In the Holy Eucharist there is really and substantially present the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the appearances of bread and wine. By the words of the priest at the consecration, there is effected a conversion of the whole sub stance of the bread into the Body and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood, which conversion is called transubstantiation (q.v.). By force of the words, the Body is under the species of the bread and the Blood under the species of the wine, but in virtue of the natural connection and concomitance by which the parts of Christ are linked together, He exists whole and entire under each species and every part of the species. In the Mass (q.v.) there is offered to God a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice for the living and the dead. To offer up this sacrifice, Christ insti tuted a visible and external priesthood and the Sacrament of Holy Orders (q.v.) ; the minister of this Sacrament must be a bishop, who has received the fullness of the sacred ministry. The various orders constitute the Hierarchy. Priests cannot ordain or confirm. Other orders are the diaconate, subdiaconate and the minor orders (Acolyte, Exorcist, Lector and Ostia rius). Before the minor orders, the tonsure is conferred as a sign of enrolment among the clergy, who are separated from the rest of the faithful, called the laity. The right to exercise the sacred functions within appointed limits is called jurisdiction; it is required for the law ful performance of all functions and for the validity of some. The Roman pontiffs have, by Divine institution, universal jurisdiction. The other bishops have power to govern the dioceses to which they have been assigned by the Pope.
Marriage between Christians was raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament. Its es sence lies in the contract freely made between man and wife; the grace conferred is first an increase of sanctity, and, secondly, actual grace to fulfill the duties of the married state. The bond of Christian marriage after consumma tion is absolutely indissoluble; it is also exclu sive, no man can have several wives, no woman several husbands, at the same time. Those who, with the aid of God's grace, fulfil the obliga tions of virginity or celibacy live in a state more holy and better than the state of matri mony. From the fact that Christian matrimony is a Sacrament, it follows that it has been en trusted to the Church and is subject to the laws of the Church, not to those of the State; hence the Church has the power of assigning condi tions necessary for the validity or lawfulness of the contract between those who have been baptized. See MARRIAGE.
The means of sanctification are given to men to enable them to live and die in the state of sanctifying grace. At the hour of death each soul is judged by Christ, and if in mortal sin, is condemned to hell to be punished by eternal torments, varying in intensity according to the degree of guilt. Those who die free from all sin, mortal and venial and from all the tem poral punishment for sin, are admitted at once to life everlasting, to perfect beatitude in the vision of God. The saints and angels in heaven
offer up payers for men, and it is good and useful to invoke their intercession that we may obtain favors from God through Jesus Christ, who is our sole Redeemer and Saviour. Catho lics honor and worship the saints and angels, and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, be cause God loves and honors them, and because of their own personal sanctity; not, however, with the supreme worship that belongs only to God. Because of their special connection with holy persons, honor is also given to relics of the saints, to images and paintings of Christ and His saints. If men die in venial sin, or temporal punishment be still due, their souls are detained in purgatory (q.v.) until expiation is made. In this state they can no longer merit for themselves, but can be assisted by the pray ers and good works of the faithful and par ticularly by the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The Church has the power to apply indulgences for their relief. In addition to the particular judg ment, immediately after death, there will be a general judgment at the end of the world. The body will rise from the grave reunited to the soul, and share for eternity either happiness in heaven or punishment in hell.
The chief duties of Christian life are ex pressed in the Ten Commandments of God and the commandments of the Church. Many laws have been imposed by the Church on particular classes or for special purposes; all Catholics, however,.are hound, under pain of mortal sin, to hear Mass and rest from servile work on Sundays and Holydays of obligation, to fast and to abstain from certain food on the days appointed, to confess all mortal sins at least once a year and to receive the Holy Eucharist during the Easter time.
A Catholic must believe all the truths God has revealed and teaches through His Church.
Denial of one such would mean either the de nial of God's veracity or of the Church's in fallibility. But it is not necessary that he should know explicitly more than the principal truths; all others are included in his acceptance of the Church as a divine teacher, alone capable of declaring what truths are contained in the deposit of faith handed down from the apostles. The definition of a dogma by the Church brings no change in doctrine; for no truth once taught as of faith is ever given up nor can any point be added which was not contained, at least implicitly, in the original teaching. However, the Church's infallibility is not limited merely to revealed doctrines; she can also speak infal libly on matters necessary to safeguard re vealed teaching. Belief in such decisions is called ecclesiastical faith. Outside the domain of divine or ecclesiastical faith, there are many subjects of pious belief among Catholics. Some of these may perhaps belong to the deposit of faith, but they are not yet authoritatively pro posed. Others depend on human testimony, and are accepted with that degree of certitude which the testimony warrants.