nostri Papæ N. in hac parte mihi commissa, absolvo te à vinculo excommunicationis, quam incurristi per hæresim professam; admitto te in gremium sanctæ matris Ecclesiæ, et in Sacramentorum ejus participationem; communioni et unitati Fidelium te restituo: in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Amen. Postea dicitur: Te Deum, p. 171. V. Dominus vobiscum.

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

OREMUS.

A, quæsumus, Ecclesiæ tuæ, misericors Deus, ut Spiritu sancto congregata, hostili nullatenùs incursione turbetur.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui salvas omnes, et neminem vis perire, respice ad animas diabolica fraude deceptas: ut omni hæretica pravitate deposita, errantium corda resipiscant, et ad veritatis tuæ redeant unitatem. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, etc. Amen.

17*

SHORT INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE

ADMINISTRATION OF THE SACRAMENTS.

EXHORTATION BEFORE BAPTISM.

APTISM is one of the seven sacraments insti

BA

tuted by our Divine Saviour for the purpose of communicating his grace to the soul of man. It is the first and most essential of the sacraments and absolutely necessary for salvation. "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Hence it is of the utmost importance that christian parents should have their children presented in due time for the reception of this holy rite, lest, by an unnecessary and imprudent delay, they be deprived of the inestimable blessings attached to it. The effects which baptism produces in the soul are most admirable, and cannot be too frequently the subject of your reflections. It is not a mere favor bestowed on man by his Creator, the advantages of which he may enjoy at his pleasure or forfeit with impunity; it is a mutual engagement, a sacred alliance between God and the soul, which leads him to shower upon us his choicest gifts and obligates us to serve him with fidelity. By this holy ceremony we are purified from that original guilt which has been transmitted by our first parent

to all his posterity and from every other sin that may have been committed before its reception. It imparts to the soul a new and spiritual life which consists in an intimate union with God by faith, hope and charity, and imprints on it a character which consecrates it in a special manner to his service, and entitles it to all the blessings that have been purchased for us by the sufferings of Jesus Christ. But these graces, as I before observed, require a correspondent fidelity on our part and impose great obligations. "If thou wilt enter life, says our Saviour, keep the commandments." It does not suffice to have been honored with the christian character, or to believe speculatively the truths of revelation; one of the primary objects of religion is to reform the heart as well as to instruct the understanding. Hence the solemnity of the rite employed by the Church in the administration of baptism. The sacrèd unction by which we are consecrated to the service of the Almighty, the sign of the cross reminding us of the faith we profess, the various exorcisms in which the evil spirit is commanded to depart from the soul, the white garment presented to us as an emblem of the sanctity of a christian life, the burning taper which represents the light of virtue that should ever shine forth in our actions, all concur to impress upon our minds the important obligation we contract, of renouncing the ways of sin and imitating the example of our Divine Saviour. Such are the happy effects of that holy ceremony which you are about to witness. Such are the blessings to be conferred on this child and in some degree upon us all, if we invoke them with fervor and sincerity at the throne of grace. May we then derive from this occasion the many advantages which it is calculated to impart. May it be for us a time of conversion, or at least of renovation in the practice of duty, that the sacred character which we have received, may prove to us a source of happiness in this life and of endless enjoyment in the life to come.

L

AFTER BAPTISM.

ET us return our fervent thanks to God for the blessings which he has bestowed upon this child. It has been numbered among the favorites of heaven and associated with the mystical body of Christ. Let us pray that the grace which it has received, may be its protection during life, and guard it securely from all the dangers to which it will be exposed in the way of salvation. It will, indeed, be the safeguard of its innocence and a pledge of eternal happiness, if you who have been charged with its welfare, are solicitous to cultivate these first impressions of virtue. To do this by wholesome instruction, by a religious education, and particularly by the influence of good example, is one of the principal duties of a christian parent. Should circumstances require it, the same office devolves secondarily upon the godfather and godmother, who are the spiritual guardians of the child and are responsible for its instruction in the principles of the Catholic faith. I must not omit to inform you likewise, that the sponsors contract a spiritual affinity with the child and its parents, which is an impediment to marriage, but they contract no affinity with each other. May you who have assumed this important charge, be ever mindful of your obligations, and by zealously promoting the salvation of those who have been confided to your care, merit for yourselves the crown of everlasting life.

ANOTHER EXHORTATION

MORE EXPLANATORY OF THE CEREMONIES USED IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF BAPTISM.

THE

THE Sacrament of Baptism is an ordinance of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which we are cleansed from the guilt of original sin in which all men are born and by a new and spiritual birth are made children of God, brethren of Christ and temples of the Holy Ghost, with an undoubted right to the kingdom of heaven. The solemnity with which the Church administers this sacrament, though not essential to its validity, is of great importance and should by no means be omitted. The principal object of the various rites and prayers which she makes use of, is to draw down the blessing of God upon the person to be baptized, to impress upon our mind the magnitude of the blessings which we here receive and the obligations imposed on us by the Christian character.

Conformably to the practice of the primitive Church, the person to be baptized is presented by his godfather and godmother as sureties for the fulfilment of his baptismal engagements. The name which they give him on this occasion should be that of a saint, because it is intended to remind him of his having been associated with the saints of God, and of the exertion he should make to imitate the virtues of his holy patron. The sponsors having asked in his name to be admitted to the faith, that is to be made a christian, in order to obtain everlasting life, various ceremonies are performed to prepare the soul for the grace of baptism, such as blowing thrice on the face in contempt of Satan and commanding him to depart, imprinting the sign of the cross, first on the forehead, to signify that we should never be ashamed to make open profession of the faith of Christ, and then on the breast, to express the desire which we should have at all times to obey the commandments of God; putting into the