"(3.) Catechetical instructions. The priest then asks what he demands of the church; and having received the answer, he first instructs him catechetically in the doctrines of the Christian faith, of which a profession is to be made in baptism. Roman Catholic divines maintain that the general | grading servitude of Satan, devoted himself unre or primary effect of all the sacraments is to produce servedly to Christ, and pledged his fidelity to the sanctifying grace; but, in addition, each sacrament just sovereignty of the Lord Jesus.' confers grace peculiar to itself. Some allege that the sacraments confer grace ex opere operantis, that is, from the merit of the operator, whether minister or receiver; others ex opere operato, that is, from the power and influence of the work or sacramental action. The latter is the view maintained by the council of Trent, both in their decrees and in their Catechism. A question relating to this subject livided the doctors of the Church of Rome in the Middle Ages into two great sects, the Thomists and the Scotists, the former asserting that grace was conferred physically by the sacraments; the latter maintaining that they produced this effect morally. In addition to the general or primary effect of the sacraments there is also alleged, in Romish theology, to be a particular or secondary effect, which they usually term character, which is defined to be "a spiritual, indelible sign impressed on the soul on the reception of an initerable sacrament, signifying a certain spiritual power acquired by that sacrament." The only three sacraments which are held to convey this mysterious effect, are baptism, confirmation, and orders, which, therefore, do not admit of reiteration. A variety of opinion exists among Romish divines as to the nature of this character, mark, or sign; but the council of Trent has given an authoritative explanation of it as "a spiritual indelible sign impressed on the mind." The Thomists maintained that it has its seat in the intellect, the Scotists in the will. To the sacrament of baptism the Church of Rome attaches peculiar importance, as being "the origin of spiritual life, and the door of entrance into the church, and by which the right is acquired of partaking of the other sacraments." A number of ceremonies have been introduced into this ordinance, which, though not absolutely necessary, they regard as of great importance, and challenging deep veneration. Various rites and ceremonies are performed before coming to the baptismal font. Thus " (1.) The preparation of blessed water. This is blessed on the eve of Easter and of Pentecost, except in cases of necessity. In blessing these waters a lighted torch is put into the font, to represent the fire of divine love which is communicated to the soul by baptism, and the light of good example, which all who are baptized ought to give; and holy oil and chrism are mixed with the water, to represent the spiritual union of the soul with God, by the grace received in baptism.' The reason of this is, because the baptism of Christ is with the Holy Ghost and with fire.' (Matt. iii. 11). "(2.) Presentation of the candidate at the church door. The person to be baptized is brought or conducted to the door of the church, and is forbidden to enter, as unworthy to be admitted into the house of God, until he has cast off the yoke of the most de "(4.) The exorcism. This consists of words of sacred and religious import, and of prayers; the design of which is to expel the devil, and weaken and crush his power. The priest breathes upon him, and says, Depart from me, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost the Comforter. Many signs of the cross are made during this ceremony. To the exorcism are added several other ceremonies. "(5.) Salt. The priest puts a little blessed salt into the person's mouth, saying, Receive the salt of wisdom; may it be unto thee a propitiation unto life everlasting! This is designed to import, that by the doctrines of faith and by the gift of grace, he shall be delivered from the corruption of sin, shall experience a relish for good works, and shall be nurtured with the food of divine wisdom. "(6.) The sign of the cross.-His forehead, eyes, ? breast, shoulders, and ears are signed with the sign of the cross. “(7.) The spittle. The priest recites another exorcism, touching with a little spittle the ears and nostrils of the person to be baptized, and saying, Ephphatha, that is, Be thou opened into an odour of sweetness; but be thou put to flight, O devil, for the judgment of God will be at hand." Other ceremonies accompany baptism; as 66 (1.) The renunciation.-When the person to be baptized approaches the baptismal font, in three summary obligations he is expected to renounce Satan, his works, and pomps, in answer to the following interrogations: Hast thou renounced Satan?-and all his works!—and all his pomps?' to each of which he or his sponsor replies in the affirmative. “(2.) The oil of catechumens.-He is next anointed with holy oil on the breast and between the shoulders by the priest, who makes the sign of the cross, saying, I anoint thee with the oil of salvation, in Christ Jesus our Lord, that thou mayest have life everlasting. (3.) The profession of faith.-The priest then interrogates him on the several articles of the creed; and on receiving a satisfactory answer, he is baptized." There are also several ceremonies which follow the administration of baptism. Thus " (1.) The oil of chrism.-The priest anoints with chrism the crown of his head, thus giving him to understand, that from the moment of his baptism he is united as a member to Christ, his Head, and ingrafted on his body; and that he is therefore called a Christian from Christ, as Christ is so called from chrism. It is also said, that this anointing is 'in imitation of the anointing ROME (CHURch of). of kings and priests by God's command in the old law; and signifies that royal priesthood to which we are raised by baptism.' According to the words of St. Paul, 'Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,' &c. เ "(2.) The white garment.—The priest puts a white garment on the person baptized, saying, 'Receive this garment, which mayest thou carry unstained before the judgment-seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou mayest have eternal life. Amen.' Instead of a white garment, infants receive a white kerchief, accompanied with the same words. According to the doctrine of the holy fathers, this symbol signifies the glory of the resurrection to which we are born by baptism, the brightness and beauty with which the soul, when purified from the stains of sin, is invested, and the innocence and integrity which the person who has received baptism should preserve through life.' "(3.) The burning light; which is then put into his hand, as an emblem of the light of a good example, to signify that faith received in baptism, and inflamed by charity, is to be fed and augmented by the exercise of good works.' (4.) The name.-This is taken from the catalogue of saints, that this similarity might stimulate to the imitation of the virtues, and to the attainment of the holiness, of the individual whose name he bears." All the rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Romish ritual to be performed before, at, and after baptism, are strictly enjoined upon every priest on pain of mortal sin, unless great necessity interferes. The council of Trent plainly teaches, that this ordidance is indispensably necessary to salvation; so that all children, whether of Jews, heretics, Pagans, or any other who die unbaptized, are excluded from heaven, and adults cannot be saved without baptism either in desire or in fact. The great benefit believed to arise from the ordinance is, that "the guilt of original sin is remitted by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ bestowed in baptism." There are two ways, however, in which, as Romish divines teach us, a man may be justified and saved without actually receiving the sacrament of baptism. The first is, that of an infidel, who may become acquainted with Christianity and embrace it, and yet be in circumstances which preclude opportunity of baptism. The second is that of a person suffering martyrdom for the faith of Christ before he had been able to receive baptism. The latter is alleged to have been baptized in his own blood; the former to have been baptized in desire. 767 wards consecrated by a bishop. This ointment is put on the forehead of the person in form of the sign of the cross, when the officiating bishop repeats the following form: "I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Prayer and imposition of hands accompany the form. Confirmation may be administered to all as soon as they have been baptized; but until children shall have reached the use of reason, its administration is inexpedient. "If not postponed to the age of twelve," says the Catechism of the council of Trent, "it should be deferred until at least the age of seven." Immediately after the bishop has performed the ceremony of confirmation, he inflicts a gentle blow on the cheek of the person confirmed, and gives him the kiss of peace. This sacrament is administered at Pentecost, because at that festival the apostles were favoured with the special outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The person confirmed has one godfather if a boy; and one godmother if a girl, of whom the same things are required as of those in baptism. The name of the person is sometimes changed, and a new one added from the calendar of saints. One of the most peculiar and characteristic doctrines of the Church of Rome is that of transubstantiation. This, indeed, is the great central peculiarity of the whole Romish system. It is thus described by the council of Trent: "Whosoever shall deny that, in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, there are truly, really, and substantially contained the body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, together with his soul and divinity, and, consequently, Christ entire; but shall affirm that he is present therein only in a sign and figure, or by his power,-let him be accursed." "Whosoever shall affirm that, in the most holy sacrament of the eucharist, there remains the substance of bread and wine, together with the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and shall deny that wonderful and peculiar conversion of the whole substance of the bread into his body, and of the whole substance of the wine into his blood, the species only of bread and wine remaining, which conversion the Catholic Church most fitly terms 'transubstantiation,'-let him be accursed." In the Romish Catechism we are expressly told, "In the eucharist, that which before consecration was bread and wine, becomes after consecration really and substantially the body and blood of our Lord." And again, "The pastor will also inform the faithful that Christ whole and entire is contained not only under either speThe sacrament of confirmation is regularly ob- cies, but also in each particle of either species." served by the Romish Church, being, in their view, From such statements it is plain, that, in the view a sacrament instituted by Christ the Lord, by which of Romanists, after the words of consecration have the Holy Spirit is given to the baptized, constantly been uttered by the priest, there is in the place of and intrepidly to profess the faith of Christ." The the substance of the bread and wine, the substance matter of confirmation is chrism, a compound sub- of the body of Christ truly, really, and substantially, stance made of oil of olives and balsam, and after-together with his soul and divinity; and hence the 66 consecrated host becomes an object of adoration. The chief argument of the Roman Catholics for transubstantiation is drawn from the words of our Lord, "This is my body"—an expression which they maintain must be understood plainly and literally whatever our senses or reason may suggest to the contrary. Protestants, on the other hand, contend that our Saviour speaks figuratively, and means to declare that the bread and wine are symbols and emblems of Christ's broken body and shed blood. Thus both Romanists and Protestants alike believe in the real presence of Christ in the sacrament; the former, however, believe it to be a corporeal, the latter a spiritual presence. Intimately connected with the doctrine of transubstantiation is the celebration of the mass, in which the Romish Church represents the whole Christ as offered up to God in a propitiatory sacrifice, both for the living and the dead. Christ himself is alleged to have said the first mass, and ordained that his apostles and their successors should do the like. Hence he said, "Do this in remembrance of me." The bread used at mass is unleavened in the Latin and leavened in the Greek Church. In the former it is made thin and circular, and bears upon it either the figure of Christ, or the initials I. H. S., and is commonly called the wafer. There are always lighted candles upon the altar during mass; and the whole service is conducted in the Latin tongue. (See MASS). The doctrine of transubstantiation is alleged to warrant the practice observed in the Romish Church, of permitting to the laity communion only in one kind. It being maintained that Christ, whole and entire, soul, body, and divinity, is contained in either species, and in the smallest particle of each, the inference is naturally drawn, that whether the communicant enjoys the bread or the wine, he enjoys the full benefit of the sacrament. Hence it is the uniform practice of the Church of Rome to deny the cup to the laity-a practice which was introduced so late as the year 1415, by the council of Constance, and confirmed by the council of Basil in 1437. Afterwards the council of Trent decreed in its favour, and the Catechism of the council thus defends it: "The church, no doubt, was influenced by numerous and cogent reasons, not only to approve, but confirm, by solemn decree, the general practice of communicating under one species. In the first place, the greatest caution was necessary to avoid accident or indignity, which must become almost inevitable if the chalice were administered in a crowded assemblage. In the next place, the holy eucharist should be at all times in readiness for the sick; and if the species of wine remained long unconsumed, it were to be apprehended that it might become vapid. Besides, there are many who cannot bear the taste or smell of wine; lest, therefore, what is intended for the nutriment of the soul should prove noxious to the health of the body, tho church, in her wisdom, has sanctioned its administration under the species of bread alone. We may also observe, that in many places wine is extremely scarce, nor can it be brought from distant countries without incurring very heavy expense, and encountering very tedious and difficult journeys. Finally: a circumstance which principally influenced the church in establishing this practice, means were to be devised to crush the heresy which denied that Christ, whole and entire, is contained under either species, and asserted that the body is contained under the species of bread without the blood, and the blood under the species of wine without the body. This object was attained by communion under the species of bread alone, which places, as it were, sensibly before our eyes the truth of the Catholic faith." (See CHALICE.) Another doctrine, which necessarily rises out of transubstantiation, is that which asserts that the consecrated wafer in the sacrament ought to be worshipped. This is plainly taught by the council of Trent, which decrees, "If any one shall say that this holy sacrament should not be adored, nor solemnly carried about in procession, nor held up publicly to the people to adore it, or that its worshippers are idolaters; let him be accursed." This worship they give the host, as the wafer is called, not only at the time of receiving it, but whenever it is carried about in the streets. Accordingly in Roman Catholic countries, when the sound of a bell announces the approach of a procession of priests carrying the host, all persons fall down on their knees to adore the consecrated wafer as being in very deed, in their belief, the Son of God and Saviour of the world. This practice is of very recent origin, because it was not until A. D. 1215 that transubstantiation was declared to be an article of faith by the council of Lateran under Pope Innocent III., and in the following year, Pope Honorius ordered that the priests, at a certain part of the service of the mass, should elevate the host, and cause the people to prostrate themselves in adoration before it. The Missal declares: "Having uttered the words of consecration, the priest, immediately falling on his knees, adores the consecrated host he rises, shows it to the people, places it on the corporale, and again adores it." When the wine is consecrated, the priest, in like manner, " falling on his knees, adores it, rises, shows it to the people, puts the cup in its place, covers it over, and again adores it." Both priest and people adore the host in the celebration of the eucharist, and at other times also, in the church whenever the sacrament is placed upon the altar with the candles burning, and the incense smoking before it, or hung up in its rich shrine and tabernacle, with a canopy of state over it. The host is more especially worshipped on Corpus Christi Day, when it is carried in solemn procession through the streets. It is also adored whenever it is carried along on its way to some sick person. Penance, the term by which the "repentance" of Scripture is designated among Romanists, is classed |