Form, Matter and Intention

Form, Matter and Intention - Part 2

JMJ

Given that Pope Francis is not letting up and the direction some are taking in response to this, I thought it would be a good idea to do a deeper dive into the 'Intention' part of the validity of the Sacraments.

First the Dogma:

CANON XI.-If any one saith, that, in ministers, when they effect, and confer the sacraments, there is not required the intention at least of doing what the Church does; let him be anathema. (Council of Trent: 7)

and the following have bearing as well:

CANON XII.-If any one saith, that a minister, being in mortal sin,-if so be that he observe all the essentials which belong to the effecting, or conferring of, the sacrament,-neither effects, nor confers the sacrament; let him be anathema. (Council of Trent: 7)

The Sacraments of the New Covenant contain the grace which they signify, and bestow it on those who do not hinder it. (De fide.)

The Sacraments work ex opere operato. (De fide.)

Note these are Dogmas of the Catholic Church to deny this is ... well true heresy.

How, my question is what were the reasons that the Catholic Church decided it was time to clarify this aspect.

For more insight I'll turn to 'Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Dr. Ludwig Ott':

While the Reformers recognised only a subjective psychological efficacy in the Sacraments (regarding them as they excite and confirm fiducial faith in the recipient), the Catholic Church teaches that the Sacraments have an objective efficacy, that is, an efficacy independent of the subjective disposition of the recipient or of the minister.

So the 'reformers' ie. Luther et al, believed that the Sacraments cause interiour feelings of faith in the congregation. Hence the reason why they believe that Our Lord is present because of the faith of the people and not the power of the priesthood.

This sounds very similar to the vital immanence of the modernists.

It also reminds me of the pre elevation genuflection of Catholic priests in the Tridentine Mass.

To sum up:

The priest (validly ordained) needs to have, at a minimum, the intention of doing what the Church does for the valid confection of the Sacraments.

Any other intentions he may have pre and post the performance of the rite with proper matter has no bearing on the subject.

So as hard as it may be to accept, if a validly ordained priest consecrates the host, even if his intention post-consecration is to provide the host for evil intentions such as a Black Mass or to provide the host for communion of divorcee's, protestants etc (re: Pope Francis and Amoris Laetitiae).

P^3

Tradicat: Form, Matter and Intention - Part 1

Tradicat: Our Duty - Sins of Omission (with reference to Intention)

Comments

"Father, Should I Attend That Mass?" Advice on Attending Non-SSPX Latin Masses

+ JMJ I see that the 'resistors' are in a tizzy because Fr. Robinson used them as an example instead of the sedevacantists. What is interesting is that you can apply the exact same reasons against going to a sede mass as that of the 'resistors'. Namely: On the other extreme are those situations where an SSPX priest knows that a certain non-SSPX traditionalist venue is a grave danger to the faith . Frankly, most, if not all, of the Resistance Masses would fall into this category. In many cases, the behavior of these priests has been and continues to be scandalous, by their (A) spirit, their (B) preaching, and their indiscriminate conferral of the (C) priesthood and (D) episcopacy. To attend a Mass with such ongoing scandals poses a serious danger to the souls of the faithful. Yep, looking at A,B,C and D the shoe fits. On this basis the "resistors" = "sedevacantists". P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org A companion article to a recent "Questions with ...

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+ JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas. After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP. Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...

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+ JMJ I came to Tradition a few years after they had bought a chapel. My wife told me of the earlier years when Fr. Normandin would come to town and Mass would be held in a room at the convention centre. He'd start by blessing the room and then proceed with Mass. This went on for a while before the one of the faithful found a small hall that would suit just fine. They pooled their money and bought the building. Then came the work as the retiree's refinished the floor, setup the sactuary. Oh, did I mention that I heard that the hall had been used by a motorcycle gang? The floor needed a lot of work. I remember seeing pictures of the founders working to make the hall into a fitting place for the Sacrifice of the Mass. That little chapel would be a refuge like many others serviced by Fr. Normandin. From Thunderbay, Ontrario to Nanaimo, British Columbia - the SSPX chapels are all the results of Fr. Normandin's missionary work in those desperate times. Without h...

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+ JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc. So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post. Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God. So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries. As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...

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