Ex Opere Operato

People familiar with devoted young evangelicals are familiar with the question, 'what is the minimum required for belief before one can be regarded as a Christian?' I think that this question arises again and again mainly because of the emphasis within Protestant communities on Sola Fide - Faith Alone - one of the priciples of the Reformation. Sola Fide as a theological concept was not so much about the content of belief as it was about salvation coming by faith through grace, rather than by an effort on the part of the Christian believer to contribute to his own salvation. It seems to me, however, that in the decline of theological and historical self-understanding among less traditional evangelicals the prominence of faith in Protestant belief has come to raise the question of content in relation to faith. What does it mean to be a Christian? What is a Church? Who belongs to the Church? How can we know if someone is or is not a believer in Christ?

This question troubled me in the difficult years following my conversion to Christianity. Faith alone. It can be a terrifying concept when regarded with candor and introspection. The question becomes, do I have enough faith? Salvation becomes an uncertainty, and anxiety is close on our heels.

I remember when I was in Taize I had a conversation with a woman, one of the few from Canada, who was deeply worried about this question, 'was her faith enough?' How could she know she was saved? She could say with the Apostle, "I believe, help my unbelief." But, what if that unbelief outweighed the belief?

Shortly before my baptism, it occured to me that in faith I came to the Church, and in the waters of the sacrament something would be done to me to affect my salvation. I came in faith, imperfect, unholy, a sinner, in need of salvation. And in the sacrament I was forgiven, made clean, made holy, united to Christ. This was of the utmost importance: something was done to me.

It is not my faith on which I rely. I rely on the work of the Lord, and that is brought to me ex opere operato. Ex Opere Operato means that if the communicative nature of the Christian sacraments is acknowledged, a sacrament properly performed is seen to convey God's grace independently of the faith or moral character of the celebrant or recipients. There is a touch of irony, I suppose, that I was convinced by my baptismal experience which took place in a 'seeker friendly' evangelical Church to convert to Catholicsm.