Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/195

 of sacraments, who live and die wicked, make up a hrge portion of members and ministers of' the Church of Rome. The Council of. Trent, in imitation of. the Council of Florence, gives us the following canon: "Whoever shall tlirm that when ministers shoji perform and confer a sacrament, it is not necenar that they should have at least the intention to do what the church does; let him be accursed. 0 The Roman catechism, page 143, as formerly quoted, teaches the same thing. Intention, sa8 Dens, is the act of the  referring to an end: whence the necessar intention in the minister cousists in the act of his will whereby* he wills the external act of the sacrament, under the IWof'easion of doing what the church does. The intention is distin- guished into mmh, m?, A, and intdee. l. u Aq'f, ml intention is not sudtlcient to the perfecting of a sacrs- ment, because this does not suffice for performing a human act; nay, it is properly no intention. 2. Nor is an interpretative intention enough; for though, from the preceding volition, the sacramental act can be as voluntary as an effect in a cause, yet here it is not now exercised 5y the minister 88 by a rmtional agent. 3. But the actual intention 8nce8, 8eing it is the best. Although it is not necessary, yet the minister should study to obtain it. 4. But a rftm intention is sufficient, which, by the force of the preceding act, flows into the following one; and hence it is sttfilcient to the human act. Hence he who formally goes to the baptistery*, the confessional, the altar, &c., about to minister, validly baptizes, solves, consecrates, &c., although during the time of his ministry he is dintracted.nt From our author (Nos. 40, 41) just quoted we select the following outlines of the doctrine of intention, as farther explana- tot F of the subject: He' says the object of the intention of doing what the church does may be fourfold, whence also the intention is fourfold; namely, "1. The intention of doing merely an action o� external ceremony, as it were formally undertaken, without any Personal will of solemnizing a sacra- ment, or of doing what the church does. This intention is usually called msrdy eteraa/. 2. The intention can be, no only of externally performing the external rite, but also inwantl, and in the mind, of doing generally what the church doeth, whatever, in the mean time, the minister may think concerning the church itself. This intention is caAled i. 3. The intention of administering a sacrament of the true nMne, as the Roman Church does. 4. The intention of con- farring sacramental effects." "Anr. In thefirst place, the fourth is not mquir; but the in- rantion, though with the will of nut conferring theeffet, is sufficient, f.r which, simply and generally, he wills to do what the chur doos; the effect do not refer to the essence of the ramon.  DaM, Trm:t. de Scrum., No. 98, vol. iv, p. 187. 1
 * Sams. 7, mm. 11.

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