A Sacrament is a visible sign instituted by Christ by which grace is conveyed to our souls. Three things are necessary to constitute a Sacrament, viz.—a visible sign, invisible grace and the institution by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Thus, in the Sacrament of Baptism, there is [pg 266] the outward sign, which consists in the pouring of water and in the formula of words which are then pronounced; the interior grace or sanctification which is imparted to the soul: “Be baptized, ... and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost;”[328] and the ordinance of Jesus Christ, who said: “Teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”[329]
Our Savior instituted seven Sacraments, namely, Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders and Matrimony, which I shall explain separately.
According to the teachings of Holy Writ, man was created in a state of innocence and holiness, and after having spent on this earth his allotted terms of years he was destined, without tasting death, to be translated to the perpetual society of God in heaven.[330] But in consequence of his disobedience he fell from his high estate of righteousness; his soul was defiled by sin; he became subject to death and to various ills of body and soul and forfeited his heavenly inheritance.
Adam's transgression was not confined to himself, but was transmitted, with its long train of dire consequences, to all his posterity. It is called original sin because it is derived from our original progenitor. “Wherefore,” says St. Paul, “as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death, and so death passed unto all men, in whom all have sinned.”[331] And elsewhere he tells us that “we were by nature children of wrath.”[332]
“Who,” says Job, “can make him clean that is conceived of unclean seed,” or, as the Septuagint version expresses it: “There is no one free from [pg 267] stain, not even though his life be of one day.”[333] As an infant one day old cannot commit an actual sin, the stain must come from the original offense of Adam. “Behold,” says David, “I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me.”[334] The Scripture also tells us that Jeremiah and John the Baptist were sanctified before their birth, or purified from sin, and, of course, at that period of their existence they were incapable of actual sin. They were cleansed, therefore, from the original taint.
These passages clearly show that we have all inherited the transgression of our first parents, and that we are born enemies of God. And it is equally plain that these texts apply to every member of the human family—to the infant of a day old as well as to the adult.
Indeed, even without the light of Holy Scripture, we have only to look into ourselves to be convinced that our nature has undergone a rude shock. How else can we account for the miseries and infirmities of our bodies, the blindness of our understanding, the perversity of our will—inclined always to evil rather than to good—the violence of our passions, which are constantly waging war in our hearts? How well does the Catholic doctrine explain this abnormal state. Hence, Paschal truly says that man is a greater mystery to himself without original sin than is the mystery itself.
The Church, however, declares that the Blessed Virgin Mary was exempted from the stain of original sin by the merits of our Savior Jesus Christ; and that, consequently, she was never for an instant subject to the dominion of Satan.
This is what is meant by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.