The Catholic Christian instructed in the sacraments, Sacrifice, ceremonies, and observations of the church by way of question and answer.

Front matter

By Oy esd

The Catholic Christian yanstructed in the if th wm

Wy ae ee Pa ree >‘ . i ery Ae eee Ue

Chapter I. On The Sign Of The Cross

Q. Wuy do you treat of the sign of the cross before you begin to speak of the sacraments ?

A. Because this holy sign is made use of in all the sacraments, to give us to understand that they all have their whole force and efficacy from the cross, that is, from the death and passion of Jesus Christ. What is the sign of Christ, says St. Augustine,* which all know, but the cross of Christ, which sign, if it be not applied to the foreheads of the believers, to the water, with which they are baptized, to the chrism with which they are anointed, to the sacrifice with which they are fed, none of these things is duly performed.

Q. But did the primitive Christians make use of the sign of the cross only in the administration of the sacraments ?

A. Not only then, but also upon all other occasions ; at every step, says the ancient and learned Tertullian,y at every coming in and going out, when we put on our clothes or shoes, when we wash, when we sit down to table, when we light acandle, when we go tobed; what- Soever conversation employs us, we imprint on our foreheads the sign of the cross.

* Tract 119 in Joan. + L. de Corona om c. 3.

Q. What is the meaning of this frequent use of the sign of the cross? at

A. It is to show that we are not ashamed of the eross of Christ; it is to make an open profession of our believing in a crucified God; it is to help us to bear always in mind his death and pasion; and to nourish thereby in our souls the three divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity.

Q. How are these three divine virtues exercised in the frequent use of the cross?

l. Ist, Faith is exercised, because the sign of the cross brings to our remembrance the chief article of the Christian belief, viz., The son of God dying for us upon the cross. 2dly, our hope is thereby daily nourished and increased; because this holy sign continually reminds us of the passion of Christ, on which is grounded all our hope for mercy, grace, and salvation. 3dly, Charity, or the love of God, is excited in us by that sacred sign, by representing to us the love which God has showed us in dying upon the cross for us.

Q; In what manner do you make the sign of the cross ?

4. In blessing ourselves, we form the sign of the cross, by putting our right hand to the forehead, and so drawing, as it were, a line down to the breast or stomach, and then another line crossing the former, from the left shoulder to the right; and the words that we pronounce at the same time are these: ‘In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;’ by which we make a solemn profession of our faith in the blessed Trinity. But, in blessing other persons or things, we form the cross in the air, with the right hand extended towards the thing we bless.

Q. Have you any thing more to add in favour of the cross, and the use of signing ourselves with the sign of the cross ?

A. Yes, the cross is the standard of Christ, and is called by our Lord himself, St. Matt. xxiv. 30, the sign “f the Son of Man. It is the badge of all good Christians, represented by the letter Tau,* ordered to be set as a mark upon the forehead of those that were to escape

* St. Hierom. upon Ezek. ix, the wrath of God. Ezekiel ix. 4. It was given by our Lord to Constantine, the first Christian emperor, as a token and assurance of victory, when he and his whole army, in their march against the tyrant Maxentius, saw a cross formed of pure light above the sun, with this inscription: ‘By this conquer;’ which account the historian Eusebius, in his first book of the life of Constantine, declares he had from that emperor’s own mouth. ‘To which we may add that the sign of the cross was used of old by the holy fathers as an invincible buckler against the devil, and a powerful means to dissipate his illusions; and that God has often made it an instrument in their hands of great and illustrious miracles, of which there are innumerable instances in ancient church history, and in the writings of the fathers, which it would be too tedious here to recount.

Chapter II. Of The Sacrament Of Baptism

Q. What do you mean by a sacrament ?

A. An outward sign or ceremony of Christ’s institution, by which grace is given to the soul of the worthy receiver.

Q. What are the necessary conditions for a thing to be a sacrament ?

A. These three. Ist, It must bea sacred sign, and, consequently, as to the outward performance, it must be visible or sensible. 2dly, This sacred sign must have annexed unto it a power of communicating grace to the soul. 3dly, This must be by virtue of the ordinance or institution of Christ.

Q. How then do you prove that baptism is a sacrament, since the Scripture nowhere calls it so?

A. Because it has these three conditions. Ist, It is an outward visible sign, consisting in the washing with water, with the form of words prescribed by Christ. 2dly, It hasa power of communicating grace to our, souls in the way of a new birth ; whence it is called by the apostle, Tit. iii. 5, ‘the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost.’ 3dly, We have the ordinance and institution of Christ, St. Matt. xxviii. 19: ‘ Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ And St. John iii. 5 : ‘ Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’

Q. In what manner must baptism be administered so as to be valid?

A. It must be administered in true natural water, with this or the like form of words: ‘I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;’ which words ought to be pronounced at the same time the water is applied to the person that is baptized, and by the same minister, who ought to have the intention of doing what the church does.

Q. What if these words, ‘I baptize thee,’ or any one of the names of the Three Persons, should be left out ?

4. In that case it would be no baptism?

Q. What if the baptism should be administered in rose-water, or any of the like artificial waters ?

A. It would be no baptism.

Q. Ought baptism to be administered by dipping or by pouring of the water; or by sprinkling of the water?

4. It may be administered validly any of these ways ; but the custom of the church is to administer this sacrament either by dipping in the water, which is used in the Kast, or by pouring of the water npon the person baptized, which is more customary in these parts of Christendom. Moreover, it is the custom in all parts of the Catholic church, and has been so from the apostles’ days, to dip or pour three times, at the names of the three divine Persons; though we do not look upon this So essential, that the doing otherwise would render the baptism invalid.

Q. What think you of those who administer baptism so slightly, that it is doubtful whether it may in any sense be called an ablution or washing ; as, for instance,. those that administer it only with the fillip of a wet finger ? . '

A. Such as these expose themselves to the danger of administering no baptism.

Q. What do you think of baptism administered by heretics, or schismatics ?

A. The church receives their baptism, if they observe the Catholic matter and form; that is, if they baptize with true natural water, and have the intention of doing what the church does; pronouncing at the same time these words: ‘I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’

Q. What think you of baptism administered with the due forms of words, but without the sign of the cross ?

4. The omission of this ceremony does not render the baptism invalid. }

' Q. What is your judgment of the baptism said to be administered by some modern Arians, ‘In the name of the Father, through the Son, in the Holy Ghost?’

A. Such a corruption of the form makes the baptism null and invalid. é ?

Q. What is the doctrine of the church as to baptism administered by a layman or woman?

A. If it be attempted without necessity, it is a criminal presumption; though even then the baptism is valid, and is not to be reiterated; but, in a case of necessity, when a priest cannot be had, and a child is in immediate danger of death, baptism may not only validly, but also lawfully be administered by any person whatsoever. In which case a cleric, though only in lesser orders, is to be admitted preferably to a layman, and a man preferably to a woman, and a Catholic preferably to a heretic.

Q. How do you prove that infants may be baptized who are not capable of being taught or instructed in the faith ?

A.I prove it, lst, By a tradition which the church has received from the apostles,* and practised in all ages ever since. Now, as none were more likely or

* St. Ireneus, 1. 2, c.39. Origen, 1. 5, in c. 6, ad Rom. St. Cyprian Ep. ad Fidum. St. Chrysostom, Hom. ad Neophyes St. Augustine, i. 10 de Gen, c. 23, &c. Bi better qualified than the apostles, to understand the true meaning of the commission given them by their Master to baptize all nations, so none were more diligent than they to execute faithfully this commission according to his meaning, and to teach their disciples to do the same. St. Matt. xxviii. 20. So that what the church has received by tradition from the apostles and their disciples was undoubtedly agreeable to the commission of Christ.

Secondly, I prove it by comparing together two texts of Scripture, one of which declares that without baptism no one can enter into the kingdom of Heaven; St. John ili. 5: ‘ Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.? The other text declares that infants are capable of this kingdom; St. Luke xviii. 16: ‘Suffer little children to come to me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God :’ and consequently they must be capable of baptism.

Thirdly, Circumcision in the old law corresponded With baptism in the new law, and was a figure of it: Coloss. ii.11,12. But circumeision was administered to infants, Gen. xvii. Therefore baptism in like manner is to be administered to infants.

Fourthly, We read in scripture of whole families baptized by St. Paul, Acts xvi. 15 and 33, 1Cor.i. 16. Now, it is probable that in so many whole families there were some infants.

Fifihly, As infants are not capable of helping themselves by faith and repentance, were they not capable of being helped by the sacrament of baptism, they could have no share in Christ, and no means to be delivered from original sin; and, consequently, almost one-half of mankind, dying before the use of reason, must inevitably perish, if infants were not to be baptized.

Siathly, If infants’ baptism were invalid, the gates of hell would have long since prevailed against the church yea, for many ages there would have been no such thing as Christians upon earth; since for many ages before the Anabaptists arose, all persons had been baptized in their infancy; which baptism, if it were null, they were no Christians, and consequently there was no church. Where then was that promise of Christ, St. Matt. xvi. 19: * Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it?? And St. Matt. xxviii. 20: ‘Lo, 1 am with you always, even to the end of the world ?”

Besides, if infants’ baptism be null, the first preachers of the Anabaptists had never received baptism, or had received it from those who never had been baptized. A likely set of men for bringing back God’s truth banished from the world, who had not so much as received the first badge or character of the Christian; and who, so far from having any orders or mission, had not so much as been baptized.

Q. How do you prove against the Quakers that all persons ought to be baptized.

A. From the commission of Christ, St. Matt. xxviii. 19: ‘Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.’ From that general sentence of our Lord, St. John iii. 5: * Except a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.’ From the practice of the apostles, and of the first Christians, who were all baptized. Thus we read, Acts ii. 38, with relation to the first converts to Christianity at Jerusalem, when they asked of the apostle what they should do, that Peter said unto them, ‘ Do penance and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ.’ And ver. 41: ‘They therefore that received his word were baptized,’ &c. Thus we read of the Samaritans converted by Philip, Acts vill. 12, 13, that ‘ They were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself also believed, and being baptized,’ stuck close to Philip; as was also the eunuch of Queen Candace, ver. 36, 38. Thus we find Paul baptized by Ananias, Acts ix. 18. Cornelius and his friends by order of St. Peter, Acts x. 47,48. Lydia and her household, by St. Paul, Acts xvi. 15, &c. In fine, from the perpetual belief and practice of the whole church, ever since the apostles’ days, which in all ages and all nations has ever admi-

3% nistered baptism in water to all her children, and never looked upon any as Christians until they were baptized. Now, ‘if a person will not hear the church, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican.’ St. Matt. xviii. 17.

Q. How do you prove from Scripture that the apostles gave baptism in water ?

A. From Acts villi. 36, 38. * See, here is water,’ said the eunuch to St. Philip, ‘what doth hinder me from being baptized ?—and they went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.’ And Acts x. 47,48: ‘Can any man forbid water,’ said St. Peter, ‘that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? and he coms manded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Where we see that even they who res ceived the Holy Ghost, and consequently had been baptized by the Spirit, were nevertheless commanded to be baptized in water. Hence St. Paul, Ephes. v. 25, 26, tells us that ‘Christ loved the church, and delivered himself for it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water, in the word of life.’ And Heb. x: 22: ‘Let us draw near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with clean water.’

Q. What are the effects of the sacrament of bape tism ?

A. Ist, It washes away original sin, in which we are all born, by reason of the sin of our first father, Adam. 2dly, It remitsall actual sin, which we ourselves have committed, (in case we have committed any before baptism,) both as to the guilt andpain. 3dly, It infuses the habit of divine grace into our souls, and makes us the adopted children of God. Athly, It gives us a right and title to the kingdom of heaven. 5thly, It imprints a character or spiritual mark in the soul. 6thly, In fine, it lets us into the church of God, and makes us children and members of the church.

Q. How do you prove that all sins are remitted in baptism ?

A. From Actsii. 38. Do penance and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins:? Acts xxii. 16. ‘ Arise and be baptized,’ says Ananias to Paul, and wash away thy sins, (in the Greek, be washed from thy sins,) calling upon the name of the Lord.’ Ezekiel xxxvi. 25. ‘I will pour clean water upon you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness.’? Hence, in the Nicene creed, we confess one baptism unto the remission of sins.

Q. May not a person obtain the remission of his sins, and eternal salvation, without being actually baptized ?

A. In two cases he may. The first is, when a person not yet baptized, but heartily desiring baptism, is put to death for the faith of Christ, before he can have that sacrament administered to him; for such a one is baptized in his own blood. The second case is, when a person that can by no means procure the actual administration of baptism, has an earnest desire of it, joined with a perfect love of God, and repentance of his sins, and dies in the disposition ; for this is called the baptism of the Holy Ghost; Baptismus Flaminis.

Q. From whence has baptism the power of conferring grace, and washing away our sins? '

A. From the institution of Christ, and in virtue of his blood, passion, and death. From whence also all the other sacraments have their efficacy. For there is no obtaining mercy, grace, or salvation, but through the passion of Jesus Christ.

Q. In what manner must a person, that is come to years of discretion, prepare himself for the sacrament of baptism ? |

A. By faith and repentance : and therefore it is necessary that he be first well instructed in the Christian doctrine, and that he firmly believe all the articles of the Catholic faith. 2dly, That he be heartily sorry for all his sins, firmly resolving to lead a good Christian life, to renounce all sinful habits, and to make full satisfaction to all whom he has any ways injured. ay

Q. But what if a person should be baptized without being in these dispositions ?

A. In that case he would receive the sacrament and character of baptism, but not the grace of the sacrament nor the remission of his sins, which he cannot obtain until by a sincere repentance he detests and renounces all his sins.

Q. Is it necessary for a person to go to confession before he receives the sacrament of baptism ?

A. No, itis not: because the sins committed before baptism are washed away by baptism, and not by the sacrament of penance; and therefore there is no need of confessing them.

Q. What think you of those that put off fora long time their children’s baptism ?

A. 1 think they are guilty of a sin, in exposing them tothe danger of dying without baptism: since, as daily experience ought to convince them, young children are so quickly and so easily snatched away by death.

Chapter III

OF THE CEREMONIES OF BAPTISM 5 AND OF THE MANNER OF ADMINISTERING THE SACRAMENT IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.

@. Why does the church make use of so many ceremonies in baptism ?

A. 1st, To render thereby this mystery more venerable -to the people. 2dly, To make them understand the effects of this sacrament, and what the obligations are which they contract in the sacrament.

Q. Are the ceremonies of baptism very ancient ?

A. They are all of them very ancient, as may be demonstrated from the writings of the Holy Fathers; and as we know no beginning of them, we have reason to conclude that they come from apostolic tradition.

Q. In what places does the church administer the sacrament of baptism?

A. Regularly speaking, and excepting the case of necessity, she does not allow baptism to be administered

THE CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTEP. 33 anywhere else but in the churches which have fonts, the water of which by apostolical traditionsis solemnly blessed every year on the vigils of Easter and Whit- Sunday.

Q. What is the meaning of having godfathers and godmothers in baptism?

A. 1st, That they may present tothe church the person that is to be baptized, and may be witnesses of his baptism. 2dly, That they may answer in his name, and be sureties for his performance of the promises which they make for him.

Q. What is the duty of godfathers and godmothers ?

A. To see, as much as lies in them, that their godchildren be brought up in the true faith, and in the fear of God; that they be timely instructed in the whole Christian doctrine, and that they make good those engagements which they have made in their name. :

Q. May all sorts of persons be admitted for godfathers and godmothers ?

A. No: but only such as are duly qualified for discharging the obligations of a godfather or godmother. Upon which account none are to be admitted that are not members of the Catholic church; none whose lives are publicly scandalous; none who are ignorant of the Christian doctrine, &c. Rit. Rom.

Q. How many godfathers and godmothers may a person have in the Catholic church?

A. The Council of Trent, sess. 24, chap. 2, orders, That no one should have any more than one godfather * and one godmother: That the spiritual kindred, which the child and its parents contract with the godfathers and godmothers, and which is an impediment of marriage, may not be extended to too many persons.

Q. In what order or manner does the Catholic church proceed in the administration of baptism ? 3

A. 1st, The priest having asked the name of the per= son that is to be baptized, (which ought not to be any profane or heathenish name, but the name of some saint, by whose example he may be excited to a holy life, and by whose prayers he may be protected) inquires of him 5 ‘NV, what dost thou demand of the church of God? To which the person himself, if at age, or the godfather and godmother for him, answer, Faith: by which is meant not the bare virtue, by which we believe what God teaches, but the whole body of Christianity, as comprehending both belief and practice; into which the faithful enter by the gate of baptism. The priest goes on and asks; ‘What does faith give thee?’ Answ. Life everlasting.

Priest. ‘If then thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.’

After this, the priest blows three times upon the face of the person that is to be baptized, saying, ‘ Depart out of him or her, O unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost, the Comforter.’ This ceremony was practised by the universal church long before St. Augustine’s days, who calls it* a most ancient tradition; and it is used in contempt of Satan, and to drive him away by the Holy Ghost, who is called the Spirit or breath of God.

Then the priest makes the sign of the cross on the forehead and on the breast of the person that is to be baptized, saying, ‘ Receive the sign of the cross upon thy forehead, and in thy heart; receive the faith of the heavenly commandments, and let thy manners be such that thou mayest now be the temple of God.’ This sign of the cross upon the forehead, is to give us to understand, that we are to make open profession of the faith of a crucified God, and never to be ashamed of his cross ; and the sign of the cross upon the breast is to teach us, that we are always to have Christ crucified in our hearts.

After this, there follow some prayers, for the person that is to be baptized, to beg of God to dispose his soul for the grace of baptism. Then the priest blesses some sal, and puts a grain of it in the mouth of the

*L. de Nuptis, ec. 18 and 29.

person that is to be baptized. By which ancient ceremony we are admonished to procure and maintain in our souls true wisdom and prudence; of which salt is an emblem or figure, inasmuch as it seasons and gives a relish to all things. Upon which account it was commanded in the law, Lev. ii. 23, that salt should be used in every sacrifice or oblation made to God; to whom no offering can be pleasing where the salt of discretion is wanting. Weare also admonished by this ceremony so to season our souls with the grace of God as to keep them from the corruption of sin, as we makeuse of salt to keep things from corrupting.

Then the priest proceeds to the solemn prayers and exorcisms, used of old by the Catholic church in the administration of baptism, to cast out the devil from the soul under whose power we are born by original sin. ‘I exorcise thee,’ says he, ‘O unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy Ghost, ++ that thou mayest go out, and depart from this servant of God, VY. For he commands thee, O thou accursed and condemned wretch, who with his feet walked upon the sea, and stretched forth his right hand to Peter that was sinking. Therefore, O accursed devil, remember thy sentence, and give honour to the living and true God. Give honour to Jesus Christ, his Son, and to the Holy Ghost, and depart from this servant of God, V. For our God and Lord Jesus Christ has vouchsafed to call him to his holy grace and blessing and to the font of baptism.” Then he signs the forehead with the sign of the cross, saying, ‘And this sign of the holy cross, which we imprint on his forehead, mayest thou, O cursed devil, never dare to violate, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.’

All that has been hitherto set down of the prayers and ceremonies of baptism, is usually performed in the porch or entry of the church, to signify that the catechumen or person that is to be baptized, is not worthy to enter into the church, until the devil first be cast out of his soul. But after these prayers and exorcisms the priest reaches forth the extremity of his stole to the catechumen; or, if it be an infant, lays it upon him, and so introduces him into the church, saying, ‘VV, come into the temple of God, that thou mayest have part with Christ, unto everlasting life. Amen.’

Being come into the church, the priest, jointly with the party that is to be baptized, or, if it be an infant, With the godfather and godmother, recites aloud the apostles’ creed and the Lord’s prayer. Then reads another exorcism over the catechumen, commanding the devil to depart in the name, and by the power of the most blessed Trinity. After which, in imitation of Christ, who cured with his spittle the man that was deaf and dumb, St. Mark vii. 32, &c., he wets his finger with his spittle, and touches first the ears of the catechumen, saying, ‘ Ephphetha,’ that is, be thou opened: then his nostrils, adding these words, ‘unto the odour of sweetness.’ ‘But be thou put to flight, O devil, for the judgment of God will be at hand;’ by which ceremony the church instructs her catechumens to have their ears open to God’s truth, and to smell its sweetness; and begs this grace for them.

Then the priest asks the person that is to be baptized, ‘NV, Dost thou renounce Satan?’ To which the person himself, if at age, otherwise the godfather and godmother in his name, answer, [renounce him. The priest goes on, ‘And all his works?? Answ. I renounce them. Priest.‘ Andallhis pomps?’ Answ. Irenounce them.

This solemn renouncing of Satan, and his works, and his pomps, in the receiving of baptism, is a practice as ancient as the church itself, and in a particular manner requires our attention : because it isa promise and vow that we make to God, by which we engage ourselves to abandon the party of the devil, to have nothing to do with his works, that is, with the works of darkness and sin; and to cast away from us his pomps, that is, the maxims and vanities of the world. It is a covenant we make with God, by which we, on our parts, promise him ourallegiance, and to fight against his enemies: and he, on his part, promises us life everlasting, if we are faithful to our engagements. But in the moment we break this solemn covenant by wilful sin, we lose both the grace of baptism, and all that title to an eternal inheritance which we received in baptism, together with the dignity of children of God; and become immediately slaves to the devil, and children of hell. i