“…spitting, touched his tongue”
What is the matter or element for each Sacrament?
Baptism - Holy Water and Oil
Confirmation – Oil (Chrism)
Eucharist - Unleavened wheat bread, wine, holy hands of the priest.
Marriage - Body and Soul of Couple,
Holy Orders - Oil and Laying on of Hands
Penance - the penitent’s admission and sorrow for sin
Anointing of the Sick – Oil
Search: Holy Oils
What is the form or word for each Sacrament?
Baptism – “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”
Confirmation – “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit” In the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite the word “confirm” is actually used: “I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father; and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
Eucharist – “This is My Body”
Marriage – The couple’s Statement of Intent includes three questions in regards to freedom, fidelity and fruitfulness. “N. and N., have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives? Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?” [1]
After stating their intent, the couple consents to what the intend. The Priest or Deacon then says, “Since it is your intention to enter into marriage, join your right hands, and declare your consent before God and his Church.” They join hands. The bridegroom says: “I, N., take you, N., to be my wife. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.” The bride says: “I, N., take you, N., to be my husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”
Receiving the couple’s consent, the priest says: “You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide.”
It is the intent and consent of the couple that is the form or word of the sacrament therefore it is the couple’s intent and consent that makes the marriage valid if there is any impediment to the intent and consent then the marriage is null and void.
It is the responsibility of the Church to prepare a couple so that a couple understands the dignity of the sacrament. A couple is asked the following:
Do you understand and agree without any reservations to the nature and obligation of marriage namely:
To give sacrificially of self for the total well being of each other and the marital partnership? [2]
To share in marital intercourse since marriage involves a sexual relationship? [3]
To give your spouse the right to have children and see to their educational upbringing? [4]
To make an unconditional, permanent commitment, lasting until the death of your spouse? [5]
To be faithful to your spouse? [6]
To give your consent freely and without any force or pressure from any person or circumstance? [7]
If the answer is “no” to any of these questions there is an impediment.
The questions above show the dignity and nature of Marriage which is…
Sacrificial, a total gift of self with the goal of making spouse holy
Fruitful (Open to Life)
Educational upbringing of children
Permanence
Faithful
Free
Holy Orders - In the extraordinary form the bishop says, “Almighty Father, we pray that you bestow on these servants of yours the dignity of the priesthood. Renew in their hearts the spirit of holiness, so that they may be steadfast in this second degree of the priestly office [second after bishop] received from you, O God, and by their own lives suggest a rule of life to others.” [8] In the Ordinary form the bishop says, “Grant, we pray, Almighty Father, to these, your servants, the dignity of the priesthood; renew deep within them the Spirit of holiness; may they henceforth possess this office which comes from you, O God, and is next in rank to the office of Bishop; and by the example of their manner of life, may they instill right conduct.” [9] The words of the bishop stress holiness. It is essential that a priest is holy and that by their own lives they suggest holiness for others.
Penance – “I absolve thee” “Now the form is: I absolve thee, as may be inferred not only from the words, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in Heaven (Matt. 18:18) but also from the teaching of Christ Our Lord, handed down to us by the Apostles.” [10]
Anointing of the Sick – “Through this holy anointing may the Lord pardon thee whatever sins or faults thou hast committed.” In the extraordinary from, “Through this Holy Unction or oil, and through the great goodness of His mercy, may God pardon thee whatever sins thou hast committed by evil use of sight (sight, hearing, smell, taste and speech, touch, ability to walk).”
Where is the proof that each Sacrament was instituted by Christ?
Baptism – “From the moment that Christ is immersed in water, water washes away all sins…The Lord is baptized, not because He had need to be cleansed, but in order that, by the contact of His pure flesh, He might purify the waters and impart to them the power of cleansing.” [11] “A very strong argument to prove that Baptism was then instituted by Our Lord might be afforded by the fact the most Holy Trinity, in whose name Baptism is conferred, manifested Its divine presences on that occasion. The voice of the Father was heard, the Person of the Son was present, the Holy Ghost descended in the form of a dove; and the heavens, into which we are enabled to enter by Baptism, were thrown open.” [12] “Holy writers are unanimous in saying that after the Resurrection of Our Lord, when He gave to His Apostles the command to go and teach all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 28:19), the law of Baptism became obligatory on all who were to be saved.” [13]
Scripture: Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5; Mark 1:10-11; Luke 3:21-22
Confirmation – Jesus promised to send the advocate, this promise was foretold in the Old Testament, instituted by Jesus and confirmed by the apostles in the New Testament.
Scripture: John 16:7; Isaiah 11:1-2; Romans 5:5; Ephesians 4:30;
Eucharist – “That its institution was as follows, is clearly inferred from the Evangelist. Our Lord, having loved his own, loved them to the end. (John 13:1). As a divine and admirable pledge of this love, knowing that the hour had now come that He should pass from the world to the Father, that He might not ever at any period be absent from His own, He accomplished with inexplicable wisdom that which surpasses all the order and condition of nature. For having kept the supper of the Paschal lamb with His disciples, that the figure might yield to the reality, the shadow to the substance, He took bread, and giving thanks unto God, He blessed, and brake, and gave to the disciples, and said: ‘Take ye and eat, this is my body which shall be delivered for you; this do for a commemoration of me.’ In like manner also, He took the chalice after he had supped, saying: ‘This chalice is the new testament in my blood; this do, as often as you shall drink it, in commemoration of me.’” [14]
Scripture: Matthew 26:26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24
Marriage – In John’s Gospel we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.” [15] We believe in one God in three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit instituted marriage in Genesis. Jesus Christ in the Gospel’s reminds us of this institution and the apostles pass on this institution.
Scripture: Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:9; Matthew 19:6; Eph 5: 21, 28, 32; Hebrews 13:4; Gal 6:2; 1 Cor. 7:7
Holy Orders – Saint Paul speaks of the “imposition of hands of the presbyterate” Holy Orders is “the Sacrament of Apostolic Ministry by which the mission entrusted by Christ to his Apostles continues to be exercised in the Church through the laying on of hands.” [16] Where does the presbyterate get their authority? Their authority comes from Jesus when He says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The priest have been given the command of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to continue the ministry of Jesus Christ. “In all ages, priests have been held in the highest honor; yet the priests of the New Testament far exceed all others. For the power of consecrating and offering the Body and Blood of Our Lord and of forgiving sins, which has been conferred on them, not only has nothing equal or like it on earth, but even surpasses human reason and understanding. And as our Saviour was sent by His Father (John 8:42), and as the Apostles and disciples were sent into the whole world by Christ Our Lord (Matt. 28:19), so priests are daily sent with the same powers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body of Christ. (Eph. 4:12).” [17]
Search: St. John Vianney
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:14, 2 Timothy 1:6, Hebrews 10:14, Acts 1:8, John 20:21-23
Penance – “Our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Penance, by means of which we are assured that our sins are pardoned by the absolution of the priest; and also to tranquilize our conscience by means of the trust we rightly repose in the virtue of the Sacraments. The words of the priest sacramentally and lawfully absolving us from our sins are to be accepted in the same sense as the words of Christ Our Lord when He said to the paralytic: ‘Son, be of good heart; thy sins are forgiven thee. (Matthew 9:2).’” [18] After the Resurrection Jesus appeared to the disciples. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” [19]
Scripture: Mk 1:15, Luke 15:18, Luke 24:47, John 20:21-23
Anointing of the Sick – In the Letter of Saint James, we are told that the presbyters [priests] of the Church should anoint with oil “in the name of the Lord”. Jesus healed the sick and so the healing ministry of Christ continues “in the name of the Lord”.
Scripture: James 5:14
What are the effects of each Sacrament?
Baptism:
1. Remission of sin
2. Remission of all punishment due to sin
3. Grace of regeneration
4. Infused Virtues and Incorporation with Christ
5. Character of Christian
6. Opening the Gates of Heaven
Confirmation:
1. The Grace of Strength
2. Increase of Grace (Completion of Baptismal Grace)
3. Character of a Soldier of Christ
Eucharist:
1. The Eucharist contains Christ and is the Food of the Soul
2. The Eucharist gives grace
3. The Grace of the Eucharist sustains
4. The Grace of the Eucharist invigorates and delights
5. The Eucharist remits venial sins
6. The Eucharist strengthens against temptation
7. The Eucharist facilitates the attainment of Eternal Life
Marriage:
1. Unity of Marriage (Marriage Bond) – Exclusivity
2. Indissolubility of Marriage
3. The blessing of offspring – Fruitfulness
4. Fidelity – Faithfulness
5. Grace and Strength, a union with Christ and His Church
Holy Orders:
1.Grace of sanctification fitting and qualifying him for the proper discharge of his functions and for the administration of the Sacraments.
2. The power to consecrate the Body and Blood of Our Lord
Penance:
1. We are restored to the Grace of God
2. We are united to God in the closest friendship
3. Contrition is pleasing and acceptable to God
Anointing of the Sick:
1. Remission of venial sins
2. Special grace of healing and comfort to the Christian who is suffering infirmities
[1] Rite of Marriage
[2] Code of Cannon Law 1055, §1
[3] Code of Cannon Law 1061, §1; impotence c. 1084
[4] Code of Cannon Law 1055, §1; 1136
[5] Code of Cannon Law 1056; 1102, §1
[6] Code of Cannon Law 1056
[7] Code of Cannon Law 1057; 1103
[8] http://www.sanctamissa.org
[9] Rite of Ordinary [Ordinary Form]
[10] Catechism of the Council of Trent – The Sacrament of Penance
[11] St. Gregory Nazianzen
[12] Catechism of the Council of Trent – Institution of Baptism
[13] Catechism of the Council of Trent – Institution of Baptism
[14] Catechism of the Council of Trent – Institution of the Eucharist
[15] John 1:1-3
[16] Catechism of the Catholic Church - Glossary
[17] Catechism of the Council of Trent – The Sacrament of Holy Orders
[18] Catechism of the Council of Trent – The Sacrament of Penance
[19] John 20:21-23