§ III. On the Mode of Conferring Sacraments

1234. - It is not enough if the minister diligently observes those things which regard the matter and form; but he ought carefully to keep all the laws of the Holy Church concerning the administration of the Sacraments. Hence the Minister sins who contemns them, omits them without sufficient cause, or changes them;¹ and this according to the gravity of the matter, and therefore gravely, if either he neglects integral ceremonies (namely those which complete the sacramental action and indicate its effects more clearly, as exorcisms in Baptism), or even accidental ceremonies (which pertain to the ornament and decorum of the act, as genuflections), in great quantity, or with grave scandal, or from contempt.

1235. Questions. - Query 1° Is the use of the Roman Ritual of precept in the administration of the Sacraments?

Resp. Affirmatively, as regards our Provinces, yet with the modifications conceded by the Holy See,² it being forbidden:

1° That priests depart from it "under the pretext of custom or any other pretext whatsoever."³

2° That "if they have judged it expedient, for the sake of explanation, to add a version in the vernacular language of those things which" in administering the Sacraments and in the burial of the dead they recite in the Latin language, "they use any other than that which shall have been sanctioned by the Ordinary."⁴

3° That the Latin form of the prayers never be omitted.⁵ (I) p. 400.

I said: affirmatively as regards our Provinces; but whether the use of the Roman Ritual in the administration of the Sacraments is of precept everywhere, disputed on each side, see, if you please, in De Herdt.⁶

1236. - Query 2° What sacred vestments are required for the administration of the Sacraments?

Resp. With the case of urgent necessity excluded, a stole and surplice are generally required. - It is said, surplice; for "the rochet is not a sacred vestment to be employed in the administration of the Sacraments, and therefore for administering them the surplice must necessarily be used."⁷

But the stole ought not to be worn except in the confection of Sacraments and Sacramentals, and in the act of preaching where custom prevails, and also in certain other functions, as is prescribed in the Roman Ritual. But the use of wearing the stole as a sign of jurisdiction and preeminence is reprobated as an abuse.⁸

More things concerning the mode of administering Sacraments will be treated where the individual Sacraments in particular are considered. - Generally let the following admonition of the Second Plenary Council of Baltimore be kept before the eyes:¹ "While they minister Sacraments, let the words be pronounced distinctly and articulately; let their approach, countenance, motions of the body, and modulation of the voice express consciousness of the most holy thing which is being done, and excite the faithful to firm faith and inward devotion. Moreover, according to their strength and the circumstances of things, let priests take care that those things which are required for the dispensation of the Sacraments be clean and becoming. Let Pastors instruct the flock committed to them concerning the Sacraments and the religious preparation to be put before these, as often as occasion is offered."