THE ROMAN RITUAL COMPLETE EDITION PHILIP T. WELLER, S.T.D. Priest of the Diocese of La Crosse Assistant Professor of Theology at Loyola University in Chicago Copyright 1964 Philip T. Weller THE BRUCE PUBLISHING COMPANY Nihil obstat: REV. HUGO C. KOEHLER Censor deputatus Imprimatur: JOHN P. TREACY, S.T.D. Bishop of La Crosse September 1, 1964 The text of the Confraternity Edition of the Holy Bible contained in this book is reproduced by license of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D. C., the owner of the copyright of said Holy Bible. Used with its permission. All rights reserved. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-8392 Copyright 1964 PHILIP T. WELLER MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AUTHOR'S FOREWORD This complete edition of the Roman Ritual is in accord with the latest "Editio Typica," dated January 25, 1952. However, since that time a number of significant additions have been made and revisions put into effect by the Congregation of Sacred Rites; they have been published in "Acta Apostolicae Sedis" as well as in "Ephemerides Liturgicae." All of these changes have been taken into account in the present version. Moreover, immediately before going to press we were able to incorporate the changes introduced by the Liturgy Commission's "Instruction" of September 26, 1964, made public on October 16, 1964, thus bringing the work fully up to date. The English version of the psalms and other passages from the Old Testament are from the Confraternity version, with some adaptations where necessary for artistic or musical reasons. New Testament passages are from the Kleist-Lilly version. For the translations in verse of the hymns I am indebted to the work of Dom Matthew Britt, O.S.B., "The Hymns of the Breviary and Missal," with the author's kind permission. A musical supplement to this volume is available at The Bruce Publishing Company. Music of a worthy nature and suitable idiom for English texts is provided therein wherever the "Editio Typica" calls for parts to be sung, or wherever else it is felt that singing would greatly enhance the sacred rites. Because the "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" (35.3) directs priests to give liturgical instruction to the people during the very rites themselves, I have supplied introductions to the principal parts and some commentary within the rites. These are meant merely as suggestions on which the celebrant may base whatever commentary he sees fit to give. Provision is also made for the people's vocal participation so far as possible, again in accord with the "Constitution." "Traduttore traditore," "the translator is a traitor," says an Italian proverb. So he is to many of his readers, and he need look for little leniency, except perhaps from those who themselves have set their hand to translating. CONTENTS Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul V on the Roman Ritual The Holy Sacraments, introduction and general rules Baptism, introduction and general rules Rite for baptism of children Baptism of adults, introduction and general rules Norms for new rite for baptism of adults Rite for baptism of adults Rite for supplying of ceremonies omitted in baptism Rite for baptism administered by a bishop Blessing of baptismal water Confirmation, introduction and general rules Rite for confirmation apart from danger of death Rite for confirmation in danger of death Holy Eucharist, introduction and general rules Rite for holy communion outside of Mass Communion during Eastertime Communion for the sick, general rules Rite for communion for the sick Rules for celebrating Mass more than once the same day Mass celebrated by a blind priest Forty Hours' Adoration Penance, introduction and general rules Common form for absolution Rite for absolving from excommunication General absolution and papal blessing for religious Papal blessing for secular tertiaries Rite for absolving from suspension or interdict apart from sacramental confession Anointing of the Sick, introduction and general rules Rite for anointing of the sick Visit and care of the sick Spiritual assistance to the dying Apostolic blessing at the hour of death Rite for commending a departing soul Prayers at the moment of death Matrimony, introduction and general rules Rite for celebrating marriage within Mass Rite for celebrating marriage apart from Mass Mixed marriage Celebration of a silver or golden wedding Solemn engagement or betrothal Holy Orders: priesthood, introduction Rite for ordination of priests The Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany of the Saints Liturgy for the Faithful Departed, introduction and general rules Rite for burial of adults Exequies when the body is not present Rite for burial of children Vespers for the dead and prayers at a wake Blessings and other sacramentals, introduction and general rules Blessings for special days and feasts Blessings of persons Blessings of animals Blessings of places not designated for sacred purposes Blessings of places designated for sacred purposes Blessings of things designated for sacred purposes Blessings of things designated for ordinary use Processions, general rules Rites for processions Exorcism, introduction and general rules Rite for exorcism Litanies Blessings formerly reserved to religious orders Appendix: reception of converts; profession of faith; itinerarium; prayers at meals; oath against modernism Index Index of psalms, canticles, hymns DECREE In preparing a new edition of the Roman Ritual, the Congregation of Sacred Rites decided to introduce a number of additions and revisions, in order to bring it in line with recent legislation, as well as to produce a more orderly arrangement of the whole subject matter. Then, when the work had been studied and finally completed it was submitted to the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Pius XII, for approval. On the recommendation of the undersigned Cardinal Pro-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, His Holiness in turn confirmed and approved this edition of the Roman Ritual, and decreed that it be the model to which all future editions of the Roman Ritual are to conform, anything to the contrary notwithstanding. + CLEMENT CARDINAL MICARA Bishop of Velletri Pro-Prefect of the Cong. of Sacred Rites + ALPHONSE CARINCI Archbishop of Seleucia Secretary THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION OF POPE PAUL V on the Roman Ritual POPE PAUL V as a Perpetual Memorial Called by divine munificence, and not through any personal merit, to occupy the See of the Apostles, we deem it our duty to watch with full earnestness over all that concerns the decorum of God's house. And such constant vigilance on our part prompts us to take suitable measures so that, as the Apostle admonishes, everything in divine worship may function decently and orderly. Particularly is this true in regard to the administration of the sacraments of the Church of God; here especially our office obliges us to provide that a religious observance be given those rites and ceremonies established by apostolic tradition and the decrees of the fathers. Pope Pius V, our saintly predecessor, fully conscious of his obligation which is now ours, labored with pastoral indefatigability to publish first the Roman Breviary, then the Roman Missal--both having been worked out with much labor and zealous care--so that there might be, God willing, a uniform manner of chanting and praying the Church's liturgy. He did this not only to restore careful observance of the sacred rites in celebrating the Holy Sacrifice and chanting the Divine Office, but also for the purpose of promoting the bond of Catholic unity in faith and in government, under the visible authority of the Roman Pontiff, the successor of St. Peter. With similar wisdom our predecessor of blessed memory, Clement VIII, followed in the footsteps of Pius V. He not only gave to the bishops and lesser prelates of the Church the carefully revised Pontifical; but he also made a systematic compilation of many other ceremonies wont to be used in cathedrals and lesser churches, embodied in the Ceremonial which he promulgated. With all this accomplished there remained to be published, by authority of the Holy See, a volume of the Ritual which would contain the genuine and sacred rites of the Catholic Church, those which must be observed by shepherds of souls in the administration of the sacraments and in other ecclesiastical functions. Amidst the numerous existing rituals it would rank as the official and authorized one, by whose standard the officiants could fulfill their priestly office unhesitatingly, and with uniformity and precision. This matter had been urged a long time ago. But since the work of the General Councils (whose acts by God's help have been published both in the Greek and Latin tongues) is at present hindered, we considered it our obligation to prosecute the business in right good earnest. In order that the task proceed correctly and orderly as it should, we assigned it to certain of our venerable brethren among the cardinals, outstanding for their piety, learning, and sagacity. Aided by the counsel of scholars and through comparison with ancient as well as other available rituals--in particular that erudite work of Julius Antonius of blessed memory, Cardinal with title of St. Severina, a man of singular piety, zeal, and learning--the commission of cardinals has succeeded in compiling a ritual of desired brevity, after mature deliberation and with the help of God. Now as we see lying before us this well-arranged assortment of received and approved rites of the Catholic Church. we deem it fitting that it be published for the universal utility of God's Church, under the title of "The Roman Ritual." Therefore. we exhort in the Lord the venerable brothers patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, and their vicars, beloved sons of ours, as well as abbots, all pastors wherever they labor, and all others concerned, sons of the Roman Church, that in future they use during the sacred functions this Ritual, made official by the authority of the same Church, mother and mistress of all; and that in a matter so important as this they observe inviolately whatever the Catholic Church with her ancient and approved traditions has laid down. Given at Rome at St. Mary Major, under the fisherman's seal, on June 17, 1614, in the tenth year of Our Pontificate. S. Cobellutius. THE HOLY SACRAMENTS INTRODUCTION In the fullness of time, when our heavenly Father was to exercise the most lavish act in His economy with mankind, He did so by means of a sacrament, the foremost sacrament: the incarnation with its extension throughout the ages in the Church, the mystical body of the Word made Flesh. "As Christ comes into the world He says, 'No sacrifice, no offering was your demand; you have endowed me instead with a body. You have not found any pleasure in burnt sacrifices, in sacrifices for sin. See then, I said, I am coming to fulfill what is written of me, where the book lies unrolled; to do your will, O my God.'"[1] "He has put everything under His dominion, and made Him the head to which the whole Church is joined, so that the Church is His body, the completion of Him who everywhere and in all things is complete."[2] The incarnation and the Church together is the primal sacrament; in fact, it may well be considered the one full sacrament of the New Covenant, all others by that name being fundamentally the unfolding communication of this supreme work of God's manifest kindness, mercy, and grace. Christ and His Church. In becoming man He "is that head whose body is the Church; it begins with Him";[3] the Church, a new creation, the sacrament in which we are redeemed. Never before had God approached man in such full realism. This manifestation of the sole-begotten Son in creature form signified dramatically the limit to which the Uncreated would stoop, in order that He who is the Creator of man in the original state of grace would be likewise the renovator of man fallen from this estate. "O stupendous interchange of gifts, that the Creator of the human race, taking to Himself a human body, has deigned to be born of a virgin, and coming forth as man without the intervention of human seed, has endowed us with His divinity!"[4] The essence of Godhead is joined in sacramental mystery with visible mortal substance, "so that while we contemplate Him as God made manifest to our sight, we may be drawn by Him to the love of things unseen."[5] And since after the resurrection Jesus Christ would withdraw His glorified humanity from the earth to the seat at the right hand of God the Father, He provided that the sacramental mystery of incarnation and redemption be prolonged in the sacramental mystery of His body the Church. "I will not leave you orphans; I am coming back to you. Yet a little while, and the world sees me no longer; but you will see me, because I live, and you, too, shall live. On that day you will come to understand that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches.... But when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will conduct you through the whole range of truth. He is to glorify me, for He will draw upon what is mine and announce it to you."[6] Christ who is life came as the sacrament of the Word made Flesh, prolongs life in the sacrament of the Church, effects and sustains life in the members of the Church through her sacramental mysteries. These are her most treasured possessions and her primary (and normally indispensable) means of grace. It is by the first of them, baptism, that the Church can solemnly declare to the soul dead in sin: "Awake, you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."[7] Baptism is the sacrament which re-creates us a child of God, a brother of Jesus, a member of the Church. It is the beginning of our ontological union with the mystical body of the Savior. Yet another sacrament, the Eucharist, is required to intensify and complete this incorporation.[8] "He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in me and I in him."[9] We are made a new creature by water and by blood, as symbolized on Calvary: "One of the soldiers opened His side with a spear; and immediately blood and water flowed out."[10] To complete Himself the head needs to draw members unto Him to build up the mystic edifice. Through the sacraments which flow from the side of Christ, God's plan of developing and completing the mystic Christ is carried out.[11] Consequently, it is so much more important that we know and accept Christ living and acting in sacramental reality here and now in His body the Church than simply to contemplate Him as the historical figure who onetime in the past went about in our world working the salvation of men. By uniting us with Christ, the head, the sacraments unite us with His other members in the Church, the society of the faithful. "We, too, all of us, have been baptized into a single body by the power of a single Spirit, Jews and Greeks, slaves and free men alike; we have all been given drink at a single source, the one Spirit. The body, after all, consists not of one organ but of many.... And you are Christ's body, organs of it depending upon each other."[12] To perfect the bond of fellowship is primarily the work of the Eucharist, yet every sacrament has a share in this consolidation, since all of them converge toward the Eucharist as their end. The Eucharist is par excellence the sacrament of fellowship, unity, charity. As sacrifice the eucharistic oblation of Christ, truly His very own renewal of Good Friday in sacramental manner, is also the sacrifice of the Church, with a priest as minister acting in the person of Him and in the person of the entire fellowship of the faithful. Then as the communion of the body and blood of Christ, the holy sacrament of the altar, which culminates the bond of union and love between Jesus and the individual recipient, likewise extends the kiss of peace from member to member. If no other consideration, then this very one along with its corollaries should go far toward demonstrating that the sacramental mysteries of Christ and His Church, viewed and used properly, avoid the stigma of routine or ritualism or external formalism or arbitrariness which the unknowing would at times hurl at them. Although objective functions of religion, our wonderful sacraments indeed provide full play for man's subjective religious aspirations. They are the universal means of holiness, alike for the highest mystic and for the lowliest sinner. We acknowledge that God can and does come to a soul with His grace outside of their stream- -the Spirit breathes where He will. Yet ordinarily they are the main contact with and growth in Christ and His Church--they are necessary, they have stability, they work infallibly. "By means of the holy sacraments all true justice is established in its beginning, that which exists is increased, that which is lost is restored";[13] so teaches the Council of Trent. It is certainly made plain from the history of Christianity that the sacraments fare better or worse in respect to how men evaluate them at different times and among different cultures as well as individuals. The simple of heart delight in them more readily than those of overrefined intellects; and this is predicated without implying that true intellectualism need in any way find them embarrassing. The most brilliant of the Fathers and Scholastics have been their champions. The best endowed theologians have been responsible for their theological formularies. To Christians in the East they seem to be more awe- inspiring than to the brethren in the West; at least we find among the former less controversy and hairsplitting and rationalizing and less temptation to neglect them at times for less certain sources of piety. The sacraments fared badly in the Protestant revolt: "How can a man be justified by an external ceremony without right movements of the heart?" No need to point out the fallacious way in which the question is formulated! And if havoc was raised for the sacramental system by Protestant subjectivism and individualism, its death knell was tolled for those outside the Church by the former's stepchild, Rationalism. For the latter the very notion of sacrament becomes laughable, since this system identifies "sacramentalism" with necromancy--logical enough, and completely in accord with its denial of God's grace and man's personal or inherited guilt. Modern civilization with its instability, vulgarity, intellectual confusion, subjectivism, and unbelief finds beyond itself the acceptance of God becoming immanent and operative in creature elements, words, and gestures. Nevertheless, there are indications that a change of heart is occurring in the sects, who are showing evidence of discovering that what is natural Christ has made supernatural, as St. Chrysostom points out: "For if you had been incorporeal, He would have delivered to you the incorporeal gifts bare; but because the soul has been locked up in a body, He delivers to you the things that the mind perceives, in things sensible.[14]... For although they are done on earth, yet nevertheless they are worthy of the heavens. For when our Lord Jesus Christ lies slain (as a sacrifice), when the Spirit is with us, when He who sits on the right hand of the Father is here, when sons are made by the washing...when He says, 'Whose sins you retain they are retained, whose sins you remit, they are remitted': when they have the keys of heaven, how can all be other than heavenly?"[15] In Catholicism too there is increased devotion to the sacraments ever since the eucharistic-liturgical renewal of Pius X. In fact, whenever we find an age deeply conscious of the doctrine of the mystical body, the sacrament of Christ and His Church, we notice a corresponding deepening of faith that in the sacramental mysteries we have Christ's incarnation and redemption made present again. For all who believe in the Scriptures it is there to perceive that already in the Old Testament the foundations were laid for future faith in the sacraments of the Church. The ancient covenant had its own sacraments which not only preannounced ours, but had a certain efficacy, not in the sense that they caused grace, but rather that they conferred grace by reason of the faith in Christ which they expressed. There is one episode in particular which the Church with fine psychological insight borrows during Lent, in order to impress upon her candidates for baptism that henceforth their communion with God will be effected chiefly through her sacramental powers. On Monday in the third week of Lent, she uses as the Epistle of Mass the passage from the Fourth Book of Kings which recounts Naaman's cure of leprosy through the waters of the Jordan. "In those days Naaman, general of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable...but a leper. Now there had gone out robbers from Syria, and had led away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid, and she waited upon Naaman's wife. And she said to her mistress: 'I wish my master had been with the prophet that is in Samaria; he would certainly have healed him of the leprosy which he has.' ...So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Eliseus; and Eliseus sent a messenger to him, saying: 'Go, and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh shall recover health, and you shall be clean.' ...Naaman was angry, and as he turned and was going away with indignation, his servants came to him and said to him: 'Father, if the prophet had bid you to do some great thing, surely you would have done it; how much rather what he now said to you: "Wash, and you shall be clean"?' Then he went down and washed in the Jordan seven times, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored, like the flesh of a little child, and he was made clean."[16] The Church reads this as an instruction on baptism for her catechumens, but it can be applied as well to all the sacraments. Naaman, when he believed in Eliseus (a type of Christ) and consented to wash in the waters of the Jordan (the sacramental signs which both signify and effect), had his flesh restored (purification and grace) like the flesh of a little child (sonship of divine adoption). During His public life our Lord, before instituting the sacraments, took pains to secure our faith in them by frequently making use of homely signs as He went about healing the people of their infirmities. We believe that these miracles had not only an immediate purpose of dispensing mercy to those He found afflicted with bodily and spiritual ailments, or to confirm His divine nature and mission in the sight of onlookers, but also served to preannounce that in the sacraments He would institute, "virtue would go out from Him and heal all."[17] Moreover, these good works of Jesus do more than teach and prefigure. The fathers never tire of proclaiming that His historical acts are performed not only for the moment, but that they are done "in mysterio"; that whenever His deeds are set before us in the Gospel for our contact by faith, or in the liturgy for our contact by sacrament, the grace which they one time merited is now produced within us. "As Jesus was departing again from the district of Tyre...they brought to Him one deaf and dumb, and entreated Him to lay His hand upon him. And taking him aside from the crowd He put His fingers into the man's ears, and spitting, He touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, He sighed and said to him: 'Ephpheta,' that is, 'Be opened.' And his ears were at once opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak correctly."[18] What He could have accomplished by a mere act of will or the utterance of a word He chose actually to effect through the instrumentality of matter, gestures, and words: spittle, touch, Ephpheta. Another time when ten lepers besought Jesus to have mercy on their condition, He commanded them to present themselves to the priests: "and as they went they were made clean."[19] Spiritual leprosy is now cleansed by Christ acting through His Church, whose priests are His tools, dispensing medicinal powers by means of effective and demonstrative signs. A sacrament, or a mystery, as the Greek fathers call it, is a visible thing which contains an invisible divine power and action, the inward content being really connected with and partially signified by the outward words, elements, and their application, the full essence remaining, nonetheless, concealed, mysterious, and transcendent to human comprehension. What the human mind apprehends of the sacrament, in so far as it is knowable to finite beings, is grasped by the intellect, aided by the senses through the visible signs, and supernaturally enlightened by faith. The marvelous role of a sacrament, as a sensory material instrument to effect God's grace and simultaneously render present the redemptive work of Christ, is an act of religion which appeals to the body-spirit nature of which man is composed. Mankind sinned by turning his will away from the Creator to prefer the creature. Justification shall be humbly sought through the instrumentality of the same creature things which brought his ruin. We must consider here St. Paul's teaching on the "new creation." "If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation; the former things have passed away, behold all things are made new."[20] By the coming and sacrifice of Christ, creation, all of it, animate and inanimate, has been consecrated anew and transfigured. As in Adam all sinned and were penalized with God's curse-he, his posterity, and the entire cosmos which was summed up in him, so in Christ shall all be redeemed and made a new creation. For this purpose a new order has come into being, new realities which exist on a plane midway between heaven and earth, the plane on which God and creatures meet and embrace. This new world is found in the sacramental character of the Church, the great sacrament in herself, her seven sacraments in the narrower and stricter sense, along with her sacramentals. Here we have a marvelous structure, the cornerstone of which is Christ, wherein the communication of His divine life is bound up with a visible organization, human persons, sensory objects. As the humanity of Christ drawn from the earth was a real physical cause, not merely a moral one, of bringing His divinity and the Holy Spirit upon the earth and into the mystical body, so material nature was ordained by Him to participate in conferring Himself and the operation of the Holy Spirit on humankind until the coming of the everlasting kingdom. Precisely how the sacraments as external signs are the bearers of supernatural riches has been a matter of enthusiastic speculation, in fact, of heated controversy among theologians. We like to believe that they are right who go all the way in attributing as much power of causality to them as they could possibly be endowed with. It should be perfectly obvious, of course, that at most sacraments are instrumental causes only, that God Himself is the principal cause of grace. On this score there must be nothing short of universal agreement. But as instrumental causes, how do they operate? Unless we are mistaken, it appears that the tendency is to favor such theologians of today who place themselves on the side of the early Scholastics, who in turn based their convictions on a realistic understanding of scriptural terminology and the writings of the fathers. If they are right, then the sacraments are in the strictest sense real causes (physical causes, or as Scheeben[21] says, hyperphysical causes) of grace. Otherwise the sacraments in their character of outward signs would merely dispose the soul for the reception of grace, would call upon God, effectually inducing Him to exercise His power of producing grace. To maintain, however, that they are truly physical instrumental causes (and not merely moral causes) entails that divine power has been imparted to them to the extent that God works directly through them, so that His grace is immediately effected in man's soul by them. In other words, the outward signs of the sacraments are possessed of at least a transient power of the Holy Spirit. "If under the appearance of bread and wine there can be the body and blood of Christ, St. Thomas, the most honest and logical of all thinkers, will say that under baptismal water there also can be the power of the Holy Ghost, so that baptismal water, or any other sacramental sign, is not only an infallible token of God's activity in the souls of men, but that it is more: the water, the chrism, and the words of absolution, they all contain a participated power from Christ."[22] St. Ambrose, whose insight into the sacramental mysteries of the Church can hardly be equaled, is positively uninhibited when he considers the divine powers given to sacramental signs. It is not enough for him to speak in some vague way about a participated power of Christ. He insists on a divine presence in the material elements, and that not only at the moment they are employed to confer a sacrament, but in themselves, because they have been so fructified through the Church's consecration. "What have you seen? Water, certainly. but not water alone.... I believe that there is in it the presence of divinity. Do you believe in its power to effect, but not in the presence? How can the effect follow unless the presence first precede it?"[23] If his words are to be dismissed as pure hyperbole, then so are the sacred prayers which the Church uses at the consecration of the font of baptism as well as the holy oils. One must consider, moreover, the Church's deep solicitude about the handling and disposal of sacramental elements, as expressed again and again in the rubrics of the Ritual. But how can lowly matter be the repository of lofty supernatural realities? St. Ambrose is content to state that in the sacraments, from every aspect, there is much more than bodily eyes can discern. The sacraments are mysteries, both in the sense that they are corporeal bearers of divine operations, and that they are mysterious entities, supernatural realities which we cannot fully comprehend. But to assist the intellect--aided necessarily by faith--to penetrate partially into their spiritual content, they are clothed in powerful external and demonstrative signs. Their property of signification, moreover, is to be sought throughout the rite under which they are administered, from beginning to end, and not only under the essential acts alone. To add to their power of signifying what they effect, the Church, guided by divine wisdom, in true genius has surrounded each sacrament with a number of solemn and beautiful ceremonies and prayers above what is required as a minimum for validity. In baptism, for example, how much better we understand that it is deliverance from Satan's bondage because the exorcisms signify this aspect; that it is a renewal of the whole man because this is signified by partaking of the blessed salt, by the touching with spittle of the nostrils and ears, by the anointing with oil of catechumens; that it is a consecration and elevation to the state of divine sonship, so that the Blessed Trinity makes the soul a temple of Its indwelling, as signified by the consecration with chrism, the conferring of the white garment, the presentation of the lighted candle; and then that it is essentially a death and a resurrection in Christ Jesus, a total incorporation in Him and His Church, as demonstrated by the bath in the fountain of baptismal waters, the holy womb of Mother Church, wherein we die to the old man conceived by the first Adam and put on the new Adam, Jesus Christ our Savior. Although we cannot consider it here, the whole eucharistic rite is even more powerfully demonstrative. From our catechism we learned that the Eucharist is a thing of past, present, future--a memorial of our Lord's sacrifice, a present participation in its grace, a pledge of future resurrection and immortality. St. Thomas makes it clear that what is predicated of the Eucharist in this respect is likewise true of each sacrament. "A sacrament is a commemorative sign of that which has gone before, namely, of Christ's passion; a demonstrative sign of what is effected in us now by the passion of Christ, namely, of grace; a predictive sign, in as much as it preannounces future glory."[24] In this way the sacraments are indeed a clear announcement of the glad tidings of Christianity. We are brought into contact with the person of our Lord as High Priest in the act of redeeming us, as beneficent dispenser of the fruits which He merits for us, as the king of future glory "Who has dominion over God's house."[25] What broader dynamic vistas are opened to us when we contemplate the Church's sacramental mysteries in this threefold activity, instead of regarding them as a mere affair of the moment. Through them, more than in any other exercise of religion, are we given sure signs of God's predilection for us and our predestination as His elect. "Who will come forward to accuse God's elect, when God acquits us? Who will pass sentence against us, when Jesus Christ, Who died, nay, has risen again, and sits at the right hand of God, is pleading for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or distress, or persecution, or hunger, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?"[26] We see in the sacraments guarantees of our high calling; they give us such confidence because they have marked us with the seal of the Blessed Trinity and the cross of Christ, fed us with the bread of heaven, loosed us from sin, anointed us for glory. "Let us come forward with sincere hearts in the full assurance of the faith, our guilty consciences purified by sprinkling, our bodies washed clean in hallowed water."[27] Baptism is the beginning of our election. The eucharistic banquet is food for the elect. Quite another and a very meaningful teaching of how time becomes vanquished in the sacramental mysteries is given by the fathers and finds frequent expression in liturgical prayers. It is said that sacraments are re-enactments under signs and symbols of the saving work of redemption. A popular way of expressing the same is to state it somewhat as follows: "The sacraments make it possible for us to take our place at the foot of the Cross"; or as Karl Adam says, they are "a refreshing touching of the hem of His garment, a liberating handling of His sacred wounds."[28] The Eucharist is most directly the sacramental re-presentation of the paschal sacrifice of Christ. However, many of the early fathers, in the East particularly, do not limit the sacrifice of redemption to the moment of His death. They look upon the Passover sacrifice of the New Covenant as something which began with His appearance in the flesh (the basis in concrete expression of His will to be sacrificed), continued throughout His life until reaching a climax on Calvary ("My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."[29]), finally approved in the resurrection (when the Redeemer became the glorified God-man), rewarded and exalted in the ascension, and only to be completed and perfected in the final coming, when He shall gather together His elect to partake in the eternal sacrifice of heaven. These historical events already past, together with the Parousia of future time, form one integral act by which Christ becomes our Paschal Lamb offered for the world's ransom. And what He did historically is now brought about mystically (in mysterio) by Him and His Church, through the instrumentality of external sacred formulae. In the sacramental activity of the glorified Christ and His mystical body we have continually set forth the Savior in the act of doing the will of the Father who sent Him. This altogether admirable and realistic explanation of the mystery which is Christ, as St. Paul expresses it, profoundly affects our thinking about the sacraments. The sacraments, as an objective remembrance of all that happened to Christ--from incarnation to everlasting glorification--make it possible for us to participate in the mysteries of our divine head, not only in the effects but in the very facts. In fine, we live with Christ in the sacraments. They are the drama of redemption in which God through Christ carries on His action in the Church and in our individual souls. What is impossible for us to experience with Christ in a natural way, we can experience with Him in a sacramental way. We die and rise with Christ sacramentally; in the same way we share with Him the exaltation at the right hand of His Father.[30] Under sacramental signs the economy of salvation flows anew into God's holy Church, and her people are caught up in its stream. Sin and its prompter are routed as the Holy Spirit comes to make His abode in the soul, to establish and then ever to perfect its sharing in the nature of God by the bond of grace and charity. We cannot even speak of a cooperation of man in the strict sense. The work is God's, not man's. Yet man does not remain altogether passive. His contribution is one of right disposition of mind and will. The sacraments are a matter of divine action and human devotion--devotion in its best meaning, that is, sincere allegiance to the task that Christ and His Church propose to accomplish. In the case of the minister, he must above all be empowered by the Church to act in her behalf and have the intention of doing what the Church purposes to do in her sacraments. It is not required of him that he believe in them or be enlightened about them. Nor does his personal unworthiness hinder their effect. They do what they do, whether his own life be blameless or corrupted in grossest sin, whether he be zealous or indifferent, whether his manner of administering them be a cause of edification or of scandal. But this least minimum is not what the Church wants to find in the human conduit of divine powers. She desires and, in the case of her especially deputed and ordained ministers, she commands that her sacred treasures, as befits their very dignity and sanctity, be handled with pure heart and unsoiled hands, that they be dispensed with understanding, solemnity, and reverence. "Since in God's Church nothing is holier, loftier, more beneficial, or more divine than the sacraments instituted by Christ the Lord for the salvation of mankind, let every pastor--in fact, every priest to whom pertains their administration--bear uppermost in mind that he is dealing with holy things, and that he must be prepared almost every moment to discharge this sacred office. Therefore, let him ever be solicitous about leading a blameless, a chaste and holy life. For even though the sacraments cannot be sullied by the unclean nor their effects impeded through an evil minister, yet they who administer them while unworthy and unclean are guilty of grievous sin."[31] It must be maintained that priests in discharging their sacramental office not only sanctify the subjects, but are in turn themselves sanctified, in the measure of how devotedly they perform their stewardship. "Imitamini quod tractatis: Let your conduct be in conformity with the action you perform."[32] First things first! A priest's sacramental ministry is the Alpha and Omega of his sacerdotal existence. All else pertaining to the care of souls, be its import what it may, must be kept subordinate. The devotion we speak of is presumed likewise in the subject of the sacraments, even though we say they produce their effects infallibly as long as the recipient places no obstacle in the way. The chief disposition required in the subject is faith, faith in Jesus Christ and all therein implied. Faith is so necessary that it cannot be dispensed with even in infant baptism, in which case, however, the Church supplies vicariously what the child is incapable of eliciting. Moreover, the subject must have the intention of receiving the sacrament, except the Eucharist, because the body and blood of our Lord is always received, no matter what the disposition or preparation of the one who communicates. As a preparatory act to sacramental regeneration and transfiguration, in the case of an adult, there must be a change of heart, a turning away from sin and a wholehearted conversion to Christ. This is nothing else than the activity of faith referred to above. "For he that comes to God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder to them that seek Him."[33] (Even this activity of faith on the part of man, it must not be forgotten, is made possible only because God previously gives the impetus by a gratuitous movement of grace.) Man's faith summons the sacrament to effect the mystical marriage of the soul with its Maker. Once this union through grace has been consummated, the accompanying virtues of faith, hope, and charity infused by God into man will assist the latter to seek a continuance and increase of grace and charity, by means of a devout and fruitful use of the other sacraments, above all the sacrament of the Eucharist. Man's subjective devotion and aspirations, in union with the Church's faith and fervor, will determine to a greater or lesser degree how fruitful the operation of the Holy Spirit will be. The sacraments of Christ's Church are the chief and universal way for man to plunge into the redemptive stream of holiness and ultimate glorification. Yet he will not be swept along with the current to its intended supernatural termination without some consciously directed endeavor on his part. It would be incomplete, indeed, a serious omission were we to conclude our consideration of the sacramental concept without some brief word about its property of cult. St. Thomas tells us that the sacraments have a twofold purpose, namely, to perfect the soul for its part in the worship of God according to the Christian dispensation, and to be a remedy against sin.[34] Their movement is upward from man to God as well as downward from God to men. In fact, the two trends are inseparable. In the sacramental life of the Church man is sanctified not for his own sake, but rather that, being made a new creature and consecrated to an ennobled dignity by the divine Spirit, he may give glory to the triune God, now on earth and forever in heaven. Christ's redemptive sacrifice glorifies the Father in two ways: first, by faithfully fulfilling His Father's will; second, by raising man to a state in which he can participate with the divine head in giving glory to God. "Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you, even as you have given Him power over all flesh, in order that to all you have given Him, He may give everlasting life."[35] It was principally as a priest, the High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech, that Christ brought about the rapprochement between His Father and outcast humankind. And since we have been incorporated in Him, we must in all things be like Him, also to the extent of sharing in His priesthood. Precisely for this reason three sacraments especially have a consecratory role. They are the priestly sacraments: baptism, confirmation, and holy orders, which imprint indelibly on the soul a character, making it conformable to the priesthood of the incarnate Word. The seal of Christ in the soul is more than an image of the High Priest--it actually endows the soul with a participated power of His priesthood. So that a man sealed with the third character of orders is fully made one with the eternal High Priest, and henceforth the two are identified in all that pertains to the Church's sacramental activity of worship and sanctification. Yet the faithful who lack the full priestly consecration are, nevertheless, constituted priests in the image of Christ in a lesser and general way by the sacramental characters of baptism and confirmation. And thus for all members of the City of God the sacraments are instruments of divine worship. In this their God- ward direction they reach their superlative perfection and fullest mystery. They are the outward protestation of our inner faith; they express in solemn manner our profession of God's excellence, His power and His kindness. Adoration, supplication, thanksgiving, satisfaction, humility, obedience, charity, the spirit of sacrifice or asceticism-- all these inward acts are called forth and embodied in the rites and prayers which embellish sacramental administration, ever converging toward the Eucharist, the sacrament which is at the same time the New Covenant sacrifice of the Whole Christ, wherein worship no longer remains purely subjective, but the inward total surrender becomes localized in the most realistic objective act of glorifying God, the eucharistic offering of the vine and the branches, that sacrifice in which Christ is priest and victim and we are truly priests and victims in Him and with Him, raising aloft to the divine majesty all honor and glory. --Translator ENDNOTES 1. Heb 10.5-7, Knox version. 2. Eph 1.22-23, Knox. 3. Col 1.18. 4. Vespers on the Octave of Christmas. 5. Preface of Mass on Christmas. 6. Jn 14.18-20; 15.5; 16.13-14. 7. Eph 5.14. 8. Cf. Ferdinand Holbock: "Der Eucharistische und der Mystische Leib Christi," p. 215. 9. Jn. 6.57. 10. Jn 19.34. 11. Cf. St. Thomas, S. Th., III P., q. 64, 2 and 3. 12. 1 Cor 12.13-14, 27. 13. Preface to Session VII. 14. Homily 82 on Mt 26.26-28, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. X, The Christian Literature Co., New York, 1888. 15. Homily 14 on Heb 7.1-2, ibid, Vol. XIV. 16. 4 Kgs 5.1-14. 17. Lk 6.19. 18. Mk 7.32-35. 19. Lk 17.14. 20. 2 Cor. 5.17. 21. Cf. "The Mysteries of Christianity." 22. Vonier: "Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist," p. 69. 23. "De Mysteriis," Florilegium Patristicum, Fasc. VII, Pars III, Bonn, 1936. 24. S. Th., III P., q. 60, art. 3. 25. Heb 10.21. 26. Rom 8.33-35. 27. Heb 10.22. 28. "The Spirit of Catholicism." p. 19. 29. Mt 26.39. 30. For an adequate treatment of this explanation of the Christ-Mystery there is a rather vast literature, access to which can best be sought in the volumes of "Jahrbuch fur Liturgiewissenschaft." 31. Roman Ritual. Sec. I, Ch. I, nos. 3 and 4. 32. Rite of ordination. 33. Heb 11.6. 34. S. Th., III P., q. 60, art. 5, and q. 63, art. 1. 35. Jn 17.2. THE ROMAN RITUAL PART I. GENERAL RULES FOR ADMINISTERING THE SACRAMENTS 1. The rites and ceremonies of the sacraments prescribed in this book, based as they are on ancient usage, the sacred canons of the Catholic Church, and on decrees of the popes, should be regarded with due understanding and reverence, and faithfully observed everywhere. Thus it is fitting above all to know and consider what the Sacred Council of Trent (Sess. VII, Can. XIII) has decreed about these rites, namely: 2. "If anyone says that the received and approved rites of the Catholic Church, wont to be used in the solemn administration of the sacraments, may be contemned, or arbitrarily omitted by the ministers without sin, or be changed into other new ones at the option of any pastor of the churches: let him be anathema." 3. Since in God's Church nothing is holier, loftier, more beneficial, or more divine than the sacraments instituted by Christ the Lord for the salvation of mankind, let every pastor, in fact, every priest to whom pertains their administration, bear uppermost in mind that he is dealing with holy things, and that he must be prepared almost every moment to discharge this sacred office. 4. Therefore, let him ever be solicitous about leading a blameless, a chaste, and holy life. For even though the sacraments cannot be sullied by the unclean nor their effects impeded through an evil minister, yet they who administer them while unworthy and unclean are guilty of grievous sin. Should a priest be conscious of mortal sin (which God forbid), let him not dare to administer the sacraments without first disposing himself through sincere contrition. Moreover, if there is sufficient opportunity for confession, and if time and place allow, he ought to go to confession. 5. No matter at what hour day or night he is called upon to dispense the sacraments, let him exercise his sacred ministry without delay, especially in urgent cases. On this account he will take frequent occasion to advise his people that they should call him immediately for such ministration, regardless of the hour or any inconvenience whatsoever. 6. Before he proceeds to exercise this office, he should if possible spend a little time in prayer and reflection on the sacred act he is about to perform; and he should review the ceremony and rubrics as time permits. 7. Every time he administers the sacraments he will be vested in surplice and stole of the proper color as the rite requires. Exception is made for the sacrament of penance, where conditions of time, place, or custom may dictate otherwise. 8. He will be assisted by at least one cleric, if possible, or by several as the nature of the sacrament or circumstance of place will dictate. The latter should wear a proper garb and also the surplice. 9. He will take care that the sacred vessels, vestments, linens, and other requisites be kept clean and in good condition. 10. As the Council of Trent prescribes, he will use the opportunity afforded at the administration of the sacraments to explain with diligence their power, efficacy, and use, as well as the signification of the ceremonies, whenever this can conveniently be done, basing the instruction on the teaching of the holy fathers and on the Roman catechism. 11. When he dispenses any sacrament he will pronounce attentively, distinctly, reverently, and clearly all words pertaining to its form and administration. Likewise he should say all other prayers with devotion, not trusting to memory which often fails, but reciting everything from the book. And he should perform the ceremonies and rites with such solemn demeanor that those who assist thereat will be attentive and duly edified. 12. As he is about to administer a sacrament, let him be intent on what he is about to do, avoiding unnecessary conversation with another. And during the administration itself he should endeavor to have actual or at least virtual attention, intending to do what the Church does in the matter. 13. Especially, he should sedulously avoid, directly or indirectly, any impression of seeking or demanding gain from dispensing the sacraments. But let him do so gratuitously, absolutely immune from the crime or even suspicion of simony or avarice. If after the sacrament has been conferred the faithful freely make an offering as an alms or in devout appreciation, he may lawfully accept it in accordance with local custom, unless the bishop decides otherwise. Nevertheless, it is permissible to ask or exact such offerings or taxes which have been fixed by a provincial council or at a meeting of the bishops of a province, and approved by the Holy See. But a pastor should never refuse his gratuitous ministry to those who are unable to give the stipend. 14. It is forbidden to administer the sacraments of the Church to heretics or schismatics, even though they may mistakenly ask for them in good faith, unless they first renounce their errors and are reconciled to the Church. 15. The recipients of the sacraments should be admonished on opportune occasion to assist thereat with piety and devotion, free from levity in word or act, receiving them with the reverence they demand. 16. The priest should always have the Ritual with him (wherever necessary) when he dispenses the sacraments, and should carefully observe the rites and ceremonies prescribed in it. 17. This book, by the way, contains only the rites of those sacraments which pertain to priests, namely: baptism, penance, Eucharist, anointing of the sick, and matrimony.* The rites of the two remaining sacraments, confirmation and holy orders, since they pertain to bishops, are given in the Pontifical. Whatever else a pastor must know, teach, or observe in connection with the sacraments can be learned from other books, especially the Code of Canon Law and the Roman catechism. Therefore, the scope of this book must restrict itself mainly to the rites pertaining to the five sacraments cited. 18. Finally, whoever is bound to administer the sacraments should possess the necessary books pertaining to his office, particularly those to be used as permanent registers of the various parochial functions, as exemplified at the end of the Ritual. * The rite of confirmation has since been included in the Ritual.-- Trans THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM INTRODUCTION To be baptized is to be immersed in Christ's death, to be buried with Christ, to be risen with Christ to new life. From this sacramental fact or experience we derive all our Christian glory: we are washed clean from original sin and all personal sins, we are marked with the ownership of Christ by a brand or indelible seal, filled with divine life, enhanced with supernatural gifts, reborn children of God, and made members of Christ's mystical body. "I tell you truly that unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain of wheat; but if it dies, it brings a good harvest."[1] By the paschal mystery of death and resurrection Christ made an end of the deserved condemnation to everlasting death brought by Adam upon his seed, and simultaneously raised up to new life His own posterity, heirs according to the promise. By the paschal sacrament of baptism our own death and resurrection with Christ is signified and effected in sacramental mystery. We are born anew in baptism through water and the Holy Spirit. Cognizant of this truth the Church has always looked upon Easter as the ideal time to illustrate it and to actualize it. In fact, there is a rubric (no. 41) in the rite for adult baptism, to the effect that the solemn administration of the sacrament to adults ought, if convenient, to be reserved to this time. For at Easter the newly consecrated fountain of living water becomes the tomb into which a man descends in death and burial with Christ, so as to rise through Him and with Him to the new life of a son of God. "Have you forgotten that all of us who were baptized into Jesus Christ were, by that very action, sharing in His death? We are dead and buried with Him in baptism, so that just as He was raised from the dead by that splendid revelation of the Father's power so we too might rise to life on a new plane altogether."[2] Again and again in the Gospel our Lord speaks of the necessity of dying in a moral sense, of losing one's life in order to save it. But here St. Paul speaks of baptism as a mystical dying of the old man through participation in the death of Christ, in order to become a new creation through a mystical participation in His resurrection. This Pauline conception, in all its profundity, is truly fundamental to a worthy understanding of the essence of baptism. Through the archetypal sacrament of incarnation the human race as a whole is already taken up into the mystic Christ in a general way, owing to the fact that the Son of God has united the human nature which is common to us all with His own divine nature. Yet by a positive decree of the God-man, each individual man must normally be incorporated in Christ's Church by water and the Holy Spirit. Before a new life can begin the old life must die. Before the Savior's human body would become glorified and immortal, it would first submit to death and burial. As the head, so the members. The waters of baptism must swallow us up so that we can be planted in His death. This was very clearly demonstrated for many centuries by the ancient way of administering baptism by immersion and by the way the baptismal font was constructed. The font being sunk below the floor level of the baptistery, the candidate had to make a descent into it as into a tomb; and the complete immersion of the body in the water clearly signified death and burial, for water is not only life-giving but also death-dealing. The passion of Christ destroyed sin. Because we are buried in the waters of baptism, we participate in His passion, and thus sin is destroyed in us. The resurrection of Christ meant new and glorious life for Him and for all men, since all are summed up in Him. Because we come forth from the waters of baptism, we participate likewise in His resurrection, and thus His new and glorious life becomes ours. In commenting on the words of Christ to His disciples, "Now you are clean by reason of the word which I have spoken to you,"[3] St. Augustine says: "The word cleanses also by means of water. Take away the word, and what else is the water but simply water. Yet let the word be added to the element and it becomes a sacrament and thus also a visible word."[4] How water is the element for the first sacrament of the New Law, the first sacrament of initiation into the mystical body, was typified in the Old Law by the Deluge and also by the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea. This latter account from the Book of Exodus was sung during the Easter vigil in Africa, and commented on by Augustine in a sermon preached on Easter eve, as well as in another sermon devoted to the exegesis of the Old Testament.[5] In his writings against the Pelagians and also in a number of his sermons, Augustine likes to use one of his favorite expressions: "massa perditionis," the mass of perdition, that is, the accursed and condemned mass of men, by which phrase he likens all humanity to a huge invalid stretched helpless over the entire face of the earth. God in His goodness has taken pity on this invalid, this broken mass, and has chosen a number of the elect whom He has formed into a new mass, which is the mystical body. Baptism is the means of entering into this new mass, the Church of Christ. Our Lord's holiness is our holiness, giving us new life, new strength. This we receive through baptism in the death of Christ. Augustine says: "All that happened on the cross, at His burial, in His resurrection on the third day, in His ascent into heaven, and when He took His place at the right hand of the Father, all happened in such a way as to prefigure...the Christian life that we are leading today."[6] In ourselves we are many, in Christ we are one, one Son, one Shepherd. "What is the Church? She is the body of Christ. Join to it the head, and you have one man.... And what is His body? It is His spouse, namely, the Church."[7] So close is this union that through it we become Christ. "Let us rejoice and give thanks, for not only are we become Christians, but we are become Christ. My brethren, do you understand the grace of God that is given us?"[8] Such, in the infinite mercy of God, is the new life bestowed by His Son in the Easter mystery. Because of our solidarity with Christ, we share also in His priesthood. We owe much to Augustine for his development of the doctrine of the universal priesthood of Christians. He placed the origin of this priesthood in baptism, as symbolized by the post- baptismal anointing on the crown of the head. To have a share in Christ's redemptive work is also to have a share in His high-priestly dignity and power. In explaining the words of the Apocalypse, "They shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years,"[9] he wrote: "This is not spoken of bishops and priests alone, who are properly called priests in the Church. But since all are called the anointed on account of the mystic chrism, so all are called priests, because they are members of the one Priest."[10] The metaphor of light applied to Christ who is the Light of the world and the Sun of Justice, applied also to Christians who are the enlightened, and applied to grace which is the light of the soul, is found frequently in the New Testament. The fathers of the Church made generous use of this metaphor, likening the descent of Jesus into hell to the setting of the sun and His resurrection to the rising sun. Christ, then, is the great light appearing to the baptized, the true sun which enlightens the new children of the Church with its life and warmth. With this metaphor in mind, Augustine explains to the newly baptized on Easter eve that baptism is also an illumination of the soul: These newborn infants, whom you see outwardly clothed in robes of white, have been made clean inwardly, and they who were heretofore darkness, immured in the black night of their sins, are now resplendent in soul, as their spotless apparel signifies. Now that they have been purified in the laver of forgiveness, washed in the fountain of wisdom, and suffused with the light of justice, it is fitting that we sing, "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice therein."[11] The passage from death to life is understood by the Church as a profound mystery of light. To us who were buried in darkness and immured in the shadows of death a light has flashed forth from heaven, purer than the sun. All who fall under its rays are filled with its divine life. One of Augustine's longest Easter sermons is devoted to the Song of Songs, which sings the theme of Christ's marriage with His bride, the Church.[12] The symbolic application of this scriptural passage to the sacrament of baptism is often dwelt on by the fathers, in particular by Cyril of Jerusalem and even more at length by St. Ambrose.[13] Baptism is the mystery of the soul's marriage with its divine Bridegroom, for the soul must first be washed clean before she can be clothed in her bridal raiment, preparatory to sitting down to the wedding banquet of the Eucharist at the side of her Spouse, preparatory to being led into the nuptial bower by the Spouse. From the custom prevailing in the Orient and in Africa as well of taking a bath before the nuptial festivities, the Christians of old were quick to see the analogy. Cyril of Jerusalem takes the words of the Sulamite woman in the Song of Songs, "I have put off my garment; how shall I put it on?"[14] and refers them to the ancient rite of laying aside one's old garment before entering the baptismal font, and putting on the white tunic on coming forth from the saving waters.[15] Whoever has put off his old garment in baptism, that is, the old man of sin, may not be clothed thereafter in the vesture of the onetime sinful man, but must wear the white robe of grace in which he has been vested for his mystical marriage with Christ, and which resembles the raiment white as snow of the risen Savior. If we accept the wisdom of the fathers, as they understood realistically St. Paul's inspired thinking, baptism, and the other sacraments for that matter, will cease to be regarded as some kind of purification and sanctification merely of the present moment. Rather it will be appreciated in all its might and splendor as the mystery of Christ which associates the subject with the incarnation and redemption, transforming and glorifying him in the stream of divine life which he has entered as a new member of the primal sacrament: Christ and His Church. As the external rite of baptizing readily demonstrates: baptism implants the person in Christ's death and resurrection and thus effects incorporation (the water and the Trinitarian invocation), it fills him with the Holy Spirit and anoints and consecrates for participation in the priesthood of Christ (anointing with chrism), it envelops him in Christ's glory and immortality (clothing with white garment), it plants the seed of everlasting transfiguration and illumination (presenting of lighted candle). All this is the objective fact of baptism and the work of God. Before God's action can take place, however, the Church, as the spouse of Christ, must concur in the divine work, and the candidate for baptism must be predisposed, as reasonable and willing clay, to be fashioned by the hand of Christ and His Church as a new communicant in the body of the faithful. We have mentioned above, in the introduction to the sacraments, that the disposition of faith and will are supplied by the Church in the case of children. But when it is a question of a responsible adult, preparation of intellect and will is a necessary preliminary. "What do you ask of the Church of God? Faith.... Will you be baptized? I will." In order to understand the rite of administering baptism, one must be aware that the rite as it now stands is a composite of prayers and ceremonies originally performed in successive steps over a long period of time. The first contact with Jesus Christ is a psychological one--by faith; and faith must inevitably lead up to the sacrament prescribed for complete assimilation in Him: "He who believes and is baptized shall be saved."[16] Faith comes from hearing. "For Moses said: 'A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up to you of your brethren, like to me. Him you shall hear according to all things whatsoever He shall speak to you. And it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.'"[17] And it is the Church who is empowered and enjoined by its prophet, Christ, to unfold to men the gospel narration, the perfect revelation of the Almighty by means of the incarnation, with the ensuing obligations imposed on us. The work of salvation is from first to last the work of God, who by a loving gift of grace moves man to seek Him, supplies the grace of coming to faith, and leads him to the portals of holy Mother Church to receive from her the full and true faith which leads to life everlasting. Yet it is now left to the one God has chosen whether he accept the Gospel with his mind and with his heart: "If then you will inherit life, keep the commandments: love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole mind, and your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depends the whole law and the prophets. And faith demands that you worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity, neither confusing the Persons nor making a distinction in their nature. For the Father is a distinct Person; and so is the Son; and so is the Holy Spirit. Yet the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit possess one Godhead, co-equal glory, co-eternal majesty."[18] For although the sacraments as instruments of God are His objective operation, they are ever the respecter of the subject's dignity as a person and of his personal responsibility. Then, only after he makes the assent of faith and turns in repentance from sin to embrace the commandments, will the sacrament elevate him to union with God. During the period of preparation, when grace is illuminating the intellect to see Christ's revelation in a favorable light and is inclining the will to surrender to its attraction, the Church stands by both as mystagogue to explain the mystery of Christian initiation and as sanctifier to come to the assistance of the candidate by administering efficacious sacramentals. Along with her preaching or catechizing, she lifts up her voice in manifold supplications to God for the sake of her chosen one; she performs her exorcisms to drive afar Satan with his apostate legions; signs the bodily senses with the power of the holy cross; conserves and nourishes with the blessed salt; opens the ears to hear the good news of the Christian Gospel and looses the tongue[19] to proclaim its glorious salvation; imparts strength and litheness through anointing with oil of catechumens. It would require much space to do justice to these richly symbolic and impressive ceremonies; moreover, they must be considered in their historical setting before any attempt at an adequate exposition can be achieved. Yet we perceive, in this cursory reference to the preparatory acts which precede baptism, that even here the work of Christ and His Church is primary--man's part secondary. Immediately following baptism of an adult, it is the wish of the Church (rubric no. 52) that confirmation be conferred on him, provided a bishop is present who may lawfully do so, and that the Eucharist be offered and holy communion received by the neophyte. The interchange of life--Christ in us and we in Him--established through baptism is strengthened and perfected by further reception of the other sacraments, above all by the Eucharist. The one baptized is like a newborn babe of God crying out for the perfection of the Holy Spirit's indwelling with His gifts, which confirmation confers in complement to the divine work already initiated. But the newborn of God still hungers for the supersubstantial food--he desires to be nourished with the body and blood of Jesus. And when this longing for the Eucharist is sated, then perfect incorporation in the mystic Christ has been accomplished and the symbol of Calvary has been made actual for him--he has entered into the paschal mystery by water and by blood. --Translator ENDNOTES 1. Jn 12.24. 2. Rom 6.3-5. 3. Jn 15.3. 4. "Tractatus in Joan." 80.3. 5. "Sermon 363.2" (ML 39.1635). 6. "Enchiridion" 53 (ML 40.257) 7. "Sermon" 45 (ML 38.265). 8. "Trac. in Joan." 21 (ML 35.1568). 9. Apoc 20.6. 10. "De civitate Dei" 20, CSEL 40.455. 11. "Sermon" 223 (ML 223) 12. Sermon 138 (ML 183). 13. "De mysteriis" 9.55 f. 14. 5.3. 15. "Catecheses Mystagogicae". 16. Mk 16.16. 17. Acts 3.22-23. 18. Rite for baptism of adults. 19. It used to be the tongue that was touched with spittle, not the nostrils. PART II. THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM CHAPTER I: RULES FOR ADMINISTERING BAPTISM 1. That holy baptism, the gateway to the Christian religion and to eternal life, holding as it does the first place among the sacraments instituted by Christ for the New Covenant, is necessary for salvation for all, either in act or desire, is testified by the divine Truth Himself in these words: "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (Jn 3.5). Therefore, the greatest concern is to be exercised for its correct and timely administration and reception. 2. In the administration of this sacrament, certain things are absolutely necessary by divine law, such as the matter, form, and minister. Others pertain to its solemnity, such as the rites and ceremonies received and approved by ancient and apostolic tradition; yet even these may not be omitted except in case of necessity. Regarding all this, let certain points be remarked at the outset, so that the sacred function may be carried out with exactitude and devotion. 3. When baptism is administered with all the rites and ceremonies prescribed in this Ritual, it is called solemn; otherwise it is non- solemn or private. The Matter for Baptism 4. First of all a pastor will understand that since the matter for this sacrament is real natural water, no other liquid may be used. 5. The water for solemn baptism is that which has been blessed on the preceding vigil of Easter, and carefully preserved in a clean font to keep it pure. If new baptismal water is to be blessed, the old should be poured into the sacrarium in the sacristy, or preferably the sacrarium of the baptistery. 6. If the baptismal water has so diminished that it is foreseen it will not suffice, unblessed water may be added even repeatedly, but in lesser quantity than the blessed each time this is done. If it becomes contaminated or has leaked out or in any way is deficient, the pastor will see to it that the font is thoroughly cleansed and replenished with fresh water, and proceed to bless it according to the form given below. 7. If the water has frozen it should be thawed. But if it is partly frozen or too cold a smaller quantity of unblessed warm water may be mixed with some baptismal water in a special container, and this tepid mixture used in baptizing, thereby preventing injury to the infant. The Form for Baptism 8. The form for baptism is as follows: I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and it is absolutely essential. In no circumstance can it be altered, and these words must be pronounced simultaneously with the pouring of the water. 9. A priest of the Latin rite must always use the Latin form. Since baptism may positively never be repeated, if one is to be baptized conditionally (see below), the condition is expressed in these words: If you are not baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father, etc. This conditional form should not be chosen lightly or without consideration, but the decision must be made prudently, and only in a case where, after careful investigation, a reasonable doubt exists as to whether the sacrament of baptism had been truly or validly administered. 10. Although baptism can be administered validly by pouring the water or by immersion or by sprinkling, nevertheless, one should adhere to the first method or the second, or to the mixed form of these two, whichever is the more common practice and in harmony with the custom of the particular rite. The water is to be poured on the head with a triple ablution (or the head is to be immersed three times), each time in the form of a cross, saying the words simultaneously. The same person must both pour the water and pronounce the words. 11. If baptism takes place by infusion, care must be taken that the water does not fall back into the font from the infant's head. It should either fall into the sacrarium of the baptistery or into a special basin provided for that purpose, and in the latter case this water will be emptied later in the sacrarium of the baptistery or of the church. The Minister of Baptism 12. A priest is the ordinary minister of solemn baptism. But its administration is reserved to the pastor, or to another priest who has the pastor's permission or that of the local Ordinary. Even one who travels about should receive solemn baptism from his own pastor and in his own parish, if there is no difficulty from delay or inconvenience; otherwise any pastor within his own territory may confer solemn baptism upon a wanderer. 13. Without proper permission, a priest is not allowed to confer solemn baptism in territory other than his own, even upon his own subjects. 14. In a diocese or territory where no parishes or quasi-parishes have been established, the question as to which priest (the Ordinary excepted) has the right to baptize within the whole territory or a part thereof must be decided from particular statutes and accepted customs. 15. A deacon is the extraordinary minister of solemn baptism. He may not, however, use his power without the consent of the Ordinary or the pastor--such permission being granted for a just cause, and lawfully presumed when necessity urges. 16. In danger of death non-solemn baptism can be administered by anyone as long as he uses the proper form and matter and has the right intention. If possible two witnesses or at least one should be present so that the baptism can be proved. A priest if available should be preferred to a deacon, a deacon to a subdeacon, a cleric to a laic, a man to a woman, unless for the sake of modesty it is more fitting that the woman baptize rather than the man, or because the woman might know the form and method better than the man. Father or mother are not permitted to baptize their child, except when in danger of death no one else can be had who could baptize. 17. It should be a pastor's concern that the faithful, particularly midwives, doctors, and surgeons be thoroughly instructed in the correct manner of baptizing in a case of necessity. 18. Baptism of adults should be referred to the local Ordinary if convenient, so that he himself if he so desires or another delegated by him may administer it with greater solemnity. Baptism of Children 19. In regard to baptism: (a) classed as children or infants are such who have not yet attained the use of reason, and likewise the feeble-minded from infancy, no matter what their age; (b) reckoned as adults are all who have the use of reason; and to be admitted to baptism it suffices that an adult requests it of his own accord. 20. No child is to be baptized while still enclosed in the mother's womb, as long as there is a probable hope that it can be properly brought forth and then baptized. If only the head of the child has come forth and there is danger of its dying, it should be baptized on the head; if afterward it is born and lives, baptism may not be repeated conditionally. If another member of the body makes its appearance and there is danger of death, the baptism should be conferred conditionally upon that member; if the child lives after birth it must be rebaptized conditionally. Should a mother die in confinement, the fetus should be extracted by those obliged thereto by their profession, and if there is a certainty that it lives, it should be baptized absolutely, otherwise conditionally. A fetus baptized while in the mother's womb must be rebaptized conditionally after birth. 21. One should see to it that every abortive fetus, no matter of what period, be baptized absolutely if it is certainly alive. If there is doubt about its being alive, it should be baptized conditionally. 22. A monster or abnormal fetus should in every case be baptized at least with the following expressed condition: If you are a human being, I baptize you, etc. When in doubt as to whether there is one or several persons in the deformed mass, one part is to be baptized absolutely, and the others each with the condition: If you are not baptized, I baptize you, etc. 23. Foundlings should be baptized conditionally, unless there is a certainty from due investigation that they have already been baptized. 24. An infant of infidel parents may be baptized lawfully even though the parents are opposed, provided that its life is in such danger that one can reasonably foresee it may die before attaining the use of reason. Outside the case of danger of death, it may lawfully be baptized, provided its Catholic rearing is guaranteed, as in the following two cases: (a) if parents or guardians or at least one of them consent; (b) if parents, i.e., father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, or guardians do not exist, or if they have lost their right over the child or are unable to exercise it. 25. Generally, the norms stated in the preceding rubric are to be applied to baptism of infants whose parents belong to a heretical or schismatic sect, or of Catholic parents who have lapsed into apostasy, heresy, or schism. The Rites and Ceremonies of Baptism 26. Baptism should be administered solemnly, except in the case provided for in rubric no. 28 below. The local Ordinary may for weighty and plausible reasons permit the ceremonies prescribed for infant baptism to be used in the baptism of adults. 27. Children must be baptized in the rite of the parents. If one parent belongs to the Latin rite, the other to an Oriental rite, the child should be baptized in the rite of the father, unless some special law provides otherwise. If only one parent is Catholic, the child is to be baptized in the rite of the Catholic party. 28. In danger of death private baptism is permissible, and, if the minister is neither priest nor deacon, he does merely what is required for validity. When private baptism is conferred by a priest or by a deacon, if time permits the ceremonies which follow the act of baptizing should be added. Outside the danger of death the local Ordinary may not permit private baptism, except in the case of adult heretics who are to be baptized conditionally. The ceremonies which for any reason were omitted in the administration of baptism should be added later in church as soon as possible, except in the case of adult heretics who have received private baptism conditionally with the permission of the Ordinary, as stated above. 29. When baptism is repeated conditionally, the ceremonies which were omitted in the former baptism should be supplied. provided this will not run contrary to anything prescribed in rubric no. 28. But if they were used in the former baptism, they may be repeated or omitted. 30. A pastor should see to it that the person baptized is given a Christian name. If he does not succeed in this, he must add the name of a saint to the one chosen by the parents, and inscribe both in the baptismal register. The Sponsors 31. In accordance with ancient ecclesiastical custom, no one should be solemnly baptized unless he has a sponsor, provided this is possible. Even in private baptism a sponsor should assist if one can easily be had. If there was no sponsor at the private baptism, one should be used at the time when the ceremonies are supplied, in which case the sponsor contracts no spiritual relationship. 32. When baptism is repeated conditionally, the same sponsor who was present at the first baptism should assist if possible; apart from this case, no sponsor is required in conditional baptism. In a baptism repeated conditionally, neither the sponsor who was present at the first baptism nor the one assisting now contracts a spiritual relationship, unless the sponsor was the same in both instances. 33. There should be only one sponsor (who may be of different sex from the one baptized); or at most two may be employed, a man and a woman. 34. To validly act as sponsor it is required: (a) that the person is baptized, has attained the use of reason, and has the intention of acting in this capacity; (b) that he does not belong to a heretical or schismatic sect, is not excommunicated whether by condemnatory or declaratory sentence, nor legally infamous, debarred from legal acts, nor a deposed or degraded cleric; (c) and that the person is not the father, mother, or spouse of the one baptized; (d) that he is chosen by the one baptized, or by the parents, guardians, or, if these are wanting, by the minister; (e) that during the act of baptizing the sponsor (or his proxy) physically hold or touch the one baptized, or immediately lift him out of the water, or take him into his arms from the font or from the hands of the minister. 35. To lawfully act as sponsor it is required: (a) that he has reached the age of fourteen, unless the minister sees fit to admit a younger person for some valid reason; (b) that he is not excommunicated for a notorious crime, nor excluded from legal acts, nor legally infamous (even though no sentence has been issued to that effect), nor interdicted, nor a public criminal, nor infamous in fact; (c) that he knows the rudiments of the faith; (d) that he is neither a novice nor a professed religious, unless necessity urges it and the sponsor has the express permission from at least the local superior; (e) that he is not in sacred orders, unless he has the express permission of the Ordinary. 36. When in doubt as to whether a person may validly or lawfully be permitted to act as sponsor, the pastor should consult the Ordinary if time allows. 37. Only the minister and the sponsor contract a spiritual relationship from baptism with the one baptized. 38. It is the duty of sponsors by reason of their position ever to regard their godchild as a personal charge, and in all that pertains to his Christian upbringing to watch over him faithfully, so that in his whole life he may prove himself true to the promises which they once solemnly spoke for him. The Time and Place for Administering Baptism 39. Infants should be baptized as soon as possible, and pastors and other priests when preaching should frequently warn the faithful of their serious obligation in this respect. 40. Private baptism when necessity demands may be conferred at any time and in any place. 41. Solemn baptism, too, may be administered on any day. In harmony with earliest ecclesiastical discipline, baptism of adults ought to be conferred if convenient on the vigils of Easter and Pentecost, especially in cathedral or metropolitan churches. 42. The proper place for administering solemn baptism is the baptistery in a church or public oratory. 43. Every parish church should have a baptismal font, and all contrary statutes, privileges, or customs are reprobated and revoked; without impairing, however, the legitimate cumulative right already claimed by other churches. The local Ordinary can permit or command that a baptismal font be placed in another church or public oratory even within the parish boundaries, if it will serve the convenience of the faithful. 44. When distance or other circumstances make it extremely inconvenient or dangerous to bring the candidate for baptism to the parish church or to another which has the right to a baptismal font, the pastor may, in fact, must, administer solemn baptism in the nearest church or public oratory within the parish limits, even though it has no baptismal font. 45. Solemn baptism may not be administered in private homes, except in the following circumstances: (a) when the persons to be baptized are children or grandchildren of such persons as hold the supreme position of government or have the right of succession to the throne, provided this privilege is duly requested; (b) when the Ordinary, after prudent and conscientious deliberation, judges that it should be allowed in some extraordinary case for a just and worthy reason. In the cases cited the baptism is to be administered in the chapel of the home or at least in a suitable room, and duly blessed baptismal water is to be used. 46. The baptismal font should be constructed in a becoming style and located in a proper place. It should be made of solid material (such as will keep in the water), properly decorated, secured with lock and key, and fastened so that dust and dirt cannot penetrate. The baptistery should have a grill or should be railed off. If possible a representation of the baptism of Christ by St. John should be painted or placed in the baptistery. The Holy Oils and Other Requisites 47. Holy chrism and the oil of catechumens used in baptism must have been consecrated by the bishop on the preceding Holy Thursday. Older oils may not be used except in case of necessity. 48. The pastor must see to it that he obtains immediately the newly consecrated oils from his Ordinary, and thereupon he burns the old oils in church (in the sanctuary lamp). 49. If the consecrated oils do not suffice, then other non-consecrated olive oil is added, but in lesser quantity than the consecrated each time this happens. 50. Holy chrism and oil of catechumens should be preserved in individual vessels of silver or at least of pewter, and be kept properly sealed. These vessels should have each a distinct style, and should be marked with capital letters to avoid every error. 51. For daily use smaller containers made of silver if possible or of pewter should be employed. These may be either separate or joined together, yet properly covered and easily distinguishable. Each one should have its individual mark as noted above, so that the priest may not mistake one for the other. 52. Into these latter as much chrism and oil of catechumens as required is poured from the larger vessels, and it is advisable to provide the separate containers of the oilstock with a little cotton or similar material to absorb the oils. This will prevent the danger of leakage, and at the same time when pressed with the thumb will yield enough for the anointings. 53. These vessels should be reverently reserved in church in a special place (compartment) which is decent and clean, and kept under lock and key. Thus they will be safely guarded from improper handling by anyone except a priest, as well as from sacrilegious misuse. The pastor ought not to keep them in the rectory, unless some necessity and serious reason warrants, and then only with the permission of the Ordinary. 54. As far as possible let it be the pastor's concern that the holy oils be fetched by himself, some other priest, or at least by a cleric, and not by a lay person. Let him beware also of ever giving any of the holy oils to anybody, no matter under what pretext. 55. The salt which is to be put into the mouth of the candidate for baptism must be blessed with its own special form as designated later in the rite for baptism. Nor is salt thus blessed to be used at the blessing of water. It should first be reduced to fine granules, and kept clean and dry. Salt thus blessed should not be given to anybody, nor even returned to anybody who may have brought it for the blessing, but it should be saved exclusively for baptism or thrown into the sacrarium. 56. Therefore, when the sacrament of baptism is about to be conferred, the following articles should be at hand: 57. The vessels containing oil of catechumens and chrism. 58. A vessel containing the salt to be blessed, or some already blessed, as stated before. 59. A clean vessel or a ladle made of silver or other metal for pouring the baptismal water on the head of the one who is being baptized; and this vessel should be used for no other purpose. 60. A basin or cup to receive the water which flows down from the head of the baptized, unless it falls directly into the sacrarium. 61. Cotton or similar material to be used for wiping the parts anointed with the holy oils. 62. Two stoles if readily available, one purple and the other white, to be exchanged as noted below; otherwise at least one stole should be provided; and for more solemn baptism also two copes of corresponding colors. 63. A piece of bread with which to remove the oil from the priest's fingers when he washes his hands; moreover, a basin for washing the hands after baptism, and this should not be used for other purposes. 64. A white garment in the form of :l little mantle, or a small piece of white linen to be placed on the infant's head. 65. A waxen torch or wax candle which shall be burning when given to the baptized. 66. Lastly, the ritual should be in readiness and also the baptismal register in which the names of the baptized are inscribed. 67. Everything being prepared, the priest washes his hands, puts on a surplice and purple stole, and proceeds to the administration of this great sacrament. He should be assisted by one cleric or more if possible, who are likewise vested in surplice. 68. Thus vested the priest advances to the threshold of the church. The people with the child should be waiting outdoors. 69. He ascertains, unless this information is already known to him, whether the candidate belongs to his parish, its sex, whether it had been baptized at home and by whom and in what manner, and he inquires who will act as sponsors. The latter he instructs to assist with due reverence and to answer the interrogations for the candidate. 70. Since a name is given to those who through baptism are to become children of God, newly born in Christ and enrolled in His service, let the priest see to it that ugly, notorious, or ridiculous names are not imposed, nor those of false deity or heathen profligates. Rather let names of the saints be selected as far as possible, whose example the faithful may devoutly imitate and to whose patronage they are entrusted. 71. Everything being provided for and the name approved, with the one who is to be baptized, if a child, resting on the right arm of the person holding it, the pastor proceeds with the baptism according to the rite which follows. N.B. These additional rules occur in the "Collectio Rituum" both for Germany and the U. S.: a. the baptistery may be decorated and the church bells may be rung; b. a more solemn baptism is one attended by a number of the faithful; c. the priest and his assistants first come to the altar and there offer a prayer before proceeding with the rite; d. the people present should participate in all the responses, the Creed, the Lord's prayer, and in the singing, if there is such. CHAPTER II: RITE FOR BAPTISM OF CHILDREN AT THE DOOR OF THE CHURCH Reception of the Child {Having versed himself in all the preparatory rules given above, the priest meets the child at the entrance or in the narthex of the church. It must be kept in mind that the formulary for baptism of a child is simply an abridgment of that for an adult. In olden times baptism of adults was not administered in one continuous ceremony but in stages spread out over a period of time, and not all of these took place within the sacred edifice. The first five steps given here reproduce in outline the onetime ceremonies of enrolling a catechumen.} 1. The priest says the greeting: Peace be with you. He then asks the name of the child (if several are to be baptized he asks the name of each one): Priest: What is your name? Sponsors: N. {From the beginning the Church has proclaimed to men the good news of salvation in Christ. And from one who wants the benefit of the good news the response of faith is demanded. To ask for baptism is first of all to ask for the faith of the Church. In the following brief dialogue between priest and subject is summed up the chief content of Christian life, of which faith is the foundation, everlasting life the goal, and love of God and of neighbor the means. The priest's role in the sacrament is pointed up here, that of representative of Christ and the Church, the role he plays from start to finish of the sacramental action.} P (to each): N., what are you asking of God's Church? Sponsors: Faith. P (to each): What does faith hold out to you? Sponsors: Everlasting life. 2. P (to each): If, then, you wish to inherit everlasting life, keep the commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." {The next ceremony and all the following exorcisms in the rite are designed to free the subject from the power of Satan, who has this power in view of original sin. The signification is accomplished by an exhaling of breath, as to blow away something, or figuratively, the act of dispelling the evil spirit.} 3. The priest thrice breathes softly in the face of the child (each one singly), and follows up the gesture with these words: Depart from him (her), unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Advocate. {By the cross Christ takes possession of the mind and heart of the child, fitting him to become a temple of the Blessed Trinity, and imposing on him the obligation of belief and observance of the commandments. The sign of the cross used here and throughout the rite is indicative of the essential fact that the sacrament has its efficacy from the paschal sacrifice of Jesus.} 4. With his thumb the priest traces the sign of the cross on the brow and on the breast of the child, saying (to each): Receive the sign of the cross on your + brow and on your + heart. Put your whole trust in the heavenly teachings. And lead a life that will truly fit you to be a dwelling place for God. {It is the express wish of the Church that opportunity be given to all who assist at her sacred functions to participate actively as far as possible (cfr. "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy"). From here on all are to say the parts marked all for them.} Then he adds this prayer: For one: Let us pray. Lord, if it please you, hear our prayer, and by your inexhaustible power protect your chosen one, N., now marked with the sign of our Savior's holy cross. Let him (her) treasure this first sharing of your sovereign glory, and by keeping your commandments deserve to attain the glory of heaven to which those born anew are destined; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. For several: Let us pray. Lord, if it please you, hear our prayer, and by your inexhaustible power protect your chosen ones, N. and N., now marked with the sign of our Savior's holy cross. Let them treasure this first sharing of your sovereign glory, and by keeping your commandments deserve to attain the glory of heaven to which those born anew are destined; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. {Laying on of hands is a symbol with a variety of meanings. Here it is an act of appropriation. The Church acknowledges or claims the child as her own, places a protecting hand on him, and commends him to God.} 5. The priest lays his hand on the head of the child (on each one singly), after which he holds his hand outstretched and says: (In the act of supplying ceremonies after a private baptism, notice that there are two changes of wording in the prayer below. Consult the footnotes). For one: Let us pray. Almighty, everlasting God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look with favor on your servant, N., whom it has[1] pleased you to call to this first step in the faith. Rid him (her) of all inward blindness. Sever all snares of Satan which heretofore bound him (her). Open wide for him (her), Lord, the door to your fatherly love. May the seal of your wisdom so penetrate him (her) as to cast out all tainted and foul inclinations, and let in the fragrance of your lofty teachings. Thus shall he (she) serve you gladly in your Church and grow daily more perfect;[2] through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. For several: Let us pray. Almighty, everlasting God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, look with favor on your servants, N. and N., whom it has[1] pleased you to call to this first step in the faith. Rid them of all inward blindness. Sever all snares of Satan which heretofore bound them. Open wide for them, Lord, the door to your fatherly love. May the seal of your wisdom so penetrate them, as to cast out all tainted and foul inclinations, and let in the fragrance of your lofty teachings. Thus shall they serve you gladly in your Church and grow daily more perfect;[2] through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. The Blessing of Salt {Salt is a condiment meant to flavor foods and also preserve them. Among some peoples it is given to a newly arrived guest in sign of hospitality and friendship. Among the Hebrews it was eaten to symbolize the binding nature of a compact. Christ told the Apostles: "You are the salt of the earth" (Mt 5.13). As salt acts on food to preserve it and keep it from spoiling, Christ's followers are to influence the world for good and to preserve from corruption the truths He taught them. In the rite of baptism salt is especially a symbol of wisdom--that the subject be given a relish for heavenly doctrine; and a symbol of a blessed immortality--that he be preserved from final corruption. In the ancient rite the first stage, enrolling of catechumens, terminated with the giving of blessed salt.} 6. The priest blesses salt, which once blessed may serve for future baptisms;* (unless he is to use salt that already has been blessed). God's creature, salt, I cast out the demon from you, in the name of God + the Father almighty, in the love of our Lord Jesus + Christ, and in the strength of the Holy + Spirit. I purify you by the living God, the true God, the holy God, by God who created you to be a preservative for mankind, and ordered you to be sanctified by His ministers for the benefit of the people who are about to embrace the faith. In the name of the Blessed Trinity may you become a saving sign empowered to drive away the enemy. Therefore, we beg you, Lord, our God, to sanctify + and to bless + this creature, salt, thus providing a perfect remedy for all who receive it, one that will permeate their inmost being. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire. All: Amen. * When a deacon administers baptism he uses salt already blessed by a priest.--Trans. 7. The priest puts a pinch of the blessed salt in the mouth of the child (to each one), saying as he does so: N., take this salt in sign of wisdom. May it be for you likewise a token that foreshadows everlasting life. All: Amen. Priest: Peace be with you. All: And also with you. {In the next prayer there is an allusion to the Eucharist, the "heavenly nourishment" the child will receive after he is baptized.} The priest then adds this prayer: For one: Let us pray. God of our fathers, God, source of all truth, we humbly ask you to be well disposed to your servant, N. After this first[3] taste of salt, let his (her) hunger for heavenly nourishment not be prolonged but soon be satisfied. For then he (she) will always pay homage to your holy name with fervor, joy, and trust.[4] In your tender care, O Lord, lead him (her) to the bath of water where one is born over again, so that taken into the family of your faithful he (she) can finally attain the everlasting reward which you have promised; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. For several: Let us pray. God of our fathers, God, source of all truth, we humbly ask you to be well disposed to your servants, N. and N. After this first[3] taste of salt, let their hunger for heavenly nourishment not be prolonged but soon be satisfied. For then they will always pay homage to your holy name with fervor, joy, and trust.[4] In your tender care, O Lord, lead them to the bath of water where one is born over again, so that taken into the family of your faithful they can finally attain the everlasting reward which you have promised; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Exorcism of the Subject {In early times the catechumen had at this stage advanced to the rank of a petitioner. He continued with his instructions, was examined, and was subjected to the first scrutinies. Elements of the ancient rite are here preserved, especially in the solemn exorcism that follows. The priest now uses the power of exorcism received from Christ to free the person from the tyranny of Satan and to fit him throughout life for the whole Christian warfare against sin. The ancient enemy of mankind seeks to dispute with the Son of God for the possession of a man's soul. But in this confrontation Jesus is victorious as He was when once Himself tempted in the desert.} The priest says: I cast you out, unclean spirit, in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Spirit. Depart and stay far away from this servant (these servants) of God, N. (N. and N.). For it is the Lord Himself who commands you, accursed and doomed spirit, He who walked on the sea and reached out His hand to Peter as he was sinking. So then, foul fiend, recall the curse that decided your fate once for all. Indeed, pay homage to the living and true God, pay homage to Jesus Christ, His Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Keep far from this servant (these servants) of God, N. (N. and N.), for Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, has freely called him (her) (them) to His holy grace and blessed way and to the waters of baptism. {Under seal of the cross the child is now given over to the custody of Christ. We recall here the words of the Apocalypse: "Then I saw another angel rising out of the East, carrying the seal of the living God; and he called aloud to the four angels who had been given the power to ravage land and sea: 'Do no damage to sea or land or trees until we have set the seal of our God upon the foreheads of His servants'" (7.2- 3).} 8. Now the priest traces the sign of the cross upon the brow of the child (on each one), saying as he does so: Never dare, accursed fiend, to desecrate this seal of the holy + cross which we imprint upon his (her) brow; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. Prayer of Enlightenment {In former times the exercises in preparation for baptism included readings from and instructions on the Holy Bible. The readings chosen were episodes or incidents from the Old Testament which prefigured baptism, such as the miraculous water of Meriba (Num 20.1-3), the cure of Naaman the leper (4 Kgs 5.1-14), and the prophecy about the restoration of Sion (Is 49.8-15); and especially the gospel accounts of the Samaritan woman (Jn 4.6-42) and the man born blind (Jn 9.1-39). These readings served to illumine the deep significance of the sacrament. The living waters of baptism give the grace both of healing and enlightenment, somewhat as our Lord once gave bodily sight to the man born blind and spiritual sight to the Samaritan woman.} For the Jews the laying on of hands was a religious rite, both in the official liturgy and in private life. There is a fine example of this in the Gospel, the occasion when little children were brought to our Lord. St. Mark tells us that "embracing them and laying hands on them He blessed them" (10.16). St. Matthew in the parallel passage adds the interesting detail that this blessing was accompanied by a prayer (19.13). 9. The priest next lays his hand on the head of the child (on each one), after which he holds his hand outstretched and says (notice the change in wording when supplying ceremonies after private baptism: consult the footnote): For one Let us pray. Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, source of light and truth, I appeal to your sacred and boundless compassion on behalf of this servant of yours, N. Be pleased to enlighten him (her) by the light of your eternal wisdom. Cleanse, sanctify, and endow him (her) with true knowledge.[5] For thus will he (she) be made ready for the grace of your baptism and ever remain steadfast, never losing hope, never faltering in duty, never straying from sacred truth; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. For several Let us pray. Holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, source of light and truth, I appeal to your sacred and boundless compassion on behalf of these servants of yours, N. and N. Be pleased to enlighten them by the light of your eternal wisdom. Cleanse, sanctify, and endow them with true knowledge.[5] For thus will they be made ready for the grace of your baptism and ever remain steadfast, never losing hope, never faltering in duty, never straying from sacred truth; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen. 10. Then the priest places the left end of his stole on the first child only and conducts him (her)--followed by the others--into the holy place; in doing so he says: Come into God's sanctuary, N. (N. and N.), where you will be given a share with Christ in everlasting life. All: Amen. INSIDE THE CHURCH EDIFICE The procession then makes its way to the baptistery. In a solemn baptism the organ may be played and hymns sung at this time. See the special music supplement for the voice and organ parts for the text given below. HYMNS Psalm 99 All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. P: Sing joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness; * come before Him singing for joy. All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. P: Know that the Lord is God. He made us, we belong to Him, * we are His people, the sheep He tends. All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. P: Enter His gates, giving thanks. Enter His courts with praise; * give thanks to Him and bless His name. All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. P: Indeed, the Lord is good; His kindness endures forever; * He is faithful from age to age. All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. P: Give glory to the Father in heaven, to His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, * to the Spirit who dwells in our hearts. All: Arise, come to your God, * sing Him your songs of rejoicing. Psalm 22 P: The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. * In verdant pastures He gives me repose. All: Beside restful waters He leads me * He refreshes my soul. P: He guides me in right paths * for His name's sake. All: Even though I walk in the dark valley * I fear no evil; for you are at my side P: With your rod and your staff * that give me courage. All: You spread the table before me * in the sight of my foes; P: You anoint my head with oil; * my cup overflows. All: Only goodness and kindness follow me * all the days of my life; P: And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord * for years to come. All: Glory be to the Father. P: As it was in the beginning. {The Church has now thrown open her doors to the child and welcomed him into God's house. The procession comes to the baptistery but halts before the gates. In the time of the catechumenate a special day in Lent was assigned for entrusting (traditio) the candidates with the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Gospels--the whole deposit of faith. The celebrant, especially if he was the bishop, commented on the Creed, article by article, and on the Lord's Prayer, petition by petition; and delivered a homily on each of the four Gospels. Having memorized the Creed and the Lord's Prayer, the candidates solemnly recited these aloud (redditio) before the celebrant on another day assigned for this ceremony. It is the latter that is being recalled in what follows.} AT THE GATES OF THE BAPTISTERY The Creed and Lord's Prayer 11. Priest: Will you please recite the Creed? All: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen. Priest: Now please say the Lord's Prayer. All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. {In early times the catechumens were called the elect at this final stage. The next rites enshrine what remains of the very impressive former rites of initiation. The great scrutiny, also called opening of ears, took place in some parts of the Church on Wednesday of the fourth week in Lent (in Rome, at St. Paul's Church). The exorcism of the Evil One, now held at the baptistery, is the final and definitive one.} 12. Having his back turned to the gates of the baptistery, the priest says (notice the change in wording when supplying ceremonies after private baptism; consult the footnote): Final Exorcism For one I cast you out, every unclean spirit, in the name of God + the Father almighty, in the name of Jesus + Christ, His Son, our Lord and judge, and in the power of the Holy + Spirit. Begone, Satan, from God's handiwork, N. Because our Lord (has) graciously called him her to His holy sanctuary, where he (she) will become a dwelling place for the living God, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of Christ our Lord, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world and the dead and the world by fire. All: Amen. For several I cast you out, every unclean spirit, in the name of God + the Father almighty, in the name of Jesus + Christ, His Son, our Lord and judge, and in the power of the Holy + Spirit. Begone, Satan, from God's handiwork, N. and N. Because our Lord has graciously called them to His holy sanctuary, where they will become a dwelling place for the living God, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of Christ our Lord, who is coming to judge both the living and the dead and the world by fire. All: Amen. Touching of the Ears and Nostrils Christ used this action and these words in healing the deaf-mute, although He actually touched the ears and mouth, not the nostrils. The change of touching the nostrils instead of the mouth was made quite early by the Church, at least by the fourth or fifth century, for we find that St. Ambrose said: "For the sake of propriety the nostrils are touched instead of the tongue." Here the action and words signify that the inner faculties are being attuned and sharpened to perceive the good news of Christ's redeeming grace and its fragrance. 13. The priest then moistens his thumb with his spittle and touches the ears and nostrils of the child (each one). The use of saliva may be omitted for reasons of hygiene, when there is fear of contracting or communicating disease (by order of Pius XII in 1944). But the ceremony itself is not omitted. He touches first the right ear then the left, saying: Ephpheta, which means: Be opened. Next touching the nostrils, he adds: And perceive the fragrance of God's loving ways. But you, evil spirit, begone, for the judgment of God has come. Threefold Renunciation of Satan {The child, through the sponsors, now publicly renounces the devil three times, corresponding to the later threefold profession of faith. In Eastern Christendom the candidates used to turn to the West, a symbol of darkness and evil and the lair of evil spirits, and actually spat in that direction to show their loathing for the father of darkness. Then they turned to the East, the region of the rising sun, that part of the world where the ancients thought Paradise was and which they also regarded as the scene of Christ's second coming, to swear allegiance to our Lord whom they called the sun of holiness. We can learn from this that baptism requires a reorientation or conversion of the whole man.} 14. The priest questions the candidate by name (each one): Priest: N., do you renounce Satan? Sponsors: I do renounce him. P: And all his works? Sponsors: I do renounce them. P: And all his attractions? Sponsors: I do renounce them. Anointing for Spiritual Combat {The Christian life is a contest and a struggle against the powers of evil. Therefore, as an athlete of Christ the baptismal candidate is anointed with oil, signifying that he is willing to engage in the contest, and that he is being given suppleness and strength for this purpose. In olden times the entire body of the candidate was anointed, in imitation of wrestlers and athletes who anointed their entire bodies with olive oil prior to entering the arena. In the present form the anointing is reduced to the chest and shoulders.} 15. The priest dips his thumb in the oil of catechumens and anoints the child (each one) in the form of a cross on the breast and on the back between the shoulders, pronouncing only once these words: I anoint + you with the oil that sanctifies in Christ Jesus our Lord, that you may have everlasting life. All: Amen. 16. Afterward he wipes his thumb and the spots anointed with cotton or similar material. 17. Remaining in the same place outside the gates of the baptistery, he exchanges the purple stole for a white one. (In a more solemn baptism he also changes the cope.) Then he enters the baptistery and so do the sponsors with the child. INSIDE THE BAPTISTERY {The candidate is now brought to the baptismal font, which the fathers call the womb of Mother Church. And from this symbolic womb the child will emerge a new creature, as St. Paul says. The font with its water has been consecrated on the previous Easter night with most impressive prayers and rites, showing that a life-giving quality has been imparted to it by the Spirit of Christ, as signified by the prayer formulas, by the act of plunging into it the paschal candle (a symbol of Christ), and by pouring in the fragrant sacred oils (also a symbol of Christ and His grace).} Final Profession of Faith {The candidate now makes a threefold profession of faith, in the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, in whose name he is to be baptized, thus showing clearly that baptism is the "sacrament of faith," as the Church's tradition refers to it.} Standing beside the font the priest puts the following questions to each one to be baptized, calling him (her) by name. The sponsors give the answers: Priest: N., do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth? Sponsors: I do believe. P: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born into this world and suffered for us? Sponsors: I do believe. P: And do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting? Sponsors: I do believe. 18. Then calling him (her) by name the priest inquires (of each one)[6] (notice the omissions when supplying ceremonies; consult the footnote): Priest: N., do you wish to be baptized? Sponsors: I do. Act of Baptizing {We come now to the most highly symbolic act of the whole rite: baptism in water which signifies and effects the cleansing of the soul, death and burial of the old life that comes from Adam, and resurrection to the new life that comes from union with Christ. No words can tell more eloquently what transpires here than these quotations from Sacred Scripture: "I will pour out on you pure water and you shall be purified. I will cleanse you of all your stains and of all your idols, and I will give you a new heart" (Ez 36.25). "Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for it, to consecrate it, cleansing it by water and word, so that He might present the Church to Himself all glorious, with no stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort, but holy and without blemish" (Eph 5.26-27). "Let us make our approach in sincerity of heart and full assurance of faith, our guilty hearts sprinkled clean, our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb 10.22). "Have you forgotten that when we were baptized into union with Jesus Christ we were baptized into His death? By baptism we were buried with Him, and lay dead, in order that, as Christ was raised from the dead in the splendor of the Father, so also we might set our feet upon the new path of life" (Rom 6.3-4). "Baptized into union with Him, you have all put on Christ as a garment" (Gal 3.27). "For in baptism you were buried with Him, in baptism also you were raised to life with Him" (Col 2.12).} 19. As the godfather or godmother (or both if two sponsors are used) holds the child, the priest takes water from the font with a ladle, pours it three times in the form of a cross on the head of the child, and while pouring pronounces only once distinctly and attentively the words: N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, + (here he pours the first time) and of the Son, + (pouring a second time) and of the Holy + Spirit (pouring a third time). 20. But where it is the custom to baptize by immersion, the priest takes the child, and handling it carefully so that it will not be injured be baptizes with a threefold immersion, pronouncing the words only once: N., I baptize you in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Spirit. 21. Forthwith the godfather or godmother (or both of them together if there are two) lifts the child from the holy font, receiving it from the priest. 22. If there is doubt whether the child has already been baptized, the following form is used: N., if you are not baptized, I baptize you in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Spirit. Anointing With Chrism {To show further that baptism identifies the Christian with Christ, the newly baptized is now anointed with the holy oil of chrism. According to long-standing tradition priests and kings are anointed with oil. Christ our High Priest and King of kings received a supernatural anointing from His heavenly Father. So also the child, newly made a Christian, is given the priestly anointing, because through baptism he shares in the priesthood of Christ; and the anointing is done on the crown of the head, because he shares likewise in the kingship of Christ. Another reason for the anointing is that baptism imprints on the soul an indelible character, marking one with the sign of membership in the Church and designating the right to participate in her worship.} 23. The priest dips his thumb in holy chrism, and in the form of a cross anoints the child (each one) on the crown of the head, saying: The almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has caused you to be born over again of water and the Holy Spirit and pardoned you all your sins. May He now anoint + you with the chrism that sanctifies in Christ Jesus our Lord, and bring you to everlasting life. All: Amen. Priest: Peace be with you. All: And also with you. The priest wipes his thumb and the place anointed with cotton. Bestowal of the White Robe {In ancient times when baptism was administered by immersion, the candidates stripped off their old garments before descending into the font, never to wear them again. Figuratively it meant putting off the old man of sin who stems from Adam. On coming out of the font after baptism they clothed themselves in new white garments in sign of their new innocence and purity; or as St. Paul says, "putting on Christ as a garment." This is reminiscent of our Lord's parable of the wedding garment. The present ceremony is a token of the onetime fuller symbolism.} 24. The priest puts a white linen cloth (in place of the white garment) on the head of the child (on each one), saying: Take this white robe and keep it spotless until you arrive at the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you may be rewarded with everlasting life. All: Amen. Bestowal of the Blessed Candle {In a final ceremony the newly baptized is presented with a lighted candle. Formerly it was a burning torch instead; and with burning torches held aloft the "newborn from the dead" marched into the church to assist for the first time at the Eucharist, singing as they went, the psalm, "I will go to the altar of God." This is reminiscent of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. The present rite points up the truth that baptism is related not only to the past--the sacrifice of Christ; not only to the present--the grace of new birth; but also to the future--the glory of the life to come.} 25. Next the priest presents a lighted candle to the newly baptized (to each one) or to the sponsors, saying: Take this burning candle as a reminder to keep your baptismal innocence. Obey God's commandments, so that when our Lord comes for the joyous wedding feast you may go forth to meet Him with all the saints in the halls of heaven, and be happy with Him forevermore. All: Amen. 26. In conclusion the priest says: Go in peace, N. (N. and N.), and may the Lord be with you. All: Amen. 27. The rite described above must be observed also by a deacon who administers solemn baptism; however, he uses salt and water blessed previously for this purpose by a priest. 28. When children of both sexes are to be baptized, during the interrogations the boys are placed to the right, the girls to the left; and everything is said as above, using the proper gender and plural number. However, the first questions, the exsufflation, the signing with the cross, the touching of the ears and nostrils with spittle, the questions concerning the renunciations, the anointing with oil of catechumens, the questions on the chief articles of the Creed, the actual baptizing, the anointing with chrism, the bestowal of the white garment and the lighted candle--each one of these ceremonies must be applied separately to each individual, beginning always with the boys and finishing with the girls. For greater convenience these matters are noted in their proper place by rubrics contained in parentheses. Thus when the term "to each person" occurs in a given rubric, it is to be understood that the words are to be said or the action performed separately for each person until the next rubric, beginning with the boys and finishing with the girls using the proper terms of gender as stated above. But if in a similar rubric the term "for all in common" occurs, it is to be understood that the words should be employed only once for all in common until the next rubric. 29. If a child or an adult is ill, and so seriously that he might die before baptism could be completed, the priest, omitting all that precedes the act of baptizing, should baptize at once with a threefold or even a single ablution in the form of a cross, saying: I baptize you, etc. If baptismal water is not available and necessity urges, the priest should use ordinary water. Then if he has chrism with him he anoints the person on the forehead, saying: "The almighty God," etc., as above, Next he places on him the white garment, saying: Take this white robe, etc., as above. Lastly, he presents the lighted candle with the words: "Take this burning candle," etc., as above. If the one thus baptized recovers, all ceremonies omitted should be supplied later. 30. When several are to be baptized in imminent danger of death. and time does not allow that each be baptized separately, the minister is permitted to baptize all at one time, pouring water on the head of each with the one form: "I baptize you in the name of the Father, + and of the Son, + and of the Holy + Spirit." However, this manner of baptizing may never be used unless danger of death renders impossible the time required to baptize each one separately. 31. The sponsors should be reminded of the spiritual relationship which they contract with the one baptized; this relationship is a diriment impediment to matrimony. 32. The pastor should admonish the parents that neither they nor a nurse should allow the child to sleep in the same bed with them, for there is danger that the child might be smothered. Rather, they should watch over the child with tender solicitude, and give it proper rearing in the Christian way of life. 33. The parents, and if necessary others responsible, are to be advised that under no condition are they to confide an infant for suckling or nursing to the care of a woman who is a Jewess, i