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Sacramentary. See LITURGICAL BOOKS. Sacramentines. See PERPETUAL ADORERS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

Sacramento, DIOCESE OF (SACRAMENTENSIS), was formed out of the Vicariate of Marysville, which comprised the regions lying between the parallels of latitude 39° and 42° Ñ., and between the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Colorado River on the east. The diocese at present covers 54,449 square miles in California, and 38, 162 square miles in Nevada. It includes the counties of Alpine, Amadok, Butte, Colusa, Calaveras, Del Norte, Eldorado, Humboldt, Lassen, Mariposa, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Toulumne, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba in California; and the counties of Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Humboldt, Lyon, Ormsby, Storey, and Washoe in Nevada.

The Vicariate of Marysville (Marysvillensis) was formed in 1861; four priests were in the territory. There are now 65 priests and about 50,000 Catholic people within the Diocese of Sacramento. Grass Valley, Marysville, and Virginia City, Nevada, were the most populous and notable of the early missions. Amongst the pioneer priests, the names of Very Rev. T. J. Dalton, vicar-general for fifteen years, and Rev. J. J. Callan stand out prominently. The Very Rev. C. M. Lynch, vicar-general and pastor of St. Patrick's, Grass Valley, who figured largely since 1864 in the pioneer work, chiefly in the mining country, died on 29 Sept., 1911. The site of the first permanent church at Sacramento was given by the Governor of California, Peter H. Burnett, a devout convert and a brilliant lawyer. The early mission centres were chiefly in the gold and silver regions. The rich pasture, timber, fruit, and agricultural lands began later to attract settlers, until these at present form the most populous parts of the diocese. The Rev. Eugene O'Connell was chosen the first Vicar Apostolic of Marysville in 1861. Until that time the territory was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of San Francisco. Bishop O'Connell was born in June, 1815, at Kingscourt, in the Diocese of Meath, Ireland; he studied and was ordained in St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, in June, 1842. He taught for several years in Navan seminary, which he left to direct a college at Santa Inez, California, in 1851, and spent one year there. He was next sent to take charge of the theological seminary of St. Thomas near San Francisco, where he remained three years. In 1854 he returned to Ireland, was dean and taught theology in All Hallows College. From there he was consecrated titular Bishop of Flaviopolis and Vicar Apostolic of Marysville by Cardinal Cullen at Dublin, 3 February, 1861. He was installed at St. Joseph's Pro-Cathedral, Marysville, by Archbishop Alemany, 28 March, 1862.

Pius IX formed the vicariate into the Diocese of Grass Valley (VALLISPRATENSIS) on 29 March, 1868. Bent with work and care the learned and apostolic prelate of Marysville resigned his see, 17 March, 1884, was appointed titular Bishop of Joppa, and retired to the hospital of the Sisters of Charity in Los Angeles where he died, 4 December, 1891. His remains lie in Calvary Cemetery, Los Angeles. The Rev. Patrick Manogue, then pastor of Virginia City, Nevada, was appointed coadjutor and titular Bishop of Ceramos, and was consecrated, 16 January, 1881, in St. Mary's Cathedral, San Francisco, by Archbishop J. Š. Alemany. He was born in 1831 at Desart, Kilkenny, Ireland, of a family that numbered many distinguished ecclesiastics. He received his early education at Callan, came to the United States and settled in New England, and later engaged in mining in California. After some years he returned to St. Mary's of the Lake, Chicago, to prepare for

the priesthood, and from there went to St. Sulpice Paris, for his ecclesiastical studies. He was ordained there by Cardinal Morlot in 1861, and returned to California. Father Manogue was sent to work in the territory of Nevada about 1864. He devoted himself to the Indian tribes and attained great results in gaining converts. His usual way of teaching them Christianity was to assemble the roving bands in the church and explain the stations, the altar, statuary, etc. He succeeded to the see, 17 March, 1884. Leo XIII changed the boundaries of the diocese, 16 May, 1886, and the episcopal see was moved to Sacramento. Bishop Manogue built there a cathedral in the Italian Renaissance style with a seating capacity of over sixteen hundred. The architect was Mr. Brian J. Clinch. Bishop Manogue took a leading part in public affairs and was a successful arbitrator between the mine owners and the miners in their conflicts. He was of large stature, of a humorous turn of mind, and a good musician. He died on 27 February, 1895, and lies buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Sacramento, surrounded by the remains of eleven priests. The Rev. Thomas Grace succeeded Bishop Manogue. He was preconized as bishop on 27 February, 1896. He was born at Wexford, Ireland, on 2 Aug., 1841; educated at St. Peter's College, Wexford; made his ecclesiastical studies at All Hallows College, Dublin, and was ordained on 11 June, 1876. He came to California the same year by the way of the Isthmus of Panama in company with Fathers M. Coleman, L. Kennedy, V. G., and J.J. Člaire. He was rector at Marysville for eight years, pastor at Sacramento (1881-96), and was consecrated bishop on 16 June, 1896, in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Sacramento.

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Statistics. The diocese was incorporated on 24 Nov., 1897. Its legal title is "The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento"; the bishop is the corporation sole; 53 priests are from Ireland, 3 from Italy, 2 from Portugal, 3 German, and 2 American. Hallows College, Dublin, has supplied by far the largest number of priests and continues to do so. In the episcopal city there are distinct parishes for Portuguese, Italians, and Germans. Four priests minister at the cathedral. Nine Brothers of the Christian Schools teach a primary and high school adjacent to the cathedral. The Sisters of Mercy conduct a primary school and academy. The Sisters of St. Francis (Lewiston, New York) conduct two parochial schools. In all about 1100 children attend Catholic schools in the city. The Notre Dame Sisters, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Dominican Sisters, and Sisters of Mercy conduct schools in various parts of the diocese. The Sisters of Mercy also conduct a home for destitute children at Sacramento, a home for the aged, and a hospital for 75 patients, with a training school for nurses attached; the classes contain 36 at present. At Grass Valley they have two orphanages providing for 100 boys and 123 girls. The State makes an allowance for each orphan and half orphan. The state prison at Folsom has a priest for chaplain. The largest towns in the diocese are Sacramento, which has 12 priests and a population, including suburbs, of 56,000; Eureka, 2 churches and 2 priests, population, 11,845; Marysville, 2 priests and i church, 5430; Grass Valley, 1 church and 1 priest, 6250; Reno, 1 church and 1 priest, 10,867; Chico, 1 priest and 1 church, 11,775. A Catholic weekly paper is published at Sacramento. A public library is attached to the cathedral, and works in conjunc tion with the state and city libraries. A clerical aid fund helps to maintain infirm and aged priests. The Friars Minor (St. Louis province) have a church at Sacramento. Annual collections are made for Indian and negro missions, orphanages, the Catholic University, Peterspence, and Holy Land shrines. The Priests' Eucharistic League meets annually at the

Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. The priests make a retreat every year at the House of Retreats, Grass Valley. The following confraternities are in the diocese: Men's Sodality of the B. V. M.; Women's Sodality of the B. V. M.; Holy Angels; and the Holy Childhood; St. Aloysius Society; Altar Societies; Apostleship of Prayer; Catholic Truth Society; Catholic Ladies' Aid Society; Young Ladies' Institute; Young Men's Institute; Catholic Library Association; and Knights of Columbus. The growth of the Catholic population is steady. Converts are many.

SHEA, The Hierarchy of the Cath. Church in the U. S. (New York, 1886); SHEA, Hist. of the Cath. Church in the United States, IV (New York, 1886-93); Catholic Directory (1911); Lives of American Prelates in Mem. Vol. 3rd Plenary Council (Baltimore, 1885); Sacramento Union, files; Catholic Herald (Sacramento, 26 Dec., 1908); Monitor (San Francisco, 16 July, 1910); Statistics of Population of California, compiled for the use of the Legislature (1911); Missiones Catholica (Rome, 1901). JOHN HENRY ELLIS.

Sacraments, outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification (Catechismus concil. Trident., II, n. 4, ex S. Aug. "De catechizandis rudibus"). The subject may be treated under the following headings: (I) The necessity and the nature of a sacramental system. (II) The nature of the sacraments of the new law. (III) The origin (cause) of the sacraments. (IV) The number of the sacraments. (V) The effects of the sacraments. (VI) The minister of the sacraments. (VII) The recipient (subject) of the sacraments.

I. NECESSITY AND NATURE. (1) In what sense necessary.-Almighty God can and does give grace to men in answer to their internal aspirations and prayers without the use of any external sign or ceremony. This will always be possible, because God, grace, and the soul are spiritual beings. God is not restricted to the use of material, visible symbols in dealing with men; the sacraments are not necessary in the sense that they could not have been dispensed with. But, if it be shown that God has appointed external, visible ceremonies as the means by which certain graces are to be conferred on men, then in order to obtain those graces it will be necessary for men to make use of those Divinely appointed means. This truth theologians express by saying that the sacraments are necessary, not absolutely but only hypothetically, i. e., in the supposition that if we wish to obtain a certain supernatural end we must use the supernatural means appointed for obtaining that end. In this sense the Council of Trent (Sess. VII, can. 4) declared heretical those who assert that the sacraments of the New Law are superfluous and not necessary, although all are not necessary for each individual. It is the teaching of the Catholic Church and of Christians in general that, whilst God was nowise bound to make use of external ceremonies as symbols of things spiritual and sacred, it has pleased Him to do so, and this is the ordinary and most suitable manner of dealing with men. Writers on the sacraments refer to this as the necessitas convenientia, the necessity of suitableness. It is not really a necessity, but the most appropriate manner of dealing with creatures that are at the same time spiritual and corporeal. In this assertion all Christians are united: it is only when we come to consider the nature of the sacramental signs that Protestants (except some Anglicans) differ from Catholics. "To sacraments considered merely as outward forms, pictorial representations or symbolic acts, there is generally no objection", wrote Dr. Morgan Dix ("The Sacramental System", New York, 1902, p. 46). "Of sacramental doctrine this may be truly said, that it is co-extensive with historic christianity. Of this there is no reasonable doubt, as regards the very ancient days, of which St. Chrysostom's treatise on the priesthood and St. Cyril's catechetical lectures

Nor

may be taken as characteristic documents. was it otherwise with the more conservative of the reformed bodies of the sixteenth century. Martin Luther's Catechism, the Augsburg, and later the Westminster, Confessions are strongly sacramental in their tone, putting to shame the degenerate followers of those who compiled them" (ibid., p. 7, 8). (2) Why the sacramental system is most appropriate. The reasons underlying a sacramental system are as follows: (a) Taking the word "sacrament" in its broadest sense, as the sign of something sacred and hidden (the Greek word is "mystery"), we can say that the whole world is a vast sacramental system, in that material things are unto men the signs of things spiritual and sacred, even of the Divinity. "The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands" (Ps.` xviii, 2). "The invisible things of him [i. e. God], from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity" (Rom., i, 20). (b) The redemption of man was not accomplished in an invisible manner. God renewed, through the Patriarchs and the Prophets, the promise of salvation made to the first man; external symbols were used to express faith in the promised Redeemer: "all these things happened to them [the Israelites] in figure" (I Cor., x, 11; Heb., x, 1). "So we also, when we were children, were serving under the elements of the world. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent his Son, made of a woman" (Gal., iv, 3, 4). The Incarnation took place because God dealt with men in the manner that was best suited to their nature. (c) The Church established by the Saviour was to be a visible organization (see CHURCH: The Visibility of the Church): consequently it should have external ceremonies and symbols of things sacred. The principal reason for a sacramental system is found in man. It is the nature of man, writes St. Thomas (III, Q. lxi, a. 1), to be led by things corporeal and sense-perceptible to things spiritual and intelligible; now Divine Providence provides for everything in accordance with its nature (secundum modum suœ conditionis); therefore it was fitting that Divine Wisdom should provide means of salvation for men in the form of certain corporeal and sensible signs which are called sacraments. (For other reasons see Catech. Conc. Trid., II, n. 14.)

(d)

(3) Existence of sacred symbols.-(a) No sacraments in state of innocence.-According to St. Thomas (l. c., a. 2) and theologians generally there were no sacraments before Adam sinned, i. e., in the state of original justice. Man's dignity was so great that he was raised above the natural condition of human nature. His mind was subject to God; his lower faculties were subject to the higher part of his mind; his body was subject to his soul; it would have been against the dignity of that state had he been dependent, for the acquisition of knowledge or of Divine grace, on anything beneath him, Ĭ. e. corporeal things. For this reason the majority of theologians hold that no sacraments would have been instituted even if that state had lasted for a long time.

(b) Sacraments of the law of nature.-Apart from what was or might have been in that extraordinary state, the use of sacred symbols is universal. St. Augustine says that every religion, true or false, has its visible signs or sacraments. In nullum nomen religionis, seu verum seu falsum, coadunari homines possunt, nisi aliquo signaculorum seu sacramentorum visibilium consortio colligantur" (Cont. Faust., XIX, xi). Commentators on the Scriptures and theologians almost unanimously assert that there were sacraments under the law of nature and under the Mosaic Law, as there are sacraments of greater dignity under the Law of Christ. Under the law of nature -so called not to exclude supernatural revelation

but because at that time there existed no written supernatural law-salvation was granted through faith in the promised Redeemer, and men expressed that faith by some external signs. What those signs should be God did not determine, leaving this to the people, most probably to the leaders or heads of families, who were guided in their choice by an interior inspiration of the Holy Ghost. This is the conception of St. Thomas, who says that, as under the law of nature (when there was no written law), men were guided by interior inspiration in worshiping God, so also they determined what signs should be used in the external acts of worship (III, Q. lx, a. 5, ad 3um). Afterwards, however, as it was necessary to give a written law: (a) because the law of nature had been obscured by sin, and (b) because it was time to give a more explicit knowledge of the grace of Christ, then also it became necessary to determine what external signs should be used as sacraments (ibid., and Q. Ixi, a. 3, ad 2um). This was not necessary immediately after the Fall, by reason of the fullness of faith and knowledge imparted to Adam. But about the time of Abraham, when faith had been weakened, many had fallen into idolatry, and the light of reason had been obscured by indulgence of the passions, even unto the commission of sins against nature, God intervened and appointed as a sign of faith the rite of circumcision (Gen., xvii; St. Thomas, III, Q. lxx, a. 2, ad lum; see CIRCUMCISION).

The vast majority of theologians teach that this ceremony was a sacrament and that it was instituted as a remedy for original sin; consequently that it conferred grace, not indeed of itself (ex opere operato), but by reason of the faith in Christ which it expressed. "In circumcisione conferebatur gratia, non ex virtute circumcisionis, sed ex virtute fidei passionis Christi futuræ, cujus signum erat circumcisio -quia scilicet justitia erat ex fide significata, non ex circumcisione significante" (St. Thomas, III, Q. lxx, a. 4). Certainly it was at least a sign of some thing sacred, and it was appointed and determined by God himself as a sign of faith and as a mark by which the faithful were distinguished from unbelievers. It was not, however, the only sign of faith used under the law of nature. It is incredible, writes St. Augustine, that before circumcision there was no sacrament for the relief (justification) of children, although for some good reason the Scriptures do not tell us what that sacrament was (Cont. Jul., III, xi). The sacrifice of Melchisedech, the sacrifice of the friends of Job, the various tithes and oblations for the service of God are mentioned by St. Thomas (III, Q. lxi, a. 3, ad 3um; Q. lxv, a. 1, ad 7um) as external observances which may be considered as the sacred signs of that time, prefiguring future sacred institutions: hence, he adds, they may be called sacraments of the law of nature.

(c) Sacraments of the Mosaic Law.-As the time for Christ's coming drew nearer, in order that the Israelites might be better instructed God spoke to Moses, revealing to him in detail the sacred signs and ceremonies by which they were to manifest more explicitly their faith in the future Redeemer. Those signs and ceremonies were the sacraments of the Mosaic Law, "which are compared to the sacraments which were before the law as something determined to something undetermined, because before the law it had not been determined what signs men should use" (St. Thomas, III, Q. Ixi, a. 3, ad 2um). With the Angelic Doctor (I-II, Q. cii, a. 5) theologians usually divide the sacraments of this period into three classes: (1) The ceremonies by which men were made and signed as worshippers or ministers of God. Thus we have (a) circumcision, instituted in the time of Abraham (Gen., xvii), renewed in the time of Moses (Lev., xii, 3) for all the people; and (b) the sacred rites by which the Levitical priests were consecrated.

(2) The ceremonies which consisted in the use of things pertaining to the service of God, i. e. (a) the paschal lamb for all the people, and (b) the loaves of proposition for the ministers. (3) The ceremonies of purification from legal contamination, i. e. (a) for the people, various expiations, (b) for the priests, the washing of hands and feet, the shaving of the head, etc. St. Augustine says the sacraments of the Old Law were abolished because they had been fulfilled (cf. Matt., v, 17), and others have been instituted which are more efficacious, more useful, easier to administer and to receive, fewer in number (“virtute majora, utilitate meliora, actu faciliora, numero pauciora", Cont. Faust., XIX, xiii). The Council of Trent condemns those who say that there is no difference except in the outward rite between the sacraments of the Old Law and those of the New Law (Sess. VII, can. ii). The Decree for the Armenians, published by order of the Council of Florence, says that the sacraments of the Old Law did not confer grace, but only prefigured the grace which was to be given by the Passion of Christ. This means that they did not give grace of themselves (i. e. ex opere operato) but only by reason of the faith in Christ which they represented "ex fide significata, non ex circumcisione significante" (St. Thomas, loc. cit.).

II. NATURE OF THE SACRAMENTS OF THE NEW Law.-(1) Definition of a sacrament.-The_sacraments thus far considered were merely signs of sacred things. According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, accepted to-day by many Episcopalians, the sacraments of the Christian dispensation are not mere signs; they do not merely signify Divine grace, but in virtue of their Divine institution, they cause that grace in the souls of men. "Signum sacro sanctum efficax gratiæ"-a sacrosanct sign producing grace, is a good, succinct definition of a sacrament of the New Law. Sacrament, in its broadest acceptation, may be defined as an external sign of something sacred. In the twelfth century Peter Lombard (d. 1164), known as the Master of the Sentences, author of the first manual of systematized theology, gave an accurate definition of a sacrament of the New Law: A sacrament is in such a manner an outward sign of inward grace that it bears its image (i. e. signifies or represents it) and is its cause "Sacramentum proprie dicitur quod ita signum est gratiæ Dei, et invisibilis gratiæ forma, ut ipsius imaginem gerat et causa existat" (IV Sent., d. I, n. 2). This definition was adopted and perfected by the medieval Scholastics. From St. Thomas we have the short but very expressive definition: The sign of a sacred thing in so far as it sanctifies men "Signum rei sacræ in quantum est sanctificans homines" (III, Q. lx, a. 2).

All the creatures of the universe proclaim something sacred, namely, the wisdom and the goodness of God, as they are sacred in themselves, not as they are sacred things sanctifying men, hence they cannot be called sacraments in the sense in which we speak of sacraments (ibid., ad 1um). The Council of Trent includes the substance of these two definitions in the following: "Symbolum rei sacræ, et invisibilis gratia forma visibilis, sanctificandi vim habens"-A symbol of something sacred, a visible form of invisible grace, having the power of sanctifying (Sess. XIII, cap. 3). The "Catechism of the Council of Trent" gives a more plete definition: Something perceptible by the senses which by Divine institution has the power both to signify and to effect sanctity and justice (II, n. 2). Catholic catechisms in English usually have the following: An outward sign of inward grace, a sacred and mysterious sign or ceremony, ordained by Christ, by which grace is conveyed to our souls. Anglican and Episcopalian theologies and catechisms give definitions which Catholics could accept (see.

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e. g. Mortimer, "Catholic Faith and Practice", New York, 1905, part I, p. 120).

In every sacrament three things are necessary: the outward sign; the inward grace; Divine institution. A sign stands for and represents something else, either naturally, as smoke represents fire, or by the choice of an intelligent being, as the red cross indicates an ambulance. Sacraments do not naturally signify grace; they do so because they have been chosen by God to signify mysterious effects. Yet they are not altogether arbitrary, because in some cases, if not in all, the ceremonies performed have a quasi-natural connexion with the effect to be produced. Thus, pouring water on the head of a child readily brings to mind the interior purification of the soul. The word "sacrament" (sacramentum), even as used by profane Latin writers, signified something sacred, viz., the oath by which soldiers were bound, or the money deposited by litigants in a contest. In the writings of the Fathers of the Church the word was used to signify something sacred and mysterious, and where the Latins use sacramentum the Greeks use vorhplov (mystery). The sacred and mysterious thing signified is Divine grace, which is the formal cause of our justification (see GRACE), but with it we must associate the Passion of Christ (efficient and meritorious cause) and the end (final cause) of our sanctification, viz., eternal life. The significance of the sacraments according to theologians (e. g. St. Thomas, III, Q. Ix, a. 3) and the Roman Catechism (II, n. 13) extends to these three sacred things, of which one is past, one present, and one future. The three are aptly expressed in St. Thomas's beautiful antiphon on the Eucharist: "O sacrum convivium, in quo Christus sumitur, recolitur memoria passionis ejus, mens impletur gratia, et futuræ gloriæ nobis pignus datur O sacred banquet, in which Christ is received, the memory of the passion is recalled, the soul is filled with grace, and a pledge of future life is given to us".

(2) Errors of Protestants.-Protestants generally hold that the sacraments are signs of something sacred (grace and faith), but deny that they really cause Divine grace. Episcopalians, however, and Anglicans, especially the Ritualists, hold with Catholics that the sacraments are "effectual signs" of grace. In article XXV of the Westminster Confession we read: "Sacraments ordained of God be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace and God's good will towards us by which He doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken but strengthen and confirm our faith in Him" (cf. art. XXVII). "The Zwinglian theory", writes Morgan Dix (op. cit., p. 73), "that sacraments are nothing but memorials of Christ and badges of Christian profession, is one that can by no possible jugglery with the English tongue be reconciled with the formularies of our church." Mortimer adopts and explains the Catholic formula "ex opere operato" (loc. cit., p. 122). Luther and his early followers rejected this conception of the sacraments. They do not cause grace, but are merely "signs and testimonies of God's good will towards us" (Augsburg Confessions); they excite faith, and faith (fiduciary) causes justification. Calvinists and Presbyterians hold substantially the same doctrine. Zwinglius lowered still further the dignity of the sacraments, making them signs not of God's fidelity but of our fidelity. By receiving the sacraments we manifest faith in Christ: they are merely the badges of our profession and the pledges of our fidelity. Fundamentally all these errors arise from Luther's newly-invented theory of righteousness, i. e. the doctrine of justification by faith alone (see GRACE). If man is to be sanctified not by an interior renovation through grace which will blot out his sins, but by an extrinsic impu

tation through the merits of Christ, which will cover his soul as a cloak, there is no place for signs that cause grace, and those used can have no other purpose than to excite faith in the Saviour. Luther's convenient doctrine on justification was not adopted by all his followers and it is not baldly and boldly proclaimed by all Protestants to-day: nevertheless they accept its consequences affecting the true notion of the sacraments.

(3) Catholic Doctrine.-Against all innovators the Council of Trent declared: "If any one say that the sacraments of the New Law do not contain the grace which they signify, or that they do not confer grace on those who place no obstacle to the same, let him be anathema" (Sess. viii, can. vi). "If any one say that grace is not conferred by the sacraments ex opere operato, but that faith in God's promises is alone sufficient for obtaining grace, let him be anathema" (ibid., can. viii; cf. can. iv, v, vii). The phrase "ex opere operato", for which there is no equivalent in English, probably was used for the first time by Peter of Poitiers (d. 1205), and afterwards by Innocent III (d. 1216; de myst. missæ, III, v), and by St. Thomas (d. 1274; IV Sent., dist. 1, Q. i, a. 5). It was happily invented to express a truth that had always been taught and had been introduced without objection. It is not an elegant formula but, as St. Augustine remarks (In Ps. cxxxviii): It is better that grammarians should object than that the people should not understand. "Ex opere operato", i. e. by virtue of the action, means that the efficacy of the action of the sacraments does not depend on anything human, but solely on the will of God as expressed by Christ's institution and promise. "Ex opere operantis", i.e. by reason of the agent, would mean that the action of the sacraments depended on the worthiness either of the minister or of the recipient (see Pourrat, "Theology of the Sacraments", tr., St. Louis, 1910, 162 sqq.). Protestants cannot in good faith object to the phrase as if it meant that the mere outward ceremony, apart from God's action, causes grace. It is well known that Catholics teach that the sacraments are only the instrumental, not the principal, causes of grace. Neither can it be claimed that the phrase adopted by the council does away with all dispositions necessary on the part of the recipient, the sacraments acting like infallible charms causing grace in those who are ill-disposed or in grievous sin. The fathers of the council were careful to note that there must be no obstacle to grace on the part of the recipients, who must receive them rite, i. e. rightly and worthily; and they declare it a calumny to assert that they require no previous dispositions (Sess. XIV, de poenit., cap. 4). Dispositions are required to prepare the subject, but they are a condition (conditio sine qua non), not the causes, of the grace conferred. In this case the sacraments differ from the sacramentals, which may cause grace ex opere operantis, i. e. by reason of the prayers of the Church or the good, pious sentiments of those who use them (see SACRAMENTALS).

(4) Proofs of the Catholic Doctrine.-In examining proofs of the Catholic doctrine it must be borne in mind that our rule of faith is not simply Scripture, but Scripture and tradition. (a) In Sacred Scripture we find expressions which clearly indicate that the sacraments are more than mere signs of grace and faith: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John, iii, 5); "He saved us, by the laver of regeneration, and renovation of the Holy Ghost" (Tit., iii, 5); "Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts, viii, 17); "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed" (John, vi, 55, 56). These and similar expressions (see articles on each sacrament) are, to say th uch exagger

ated if they do not mean that the sacramental ceremony 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 Nyssa, "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 explain it" (ibid.). "He that passes through the fountain [baptism] shall not die but rises to new life" (St. Ambrose, De sacr., I, iv). "Whence 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; Decr. pro. Armen., see Denzinger-Bannwart, nn. 86, 102, 200, 695). The early Anglican Church held fast 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 NewBirth, 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 ask: (1) Of what use would this be if the language used be not understood by the recipient, i. e. an infant or an adult that does not understand Latin? In such cases it might be more beneficial to the bystanders 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 Episcopalians and Anglicans of today would not revert to the doctrine of grace ex opere operato unless they were convinced that the ancient faith was warranted by Scripture and Tradition.

(5) Matter and Form of the Sacraments.-Scholastic writers of the thirteenth century introduced into their explanations of the sacraments terms which were derived from the philosophy of Aristotle. William of Auxerre (d. 1223) was the first to apply to them the words matter (materia) and form (forma). As in physical bodies, so also in the sacramental rite we find two elements, one undetermined, which is called the matter, the other determining, called the form. For instance, water may be used for drinking, or for cooling 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 does, determines the meaning of the act, so that it signifies the purification of the soul by grace. The matter and form (the res et verba) make up the external rite, which has its special significance and efficacy from the institution of Christ. The words are the

more important element in the composition, because men express their thoughts and intentions principally by words. "Verba inter homines obtinuerunt principatum significandi" (St. Augustine, "De doct. christ.", II, iii; St. Thomas, III, Q. lx, a. 6). It must not be supposed that the things used for the acts performed, for they are included in the res, remarks St. Thomas (loc. cit., ad 2um) 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 compounds 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. Augustine, "De pecc. et mer.", xxxiv; Conc. Milev., De bapt.). What we call the matter and form were referred to as "mystic symbols"; "the sign and the thing invisible"; "the word and the element" (St. Augustine, tr. 80 in Joann.). The new terminology immediately 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 conciliar definition (see Denzinger-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 "Apostolicæ Cura" (13 Sept., 1896) made the Scholastic theory the basis of his declaration, and pro nounced ordinations performed according to the ancient 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. Nevertheless our knowledge of the sacraments is not dependent on this Scholastic terminology, and the comparison must not be carried too far. The attempt to verify the comparison (of sacraments to a body) in all details 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 sacraments 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. lx, a. 2 c. et ad I); since the external rite (matter and form) of itself cannot give grace, it is evident that all sacraments 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 sanctified, but this must be determined by Divine institution". 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 partakers 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,

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