The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-05-06
NATURE OF THE, sAcRAMENTs

a Sacrament, as We learned in our
tiny Cathechism, is an outward sign,
Instituted by Jesus Christ, to give
grace to our souls. In each of the
seven Sacramento of our holy religion,
then, there must be found these three
requirements: First, that some out
ward, sensible action take place; sec
ondly, that Jesus Christ be it's author,
and lastly, that as an inevitable result
of the action, grace be infused into
our souls. The action" connected
with each of the Sacramento consists
of something that is said-certain
words that are spoken, and therein
lies the Sacramento form" it con-
slsts, moreover, of something that is
lonesome act that is performed, and
which constitutes the matter" the
material of the Sacrament.
In aiding man to achieve his eter-
nal end, the wonderful Providence of
God has moved Him to consider mans
human nature, and that natures needs.
If we had been constituted without
bodies and were pure spirits, as, are
the angels, Almighty God would
doubtless have established for us a
purely spiritual religion But as we
are composed of both body and soul,
and depend to such an extent on our
senses, it has pleased Him to so pro-
vide for us, that the faculties of our
bodily nature may be considered, at
the same time that our spiritual wants
are being cared for. Thus do we ex-
7plain the introduction into all our re-
ligious worship of those outward signs,
by the perception of which our souls
are the more readily elevated to spir-
itual things; as witness the splendor
and magnificence of our churches and
affairs, the pomp and solemnity of our
ecclesiastical ceremonies, the invented
beauties of our music and prayers, all,
in themselves, exterior to mans union
with God, and nevertheless encouraged
by Him to foster and accomplish that
union. 1t is in like manner with the
intimate infusion of Heavenly Grace
into our souls; while God might have
decreed to communicate that divine
aid to us without the use of outward
agencies, He has, nevertheless, been
pleased to employ those means which
serve both to signify and to confer the
graces of each Sacrament, as in the
washing from sin, in Baptism, the
amounting to strength, in Confirmation,
and so on with each of the seven.
The grace peculiar to the individual
Sacraments is, conferred at the very
moment that the outward sign is APP
piled. God, on His part, never fails
to bestow that grace, although the re-
cipient may render it incapable of en-
trance to his soul, through his own in
disposition. This is called placing IAN
obstacle" in the way of grace, and has
been well illustrated by familiar ex-
ample. To write upon paper, we must
have the paper itself, pen containing
ink, and hand capable of applying it.
Under ordinary conditions, a written
sheet will result. But if the paper be-
comes oiled, and thus Incapable of re.
ceiving the ink, however skillfully the
pen be applied, no writing can be OBJ
tanned. The Sacramento are, like the
pen filed with ink, the channels
through which Christ Our Saviour
would have Divine Grace flow into our
souls; the minister of the Sacraments
resembles the hand by which the pen
is applied, and the soul of the recipient
is like the paper itself. If the latter
be in the proper condition, if it be
well-disposed, the graces of the Sacra-
ment. will flow freely and effectively:
but if it present an obstacle, as does