Chapter III — On the sacraments of the new law instituted by Christ

I. QUESTION I. What is a sacrament of the new law? ANSWER. It is a sign of a sacred thing inasmuch as it sanctifies men, says St. Thomas, III, q. 60, art. 2. A sacrament therefore is reduced to the genus of sensible sign. But a sign, adds St. Augustine, Book 2, On Christian Doctrine, chapter 1, is a thing which, beyond the appearance which it presents to the senses, causes something else to come into knowledge. One sign is insensible, such as is the character which Baptism, Confirmation, and Order imprint; another sensible, which is perceived by the senses, such as is the baptismal ablution. Again, one sign is natural, another instituted by free will.

II. The sacraments of the new law are signs not speculative but practical, instituted by God, which signify the grace which they produce.

III. QUESTION II. What are the parts of the sacraments of the new law? ANSWER. Two: matter and form. These names do not occur among the ancient Fathers; nevertheless the Church, both Greek and Latin, adopted these words as accommodated to the explaining of sacramental things. Under the name of matter are understood not only the sensible things themselves, but also sensible actions, such as unction, ablution, confession, consent expressed by nod or by word. One matter is remote, as water in Baptism; another proximate, as the ablution.

IV. QUESTION III. Did Christ the Lord determine the matter and form of Baptism and of the Eucharist? ANSWER. All theologians affirm that Christ determined the matter and form of this twofold sacrament not only in general, but in species also. That water was determined by Christ as the matter of Baptism, St. John testifies, chapter 3: Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, and so forth. That Christ likewise determined bread and wine as the matter of the Eucharist, St. Matthew, chapter 26, and the other Evangelists testify. The form of Baptism Christ designated in these words: Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Matthew 28. The form of the Eucharist he determined, Matthew 26: This is my body. This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. And as regards this there is no disagreement among theologians.

V. QUESTION IV. Did Christ determine the things and words of the other five sacraments in species? ANSWER. There is a twofold opinion among Catholic theologians. The first affirms it. For the matter of Confirmation is had in Acts, chapter 8: Then they laid their hands upon them. The remote matter of the sacrament of penance is sins; the proximate, the acts of the penitent; the form, the words of the priest. The matter of extreme unction is the unction of oil; the form, prayer: Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5. The matter of Order is the imposition of hands; the form, prayer: These they set before the apostles: and they praying, imposed hands upon them. Acts 6. The matter of matrimony is the mutual delivery of bodies: They shall be two in one flesh. Of the form it will be spoken in its place.

VI. It is therefore plain that Christ the Lord determined the matter of these five sacraments in species. For he himself is the institutor of all the sacraments, as Trent defined, session 7, canon 1: If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the new law were not all instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. And although the Council did not define that Christ was the immediate institutor, it nevertheless seems necessarily to follow.

VII. The authors of the second opinion object, contending that Christ designated the matter of Confirmation and of Order in general, but not in species. Since, they say, no mention is had of chrism or unction as the matter of Confirmation in Acts, chapter 8. Nor in the first seven centuries of the Church were the instruments to be touched held out as the matter of the sacrament of Order. The theologians of the former opinion answer that the imposition of hands is the matter as it were essential of each sacrament; but that the unction and the instruments are accidental matter, or an accidental rite added by the Church. They add that in Confirmation chrism was employed in the first centuries of the Church, and that the instruments are a rite of the Latin Church, since the Greek Church confers sacred Orders by the imposition of hands alone. And yet the Latin Church holds the sacred Ordinations of the Greek Church as valid. Therefore in each Church the imposition of hands is the essential matter, and the rest are accidental rites.

VIII. QUESTION V. What change of matter or of form renders a sacrament null? ANSWER. Change is twofold: one substantial, the other accidental. Substantial change alone renders a sacrament null. This change can be made in various ways. Water frozen and turned into snow or hail, although physically the same, nevertheless in the theological sense brings in a substantial change in respect of Baptism, since it is inept for the use of washing. Blessed chrism changed into chrism not blessed brings in a substantial change. Natural wine changed into distilled spirit is not apt matter for the Eucharist. Fr. Claude La Croix, Book 6, part 1, no. 24, defends that frozen wine is matter for the Eucharist, and praises Fr. Suárez. Other theologians deny it.

IX. QUESTION VI. In how many ways can a sacramental form be varied? ANSWER. Soto enumerates eight. First, by a diverse language. Second, by the addition of some word. Third, by the taking away of some word. Fourth, by the corruption of words. Fifth, by the transposition of words. Sixth, by the interpolation of words. Seventh, by synonymous words. Eighth, by equivocal words. Diversity of language and diverse synonyms bring in only an accidental change. The same is to be said of the transposition of words, and of an addition which does not take away the former sense. The interruption of words likewise does not bring in an absolutely substantial change, unless it destroy the sense. The corruption of words at the beginning of a word takes away the sense, as is plain in the word Patris, in which if you change the letter P into M, the word matris results. But at the end of a word a substantial change is commonly not made. That you may be able to discern whether the change be substantial or accidental, hold before your eyes the obvious sense of the words. When this is not changed, the change is accidental. Let this other rule cleave to your memory: In conferring the sacraments, while the question is of validity, the safer part is to be embraced. But any deliberate change, whether in the matter or in the form of the sacraments, carries with it a greater or lesser fault according to the diversity of the change.

X. QUESTION VII. Is it lawful in performing the sacraments to use doubtful matter or form? ANSWER. In sacraments which are necessary by necessity of means to salvation, such as are Baptism and Penance, the use of doubtful matter or form is lawful when extreme necessity urges, as theologians commonly teach. But outside the case of extreme necessity such use is unlawful; nay, even with extreme necessity urging, such use is unlawful in those sacraments which are not necessary by necessity of means to salvation.

XI. QUESTION VIII. Is the use of a conditional form lawful? ANSWER. The conditional form is this: If thou art not yet baptized, I baptize thee, and so forth. It is agreed among theologians that in the first centuries of the Church the conditional form was unknown. This began to obtain about the thirteenth century of the Church; at length in the fourteenth century the custom of this conditional form, extreme necessity urging, became common among all the Churches of the Latins, and was inserted into the body of law on the authority of Gregory IX. First this form was employed in the conferring of Baptism. Before Trent there is no mention of that form in the administration of Penance. After Trent several authors began to employ it even outside the case of necessity, as when confessors doubt whether the penitent be sufficiently contrite. Which custom I do not approve, and it will be rejected in its place. With extreme necessity therefore urging, the use of the conditional form is lawful in the administration of Baptism. Of the sacrament of Penance it will be spoken below.

XII. QUESTION IX. How many are the sacraments of the new law? ANSWER. The Lutherans and Calvinists today admit only two sacraments, Baptism and the Eucharist. Their error the Council of Trent condemned, session 7, and defined that there are seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, which are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order, and Matrimony. Obvious are the testimonies of the Scriptures by which this sevenfold number is proved, which for brevity's sake I pass over.

XIII. QUESTION X. What is the efficacy of the sacraments in conferring grace? ANSWER. The Council of Trent, session 7, canon 8, defined these things: If anyone shall say that grace is not conferred by the sacraments of the new law themselves ex opere operato, but that faith alone in the divine promise suffices for obtaining grace, let him be anathema. The manner of producing grace is twofold, namely ex opere operantis and ex opere operato. It is produced ex opere operantis when God confers it in view of the faith, piety, or merit of him who receives or administers the sacrament. We say that grace is produced ex opere operato when it is produced by the force and efficacy of the external sacramental sign itself, instituted by Christ the Lord and applied in a congruous manner, apart from the merit of the recipient or of the administrator. It is nevertheless necessarily required that a man about to receive the sacraments should in fact prepare his soul by dispositions of faith and piety.

XIV. Ignorantly and malignantly do the heretics carp at this phrase ex opere operato, since it is excellent and necessary for confuting their error and for showing that the sacraments of the new law are not mere external signs, but efficacious signs which by their own force derived from Christ's passion produce grace. See more in Vol. VIII, Book 1, sole dissertation, chapter 8.

XV. QUESTION XI. Do the sacraments of the new law produce grace physically or morally? ANSWER. St. Thomas and all his disciples defend that the sacraments of the new law, which, as Trent defined, produce grace ex opere operato, are instruments physically concurring to the production of grace. This opinion is the more conformable to Trent, and seems the more probable to me. But since it is scholastic and of little use for the forming of morals, I do not discuss it further. See more in the place cited.

XVI. QUESTION XII. What is the grace which the sacraments of the new law confer? ANSWER. Grace is twofold, habitual and actual. The former indeed inhering in the soul and permanent; the latter is called a transient motion. The grace which is conferred by force of the sacraments is something intrinsic and inhering in the soul, distinct from a flowing and transitory motion, as was defined in the Council of Trent, session 6, chapter 7, against the heretics who blurt out that the wicked are justified by an exterior imputation alone. If anyone shall say that men are justified either by the sole imputation of the justice of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and charity which is poured forth in their hearts and INHERES in them, let him be anathema. More fully does he explain this at chapter 7. The Council abstained from the word habit and quality; but it defined that grace is something intrinsically inhering in the soul.

XVII. QUESTION XIII. Do the sacraments of the new law, besides sanctifying grace, confer some peculiar grace which is called sacramental? ANSWER. Theologians distinguish a twofold grace. One common to all the sacraments, the other proper to each. The common opinion is that the individual sacraments, besides the grace common to all the sacraments, confer some peculiar grace. The notion of that peculiar grace is hidden from us. The sacraments confer it of themselves when there is altogether the same disposition on the part of the recipients. But if the disposition be diverse, they produce it greater or less.

XVIII. QUESTION XIV. Whether the sacraments of the living can by accident produce first grace? ANSWER. The sacraments of the dead are Baptism and Penance, which of themselves produce first grace. The other sacraments are called of the living, because they presume men alive in grace; and these of themselves confer second grace. Theologians dispute whether these sacraments of the living can by accident confer first grace. The common opinion affirms it with St. Thomas, III, q. 79, art. 3.

XIX. QUESTION XV. Whether the sacraments of the new law imprint a character? ANSWER. Besides the effect of grace, three sacraments of the new law — Baptism, Confirmation, and Order — imprint a character, as all Catholics teach against the innovators and heretics, whose error Trent condemned, session 7, canon 9. That character is something real and permanent in the soul indelibly. The curious and useless questions of the scholastics on this matter I pass over.

XX. QUESTION XVI. How do the sacraments of the new law differ from the sacraments of the old law? ANSWER. The evangelical sacraments differ on several titles from the Mosaic sacraments. The sacraments of the old law conferred grace ex opere operantis only, as the common opinion teaches; but the evangelical produce it ex opere operato, as we have seen. I omit many other differences.

XXI. QUESTION XVII. Whether Christ the Lord immediately instituted all the sacraments? ANSWER. Some of the ancient scholastics maintained that the Apostles by Christ's concession instituted some sacraments. But the common and true opinion teaches that all and singular the sacraments were immediately instituted by Christ the Lord. Innumerable are the testimonies of the Scriptures which prove this. St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 3, says: What then is Apollo? and what is Paul? The ministers of him whom you have believed. And again, chapter 4: Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. And at last, session 7, canon 1, Trent defines: If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the new law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, let him be anathema.