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Show 219: The Sacraments · The Uncensored Catholic

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Speaker 1: Hey, y'all, welcome to this week's show. Today we are
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going to get into the topic of the sacraments. The
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main thing that differentiates the Catholic Church between every other
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I mean every Protestant denomination. I mean it's the sacraments. Yes,
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there a few we have in common. We have baptism
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and marriage, but only the Catholic Church and the Orthodox
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they have valid sacraments as well, because we both were
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founded by the Apostles. The Orthodox Church is in schism.
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It's still not permissible to be Orthodox. You can't be
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a Catholic and attendant Orthodox Church because they reject the pope.
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And there's some various you know, theological and political issues.
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These days, it's more political than anything else, thanks to
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the Russians. But no Protestant church can turn bread and
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wine into the body and blood of Christ. Only the
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Catholic Church can do that. Only the church founded by
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Jesus Christ, given his authority in power, can do that.
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Some Anglicans claim that their euchrius is valid because of
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their succession, but it's been shown that their bishops and
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their priests, vicars whatever they call them, are not in
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Apostolic succession. That broke down centuries ago. So they may
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think it, but it's not true. And an Anglican may
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not take communion in a Catholic church, or vice versa.
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That seems to be a bit of a confusion among some.
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I know someone who is friends with an Anglican minister,
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vicar whatever they call him, and that vicar went to
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a Catholic I guess it was a wedding probably, and
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was very confused and offended that he wasn't allowed to
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receive communion. I mean, the priest knew he was an
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Anglican minister, and he said to him, I'm sorry, you
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cannot take communion in a Catholic church. And he just
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could not understand it, would not understand it, got all offended.
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But they're not Catholic. Jesus gave to his apostles and
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to their successors, and to them alone the ability to
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turn bread and wine into his body and blood, the
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ability to confirmation. I believe, if I'm not mistaken today's gospel.
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You know, I write daily Gospel reflections, so very often
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I'm reading two or three days at a time, and
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it's hard for me to keep up with him. Was
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the one about the wedding feast where the ruler sins, well,
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first of all, invites some people to the wedding feast.
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Instead they kill his son, and you know it's pretty
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bad and all that. Then maybe I'm actually confusing two
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parables now, But anyway, eventually all the people no, this
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is the one where all the people who were invited
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said they were too busy. There we go. Yes, the
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roar invited everybody to the wedding feast for his son,
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and they were all like one, you know, had business ticket,
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They all had excuse not to go. So he sends
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people out and says, gather up everybody in the streets
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and bring him in. And then you know, you think, oh, okay,
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that's you know, that's symbolic. That's you know, the promise
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that was given to the Jews and the first Covenant
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they rejected, so now it's being given to everybody. And
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then the very odd thing at the end of that parable,
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he says to one man that he isn't wearing the
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wedding garment and has him bound and thrown out into
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the outer darkness where there's wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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Now that's pretty harsh. What does it mean? Well, when
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we realize that, yes, this is symbolic of the Second Covenant.
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Now all the gentiles, all the peoples of every race,
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and every country on earth are invited into to communion
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with God, to the feast of the Lamb. I mean,
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this is all symbolic that we understand if we're practicing
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Catholics to become Christians and to partake of the Euchrist.
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Why what does it mean when he says this guy
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doesn't have on his wedding garment that has been traditionally translated,
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traditionally held as symbolic from the beginning of the church
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till now as meaning confirmation in the Catholic Church. The
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Holy Apostles understood it that way, they told their successors
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in the first two three, four hundred years of the church,
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everybody knew what that meant, confirmation in the Catholic Church.
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So while we want to be ecumenical and we want
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to try our hardest to pray for Christian unity, that
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Christian unity really means that everybody has to become Catholic
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in order because it's the only church. God found it,
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and he said he prayed that they all be one,
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one in belief, in doctrine and unity one body of Christ.
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It says in the Bible that schisms are tearing apart
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the body of Christ. I mean, schism is denounced and
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forbidden in every single book of the New Testament, following Acts,
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I mean all the epistles. It says abayor bishops, don't
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accept any new teaching, reject anybody that comes with a
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new teaching, and absolutely do not have any division among yourselves.
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I mean, the Bible is pretty dar unclear. You're not
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supposed to have anything but one church. So in that
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Anglican minister was upset that he couldn't receive the Eucharist. Well,
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it's simple. He wasn't wearing the wedding garment, he had
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not received the sacrament that's necessary. He had not been
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confirmed into the Catholic Church, so he couldn't attend the
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wedding feast. I mean, it's really that simple. And of
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course there's seven sacraments. As I said, we share with
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everyone marriage because marriage was instituted by God with Adam
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and Eve, so we share it with Protestants and some Jews.
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Well yeah, I'm just gonna leave it there. You could
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get a little more speculative with that, but we share
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Protestants and at least yeah, you know what, I'm going
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to revise it. Okay, So there was a Jewish tradition
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of baptism, and that's what Saint John the Baptist did,
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but we would not now consider that a valid sacrament
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because baptism has to be done in the name of
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the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and
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as Jews don't recognize Jesus as the Son, we would
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not say this's a valid Christian sacrament, even though we
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do share that tradition. But you also find somewhat similar
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traditions of you know, ceremonial bathing with water among different religions. Actually,
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it's not exclusive to Judaism actually, So we're going to
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say a valid Christian sacrament we share with Protestants would
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be baptism, but we share marriage with everybody, Christian or not.
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And all marriages are valid if so as the conditions
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for them are valid, meaning two people freely choose to
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marry each other. And in that case it's actually the
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people who marry each other and the priests who officiates.
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So it's really unique in that regard. But other than
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baptism and marriage, the rest of the sacraments are all
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exclusively Catholic Confirmation, ordination, annoying of the sick, and you
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could say, well, you know, Prosests can to anoint the
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sick as well. Yeah they can, but it's not a
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valid sacrament. In the Methodist Church, they have what they
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call confirmation, essentially just signing up to join. I was
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confirmed to the Methodist Church long before I became Catholic,
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very very different thing. One is a sacrament. And let
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me tell you, if you're a Protestant out here and
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you listen to this, you maybe getting a little offended.
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You're thinking I'm being maybe a little too strident or whatever,
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or too dogmatic. Whatever. I cannot tell you what confirmation
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actually does. You will have to God willing experience it
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for yourself. You know, I've spent years, I mean, as
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a Christian, I wasn't. I didn't become Catholic until I
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guess I was about twenty four. I had been a
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Methodist youth minister. I worked in Baptist organizations pro life issues,
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and gone to a Baptist university, going to a Presbyterian college.
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Grew up basically half time and Presbyterian halftime. In Methodist churches,
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so at least three denominations, right, really very well trained
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in the Bible. And I mean, you know, we had
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Sunday School and we had a vacation Bible School, and
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we had to do a lot of Bible study and memorization.
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That's what led me to become Catholic was my understanding
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of the Bible. If you actually understand the Bible, it's
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like what the saint John Henry Newman said, to be
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deep in history has ceased to be Protestant. Well, I
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would also say to be deep in the Bible as
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to cease to be Protestant, just like I just told
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you the parable of the wedding feasts. Well, what about
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when you get to the Gospel of John. It says
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those who sends you forgive, they are forgiven, and those
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who sends you retain, they are retained. You know, if
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you're Protestant, you know Catholics believe that, but you don't.
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But the Bible says it. So you got to figure
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that out. And of course the Bible condemns Jesus condemned divorce,
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and all four god Gospels and only the Catholic Church
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still forbids divorce. So I mean, if you actually want
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to do what Jesus said. One you have to eat
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his body and drink his blood, which is the Eucharus
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that only the Catholic Church has. Two you need that
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wedding garment, which is confirmation. You know. Three you can't
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get divorced. And four you need to go to confession.
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And you know you can't do any of that in
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Babtist church. You can't go to confession in a Babtist church.
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You can't see the Eucharus in a Baptist church. Anyway,
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When you know I I mentioned a few things. I
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had a kind of rough childhood, you know, family issues,
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and struggled a lot with anger and depression most of
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my youth, well into my twenties, really really really rough times,
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really very rough times. But for the grace of God,
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I would probably be dead or in jail right now.
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And man, when I was confirmed to the Catholic Church,
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when the priest put the oil, the Chrism oil in
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my head, my entire everything changed. It was like an
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oppressive spirit left me. It was like my I'm suddenly open.
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And that's actually what confirmation is. You become, you receee
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the fullness of the Holy Spirit. You can understand the
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Bible better, you can understand, you can pray better. You
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can you know everything changes in your spiritual life. But
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also man, it changes everything. It changes everything about you.
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I became a fairly happy person for the first time
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in my life. And yeah, not angry and destructive and
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self destructive and always looking for the next battle to
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fight because I couldn't face my own issues. You know,
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I worked in politics for a long time. It was
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real easy to be really, you know, stride it and
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self righteous in politics and go fight every day and
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feel very good about it at the end of the day.
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Soone as you win. You don't win every battle. But
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God changed everything. And I mean, unless you've been confirmed
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into the Catholic Church, you have no idea what I'm
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talking about. And all I can do is pray for
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the unity of all Christians and hope that someday you
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do get to experience that, because it is utterly life changing. Anyway,
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we'll get to the sacrament a little bit, uh, and
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Father SPARAGOI have a lot more to say about him. Now.
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We get a couple of questions and answers from radio replies.
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The questioner says, what proof is there that Christ was God?
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And they answer his perfect fulfillment of the messianic properties
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prophecies of the Old Testament, his personal character, his teachings,
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his miracles, and chiefly his resurrection, his work in establishing
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a church which has outlived empires and human institutions against
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tremendous opposie pysician, the perpetual virginity of his mother, and
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the perpetual vitality of his sway over human hearts. Did
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Christ ever say he was God? And they answered yes.
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He declared just to venue, he said, I and the
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Father are one. That's John ten thirty. The Jews knew
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it and said, for a good work we stone thee,
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not but for blasphemy, and because thou art, because thou,
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being a man, makest thyself God. Again, Christ accepted the
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supreme homage, imply in the words of Thomas, my Lord
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and my God, John twenty twenty eight. He could not
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have let such an expression go without correction had he
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not been God. We know that if any ordinary mankind
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to be God, he would either be insane or untruthful.
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But Jesus was not insane. He was ever a model
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of self control and the wisest teacher and legislator the
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world has ever seen. Nor was Goliah his moral character
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forbids the postile stability of a lion so grave a matter.
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Christ really lived. He was not insane, He was not
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a liar. He claimed to be God. He accepted the
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adoration due to God. He is God, and the person says,
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but Christ claimed not to be God, but the Son
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of God. And the answer this in the case of Christ,
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the one does not exclude the other. Saint John admits
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personal distinction. He says the word was with God, yet
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asserts identity in the divine nature when he adds, and
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the word was God. John one. One. Christ showed the
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equality of the three divine persons and this one single
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divine nature when he ordered the apostles to baptize in
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the name of the Father and the Son and the
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Holy Ghost Matthew twenty eight nineteen. And he proclaimed his
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own identity and the divine nature with the Father by
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his words to Philip, who had requested Lord show us
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the Father, and Philip proplied, Christ, have you not known me?
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He that seeth me seeth the Father also, and we'll
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see one more. He says, might not Christ have been mistaken?
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And they say, no sane man could so delude himself
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such a hallucination, being not temporary but permanent, would suppose
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that would suppose him in a pathological state of insane enthusiasm.
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But Christ's wisdom and balance of mind absolutely exclude this.
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His wisdom, at the age of twelve astonished the doctors
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of the law. The people were lost in admiration of
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his doctrines, saying, never did a man speak as this
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man speaks. His replies to his enemy showed the utmost
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prudence and genius. His tranquility into provocation suffering does not
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argue to madness. Add to all of this the authority
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of the life he lived. Very few philosophers fulfill their
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own advice as did Christ. Know there is no possibility
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that Christ was deluded. All right, now we will get
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into thus sacraments, And yeah, I think we can do
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this in one show. The O're fifteen minutes in. We
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can go another fifteen or twenty if we want to.
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Certainly see I Valsparrago begins on the day of Pentecost.
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The Holy Spirit manifests his coming by a visible and
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audible sign. The tongues of fire indicated the enlightenment of
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the apostles, and the gifts of tongues, and a mighty
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wind of power imparted to them. In like manner, it
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is the good pleasure of our Lord to convey graces
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to us by means of sensible signs. He ordained for
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the communication of graces. The use of such words and
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objects has clearly signified the grace bestowed for the washing
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away of original sin. He ordained that water should be
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poured on the head, because water cleanses, and at the
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same time a form of words use which indicate that
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it is done by the power of the Holy Trinity.
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In order to impart to us the gifts of the
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Holy Spirit, light and fortitude, he instituted the laying on
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of hands with prayer and anointing with oil, oil being
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used to give light and warmth. The sacraments are sensible
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signs instituted by Christ by means of which the grace
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of the Holy Spirit is communicated to us. And I
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think you actually said the graces of the Holy Spirit
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are communicated to us. In every sacrament. There is an
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appropriate ceremony called the matter, and a form of words
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which accompanies the sign or ceremony, and besides Theirah's grace conveyed.
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The sign of the sign or visible part of the sacrament,
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not only signifies what it is affected by the sacrament,
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but affects what is signified. There are therefore practical signs.
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They may also be termed instruments, and the grace is
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conveyed through them. The effect of those instruments the signs
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of the sacraments are like our Lord's humanity, and the
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grace is conveyed like the god Head concealed beneath his humanity.
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The word sacrament sacramentum means something holy and also something mysterious,
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because in early times holy things were hidden from the
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knowledge of the heathen. Sensible signs were instituted by our
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Lord for this purpose, that the grace is conferred by
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their means may be made duly apparent and thus recognized
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by man. As water cleanses from impurity and extinguishes fire,
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the use of water signifies that our souls are cleansed
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and the fire of hell is quinched for us. As
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oil gives light, gives light, and strengthens the body, its
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use in confirmation indicates plainly that our souls are enlightened
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and fortified by the Holy Spirit. Thus the practical effect
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of the sacraments may be known by the sensible sign.
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Our Lord made use of distinct signs in conferring graces
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and benefits, although a thought a word on his part
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would have sufficed. He touched the eyes of the blind
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man in Matthew nine twenty nine, he touched the leffert
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in Matthew eight three. He breathed on the apostles and
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said to them, receive you the Holy Ghost John twenty
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twenty two. Under the old dispensation. Likewise, God bestowed his
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favors through signs, witness Moses's rod, the brazen serpent, the
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gall of the fish, wherew withth Tovid's sight was restored.
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And again, if you don't know who Tobias was in
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the Book of Tobad and what that means, it means
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you don't have a real Bible. You need to get
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a Catholic Bible. Your King James version is a counterfeit, fake,
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heretical bible that probably ought to be burned. Unless it
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has sentimental family value to you. It's not a Catholic Bible.
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It's not authorized by the Catholic Church. It's a fake.
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Get rid of it. Sensible signs were let's see, sensible
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signs were instituted by our Lord for the purpose of
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humbling the pride of man. Man who aspired to be
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as God is now dependent for the recovery of the
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grace he lost upon what is lowest in creation, lifeless matter.
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As for the sake of what is sensible man, As
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for the sake of what is sensible, Man renounced Heaven.
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It is meet by that use. That's a tough sentence. Okay,
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So he's saying what hm, he says, what is sensible,
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he should rise again to that which is super sensible.
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So basically what he's saying is because of you know,
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man's arrogance, or like the devil's delusion, you should be
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like God's where God makes use of in inanimate matter,
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something lower than the man he created in his image
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to bring about the salvation of that man. I guess
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that's the best way I would put it in modern language.
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By use of what is sensible, he should rise again
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to that which is supra sensible. No sensible signs are
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in fact required by the nature of man. If we
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were pure spirits we could dispense with corporal signs for
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the communication of spiritual gifts, but as we are composed
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of bonding soul, we have need of them. In addition
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to the signs instituted by Christ, certain ceremonies have been
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appointed by the Church in order to indicate still more
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perceptibly the grace is conferred, and to increase the devotion
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of those who dispense in those who receive the sacraments.
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The various significant ceremonies are like a mirror wherein a
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man sees the reflection of what goes on within his soul.
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The benefits God bestows upon us some more deeply impressed
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upon our minds by the accompanying ceremonial. It also deepens
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the devotion of both the dispenser and the recipient of
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the sacrament. If an earthly monarch is seen by his
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subjects in all grains of his regal dignity, attended by
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the grandees of his court, they think more of him
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than when he's an ordinary attire. The sacraments are not
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dispensed in a bare and informal manner, but are accompanied
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by the accessories of a rich and solemn ceremonial. This
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is not only to make a greater impression upon mortals,
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but to give greater glory to God. The ceremonies also
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constitute a certain preparation for the reception of the sacraments.
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They prepare the soil of the heart that the good
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seed may bear more abundant fruit. The ritual is not
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precisely the same in all dioceses, local customs having added
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some rites which cannot be abolished by the Roman, but
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the Roman ritis is the one universally followed. The ceremonies
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of the Church may be omitted in the case of necessity,
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as in baptism when there is danger of death. And interestingly,
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you know, baptism like in a time of war or
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something that was like a really extreme situation can even
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be performed by an Christian so long as they follow
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the formula. You know, I baptize you in the name
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of the Father's signed the Holy Ghost, and they should
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of course go through the whole. Do you renounce Satan
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and all his works and all that? But of course
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an infant can't say that, So it can really be
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a very simple ceremony for someone I'm ten seconds old,
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just straight out, you know, straight born, or it can be,
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you know, a little more elaborate. Christ institute, seven sacraments, Baptism, confirmation,
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Holy Eucharist, pennance, extreme function. That's only the sick is
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what we call it now, Holy orders and matrimony. The
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doctrine of the seven sacraments is as old as the Church.
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All the sects that fell away from the Church in
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the early centuries retained the seven sacraments, as did the
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Greeks and Romans at a later period. The institution of
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the seven sacraments is, it is true, not mentioned holy Scripture,
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but it is not said that there were more or less.
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On this point, tradition is sufficient authority. The seven sacraments
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answer exactly to the needs of the soul, which resemble,
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to a certain extent, the exigencies of the body. The
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life of the soul begins at baptism. It is fortified
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by confirmation, brought to perfection by the Holy Euchrist. If
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the life of the soul be lost, is restored by
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penance and extreme unction, it is kept. It is kept
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up by holy orders and matrimony from generation to generation.
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Though through the seven sacraments we receive divine grace at
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the very time of our life when we most need it.
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These times occur at birth, when are at our entrance
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into youth, when we have lost the friendship of God,
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and when we embrace a new state of life, and
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at the hour of death. As at sea, there are
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islands and harbors where the mariner can cast anchor and
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take in supplies, as there are roadside ends where the
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traveler can pause to rest and recruit his strength on
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a weary journey of life. The sacraments are provided to
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afford support and freshment now and again to the pilgrim.
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By the three sacraments Baptism, confirmation, and Holy Orders, there
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is imprinted upon the soul a certain spiritual and indelible
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mark of character, on account of which they cannot be repeated.
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The indelible mark of character consists in special consecration and
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dedication to Christ. By this mark, the angels know whether
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a man is one of God's family, and if so,
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they give him particular protection. This mark is not efface
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by mortal sin. It can never be removed from the soul. Consequently,
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these three sacraments can never be received a second time,
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not even by one who has apostasized from the faith
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and has been received back to the church. These three
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sacraments will be like a seal upon the soul. In
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a future life, they will cause, They will be the
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cause of eternal glory and rejoicing to the blessed. To
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reprobate there would be a source of shame and confusion.
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Two sacraments, baptism and penance, are instituted principally with the
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object of conferring sanctifying grace where it was not already given.
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The five others were the object of increasing that gift.
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The holy sacraments are the wine and oil of the
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Samaritan and the Gospel for the maintenance and restoration of
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the health of the soul. Baptism and penance are called
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sacraments of the dead of those who are spiritually dead,
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because they were institute for those whose spiritual life is
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destroyed by mortal sin. The five others are sacraments of
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the living because they are instituted for those who are
26:26
living in a state of grace. It is, however, possible
26:28
for sanctifying grace to be increased by baptism in penance
26:32
if through earnest amendment of life and heartfelt contrition, a
26:35
man is merited to receive the Holy Ghost previous to
26:38
baptism or confession, like the Centurion Cornelius, on whom and
26:45
on whose household the Holy Ghost was poured out while
26:48
Saint Peter was preaching in Acts ten forty four. So
26:51
also one may go to confession without being guilty of
26:53
mortal sin and thereby acquire more grace. Each sacrament has
26:58
besides its own individual object and confers a grace peculiar
27:04
to itself, particular peculiar anyway. Thus, baptism confers the grace
27:11
to live according to the precepts of the Gospel, confirmation,
27:14
to confess the faith fearlessly the Holy Eucharist, to make
27:18
progress to the supernatural life. Penance preserves us from relapse
27:22
into sin. Extreme unction is a remedy holy ordered against
27:27
annointing the sick, you know, that's what we call it now.
27:31
It used to be called extreme unction. And an unction
27:34
is like a balm. It's a medicine, and it was
27:38
considered to be the greatest medicine on earth because it
27:41
heals the soul and oftentimes the body as well. Holy
27:45
orders and matrimony confer the graces appropriate to those states
27:48
in life, such as the great practical efficacy of the sacraments,
27:53
and yet how little we appreciate their value. What efforts,
27:57
what sacrifices people make to keep or regain their bodily health,
28:02
and yet they would not employ the simple, easy means
28:04
within their reach for preserving the health of their soul,
28:07
which is far more important. Do preparation must be made
28:13
before receiving the sacraments in order to obtain the graces
28:16
they convey. Anyone who approaches a sacrament of baptism or
28:19
penance without a thorough change of heart, or who receives
28:22
the other sacraments in a state of mortal sin, commits
28:25
a terrible sin of sacrilege and will not obtain the
28:28
graces of the Holy Spirit until the hindrance to grace
28:31
has been removed. On this account, at the early ages
28:34
of Christianity, a two years probation was required before admission
28:38
to baptism. That's for adults again. Remember it says their
28:41
whole in the Bible, he and his whole household was baptized,
28:44
so we've always done infant baptism, but for adults due
28:50
to concupiscence and knowledge anyway, the rebellionossness of the human
28:59
mind and soul. Once you reach the age of reason,
29:03
one is required to go through a little bit more
29:06
to actually think things through. Basically, so Saint Peter in preaching.
29:14
In his preaching insists on the necessity penance and sincere
29:17
Conversion Acts two thirty eight and three nineteen, to this day,
29:21
the Church requires those who approach Holy communion to go
29:24
confession first. How reprehensible is the conduct of those who,
29:28
from force of habit or because of some special indulgence,
29:31
go to confession without proposing a serious amendment of life?
29:35
Purposing I think he's meant to say, purposing a serious
29:38
amendments of life. The sacrament, says Saint Augustine, are the
29:42
salvation of those who use them aright, and damnation to
29:45
those who misuse them. That which is meant to the
29:48
healthy is poisoned to the sick. Infant. Baptism is the
29:52
only case in which no previous preparation is necessary. And
29:56
if anyone is so unhappy is receive one of the
29:59
sacraments second religiously, he may yet participate in the grace
30:02
of the sacrament. If the obstacle to obstacle to it
30:06
be removed. Fill back into the old brother or art.
30:09
They'll pronunciation if you ever see that movie. It's a
30:12
great movie. Only thing George Clooney ever did. That's worth
30:15
anything in my opinion. But I says fear not the
30:18
obstacles in your path. Now I have trouble reading the
30:22
word obstacle and not saying obstacle anyway. The sacraments are
30:27
like sunshine. It cannot penetrate into a room in which
30:31
the shutters are closed, but as soon as they are open,
30:34
it streams in, warming it and illuminating it. In like manner,
30:38
a sacrament, if received unworthily, need not be received again
30:42
on amendment of life. Its gracious influence are freely exercised.
30:46
This rule does not hold good, however, in regard to
30:49
the whole Eucharist. If it be received by one who
30:52
is in mortal sin, the grace of it is lost,
30:54
even if the center returns to the stay of grace.
30:57
The more worthy of the recipient, the greater the grace
30:59
is conferred by the sacrament. The dryer the wood, the
31:03
more freely it burns. If the vessel take into the
31:05
spring be clean, the water contained, and it will be pure.
31:10
There are two indispensable conditions which the Church imposes on
31:13
those who approach the sacraments they must be qualified to
31:16
receive them and desirous to receive them. Yeah, you can't
31:20
actually baptize somebody against their will or marry them against
31:23
their will. That's one of the main reasons the Church
31:27
you can do annulments is because, especially in times past,
31:30
people were forced into marriage and that's not a valid union.
31:36
You know, people used to be in arranged marriages. Their
31:39
parents would force them, or somebody might be pregnant, and
31:43
you know, the power of assimilating food is depended upon
31:46
certain organs of the human body. Even so, certain qualifications
31:50
are necessary for the reception of the sacraments. An unbaptized
31:54
person is incapable of receiving any of the other sacraments.
31:58
A child who has not reached the age of reason
32:00
cannot receive the sacrament of penance. In other words, you
32:03
can't confess to something you don't know who you did wrong.
32:07
Extreme unction cannot be given to one who is in
32:09
robust health. No one ear of the age of twenty
32:12
three can receive holy orders. I think there are some
32:16
exceptions to that now, but maybe I think that age
32:20
has been lowered just a little bit. Maybe I'm wrong.
32:23
I could be totally wrong that I was reading an
32:25
article on this, like a week or so ago, and
32:27
I think they said, like, in certain extreme conditions there
32:29
could be. But I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. I'm
32:32
not a priest. I don't know about priestly things. If
32:35
a sacrament isn't ministered to anyone against his will, it
32:38
is invalid. The Church has never sanctioned the actions of
32:42
secular rulers who have compelled their subjects to be baptized,
32:45
as was done in early times. Thus, now at baptism,
32:49
the question is asked, wilt thou be baptized? The last
32:53
rites of the Church are, it is true, administered to
32:55
persons who are unconscious before death, but only if it
32:58
be supposed that they have wish for the sacrament had
33:01
they been conscious conscious. Yes, it is true. Last rights
33:07
can be or extreme functional. Last rights can be administered
33:12
within so many hours after someone is either unconscious or
33:17
presumed have passed away. In earlier times, we didn't always
33:20
know when someone had slipped into a coma. They could
33:23
still be alive, and if this person was a Catholic,
33:26
presumably they would want the priests to come give them
33:29
the last rights. Now in modern times you may say that, well,
33:35
we know the person's dead, we can test it outside,
33:38
but you know, we still don't know the exact moment
33:41
the soul leads the body. There have been near death
33:45
experiences where people seem to have been called up to
33:49
heaven very quickly, and other times where they seem to
33:52
have been the soul was still conscious in the body,
33:56
even though there was no heart rate, there were no
33:57
brain waves, They were still aware of what was going
34:01
on around them and hearing people talk. And you know,
34:05
we don't know exactly when the soul is the body,
34:09
and its probably does vary by individual, and so last
34:13
rites being administered even after the cessation of a heartbeat
34:19
or brain waves is very valid, very very very valid.
34:23
The baptism of infants is justified on these grounds, meaning
34:27
that the infants are conscious. But were they, had they
34:31
been informed of the great gift of baptism, they would
34:33
want it. So anyway, supposing the priest to administer as
34:37
the sacrifice to be unworthy, the graces of the Holy
34:40
Spirit will still be communicated by means of the sacrament.
34:43
The entire efficacy of the sacraments is derived from the
34:46
merits of Christ, not the priests who dispenses them. It
34:50
is out of the power of man to confer what
34:52
is divine. The sacraments are essentially holy in themselves, not
34:58
because they are administered by one who is holy. Nor
35:02
is the grace of the sacraments lessened by the evil
35:04
life of a priest. God is wont to make use
35:07
of unworthy instruments. The minister is but a dispenser of
35:11
the mysteries of God First Corinthians. For one, a leper
35:14
can act as a porter just as well as a
35:16
healthy man, provided he has a key to the door.
35:19
A judge may be as a man worse than the
35:21
criminal before him, yet he can pass sentence on him.
35:24
The coin of the Realm has the same value in
35:26
the hand of a bad man as a good man,
35:29
and the wine is the same, whether it be drunk
35:31
of an ordinary glass or a gold goblet. So it
35:34
is with the sacraments. Donatists who asserted contrary were headed heretics.
35:39
That was a heretical sect that was condemned. If the
35:43
sacraments could only be administered aright by good priests, one
35:47
would never have any certainty in regard to them. You
35:51
never know what's going on behind the scenes. The Church
35:54
imposes two indispensable conditions on those who administer the sacraments.
35:58
They must make use of the prescribed sensible sign without
36:01
any essential alteration, of the same time as the form
36:05
of the words, which they must have the intention to
36:07
do what the Church does. If wine, for instance, were
36:11
employed instead of water for baptism, the visible sign would
36:14
be essentially changed and it would be no baptism at all.
36:18
Or if one were to say I baptized thee in
36:20
the name of Christ, the audible sign would be essentially
36:22
changed and it would be no baptism. There are some
36:26
Protestant groups that refuse to say Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
36:29
even though Jesus said it. They just say in the
36:33
name of Jesus. And that's not a valid baptism unfortunately.
36:37
But the wrong pronunciation of some word by a foreigner
36:40
perhaps would not interfere with the efficacy of the sacrament.
36:44
In the prescribed form the words pronounced. The word is
36:49
word in the prescribed form of words is pronounced sometime
36:54
before or after the waters poured upon the head of
36:57
the person to be baptized. A baptism is not valid.
37:00
Let's see if I can get that right. If the
37:03
prescribed form of words is pronounced sometime before or after
37:07
the water is poured upon the head of the person
37:10
be baptized, the baptism is not valid. In other words,
37:13
the words have to be said as the water is poured,
37:17
or at least pretty close to it. The two actions
37:21
must be simultaneously performed. While Protestants baptized, their baptism is
37:27
valid if they have the attention to do what the
37:30
true Church does and are careful to adhere to what
37:34
is prescribed. So this is we're gonna wrap it up here.
37:39
In the next show we will get in we'll start
37:41
getting to each sacrament individually. But this is the overview.
37:44
But this is a very important point. As I said,
37:48
anybody can baptize so long as they follow the correct
37:51
formula baptizing. The name of the Father and the Son
37:54
and the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost really doesn't matter
37:56
which name used there. They mean the same thing. When
38:02
I was confirmed in the Catholic Church, of course, the
38:05
priests asked me, have you been baptized? I said, yeah,
38:07
I was baptized in the Methodist Church. And he said,
38:12
what did they say? I said, I don't know, you know,
38:16
I'll have to go find out. And I brought it
38:18
to him. He said, yeah, that's that's a valid baptism.
38:20
You were you were perfectly well baptist. I said, you know,
38:24
can we be sure, Can we have a conditional baptism?
38:26
He said, no, you are validly baptism baptized, and baptism
38:30
can only be done once. So if you are a
38:34
Protestant out there and you're listening to this, or you're
38:36
a convert or whatever, or a non Christian, you know,
38:41
remember if you were baptized as a child in following
38:45
water being put on your head or don't dipped in,
38:48
doesn't matter if you're a Baptist or Pentecostal when they
38:52
took you down to the river and dunked you in
38:54
like and seeing an old brother or art. Though, as
38:56
long as you were baptized in the name of the
38:58
Father's Son the Holy Spirit, you are forever sealed as
39:02
a member of the body of Christ. So very important
39:09
to understand that re baptisms are not valid, and they're
39:13
actually an insult to the Holy Spirit, because when the
39:18
person is baptized, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
39:24
Now there is such thing, as I said, as a
39:25
conditional baptism. And I going back to the priest and said, no,
39:30
I was not baptized in the name of the Father's
39:32
Son in the Holy Spirit. I was only baptized in
39:34
Jesus' name, which some Protestant groups do. I don't know why, honestly,
39:40
but I mean you, whenever you hear like a lot,
39:44
especially Baptists, pray like you know, I love Duck dynasty.
39:47
Whenever they get together, they say in Jesus Name, we
39:50
pray Amen. They don't say in the name of the
39:52
Father's Son in the Holy Spirit. I don't know why.
39:56
That just seems to be part of their tradition. If
39:58
you're baptized in that way, your baptism's not valid. And
40:04
what you would have to have then is a conditional baptism.
40:07
And what that is. The Catholic Church says, we have
40:10
reason to believe this baptism may not have been conducted properly.
40:16
So this person's going to be baptized again on the
40:21
condition of not having been done properly. It's not a
40:27
redoing of a valid sacrament. Very important to understand that
40:31
it's just like an annoyment when it says we have
40:34
a reason to believe this was not a valid marriage.
40:38
There has to be a legitimate reason to believe that.
40:41
And boy, am I glad that I didn't have to
40:44
go through that because I would have had to get
40:47
in touch somehow with the minister in the church I
40:51
was baptized when I was I don't even know four
40:56
years old, if he was still alive, or or somebody
41:00
who was there who could attest and witness to the
41:03
words that were said, and that would not have been fun.
41:07
But that's it's really hard to get an annoyment too,
41:09
for the same reason. I mean, it's not like a
41:12
no fault divorce in a court. You have to say,
41:15
here's the valid reason why this marriage was not valid. One.
41:19
You know, maybe somebody had been married before and got
41:22
divorced or never got divorced. Maybe they were bigamoust or
41:25
somebody was coerced or compelled, or there's reason to believe
41:31
that one partner was not actually in love with the other,
41:38
they were just using them. That you know, in case
41:41
of spousal abuse, a lot of times it really does
41:44
come down to, you know, one was a sadistic narcissist
41:50
and had no actual love for their spouse, and that
41:55
can be a valid reason. But you know, it's not
42:01
easy always to get the documents in order when you
42:04
have to challenge what would otherwise be considered eternally binding sacrament. Yeah, so,
42:12
I mean, the Catholic Church really does take this stuff very,
42:15
very seriously, because that's the role of the Catholic Church
42:19
is to administer the sacraments and to teach, teach for
42:23
the authority of God and administer the sacrifice the sacraments
42:28
through the power of God. The priest only stands in
42:32
the person of God, in persona ex CHRISTI. It's God
42:35
who baptize, It's God who marries two people, It's God
42:39
who confirmed somebody, et cetera. All right, y'all have a
42:44
good one and I'll talk to you next week. A. B.