Vol 9 Issue 13 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward KrierMarch 26, 2016 ~ Holy Saturday
1. Baptism: Means of Salvation (61)
2. Easter Sunday
3. St. John of Damascus
4. Christ in the Home (36)
5 .Articles and notices
Dear Reader:
I wish everyone a most blessed Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Without the Resurrection, that is, without a future life, Darwin and de Chardin would be right, one’s life would only be “a survival of the fittest” as witnessed by the world in the vain attempts to survive a few days more through transplants (a decision determining one’s life is more important than another—but actually being used by opportunists trying to also survive by making a profit from the determined unfit), by trying to get a pleasurable life and determining that one that is not satisfactory should be terminated through “euthanasia” (which is not a good death, but an awful death), struggling to survive and neglecting one’s salvation as governments reduce their citizens to work forces because these citizens can no longer see the dignity they had in being destined for heaven but now settle for the swill of sensuality offered by these governments (as Our Lord so well portrays in the parable of the Prodigal Son.) Even so-called Catholics have imbibed Chardinism, thinking it is better to play basketball on Good Friday (which is abhorrent to think a Catholic would betray Christ for thirty pieces of silver—but Judas is still among us) then refusing to give into the “survival of the fittest” mentality of the sports competition that has ceased to respect God and man. Faithful Catholics look forward to the Feast of the Resurrection as it confirms that Christ brought mankind salvation and those who follow Him follow Him in His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven.
Those who are not able to assist at Holy Mass on the Feast of the Resurrection because there is no Holy Mass will be remembered on this most Holy Day here at Saint Joseph’s.
As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit. —The Editor
____________________
Baptism
Means of Salvation
Sacrament of Baptism
The Council of Trent
When Martin Luther began his rebellion against the Church and her Faith, his only error concerning Baptism was to state that sin remains in even a child after the Baptism. His statement, to deny that in a child after baptism sin remains is to treat with contempt both Paul and Christ, was condemned by Leo X in the Bull Exsurge Domine (June 15, 1520; cf. D 742). The denial of the effects of Baptism soon became a rejection of Baptism itself. The following is a summary of the errors of the Innovators of the sixteenth century that were condemned as presented by William Fanning, S. J., in the Catholic Encyclopedia (1907), in his article, Baptism:
The negative document we call the canons on baptism decreed by the Council of Trent (Sess. VII, De Baptismo), in which the following doctrines are anathematized (declared heretical):
The baptism of John (the Precursor) had the same efficacy as the baptism of Christ.
True and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and therefore the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost” are metaphorical.
The true doctrine of the sacrament of baptism is not taught by the Roman Church.
Baptism given by heretics in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost with the intention of performing what the Church performs, is not true baptism.
Baptism is free, that is, not necessary for salvation.
A baptized person, even if he wishes it, can not lose grace, no matter how much he sins, unless he refuses to believe.
Those who are baptized are obliged only to have faith, but not to observe the whole law of Christ.
Baptized persons are not obliged to observe all the precepts of the Church, written and traditional, unless of their own accord they wish to submit to them.
All vows made after baptism are void by reason of the promises made in baptism itself; because by these vows injury is done to the faith which has been professed in baptism and to the sacrament itself.
All sins committed after baptism are either forgiven or rendered venial by the sole remembrance and faith of the baptism that has been received.
Baptism although truly and properly administered, must be repeated in the case of a person who has denied the faith of Christ before infidels and has been brought again to repentance.
No one is to be baptized except at the age at which Christ was baptized or at the moment of death.
Infants, not being able to make an act of faith, are not to be reckoned among the faithful after their baptism, and therefore when they come to the age of discretion they are to be rebaptized; or it is better to omit their baptism entirely than to baptize them as believing on the sole faith of the Church, when they themselves can not make a proper act of faith.
Those baptized as infants are to be asked when they have grown up, whether they wish to ratify what their sponsors had promised for them at their baptism, and if they reply that they do not wish to do so, they are to be left to their own will in the matter and not to be forced by penalties to lead a Christian life, except to be deprived of the reception of the Eucharist and of the other sacraments, until they reform.
The doctrines here condemned by the Council of Trent, are those of various leaders among the early reformers. The contradictory of all these statements is to be held as the dogmatic teaching of the Church.(Vol. 2, p. 250)
The preparation for the Seventh Session began on January 17, 1547. The Sixth Session had ended on January 13, 1547, having provided a complete explanation of the Catholic Faith on Justification along with 33 canons condemning the errors of the Innovators. The vote had been delayed because there were those who thought it might drive the Innovators further from the Church, and there were others of the imperial party who believed it would divide the German Empire, making it vulnerable to both Turk and French attacks. But the Fathers who were concerned with the spread of error pressed for the vote and a unanimous decision to accept the Decree and Canons on Justification gave the Church clarity in this matter and freed the Fathers to pursue the next concern.
There were two difficulties the Council Fathers wanted to address in the next session. The first was a continuation of Justification, or Sanctification, which is obtained and sustained through the Sacraments. The second was the reformation of the clergy, especially regarding prelates and benefices.
Even though many Fathers of the Council wanted a complete explanation on Grace and the Sacraments, the Dominicans and the Franciscans could not agree on the working of grace in the soul, and therefore the Fathers, not wanting another lengthy delay, settled with listing the errors of Martin Luther and the Innovators found in Luther’sDe captivitate Babylonica ecclesiae praeludium of 1520 and Melancthon’s Apologia Confessionis Augustana of 1531. The latter was first delivered at the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 to Emperor Charles V. As there was no condemnation of the errors on the part of the Emperor at that time, the Fathers felt there was an urgent need of declaring the errors heretical. This was done at the Seventh Session that opened on March 3, 1547, and resulted in the Decree on the Sacraments of the Church (Decretum de Sacramentis Ecclesiæ) and is set forth as follows:
Introduction
For the completion of the salutary doctrine of justification, which was a promulgated in the last session with the unanimous consent of the Fathers, it has seemed fitting to treat of the most holy sacraments of the Church, through which all true justice either begins, or being begun is increased or being lost is restored. Therefore the holy, ecumenical, and general Synod of Trent lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit with the same legates of the Apostolic See presiding therein, in order to destroy the errors, and to uproot the heresies concerning these most holy sacraments, which in this stormy period of ours have been both revived from the heresies previously condemned by our Fathers, and also have been invented anew, which are exceedingly detrimental to the purity of the Catholic Church and to the salvation of souls; this Synod in adhering to the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, to the apostolic traditions and to the unanimous opinion of other councils and of the Fathers, has thought it proper to establish and decree these present canons, intending (with the assistance of the divine Spirit) to publish later the remaining which are wanting for the completion of the work begun. (cf. D 843a)
It starts with errors about the Sacraments in general.
Canons on the Sacraments
Can. I. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law were not all instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, or that there are more or less than seven, namely baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, and matrimony, or even that anyone of these seven is not truly and strictly speaking a sacrament: let him be anathema. (Cf. Council of Florence; D 844.)
Can. 2. If anyone shall say that these same sacraments of the new Law do not differ from the sacraments of the Old Law, except that the ceremonies are different and the outward rites are different: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 845.)
Can. 3. If anyone shall say that these seven sacraments are equal to each other in such a way that one is not for any reason more worthy than the other: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 846.)
Can. 4. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation, but are superfluous, and that, although all are not necessary for every individual, without them or without the desire of them through faith alone men obtain from God the grace of justification; let him be anathema. (Cf. Sess. VI, c. 6 and can. 7; D847.)
Can. 5. If anyone shall say that these sacraments have been instituted for the nourishing of faith alone: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 848.)
Can. 6. If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law do not contain the grace which they signify, or that they do not confer that grace on those who do not place an obstacle in the way, as-though they were only outward signs of grace or justice, received through faith, and certain marks of the Christian profession by which the faithful among men are distinguished from the unbelievers: let him be anathema. (Cf. Florence; D 849.)
Can. 7. If anyone shall say that grace, as far as concerns God’s part, is not given through the sacraments always and to all men, even though they receive them rightly, but only sometimes and to some persons: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 850.)
Can. 8. If anyone shall say that by the said sacraments of the New Law, grace is not conferred from the work which has been worked [ex opere operato], but that faith alone in the divine promise suffices to obtain grace: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 851.)
Can. 9. If anyone shall say that in the three sacraments, namely, baptism, confirmation, and orders, there is not imprinted on the soul a sign, that is, a certain spiritual and indelible mark, on account of which they cannot be repeated: let him be anathema. (Cf. Council of Florence; D 852.)
Can. 10. If anyone shall say that all Christians have power to administer the word and all the sacraments: let him be anathema. (Cf.IV Council of Carthage, can. 98; Council of Constance, Florence; D853.)
Can. 11. If anyone shall say that in ministers, when they effect and confer the sacraments, the intention at least of doing what the Church does is not required: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 854.)
Can. 12. If anyone shall say that a minister who is in mortal sin, although he observes all the essentials which pertain to the performance or conferring of the sacrament, neither performs nor confers the sacrament: let him be anathema. (Cf. Constance against Wycliffe; D 855.)
Can. 13. If anyone shall say that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church accustomed to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments may be disdained or omitted by the minister without sin and at pleasure, or may be changed by any pastor of the churches to other new ones: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 856.)
It then continues with the errors specific to the Sacrament of Baptism:
Canons on the Sacrament of Baptism
Can. 1. If anyone shall say that the baptism of John had the same force as the baptism of Christ: let him be anathema. (Cf. Augustine,Enchiridion, c. 49; D 857.)
Can. 2. If anyone shall say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and on that account those words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit” (John 3:5), are distorted into some sort of metaphor: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 858.)
Can. 3. If anyone shall say that in the Roman Church (which is the mother and the teacher of all churches) there is not the true doctrine concerning the sacrament of baptism: let him be anathema. (Cf. D859.)
Can. 4. If anyone shall say that the baptism, which is also given by heretics in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, with the intention of doing what the Church does, is not true baptism: let him be anathema. (Cf. Florence; D 860.)
Can. 5. If anyone shall say that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation: let him be anathema [cf. n.796]. (Cf. D 861.)
Can. 6. If anyone shall say that one who is baptized cannot, even if he wishes, lose grace, however much he may sin, unless he is unwilling to believe: let him be anathema [cf. n. 808]. (Cf. D 862.)
Can. 7. If anyone shall say that those who are baptized are by baptism itself made debtors to faith alone, and not to the observance of the whole law of Christ: let him be anathema [cf. n. 802]. (Cf. D 863.)
Can. 8. If anyone shall say that those baptized are free from all precepts of the holy Church, which are either written or handed down, so that they are not bound to observe them, unless they of their own accord should wish to submit themselves to them: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 864.)
Can. 9. If anyone shall say that men are to be so recalled to the remembrance of the baptism which they have received, that they understand that all the vows which have been taken after baptism are void by virtue of the promise already made in baptism itself, as if by them they detracted from the faith which they professed, and from the baptism itself: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 865.)
Can. 10. If anyone shall say that all sins which are committed after baptism are either remitted or made venial by the mere remembrance and the faith of the baptism received: let him be anathema. (Cf. D866.)
Can. 11. If anyone shall say that baptism truly and rightly administered must be repeated for him who has denied the faith of Christ among infidels, when he is converted to repentance: let him be anathema. (Cf. D 867.)
Can. 12. If anyone shall say that no one is to be baptized except at that age at which Christ was baptized, or when at the very point of death, let him be anathema. (Cf. D 868.)
Can. 13. If anyone shall say that infants, because they have not actual faith, after having received baptism are not to be numbered among the faithful, and therefore, when they have reached the years of discretion, are to be rebaptized, or that it is better that their baptism be omitted than that they, while not believing, by their own act be baptized in the faith of the Church alone: let him be anathema. (Cf. Augustine, De pecc. mer. et rem. I, 19 and III, 2; D 869.)
Can. 14. If anyone shall say that those who have been baptized in this manner as infants, when they have grown up, are to be questioned whether they wish to ratify what the sponsors promised in their name, when they were baptized, and if they should answer that they are not willing, that they must be left to their own will, and that they are not to be forced to a Christian life in the meantime by any other penalty, except that they be excluded from the reception of the Eucharist and of the other sacraments until they repent: let him be anathema. (Cf. D870.)
These Canons, by condemning the errors of the Innovators, confirm the teachings of the Church in a binding, that is, infallible, manner. It may be summarized as follows:
- The baptism of Christ of not the same baptism as John the Baptist.
- Natural water must be used to baptize.
- The teaching of the Church concerning baptism must be held as dogmatic.
- Baptism may be administered by anyone, even non-Catholics.
- Baptism is necessary for salvation, i.e., not optional.
- One is not confirmed in grace by the reception of baptism.
- Baptism is not a mere sign of faith. It includes an acceptance of the Law of Christ.
- The baptized is obliged to follow the precepts of the Church.
- Promises and Vows made after Baptism are valid.
- Baptism does not exempt one from sin committed after being baptism.
- Baptism may never be repeated, even if one apostatized.
- Baptism is not to be delayed.
- Children are to be baptized. Their rebaptism when reaching adulthood is prohibited.
- Once baptized, even as a child, one falls under the laws of Christ’s Church.
(To be continued)
————————–
Easter Week
Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
FRIDAY OF EASTER WEEK
Jesus appears to His disciples
- Today we are led by the neophytes to the church of St. Mary of the Martyrs. Here we behold Mary surrounded by a glorious group of martyrs. She is the same one whom we greeted a few days ago under the cross on Calvary as the Sorrowful Mother, the Queen of martyrs. Today we take part in spirit in the appearance of Christ which is related in the Gospel.
- Jesus appears to His disciples. “At that time the eleven disciples went into Galilee, unto the mountain where Jesus had appointed them; and seeing Him, they adored; but some doubted. And Jesus, coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth. Going, therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them, . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Gospel). The disciples, following His orders, gathered there at the mountain which He had designated beforehand. They were rewarded by seeing Him. They recognized Him as the same Jesus with whom they had lived so intimately for several years, whom the Jews had rejected and put to death so cruelly. But now He is risen, and He lives. He speaks to them these consoling words: “All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He has unlimited power, to which He is entitled not only as God, but also as man, for He is the Lord and shares the authority and the glory of the Father.
Christ passes His authority on to His apostles. “Teach ye all nations.” The apostles and their successors, the bishops, are the official teachers of the Church, duly appointed and commissioned by Christ for that purpose. They are the custodians of the truth which He brought, and the guardians of His doctrine. “He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me” (Luke 10:16). They have been sent to save men and to lead them to eternal life. For this work Christ gave them His authority and assured them of His continual assistance. “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” The risen Christ lives in His Church. He to whom all power is given in heaven and on earth abides with His Church and guarantees her infallibility, integrity, and holiness. He is with His Church to defend her from all her enemies. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against her” (Matt. 16:18). Storms will buffet the Church, but we must have confidence in her, for “I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.” We confess our faith in the Credo of the Mass.
Christ appears to us in the Church. Today in the liturgy we are the disciples whom the Lord is to meet at the mountain (the altar, the tabernacle). We received His command and followed Him to the mountain, and we shall be rewarded, for at the Consecration He will appear to us. We fall down and adore Him. This is indeed He whom we saw hanging on the cross in, pain and agony, the man of sorrows. But He is risen, and from our altar He speaks to us: “All power is given to Me in heaven and on earth.” He has power over the elements, over all human ills, over the hearts of men, and over the evil spirits. He has power over the enemy of our salvation, over our passions, and over our self-love. “All power is given to Me.” From. the mountain of our altar He reassures us, “Behold I am with you all days.” He is with us, for His love and His kindly providence accompany us everywhere. He is with us, for His strength helps us to overcome evil and to practice virtue. He is with us, enlightening us and inspiring us to virtue. What have we to fear? We may always come for help to the mountain He has pointed out to us. We believe in His readiness to help us, in His unlimited power, and His undying love. We are confident of His ability to protect us, and of His will to sanctify us.
- “Going, therefore, teach ye all nations . . . to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” When we receive baptism, we become subjects of the Church, and she has authority to teach us all things whatsoever Christ has commanded her, and to require our obedience. She cannot make exceptions with regard to His laws and commandments. For if she did, she would cease to be the Church of Christ. We who have accepted baptism from her are subject to her rules and commandments as well as to those of Christ. We cannot appeal from the Church to Christ. We cannot withdraw from her authority or reject her teaching without withdrawing from Christ. “He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me.” Christ and His Church are one. I am loyal to Christ in the measure that I am loyal to His Church. I can depend on His guidance and presence in so far as I submit to the Church.
“Going, teach ye all nations,” the Communion tells us. We who have received the body of Christ are called upon to be apostles and missionaries; we are to be apostles of prayer, and missionaries through our work of expiation, our holy life, and our good example. We receive the grace to carry out our mission in Holy Communion, when He comes to us with the fullness of His power and fills us with His life. His power must go out from us to sanctify and enlighten others as often as we go to Holy Communion.
PRAYER
Almighty and eternal God, who in the covenant of man’s atonement hast bestowed the paschal sacrament, grant that what we outwardly celebrate we may imitate effectually. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SATURDAY OF EASTER WEEK
Laying aside the baptismal garments
…
[Message clipped] View entire message