The Catholic bulletin., 1921-09-24
POPULAR APO[OGtT|CS.
ADAPTED FROM THE GERMAN OF
q REV.fPETER MIKES, S. j., BY
REV. JAMES WATCHER.
Section VI. -
- THE HOLY SACRAMENTS.
46. Magical Means.

46. Magical Means.
Objection: "The Roman magic, the
sacramentaI blessing without moral
participation, we Decline" "We re-
ject with the magical idea of the Sac.
raments every magical instiiling of
sanctifying power" (Tschackert, Pole
mix, p. 70, 76).
Answer: l. According to Luther's
small catechism. sins of magic are
Fortune telling, Interpretation of
dreams, fortune telling with cards,
trying to cure by magical words man
or beast. l would like to know which
of these magic forms comes in in the
Catholic administration of the Sacra-
ments. Generally by magic we mean
to try to produce something wonder
full with the aid of the devil. But
how is it possible to accuse the Cath
olic Church of such foolish things
Even if by magic and magic art we
pnt the devil more in the. background,
and We understand by magic" proc
ess by which we expect with an insult
ficient cause a higher effect, e\g., if
a pencil should write words of itself
and card should know the future,
even then there is no magic" in the
administration of the Sacraments. The
visible signs &c. g., water and the
words at baptism), do not work of
themselves, but the Holy Ghost works
through them as outward means.
There is just as little magic as when
a pencil writes when guided by the
hand of thinking man.
2. AS the Lord of the graces which
He earned for us on the Cross, Christ
could, without doubt, also determine
the manner and means how men were
to partake of these graces. That He
attached inward graces to the use of
outward signs is in perfect agreement
with Christ's action, which always had
regard to mans double nature Esprit
and body, e. g., a visible priesthood
in the visible Church. But the mere
use of visible signs is of no avail to
man; the moral participation of the
rational partaker is absolutely neces-
sary. Man must make himself sus-
ceptible of grace by acts of virtue,
which he must perform himself But
we Catholics deny that this suscepti-
bility, acquired with the help of grace,
is the reason why we receive the
graces connected with the Sacraments.
It is a necessary preparatory condi-
tion for the reception of grace; but
We receive the grace through the Sac
rament by which the merits of Christ
are applied to US. '>i-'~
3. According to the Protestant idea,
the 'sacramental blessing" as they
call it, depends entirely on the action
of the recipient, on his faith With
this opinion, they contradict them
selves by admitting infant baptism
Even the child receives justification.
in baptism, which most Protestants
admit. But the child cannot receive it
through faith, which is impossible,
much less through the faith of 9TH
ers; hence, the child receives grace
through the sacramental action (Which
Catholic theOlogians call ex opere op-
erato, from the work or action per-
formed). '5'.
Tschackert, who feels the impossi-
bility of proving from his Protestant
standpoint the faith necessary for in
FAINT baptism, says that already child
can have the necessary receptiveness
for partaking of the Sacrament of Bap-
tism. 1t must, indeed, take exceeding
ly little action or faith to receive Sac
rament if already newborn babe can
cooperate enough!
Only the Catholic doctrine is con-
sistent and reasonable. To be con-
sistent, Protestants must either give
up infant baptism-which, alas, is only
too often thu case-and thus become
heathens, or accept the Catholic doc
trine on this point, as says the Prot
estant theologian Dorner: 'Out of love
for infant baptism in our times in Ger
many, many again adopt the opus op-
eratum and they have drawn the Cath
olic conclusion of the idea of the
Church" (System der christi. Glau-
benslehre. VOL 2, p. S26) They must,
therefore, admit Catholic doctrine or
the most glaring contradiction, which
shows that only Catholic doctrine is
reasonable because it is true.