iniâ—ientur c. â— l. 2. c. 104. ascrib'd so much to this Sacrament that he doubted not to say That Novatus the Heretic could not receive the Holy Ghost because when he was baptiz'd he was not sign'd with the Seal of Chrism in his great Sickness But of this matter we have most clear Testimonies both from S. Ambrose which he wrote concerning those who are initiated and also from S. Austin in his Books which he wrote against the Epistles of Petiliâ—â— the Donatist both of which were so confident that there could be no doubt of the truth of this Sacrament that they taught and confirm'd it by many places of Scripture Wherefore the One testifies that those words of the Apostle Eph. 4.30 Psal 132. Rom. 5.5 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are seal'd And the Other that which is read in the Psalms As the oyntment on the Head which went down to the Beard even Aarons Beard as also that of the same Apostle The love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts through the Holy Spirit which is given us are to be apply'd to the Sacrament of Confirmation That Confirmation is a Sacrament see it prov'd Ambr. de Sacr. lib. 3. c. 2. l. de Spiritu Sancto c. 6. 7. Item Aug. de Trinit lib. 15. c. 26. in Epist Joan. Tract 3. 6. in Psal 26. And above all these Tertul. lib. de Resurr carn Cypr. Epist 7. Origen hom 9. in Levit. Hieron contra Lucifer Cyril Hierot Catech. 2. But altho by Melchiades it be said that Baptism is very nearly joyn'd to Confirmation IV. The difference of Confirmation and Baptism yet it is not to be accounted the same Sacrament but far disjoyn'd from the other For it is manifest that the Truth of Grace which all the Sacraments do severally give and the Truth also of the sensible thing which signifies that Grace do make them to be various and different Sacraments Epist ad Episc Hisp in medio Since therefore by the Grace of Baptism Men are begotten to a new life The First difference but by the Sacrament of Confirmation those who are already begotten grow to be Men and put away Childishness 1 Cor. 12.11 it is well enough known how much difference there is in the natural life betwixt Generation and Growth in stature the same difference there is between Baptism which regenerates us and Confirmation by vertue whereof we increase and receive perfect strength of Mind Besides The Second because there ought to be a new and distinct kind of Sacrament when the Soul runs into any new difficulty it may easily be perceiv'd that as we want the Grace of Baptism to reform the Soul by Faith so also it is very expedient that the Souls of the Faithful be strengthen'd or confirm'd that they may not be terrifi'd by the fear or danger of any pains punishments or death from the Confession of their Faith Which being done by the sacred Chrism of Confirmation it is thence plainly gather'd that the Reason or Nature of this Sacrament Loc. citato is plainly divers from that of Baptism Wherefore Pope Melchiades accurately prosecutes the difference betwixt them writing thus In Baptism Man is lifted into the Camp but in Confirmation he is arm'd for the Battel In the Font of Baptism the Holy Ghost gives Fulness of Innocence but in Confirmation he gives perfection of Grace In Baptism we are regenerated to Life Regeneration by it self saves those that receive Baptism in Peace but Confirmation adorns and prepares for the encounters But these things have not only been deliver'd by other Councils but especially decreed by the Sacred Council of Trent so that we may not now not only be of another opinion but neither may we by any means doubt hereof Laod. can 48. Meli. c. 6. Florent Constant Trid. Sess 7. But because it was shew'd before how necessary it was to teach of all the Sacraments in common V. Christ the Author of the Sacrament of Confirmation of whom they had their beginning We must therefore teach the same thing here of Confirmation that the Faithful may be more affected with the Sanctity of this Sacrament The Pastors therefore must teach that Christ our Lord was not only the author thereof as S. Fabian Bishop of Rome witnesses Epist 2. initio but appointed the Rite of Chrism and the words which Holy Church uses in the administration thereof which thing is easily allow'd by them who confess Confirmation to be a Sacrament seeing that all Sacred Mysteries are above the reach of humane nature nor can they be instituted by any but by God himself And now we must speak of the Parts thereof VI. The Matter of the Sacrament of Confirmation is Chrism and first of the Matter of it which is call'd Chrism which Name being borrow'd from the Greeks although thereby Prophane Writers signifi'd any sort of Oyntment yet Sacred Writers have made use thereof by a common custom of speech to signifie that Oyntment only which is made of Oyl and Balsom with the Solemn Consecration of the Bishop Wherefore the Two aforesaid corporeal things make the Matter of Confirmation Which composition of divers things as it declares the manifold Grace of the Holy Ghost which is given to those that are confirm'd so does it also shew the excellency of this Sacrament Now that This is the Matter of this Sacrament both Holy Church and Councils have always taught and also it has bin deliver'd by S. Dennys and very many others of the gravest Fathers but chiefly by Pope Fabian Epist 3. 〈◊〉 Episc Orient who witnesses that the Apostles receiv'd of the Lord the Confection of Chrism and left it to us See Aug. in Ps 44. vers 9. lib. 13. de Trinit cap. 27. Greg. in 1. cap. Cant. Conc. Laod. c. 48. Carth. 2. c. 3. 3. cap. 39. Dionys de Eccl. Hierar c. 2. 4. Of the Oyl See Amb. in Ps 118. lib. de Spirit Sanct. cap. 3. Cypr. Epist 70. Nor could any other Matter than that of Chrism VII Why Chrism appointed the Matter of Confirmation seem more proper to declare that thing which is wrought by this Sacrament For Oyl which is fat and is naturally durable and spreads it self does lively express that fulness of Grace which through the Holy Ghost runs down from Christ the Head and is pour'd upon his Members as the Oyntment which ran down Aarons beard even to the skirts of his garments Psal 132 2. Psal 4.48 Joh. 1.16 For God anointed him with the Oyl of gladness above his fellows And of his fulness have we all receiv'd Now what else does Balsom whose smell is most pleasant signifie but that the Faithful when by the Sacrament of Confirmation they are perfected send abroad such a sweetness of all vertues as that they can say with the Apostle 2 Cor. 2. We are the sweet savour of Christ
this Answer that he was a Rock for though he might be a Rock yet he was not a Rock as Christ was for Christ was a Rock truly immoveable but Peter only by virtue of that Rock for God bestows his own dignities upon others Mark this He is a Priest and he makes Priests He is a Rock and he makes a Rock and what things are his he bestows on his Servants Lastly St. Ambrose St. Ambrose says If any one object that the Church is content with One Head and Husband Jesus Christ and needs no other the answer is ready For as we account Christ our Lord not only the Author but the Bestower also of all the Sacraments for He it is that Baptizes and absolves and yet he makes Men the outward Ministers of the Sacraments So he has plac'd over his Church which he governs inwardly with his Spirit a Man to be the Vicar and Minister of his Power For seeing the Visible Church wanted a Visible Head our Saviour accordingly appointed Peter the Head and Pastor of all the Faithful when in most ample expressions he commended to him the feeding of his Sheep that he would have him who succeeded to have plainly the same power of ruling and governing the whole Church Besides XVI The way to preserve Unity for time to come 1 Cor. 12.11 12. Eph. 4.34 there is One and the same Spirit says the Apostle to the Corinthians who bestows Grace on the Faithful even as the Soul does Life on the Members of the Body To preserve which Vnity when he exhorts the Ephesians he says Be earnest to preserve the Vnity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace For as the Body of Man is made up of many Members and all are nourish'd by one Soul which gives Seeing to the Eyes Hearing to the Ears and divers Faculties to the other Senses So the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church is made up of many Faithful People There is also One Hope Eph. 4.4 as the Apostle testifies in the same place to which we are call'd for we all hope for the same thing to wit Eternal Life and Happiness Lastly There is One Faith which all must hold and profess 1 Cor. 1.10 Let there be no Schisms among you says the Apostle And there is One Baptism which is a Sacrament of the Christian Faith Another property of the Church is XVII The Second That she be Holy 1 Pet. 2.9 First that she is Holy which thing we have learn'd from that place of the Prince of Apostles But ye are a chosen generation a Holy Nation But she is call'd Holy because she is consecrated and dedicated to God for so other things of this kind though they are corporeal are us'd to be call'd Holy when they are given and dedicated to divine worship Of which kind in the Old Law were the Vessels Vestments and Altars In which sense the First-born also who were dedicated to the Most High God were call'd Holy Nor should any one wonder Note that the Church is call'd Holy altho within her are contain'd many Sinners For the Faithful are call'd Holy because they are made the People of God and by receiving Baptism and Faith have consecrated themselves to Christ altho in many things they offend and perform not the things they have promis'd even as they who profess any Trade or Art tho they observe not the rules thereof are yet call'd Tradesmen Wherefore S. Paul calls the Corinthians Sanctifi'd and Holy 1 Cor. 1.2 amongst whom it is manifest there were some whom he sharply reproves as Carnal and charges with many other Crimes She is also to be call'd Holy Secondly because as the Body she is joyn'd with her Holy Head Christ the Lord who is the Fountain of all Holiness from whom are pour'd forth the anointings and riches of Divine Goodness Excellently does St. Austin interpret those words of the Prophet S. Aug. in Ps 85.8 Keep thou my soul because I am Holy He dares says he and the Body of Christ dares and that one Man crying out from the ends of the Earth with his Head and under his Head dares say I am Holy For she receiv'd the Grace of Holiness the Grace of Baptism and of Remission of sins And a little after If all Christians and all the Faithful being baptiz'd in Christ have put him on as the Apostle says Gal. 3.27 As many of you as have been baptiz'd have put on Christ if they are made Members of his Body and yet say that they are not Holy they do wrong to the very Head whose Members they are made Add to this Thirdly That the Church alone has the legitimate worship of Sacrifice and the saving use of the Sacraments by which as by the efficacious instruments of Divine Grace God works true Holiness in us So that whosoever are truly Holy cannot be out of this Church It is plain therefore that the Church is Holy and Holy indeed because she is the Body of Christ by whom she is sanctifi'd and wash'd in his Blood Concerning the Holiness of the Church see Justin Martyr in both his Apologies Tertul. in his Apologie August against Fulgen. c. 17. Greg. Moral b. 37. c. 7. The Third Property of the Church is The Third That she be Catholic S. Aug. Ser. 131. 181. de Tempore that she be stil'd Catholic to wit Vniversal which appellation is truly given her because as S. Austin testifies From the East to the West the Brightness of one Faith is spread abroad For the Church is not as in the Public Affairs of Men or in the Conventicles of Heretics bound to the limits of One Kingdom only or to One sort of Men But she embraces in the Bosom of her Charity all Men whether they be Barbarians or Scythians Servants or Free-men Male or Female Wherefore it is written Apoc. 5.6 10. Thou by thy blood hast redeem'd us O God out of every tribe and language and people and nation and hast made us a kingdom to our God And of the Church says David Ps 2. Ask of me and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession And I will remember Ps 86. Rahab and Babylon who shall know me and A man was born in her Besides all the Faithful which have ever been from Adam to this day or who shall be while the World endures and profess the true Faith belong to this very Church Eph. 2.20 which was built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets all which were constituted and founded upon that One Corner-stone Christ who made Both to be One who has proclaim'd Peace to them that are near and to them that are afar off And she is call'd Vniversal for this reason Because all that desire everlasting Salvation are bound to lay fast hold of and to embrace her no otherwise than they who went into
there remain in us the infirmity of the Body The Second Reason Diseases sense of Grief and the motions of Concupiscence is This to wit that we may account them as the Husbandry and Matter whereupon our vertues are to exercise themselves whence we may get a more plentiful Harvest and larger Rewards For when with a patient mind we endure all the inconveniences of this life and by the Divine Assistance bring all the evil affections of our Hearts under the government of Reason we ought assuredly to hope that the time will come 1 Tim. 4.7 when if with the Apostle We have fought the good fight and finish'd the course and kept the faith the Lord the righteous judge in that day will give us also the crown of righteousness which is laid up for us And thus the Lord seem'd to do also with the children of Israel whom tho be deliver'd from the bondage of the Egyptians and drown'd Pharaoh A Figure and his armies in the Sea yet he did not immediately bring them into that blessed Land of Promise â— but first exercis'd them with many and various fortunes and then when he put them into the possession of the Promis'd Land he put the other Inhabitants out of the possessions of their Fathers and some other Nations which they could not destroy were left remaining that God's people might never want occasion of exercising their Warlike Vertue and Courage To these may added The Third Reason that if through Baptism besidse those heavenly gifts wherewith the Soul is adorn'd there were given Bodily endowments also it might well be suspected that many would come to Baptism seeking rather the advantages of This Life than the Glory which is to be hop'd for in the Future Whenas yet what is seen is not false and uncertain 2 Cor. 4. but those good things which a Christian ought always to propose to himself and which are not seen are true and eternal But yet in the mean time the condition of this Life which is full of Miseries XLIX Christians are not without comfort when they suffer wants not its pleasures and joys For what can be more pleasant or desirable to us who now by Baptism are grafted into Christ as branches than to follow him our Captain with the Cross on our Shoulders and not to be tir'd by any labours nor hinder'd by any dangers so as not to press forward with all diligence to the reward of the high calling of God Some to receive of the Lord the Laurel of Virginity others the Crown of Teaching and Preaching others the Palm of Martyrdom and others the other Ornaments of their Vertues Which excellent Badges of Renown and Tokens of Honor would not be given to any unless first we exercis'd our selves in the Stage of this troublesom Life and stoutly kept our ground in the Battel But to return to the Effects of Baptism I. The Third Effect of Baptism Infusion of Grace It must be explain'd that by vertue of this Sacrament we are not only deliver'd from those evils which are truly said to be the greatest of all but also We are enrich'd with the best and most excellent endowments For our Souls are fill'd with Divine Grace whereby being made just and the children of God Mar. 16.17 Eph. 5.26 Sess 6. c. 7. de justifie we are train'd up to be heirs of eternal Salvation also For as it is written he that believes and is Baptiz'd shall be sav'd and the Apostle testifies The Church is cleans'd by the Laver of Water in the Word But Grace as the Council of Trent has decreed to be believ'd of all under pain of an Anathema is not only that by which we have Remission of Sins but it is a Divine Quality inherent in tho Soul and as it were a kind of Splendor and Light which wipes away all the Stains and Spots of our Souls and makes our Souls more beautiful and glorious and this is plainly gather'd from Holy Scripture when it says that Grace is pour'd out and it is us'd to call that Grace the Pledge of the Holy Ghost And to This is added a most noble Train of all Vertues LI. The fourth Effect of Baptism Infusion of Vertues Tit. 3. D. Aug. 23. which together with Grace is pour'd of God into the Soul Wherefore when the Apostle to Timothy says He has sav'd us by the Laver of Regeneration and Renewing of the Holy Ghost which he has pour'd abundantly upon us through Jesus Christ our Saviour S. Austin expounds those words Abundantly pour'd to wit says he For the Remission of Sins and for an abundance of Vertues Of this Effect of Baptism see Chrysost hom ad Neoph. Baptiz Damasc lib. 2. de fide Orthod cap. 36. Lactant. lib. 3. Divin Instit c. 25. Aug. Epist 23. ad Bonifac. item l. 1. de peccat meritis remiss cap. 29. Prosp l. 1. de vocation gent. cap. 9. And then by Baptism we are joyn'd and knit to Christ as Members to the Head As therefore from the Head flows Vertue and Spirit LII The fifth Effect Connexion to Christ our Head whereby all the several parts of the Body are fitly mov'd to perform their proper functions so also of the Fulness of Christ our Lord is shed upon all those who are justifi'd Divine Grace and Vertue which renders us fit and ready for all Offices of Christian Piety That by Baptism we are knit to Christ as Members to the Head See Aug. Ep. 23. item l. 1. de peccat meritis remiss c. 16. Prosp de vocat Gent. lib. 1. c. 9. Bernard Serm. 1. in Coena Dom. D. Thom. 3. p. 7.69 art 5. Nor ought it to seem strange to any LIII Whence the Difficulty of doing well even in those that are Baptiz'd if tho thus we are furnish'd and adorn'd with plenty of vertues yet we find a great deal of difficulty and pains in the very beginning or at least before the compleating of pious and honest actions For it so happens for this reason not as though those vertues from which those pious actions spring are not given us of the Divine Bounty but because after Baptism there remains a sharp strugling of the carnal Desire against the Spirit in which contest notwithstanding it would ill become a Christian either to faint or grow cowardly Phil. 4.8 Since being encourag'd with the goodness of God we ought to strengthen our selves with an assur'd Hope that time will be when by daily use and exercise of living well 2 Cor. 3.11 Whatsoever things are comely whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are holy all these will seem easie and pleasant These things let us willingly consider these things let us chearfully perform that the God of Peace may be with us Besides LIV. The sixth Effect of Baptism A Character by Baptism we are sign'd with a Character which can never be blotted out of our Soul of which there is