Sacraments of Initiation

Question 1

What was the common understanding of baptism?

Answer 1

a. Water cleanses

b. rites that involve cleansing and purification (cultic impediments)

Question 2

OT and baptism (7 ideas)

Answer 2

The rite of initiation was circumcision (there are some text that pre-figure baptism)

a. Gen. Creation: Spirit over the water
b. Gen 7. Noah: purification
c. Exo. Pass the red sea
d. Num. Moses stroke the rock
e. Judges/Kings: Kings bathes and is cleansed
f. Ez. 36, 25: I’ll sprinkle clean water upon you and give you new hearts
g. Zec. 13: On that day, there will be a fountain to purify you from sin

Question 3

NT and baptism (7 ideas)

Answer 3

a. Synoptics: Baptism of Jesus: Revealed his identity, did it as a symbol
b. Mat 28,20: Baptize and teach…
c. Acts 2,37: Repent and be baptized
d. Acts 16: baptsm of Lydia and her house
e. Acts 18: Crispus and his household
f. Rom 6: Share in the death of Christ, to share in his resurecction
g. 1 Peter 3, 18: Not to cleanse the body but the conscience

Question 4

Fathers of the Church and baptism

Answer 4

a. Justin Martyr: 1 apology. renewed by Christ, consecrated, go to the waters of rebirth
i. The Trinitarian formula is used
ii. Then they participate in the eucharist (baptism is the beginning)
b. Hipolitus: Apostolic Tradition. Rubrics for baptism
c. Commonalities: Effects: forgiveness, adoption, union with Christ/Church, mark

Question 5

Baptism according to Augustine

Answer 5

leave a seal (Donatists), forgives personal and original sin (Pelagius)

Question 6

Baptism according to Aquinas

Answer 6

gives us necessary for salvation, are instruments of grade, matter/form

Question 7

Baptism according to the Council of Florence (6 ideas)

Answer 7

i. gateway to spiritual life
ii. member of the body of Christ
iii. it is necessary
iv. there only one formula (trinitaria)
v. Minister is the priest (others can baptize)
vi. for remission of sin (personal/original) without penance

Question 8

Baptism according to Luther

Answer 8

Sign of grace but not effective until confirmed by faith

Question 9

Baptism according to Calvin

Answer 9

Sign that you belong to the predestined

Question 10

Trent and baptism (6 ideas)

Answer 10

a. JBap. had a different baptism
b. true and natural water is needed
c. the Catholic church holds true doctrine on baptism
d. Not optional but necessary for salvation (ordinarily)
e. Apostates are not re-baptized
f. children’s baptism is reaffirmed

Question 11

Vatican II and baptism (3 docs.)

Answer 11

1. Sac. Concilium: Renewal reform of ritual
   i. Catechumenate restored
   ii. revision of ritual for children and adults
   iii. baptism of infants should be addressed to the child
   iv. express clearly the rights of Parents/God parents
2. Lumen Gent.
   i. Baptism incorporates and gives grace
   ii. people are reborn as children of God
3. Unitatis Redintegratio:
   i. it is a sacrament of unity, but is the beginning/incorporation in the salvation plan

Question 12

Contemporary understanding of baptism

Answer 12

a. It is the basis of Christian life
b. prefigured by events in the OT
c. baptism if Christ is a manifestation of his identity and kenosis
d. at baptism we receive our identity (purify, justify, sanctify)
e. Triple immersion/pouring and Trinitarian formula
f. baptism of infants is ancient
g. in the Latin church the ordinary minister is an ordained cleric (but in emergency any other)
h. Necessary for the salvation of those to whom the Gospel has been preached, and can ask for it
i. There is baptism of blood/desire
j. children who die without baptism are entrusted to the mercy of God (no limbo)
k. all sins are forgiven (personal, original)
l. it consecrates us for worship
m. the baptized is:
i. configured to Christ
ii. sharer of the common priesthood
iii. a new creation
iv. adopted by God
v. member of the Body of Christ
vi. Co-heir of the kingdom
vii. Partaker of the divine nature
viii. Temple of the Holy Spirit (live in faith, hope and Charity)

Question 13

OT and Eucharist (sacrifice and meal)

Answer 13

a. Meal/sacrifice began as agricultural practice but became sign of election
b. Gen 22: Abraham/Isaac: willingness to sacrifice son becomes template
i. God will provide
ii. Model of trust
iii. Personal surrender to God
c. Ex. 24: Bull- Moses: Covenant making, sign of communion of man and God
d. Ex.12: Passover, Christ’s words and actions relate to the Passover but goes beyond
i. It was an anamnesis of the history of salvation
ii. recounted through Q/A why that night was different
iii. Consisted of symbolic food
iv. it was a thanksgiving (Berikat)
e. Gen 14: Melkizedek gives thanks with bread and wine
f. Deut. 8: Mana from heaven
g. Psalm 8: bread that strengthens and wine that gladdens.
h. Prov: Wisdom prepares a banquet

Question 14

NT and Eucharist (Last Supper)

Answer 14

a. Four accounts (3 synoptics + 1 Corinthians)
b. Palestinian Tradition (no mention of new, just covenant)
i. Matthew 26, 26-29 and Mk 14, 22-25
c. Antiocene Tradition (New Covenant after Jeremiah 31, and blood given after supper)
i. Luke 22, 15-20 and 1Corinthians 11, 23-26
d. Passed down as the words of Christ
e. Jesus acts as the head of the house in Jewish custom, and gives a new meaning.
f. Last supper inaugurates the eschaton
g. It is not a reenactment but a participation in that same supper and the plan of salvation
h. Common to all accounts:
i. took=offertory
ii. blessed/gave thanks=Euch. prayer
iii. broke= fraction
iv. gave=communion

Question 15

Patristic understanding of the Eucharist (Ignatius of Antioch, Dicdache, Justn Martyr, Ireneaus, Hypolitus, Augustine)

Answer 15

a. we receive the flesh and blood of Christ
b. the unity of the church comes from the Eucharist
c. Christ causes the change of substance
d. it is Christ sacrifice
e. it forgives sins
f. it changes us
g. it’s a thanksgiving for all creation
i. Justin Martyr: It is thanksgiving, only eaten by the faithful, it is what Christ taught us
ii. Augustine: It is (res, signum), Same priest is victim whose sacrifice is perfect

Question 16

What was the error of Paschaisus Radbertus (865) on the Eucharist?

Answer 16

extreme realism (Christ’s actual body is broken, eaten, stored)

Question 17

What was the error of Berengar of Tour (1088) on the Eucharist?

Answer 17

Extreme symbolism (It is just a sign)- Corrected by council of Rome

Question 18

How did Aquinas develop the Eucharist?

Answer 18

Not the one who use transubstantiation for the first time (P. Inocent III, Lateram and Lyon)

a. Elaborates on Transubstantiation (accidents remain, substance is changed)
b. immediate effect: res sacramentum (presence of Christ)
c. Ultimate effect: res sacramenti (unity of the mystical body)

Question 19

How did the Council of Constance (1415) ruled against Hus (nationlist) and Calixtines (give chalice to all)?

Answer 19

Decree on communion by bread alone (it has all the body/blood)

Question 20

What did Luther say about the Eucharist?

Answer 20

No chalice for lay, transubstantiation instead of consubstantiation, Mass as sacrifice

Question 21

What was the problem of Zwingli related to the Eucharist?

Answer 21

extreme symbolism

Question 22

What did Calvin say about the Eucharist?

Answer 22

The change is not on the bread and wine but on us (Spiritualism)

Question 23

What is the doctrine of Trent on the Eucharist?

Answer 23

a. decree on the Eucharist (1551)
i. Real presence
ii. effects: remembrance of Christ, forgiveness of sins, symbol of unity of the church
iii. the greatest sacrament (high point of sacramental life)
iv. concomitance (all Christ is present in both species, one or a particle)
v. worship of the sacrament is appropriate
b. Doctrine on Mass as Sacrifice (1562)
i. Mass is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Christ
ii. sacrifice is efficacious for the living and the dead
iii. It celebrates and commemorates saints but it’s offered to God.

Question 24

What did Vatican II say about the Eucharist?

Answer 24

a. Rearticulating of previous councils (Source and summit of Christian life).
b. Presbyterorum Ordinis #5: All sacraments, prayer and works are bound to the Eucharist

Question 25

OT prefigurations of Confirmation

Answer 25

1) Laying on of Hands
• Deut. 34:9 - Moses laying hands on Joshua
• Num. 8:10 - Laying hands on the Levites
2) Anointing with Oil is prevalent throughout the ancient near east
• Therapeutic, healing, calming, etc. even outside Judaism
• Ex. 29:7 - Anointing Aaron
• Lev. 4 - Anointing of Levitical priests
• 1 Sam. 16 - Horn of oil to anoint David
• 1 Sam. 16:12 - “The spirit of the Lord rushes upon David” (Spirit claiming someone for a role in the community)

Question 26

NT and Confirmation

Answer 26

1) Acts 8:14-17 - Peter and John pray that people in Samaria receive the Holy Spirit then lay hands on them.
• Distinct sacramental moment
• Done by 2 Apostles
• Had been baptized, but did not yet receive the fullness of the Spirit
• Baptism + Confirmation = Complimentary ritual actions
2) Acts 19:1-7 - Paul: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?”
• Ephesians: “We did not know there was a Holy Spirit.”
• Paul: “How were you baptized?”
• Ephesians: “By John (the baptist).”
• *Paul: Baptizes them in the name of Christ and then lays hands on them for the conferral of the fulness of the gifts of the Spirit.

Question 27

Hippolytus on Confirmation in The Apostolic Tradition (c.215-225)

Answer 27

• Discusses the celebration of Confirmation (among other sacraments)
1) The imposition of hands accompanied by a trinitarian prayer.
• This immediately follows a person’s baptism
• The minister is a bishop
2) The Bishop with his hand next pours the oil of thanksgiving, spreading it on their heads.
• A perfumed/scented oil: Latin West = Chrism, East = Myron
• Accompanied by a trinitarian prayer
3) Embrace them with the fraternal kiss, saying, “Peace be with you.” Person responds, “And with your spirit.”

Question 28

Tertullian (+226) on Confirmation in his Treatise on the Resurrection of the Body

Answer 28

Baptism and Confirmation are celebrated together:
• “The flesh is washed that the soul may be made spotless”
• “The flesh is anointed so that the soul may be consecrated. The body is signed with the sign of the cross, the overshadowing by the imposition of hands, the flesh feeds on the body and blood of Christ.”
1) Bath 2) Imposition of Hands & Anointing 3) Eucharist

Question 29

Pope Innocent I’s Letter to Bishop of Gubbio (416)

Answer 29

“As for the signing of infants with Chrism, it is clear that it may be done only by the bishop.”
• Priests are of the second order —> do not have fulness of priestly powers
• Reserved/proper only to the bishop - custom shows this
• “It is allowed for presbyters, in the absence of a bishop, to anoint the person, but not their forehead.”
• Today the child is anointed with the oil of catechumenates on the chest & with chrism on the top of their head
• BUT NOT THE FOREHEAD

Question 30

Aquinas on Confirmation

Answer 30

1) The notion of the human person coming to maturity
• Analogy between natural & supernatural
• 1) Baptism: A re-generation.
• Confirmation: Man arrives at the perfect age of the spiritual life.
2) Christ instituted it not by bestowing it but by promising it (Jn. 16)
3) Christ bestowed on the Apostles the reality of the sacrament without the sacrament itself.
4) In this sacrament the Holy Spirit is given for strength in spiritual combat
5) Confirmation is a spiritual growth to maturity, as Baptism is rebirth. • Confirmation: Power to do things which pertain to spiritual warfare
6) The character of confirmation, of necessity, presupposes the baptismal character.
7*) The divine power is not confined to the sacraments.

Question 31

Council of Florence (1439) on Confirmation

Answer 31

1) The second sacrament is confirmation
2) Matter = Chrism (oil & balsam blessed/consecrated by Bishop)
3) Form = “I sign you with the sign of the cross and confirm you with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and etc.…”
4) The ORDINARY minister is the bishop (though dispensations can be given to priests, but they use the oil blessed by the bishop)
5) Effect = In it the Holy Spirit is given for strength as he was given to the apostles on Pentecost, in order that Christians may courageously confess the name of Christ.
• i.e. A deepening

Question 32

Trent on Confirmation (1547)

Answer 32

• Confirmation is a true and proper sacrament, not just a catechesis for adults
• Confirmation is administered through the use of Chrism
• The ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop

Question 33

Vatican II (Lumen Gentium 11) on Confirmation

Answer 33

Confirmation:

1) Bound more perfectly to the Church
2) Endowed with special strength of the Holy Spirit
3) More strictly obliged, as true witnesses of Christ, to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. • —> Bound up with Mission

Question 34

What are the effects/fruits of Confirmation?

Answer 34

1) The increase and deepening of Baptismal grace.
2) It roots us more deeply in divine filiation (sonship).
3) Unites us more firmly to Christ.
4) Increases the Gifts of the Holy Spirit in us.
5) Renders our bond with the Church more perfect.
6) It gives a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith in word and deed.
=» A perfection of Baptism.