Dom Prosper Gueranger:
Dom Prosper Gueranger:
Dom Prosper Gueranger:
Our Jesus has organised His Church and confided to His Apostles the sacred deposit of the truths which are to form the object of our faith. We must now follow Him in another work, of equal importance to the world, and to which He gives His divine attention during these forty days: it is the institution of the Sacraments. It is not enough that we believe. We must, moreover, be made just, that is, we must bear on us the likeness of God’s holiness. We must receive, we must have incorporated within us, that great fruit of the Redemption which is called Grace, that thus being made living members of our divine Head, we may be made joint-heirs with Him of the Kingdom of heaven. Now, it is by means of the Sacraments that Jesus is to produce in us this wondrous work of our justification. He applies to us the merits of His Incarnation and Sacrifice but He applies them by certain means which He Himself, in His power and wisdom, has instituted.
Being the sovereign Master of His own gifts, He can select what means He pleases by which to convey grace to us. All we have to do is to conform to His wishes. Thus, each of the Sacraments is a law so that it is in vain that we hope for a Sacrament to produce its effects, unless we fulfil the conditions specified by our Redeemer. And here, at once, we cannot but admire that infinite goodness which has so mercifully blended two such widely distinct operations in one and the same act, namely, on the one side, the humble submission of man, and, on the other, the munificent generosity of God.
We were showing, a few days back how the Church, though a spiritual society, is also visible and exterior, because man, for whose sake the Church was formed, is a being composed of body and soul. When instituting the Sacraments our Lord assigned to each an essential rite, and this rite is outward and sensible. He made the Flesh, which He had united to His Divine Person, become the instrument of our salvation by His Passion and Death on the Cross. He redeemed us by shedding His Blood for us. So is it in the Sacraments: He follows the same mysterious plan, taking physical things as His auxiliaries in effecting the work of our justification. He raises them to a supernatural state, and makes them the faithful and all-powerful conductors of His grace, even to the most intimate depths of our soul. It is the continuation of the mystery of the Incarnation, the object of which is to raise us, by visible things, to the knowledge of things invisible. Thus is broken the pride of Satan. He despised man because he is not purely a spirit, but is spirit and matter unitedly, and he refused to pay adoration to the Word made Flesh.
Moreover, the Sacraments, being visible signs, are an additional bond of union between the members of the Church: we say additional, because these members have the two other strong links of union — submission to Peter and to the Pastors sent by him, and profession of the same faith. The Holy Ghost tells us in the Sacred Volume that a threefold cord is not easily broken (Ecclesiasticus iv. 12.). Now, we have such a one, and it keeps us in the glorious unity of the Church: — Hierarchy, Dogma and Sacraments, all contribute to make us One Body. Everywhere, from north to south, and from east to west, the Sacraments testify to the fraternity that exists amongst us. By them we know each other, no matter in what part of the globe we may be, and by the same we are known by heretics and infidels. These divine Sacraments are the same in every country, however much the liturgical formulae of their administration may differ. They are the same in the graces they produce, they are the same in the signs by which grace is produced, in a word, they are the same in all the essentials.
Our Risen Jesus would have the Sacraments be Seven. As, at the beginning, He stamped the Creation of the visible world with this sacred number, giving six days to work and one to rest — so, too, would He mark the great spiritual creation. He tells us in the Old Testament that Wisdom (that is, Himself — for He is the Eternal Wisdom of the Father), will build to Himself a House, which is the Church. And He adds that He will make it rest on seven pillars (Proverbs ix. 1) He gives us a type of this same Church in the Tabernacle built by Moses, and he orders a superb Candlestick, to be provided for the giving light, by day and night, to the holy place. But there were to be seven branches to the Candlestick, and on each branch were to be graven flowers and fruits (Exodus xxv. 37). When He raises His beloved Disciple to Heaven, He shows Himself to him surrounded by seven candlesticks, and holding seven stars in His right hand (Apocalypse i. 12, 16.) He appears to him as a Lamb, bearing seven horns (which are the symbol of strength), and having seven eyes (which signify His infinite wisdom) (Apocalypse v. 6) Near Him lies a Book in which is written the future of the world. The Book is sealed with seven seals, and none but the Lamb is able to loose them (Apocalypse v. 1, 5). The Disciple sees seven Spirits, burning like lamps, before the throne of God, (Apocalypse viii. 2) ready to do His biddings, and carry His word to the extremities of the earth.
Turning our eyes to the kingdom of Satan, we see him mimicking God’s work and setting up a seven of his own. Seven capital and deadly sins are the instruments by which he makes man his slave, and our Saviour tells us that when Satan has been defeated, and would regain a soul, he brings with him seven of the wickedest spirits of Hell. We read in the Gospel that Jesus drove seven devils out of Mary Magdalene. When God’s anger bursts upon the world immediately before the coming of the dread Judge, He will announce the approach of His chastisements by seven trumpets sounded by seven Angels, (Apocalypse iv. 5) and seven other Angels will then pour out upon the guilty earth seven vials filled with the wrath of God (Apocalypse xvi. 1).
We, therefore, who are resolved to make sure our election. Who desire to possess the grace of our Risen Jesus in this life, and to enjoy His vision in the next, oh! let us reverence and love this merciful Seven-fold, these admirable Sacraments! Under this sacred number, He has included all the varied riches of His grace. There is not a want or necessity, either of souls individually, or of society at large, for which our Redeemer has not provided by these seven sources of regeneration and life. He calls us from death to life by Baptism and Penance. He strengthens us in that supernatural life by Confirmation, the Eucharist and Extreme Unction. He secures to His Church both Ministry and increase by Holy Orders and Matrimony. The seven Sacraments supply everything needed. Take one away, and you destroy the harmony. The Churches of the East — though severed, now for long ages, from Catholic unity — retain all seven: and when Protestantism broke the sacred number, it showed in this, as in all its other pretended reformations, that it was estranging itself from the spirit of the Christian Religion. No: the doctrine of the Sacraments is one that cannot be denied without denying the true Faith. If we would be members of God’s Church, we must receive this doctrine as coming from Him, who has a right to insist on our humble submission to His every word. It is to the soul which thus believes, that the Sacraments appear in all their divine beauty and power: we understand, because we believe. Credite, et intelligetis! It is the fulfilment of the text from Isaias, as rendered by the Septuagint: “Unless you believe, you will not understand! (Isaias vii. 9).
Let us confine our considerations for today to the first of the Sacraments — Baptism. It is during Paschal Time that we have it brought before us in all its glory. We remember how on Holy Saturday it filled the hearts of the Catechumens with joy, giving them a right to heaven. But the great Sacrament had had its preparations. On the feast of the Epiphany we adored our Emmanuel as we beheld Him descending into the river Jordan and, by this contact with His sacred Body, communicating to the element of water the power of purifying men’s souls from sin. The Holy Ghost, in the form of a dove, rested on Jesus’ head, and, by His divine influence, gave fecundity to the life-giving element. The voice of the Eternal Father was heard in a cloud, announcing His adoption of all such as should receive Baptism. He adopted them in Jesus, His eternally well-beloved Son.
During His sojourn on Earth, our Redeemer thus explained the mystery of Baptism to Nicodemus, who was a ruler among the Jews, and a master in Israel: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God” (John iii. 5). Here, as in so many other instances, He foretells what He intends to do at a future time: He prepares us for the mystery by telling us that, as our first birth was not pure, He is preparing a second for us. that this second birth will be holy, and that water is to be the instrument of so great a grace. But, after His Resurrection our Emmanuel openly announced His having given to water the power of producing the sublime adoption to which mankind was invited by the Eternal Father. Speaking to His Apostles, He thus gives them the fundamental law of the Kingdom He had come from Heaven to establish: “Going, teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew xxviii. 19) This is the master-gift bestowed on the world by its Redeemer: salvation by water and the invocation of the Blessed Trinity, for He adds: “He that believes and is baptised will be saved” (Mark xvi. 16).
What a revelation was here! It told us of the infinite mercy with which our Creator loved us: it was the inauguration of the Sacraments by the announcement of the first of the Seven — of that one which, according to the expression of the Holy Fathers, is the Gate to the rest. Let us love this august mystery of Baptism to which we are indebted for the life of our souls, and for the indelible character which makes us members of our divine Head, Jesus. The holy King of France, Saint Louis, who was baptised in the humble village of Poissy, loved to sign himself “Louis of Poissy.” He looked upon the baptismal font as the mother who had given him a life incomparably superior to that which made him the son of an earthly monarch: she gave him to be the child of God, and heir to the kingdom of Heaven. We should imitate this saintly King.
But, observe the exceeding considerateness of our Risen Jesus when He instituted this the most indispensable of the Sacraments. He chose for its matter the commonest that could be, and the most easily to be had. Bread, wine and oil are not so plentiful as water, which is to be found in every place: God made it thus plentiful, that, when the appointed time came, the fount of regeneration might be within everyone’s reach. In His other Sacraments our Saviour would have Priests alone to be the ministers: not so with Baptism. Any one of the Faithful, whatever may be his or her condition, may administer Baptism. Nay more: an infidel can, by water and the invocation of the Blessed Trinity, confer on others the baptismal grace which he or she themselves do not possess, provided only that they really intend to do what holy Church does when she administers the sacrament of Baptism.
Nor is this all. An unbaptised man or woman may be dying, and no one near them to administer this Sacrament. They are on the brink of eternity, and there is no hand nigh them to pour the water of regeneration on them — our Saviour has lovingly provided for this necessity. Let this man or woman believe in Baptism. Let them desire it in all the sincerity of their souls. Let them entertain sentiments of compunction and love, such as are required of an adult when receiving Baptism — they are baptised in desire, and Heaven is open to them.
But what if it be a child, that has not come to the use of reason? Our Saviour’s words are plain: “He that believes and is baptised will be saved.” How, then, can this child be saved? The guilt of original sin is upon it, and it is incapable of making an act of faith? Fear not: the power of holy Baptism extends even so far as this. The faith of the Church will be imputed to this child, which the Church is about to adopt as her own: let water be but poured on the child in the name of the three Divine Persons, and it is a Christian forever. Baptised in the faith of the Church, this child now possesses (and, as we say, personally), Faith, Hope and Charity: the sacramental water has achieved this wondrous work. If the little innocent die, it goes straight to heaven.
These, Jesus, are the admirable effects of the first of your Sacraments. How truly does the Apostle say of you, that you will all men to be saved! (1 Timothy ii. 4) If this your will be in some without its fulfilment so that some children die without Baptism, it is because of the consequences which sin produces in the parents, and which your Justice is not bound to prevent. And yet, how frequently does not your mercy intervene and procure the grace of Regeneration for children who, naturally, would have been excluded! Thus, the water of Baptism has been poured upon countless babes who were dying in the arms of their pagan parents, and the Angels received these little ones into their choirs. Knowing this, dear Saviour, we are forced to exclaim with the Psalmist: “Let us that live bless the Lord!” (Psalm cxiii. 8).Epistle – James i. 17‒21
Dearly beloved, every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change nor shadow of alteration. For of His own will He has begotten us by the word of truth that we might be some beginning of His creatures. You know, my dearest brethren. Now let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger. For the anger of man works not the justice of God. Wherefore, casting away all uncleanness and abundance of naughtiness, with meekness receive the engrafted word which is able to save your souls.Thanks be to God.
Dom Prosper Gueranger:
The favours bestowed on the Christian people proceed from the goodness of our Heavenly Father. He is the source of everything in the order of nature and if, in the order of grace, we have become His children, it is because He sent us His Consubstantial Word — the Word of Truth — by which, by means of Baptism, we were made children of God. Hence, we ought to imitate, as far as our weakness will permit, the divine calm of our Father who is in Heaven. We ought to avoid that state of passionate excitement which savours of a terrestrial life, whereas ours should be of the Heaven to which God calls us. The Apostle bids us receive, with meekness, the Word, which makes us what we are. He tells us that this Word is a germ of salvation grafted into our souls: only let us put no obstacle to its growth, and we will be saved.Gospel – John xvi. 5‒14
At that time Jesus said to His disciples, “I go to Him who sent me and none of you ask me, Where do you go? But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth: it is expedient to you that I go, for if I do not go, the Paraclete will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you, and when He has come, He will convince the world of sin and of justice, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believed not in me; and of justice, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; and of judgment, because the Prince of this world is already judged. I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now: but when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will teach you all truth, for He will not speak of Himself, but whatever things He will hear, He will speak, and the things that are to come He will show you. He will glorify me because He will receive of mine, and will show it to you.”Praise be to you, O Christ.
Dom Prosper Gueranger:
The Apostles were sad at hearing Jesus say to them: “I go.” Are not we so, too? We, who, thanks to the sacred Liturgy, have been in such close company with Him ever since the day of His birth at Bethlehem. Yet a few days, and He is to ascend into Heaven, and our year is to lose the charm it possessed of following, day by day, the actions and words of our Emmanuel. Still, He would have us moderate our sadness. He tells us that in His stead the Paraclete, the Comforter, is about to descend upon the earth and abide with us to the end of time, in order that He may give us light and strength. Let us make good use of these last hours with our Jesus: we will soon have to be preparing for the Divine Guest who is to take His place.
By these words, which were spoken shortly before His Passion, our Saviour does more than tell us of the coming of the Holy Ghost He also shows us how terrible this coming will be to them that have rejected the Messiah. His words are unusually mysterious: let us listen to the explanation given of them by Saint Augustine, the Doctor of Doctors: When the Holy Ghost is come, says our Lord, He will convince the world of sin because they believed not in me. How great must, indeed, be the responsibility of them that have been witnesses of Jesus’ wonderful works, and yet will not receive His teaching! Jerusalem will be told that the Holy Ghost has come down on the disciples, and she will receive the news with the same indifference as she did the miracles which proved Jesus to be her Messiah. The coming of the Holy Ghost will serve as a sort of signal of the destruction of the Deicide City. Jesus adds: “The Paraclete will convince the world of Justice, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer.” The Apostles, and they that believe their word, will be just and holy by faith: they will believe in Him that is gone to the Father, in Him whom they are to see no longer in this world. Jerusalem, on the contrary, will remember Him only to blaspheme Him: the holiness, the faith, the justice of them that will believe, will be her condemnation, and the Holy Ghost will leave her to her fate. Jesus continues: “The Paraclete will convince the world of Judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged.” They that follow not Christ Jesus, follow Satan: he is their prince, but his judgment is already pronounced. The Holy Ghost warns the followers of the world that their leader is already in eternal torments. Let them reflect well on this for, as Saint Augustine observes, “the pride of man has no right to reckon on indulgence. Let it but think of the Hell into which even the angels were cast because they were proud.”
