Session 5

Now, we look to What the Church says of sacraments in general:

St. Thomas sums up the various aspects of sacramental signs: "Therefore a sacrament is a sign that commemorates what precedes it - Christ's Passion; demonstrates what is accomplished in us through Christ's Passion - grace; and prefigures what that Passion pledges to us - future glory."

 Visible Sign (Form and Matter)

Matter

In every sacrament there is a tangible element. In fact, this is what makes the sacraments truly divine and truly human i.e. incarnational. They affect something outward as well as inward. Matter is philosophically defined as that which makes something up. Bread, wine, oil, water, and people are the principal parts of the matter of a sacrament.

Form Answers the Questions of: 

1. 1. How is it celebrated?

      1. The mass has its book(s) on regulations since liturgical season/feast day may change what happens and in what order. Moreover, it is the thing held most precious to the Church, being the source and summit of our faith.

      2. Each sacrament has particular words used at any given stage of the sacrament and particular prayers that must be prayed for the sacrament to be actualized. If any part of this is altered, it is illicit (against canon law which is what the Church declares right and just) and invalid (a sacrament cannot be said to have taken place, in extreme cases where for example a Baptism was attempted improperly due to the stress of the moment of death, we can hope and trust in God's mercy that baptism was no less bestowed, however, it cannot be known on this side of the eschaton)

   2. Who performs a given sacrament?

      1. Under normal circumstances

         1. A Bishop

            1. All Sacraments

            2. In canon law, a restriction to a priest includes a Bishop who is also a priest.

         2. A Priest

            1. All except Holy Orders and Confirmation

            2. In the case of the anointing of the sick, the minister must be the pastor or have permission from the pastor

         3. A Deacon

            1. Matrimony (can only witness, not preside over a Nuptial mass, but the actual sacrament is bestowed by the spouses), Baptism, He can preside over funeral and burial services outside the Mass

            2. "Marry, bury, and baptize" or "hatch 'em, match 'em, dispatch 'em"

         4. Lay Faithful

            1. Marriage is only witnessed by a minister of the Church and done by laity. The actual sacrament is done by the spouses to each other.

      2. Under dire/emergency circumstances

         1. Baptism is the only sacrament that allows another Baptized to perform it, under circumstances of death of the recipient.

   3. What is required to receive the sacrament?

      1. "Every person not yet baptized and only such a person is capable of baptism." Moreover, faith is important.

      2. Every other sacrament requires firstly Baptism.

      3. For the most part, the requirements have to do with the grace of the sacrament i.e. receiving it well. The Church, it seems, wants to be certain that these gifts are protected and given due honor/piety, and that the desired effect is realized. This is the purpose of the laws surrounding such things, to protect us and honor the sacraments.

      4. If we receive a sacrament incorrectly, such as with an intent to take power from God or expect it as though we rightly deserve them, then we might miss out on the graces until we are able to receive them. Now let's talk about the graces...

Internal Grace Bestowed

Sacraments are categorized by the nature of their graces. The second essential quality of a sacrament is the graces that it bestows in its completion.[1] These graces are the purpose of having sacraments.

[1] CCC, 1127, cf. CCC, 1116

1. THE SACRAMENTS OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION

   1. Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion

   2. These sacraments prepare you for the vocations we as Christians are called to i.e. mission and service which are the fruits of love.

   3. They beckon Christ's presence and the Holy Spirit into our hearts.

2. THE SACRAMENTS OF HEALING

   1. Confession and Anointing of the Sick

   2. These sacraments are for our spiritual health, and one is only appropriate when our physical health is declining or expected to.

3. THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION

   1. Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders

   2. These sacraments are mission-oriented.

   3. As mentioned previously, love gives birth to mission and service, these sacraments are specific modes of that. Like Christian initiation, these sacraments are never done being present in those that begin receiving them during a liturgy, because they fundamentally change the person. 

These graces are affected by the other aspects of the sacrament. Since God made us free creatures and He does not force Himself upon us, He does not force His grace into our hearts and say "try it, you will like it", but rather insists on consent. He will instruct us and move the realities of life around to help us be open, but He is not in any sense forcing things upon us apart from reality, which is His to force. These graces rather are seeds that fit into the tiny receptacle of our openness and they bud in our hearts and grow to transform our nature to be more like Christ. In this way, we are to be united to Christ, and most importantly, to be more like who we were created to be, and what our sin and brokenness (the result of the sins of others) keep us from being.

Instituted by Christ

Sacraments always have some sort of institution by Christ, sometimes it might be more implicit, sometimes outright explicit.

CCC 1114 "Adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions, and to the consensus . . . of the Fathers," we profess that "the sacraments of the new law were . . . all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord."

CCC 1115 Jesus' words and actions during his hidden life and public ministry were already salvific, for they anticipated the power of his Paschal mystery. They announced and prepared what he was going to give the Church when all was accomplished. The mysteries of Christ's life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in the sacraments, through the ministers of his Church, for "what was visible in our Savior has passed over into his mysteries."

CCC 1116 Sacraments are "powers that comes forth" from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving. They are actions of the Holy Spirit at work in his Body, the Church. They are "the masterworks of God" in the new and everlasting covenant.

Christ received Baptism and Confirmation (at the same time), [1] performed a miracle in support of celebrating Holy Matrimony at Cana,[2] often forgave sins in support of Confession, often healed people relating to the Anointing of the Sick,[3] bestowed the priesthood which bespeaks Holy Orders,[4] and instituted the Mass with the Last Supper, which is most extensively and specifically described by the Apostles and Evangelists in their gospels and epistles.[5]

[1] The New American Bible, Revised Edition (Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011), at United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org, John 1:33.

[2] John 2:1-12

[3] Matthew 5:9

[4] John 21:17

[5] Luke 22:1-20

Prefigured in the Old Testament

We have already seen some of this in this study. In truth, if a sacrament is not clearly found in Christ, but is present in the Old Testament, we can more easily find how Christ fulfills it and thereby institutes a fulfilled ritual. A few quick examples would be, every Old Testament couple, especially Tobit and Sarah, for marriage; The manna, Melchizedek, and Passover for the Eucharist. 

Used by the Early Church

This aspect requires a more extensive depth of study, i.e. to prove historicity. This element is closely tied to and co-validates its institution by Christ. The Edict of Milan gave tolerance to the Christian faith in the Roman Empire.[2] Our modern English word for bishop comes from the Greek word episcopos.[3] These episcopoi were those appointed by the Apostles and/or their successors to evangelize in a greater area and/or to carry out sacraments in a shorter amount of time.[4] When the Church began growing rapidly and into more rural areas, the need for an order subject to the bishop was needed. The bishops ordained, chore-episcopoi (rural bishops) and presbuteroi (the Greek source for the word “presbyter” and “priest”) to help with sacramental needs[5]. However, the fullness of Holy Orders remained with the bishop of a given geographical area.[6] The presbuteroi or priests would begin the rites of Christian initiation but the bishops would still need to complete the rites reserved for them, Confirmation.[7] This would complete/ratify the rites of Christian initiation in every way; matter, form, and grace.[8] Deacons would be a further extension of Holy Orders to those not called to succeed/serve as a bishop nor as a priest but as a practical "low impact" minister by comparison. Certain sacramental duties were bestowed on them for this reason.

“In North Africa, as distinct from Gaul and the east, both Cyprian and Tertullian mention … the bishop lays hands on the neophytes, prays for the Holy Spirit, and signs them—as does Augustine, more vaguely, some two centuries later. Ambrose in Milan mentions a "spiritual seal" following baptism, by which he seems to mean a prayer for the Holy Spirit and its seven-fold gifts.”[1]

So this is how there came to be different levels of the clergy, and a little of the early Church evidence for Confirmation. More to the point of the development of the clergy, the development of any aspect of tradition is in service of upholding the original state of affairs, at least the important ways given the new constraints.

[1] Kavanagh, Aidan.“The Origins and Reform of Confirmation.” St Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 33, no. 1 (1989): 6.

[2] Britannica Academic, s.v. "Edict of Milan," accessed March 9, 2020, https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Edict-of-Milan/52646.

[3] Lamberts, Jozef. “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.” Questions Liturgiques 84, no. 2 (2003): 102.

[4] “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.”, p. 102.; CCC, 1288.

[5] “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.”, p. 102.; CCC, 1290.

[6] “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.”, p. 103.

[7] “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.”, p. 103.; cf. Acts of the Apostles 8:15-17, Hebrews 6:2; CCC, 1290.

[8] “The Origin of Confirmation Revisited.”, p. 103.

Meaning and Takeaways

• A sacrament is a visible sign with an inward grace, protected by the Church, instituted by Christ, prefigured in the Old Testament, and used in the Early Church.

• There are three kinds of Sacraments: of Initiation, of Healing, and of Service.

• The levels of Holy Orders came from the practical needs of the Christian people in the Early Church, and each level has its own set of sacraments they can practice.

• All levels of the clergy can witness a marriage, baptize, and preside over Christian burial services.