. VII, can. II). The anathema of Trent was aimed at the innovators of the sixteenth century. From their fundamental error that the sacraments were signs of faith, or signs that excited faith, it followed logically that their effect in no wise depended on the intention of the minister. Men are to be "ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God" (I Cor., iv, 1), and this they would not be without the intention, for it is by the intention, says St. Thomas (III, Q. lxiv, a. 8, ad lum) that a man subjects and unites himself to the principal agent (Christ). Moreover, by rationally pronouncing the words of the form, the minister must determine what is not sufficiently determined or expressed by the matter applied, e. g. the significance of pouring water on the head of the child (St. Thomas, loc. cit., a. 8). One who is demented, drunk, asleep, or in a stupor that prevents a rational act, one who goes through the external ceremony in mockery, mimicry, or in a play, does not act as a rational minister, hence cannot administer a sacrament. (b) The necessary object and qualities of the intention required in the minister of the sacrament are explained in the article INTENTION. Pourrat (op. cit., ch. 7) gives a history of all controversies on this subject. Whatever may be said speculatively about the opinion of Ambrosius Catherinus (see POLITI, LANCELOT) who advocated the sufficiency of an external intention in the minister, it may not be followed in practice, because, outside of cases of necessity, no one may follow a probable opinion against one that is safer, when there is question of something required for the validity of a sacrament (Innoc. XI, 1679; Denzinger-Bannwart, 1151).

(6) Attention in the minister.-Attention is an act of the intellect, viz. the application of the mind to what is being done. Voluntary distraction in one administering a sacrament would be sinful. The sin would however not be grave, unless (a) there be danger of making a serious mistake, or (b) according to the common opinion, the distraction be admitted in consecrating the Eucharistic species. Attention on the part of the minister is not necessary for the valid administration of a sacrament, because in virtue of the intention, which is presupposed, he can act in a rational manner, notwithstanding the distraction.