Bonaventure

DISTINCTIO II.

Cap. I. De Sacramentis novae legis.

Iam ad Sacramenta novae legis accedamus, quae sunt baptismus, confirmatio, panis benedictionis¹, id est eucharistia, poenitentia, unctio extrema, ordo, coniugium; quorum alia remedium contra peccatum praebent et gratiam adiutricem conferunt, ut baptismus; alia in remedium tantum sunt, ut coniugium; alia gratia et virtute nos fulciunt, ut eucharistia et ordo.

Si vero quaeritur, quare non fuerint haec Sacramenta instituta mox post hominis lapsum, cum in his sit iustitia et salus; dicimus, non ante adventum Christi, qui gratiam attulit, gratiae Sacramenta fuisse danda, quae ex ipsius morte et passione virtutem sortita sunt. Christus autem venire noluit, antequam homo de lege naturali et scripta convinceretur, quod neutra iuvari posset.

Fuit tamen² coniugium ante peccatum institutum, «non utique propter remedium, sed ad Sacramentum et ad officium»; post peccatum vero fuit ad remedium contra carnalis concupiscentiae corruptelam; de quo suo loco tractabimus.

Cap. II. De baptismo.

Nunc vero de baptismi Sacramento videamus, «quod inter novae gratiae Sacramenta primum est. Baptismum Christi Ioannes suo baptismo praenuntiavit, qui primus baptizasse legitur, sed in aqua, non in Spiritu, sicut ipse ait: Ego baptizo vos in aqua in poenitentiam. Sola enim corpora abluebat, a peccatis vero non mundabat³».

Cap. III. De differentia baptismi Ioannis et Christi.

Baptismus Ioannis erat in poenitentiam, non in remissionem; baptismus vero Christi in remissionem; quia Ioannes baptizans homines ad poenitentiam vocabat, et quos baptizabat poenitere docebat, secundum illud: Veniebant ad Ioannem in Iordanem, confitentes peccata sua⁴. Sed in baptismo Ioannis non dabatur peccatorum remissio, quae data est in Christi baptismo.

Cap. IV. Quid utilitatis habuit baptismus Ioannis.

«Ad quid ergo utilis erat baptismus Ioannis? Quia homines usu baptizandi praeparabat ad baptismum Christi». — Sed quaeritur, quare dictus est Ioannis baptismus, sicut Veritas dicit⁵: Baptismus Ioannis unde est? Quia ibi Ioannis operatio visibilis tantum erat exterius lavantis, non invisibilis gratia Dei interius operantis. Sed tamen et illa Ioannis operatio a Deo erat, et baptismus ille a Deo erat, non ab homine⁶; sed hominis dictus est, quia nihil ibi gerebatur, quod non ageret homo.

Cap. V. Si fuit Sacramentum baptismus ille.

Si vero quaeritur, an Sacramentum fuerit; satis potest concedi ex eo sensu, quo legalia signa dicuntur Sacramenta. Significabat enim baptismus Ioannis rem sacram, scilicet baptismum Christi, qui non tantum est poenitentiae, sed et remissionis peccatorum.

Cap. VI. De forma baptismi Ioannis.

Hic considerandum est, si baptizati a Ioanne iterum baptizati sunt baptismo Christi, et qua forma verborum usus sit Ioannes. Illi qui baptizati sunt a Ioanne, nescientes, Spiritum sanctum esse, ac spem ponentes in illius baptismo, postea baptizati sunt baptismo Christi. — Baptismus autem Ioannis in nomine venturi tradebatur. Unde Hieronymus⁷ super Ioelem: «Qui dicit, se in Christum credere, et non credit in Spiritum sanctum, nondum habet claros oculos. Unde baptizati a Ioanne in nomine venturi, id est Domini Iesu, quia dixerunt: Sed neque, si Spiritus sanctus est, audivimus, iterum baptizabantur, immo verum baptisma accipiebant». Illi vero, qui spem non posuerunt in baptismo Ioannis, et Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum

credebant, non post baptizati fuerunt⁸, sed impositione manuum, ab Apostolis super eos facta, Spiritum sanctum receperunt. Alii vero, qui non ita credebant, baptizati sunt baptismo Christi, ut praedictum est. Unde Hieronymus⁹: «Qui Spiritum sanctum nesciebant, cum baptismum a Ioanne acceperunt, iterum baptizati sunt», ne quis ex Iudaeis vel gentibus putaret, aquam sine Spiritu sancto ad salutem posse sufficere. De hoc etiam Ambrosius¹⁰ in primo libro de Spiritu sancto: «Quidam negaverunt, se scire Spiritum sanctum, cum baptizatos se dicerent Ioannis baptismo, qui in advenientis Iesu, non in suo, baptizavit nomine. Isti ergo, quia nec in Christi nomine nec cum fide Spiritus sancti baptizati fuerant, non potuerunt accipere baptismi Sacramentum; baptizati sunt igitur in nomine Christi, nec iteratum est in his baptisma, sed novatum».

DISTINCTION II.

Chap. I. On the Sacraments of the new law.

Let us now come to the Sacraments of the new law, which are baptism, confirmation, the bread of blessing¹, that is, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, marriage; of which some afford a remedy against sin and confer helping grace, as baptism; others are for a remedy only, as marriage; others sustain us with grace and virtue, as the eucharist and order.

But if it is asked why these Sacraments were not instituted soon after the fall of man, since in them there is justice and salvation; we say that the Sacraments of grace were not to be given before the coming of Christ, who brought grace, and which obtained their power from his death and passion. But Christ did not will to come before man was convicted, by the natural and the written law, that neither could help.

Nevertheless² marriage was instituted before sin, «not indeed for the sake of a remedy, but unto a Sacrament and unto a duty»; but after sin it was for a remedy against the corruption of carnal concupiscence; concerning which we shall treat in its proper place.

Chap. II. On baptism.

But now let us look at the Sacrament of baptism, «which is the first among the Sacraments of the new grace. John foretold the baptism of Christ by his own baptism, who is recorded to have baptized first, but in water, not in the Spirit, as he himself says: I baptize you in water unto penance. For he washed bodies only, but did not cleanse from sins³».

Chap. III. On the difference between the baptism of John and of Christ.

The baptism of John was unto penance, not unto remission; but the baptism of Christ unto remission; because John, baptizing men, called them to penance, and taught those whom he baptized to repent, according to that: They came to John at the Jordan, confessing their sins⁴. But in the baptism of John there was not given the remission of sins, which was given in the baptism of Christ.

Chap. IV. What usefulness the baptism of John had.

«For what then was the baptism of John useful? Because by the practice of baptizing it prepared men for the baptism of Christ». — But it is asked why it was called the baptism of John, as the Truth says⁵: The baptism of John, whence is it? Because there the working of John was visible only, of one washing outwardly, not the invisible grace of God working inwardly. Yet that working of John also was from God, and that baptism was from God, not from man⁶; but it was called man's, because nothing was done there which man did not do.

Chap. V. Whether that baptism was a Sacrament.

But if it is asked whether it was a Sacrament; it can well enough be granted in that sense in which the legal signs are called Sacraments. For the baptism of John signified a sacred thing, namely the baptism of Christ, which is not only of penance, but also of the remission of sins.

Chap. VI. On the form of the baptism of John.

Here it must be considered whether those baptized by John were baptized again with the baptism of Christ, and what form of words John used. Those who were baptized by John, not knowing that there is a Holy Spirit, and placing their hope in his baptism, were afterwards baptized with the baptism of Christ. — Now the baptism of John was handed down in the name of him who was to come. Hence Jerome⁷ on Joel: «He who says that he believes in Christ, and does not believe in the Holy Spirit, has not yet clear eyes. Whence those baptized by John in the name of him who was to come, that is, of the Lord Jesus, because they said: But we have not so much as heard whether there be a Holy Spirit, were baptized again, nay rather they received true baptism». But those who did not place their hope in the baptism of John, and believed both the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

believed⁸ — were not baptized afterwards, but received the Holy Spirit by the imposition of hands made over them by the Apostles. But others, who did not so believe, were baptized with the baptism of Christ, as was said before. Hence Jerome⁹: «Those who knew not the Holy Spirit, when they received baptism from John, were baptized again», lest anyone of the Jews or the Gentiles should think that water without the Holy Spirit could suffice for salvation. On this also Ambrose¹⁰ in the first book On the Holy Spirit: «Some denied that they knew the Holy Spirit, when they said they had been baptized with John's baptism, who baptized in the name of the coming Jesus, not in his own. These therefore, because they had been baptized neither in the name of Christ nor with faith in the Holy Spirit, could not receive the Sacrament of baptism; they were baptized therefore in the name of Christ, nor was baptism repeated in them, but renewed».

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