ITERATION OF THE SACRAMENTS. – From the Latin iterare (to do a second time), it is the repeated conferral of the Sacraments upon the same subject.
I. MORAL PRINCIPLES
Sacraments which have certainly been administered validly and have a lasting effect cannot be repeated. Baptism, therefore, Confirmation and Holy Orders cannot be received again because they impress a character which is indelible (CIC, can. 732 § 1). The effect of Matrimony endures throughout the same marriage, so that one cannot enter into a new marriage until the death of one of the spouses or the dissolution of the bond in cases of a ratified but unconsummated marriage. Sacraments which do not produce a perpetual effect may be repeated. Extreme Unction is repeated each time a person, in different illnesses, is in danger of death. The repetition of this Sacrament is also permitted during the same illness when the sick person, having overcome the danger of death, after a considerable time falls back into II. According to the present discipline, it may be administered only once during the same danger of death (CIC, can. 940 § 2). Confession may be repeated each time there is sufficient matter (v. CONFESSION, II. Moral Theology, VI. Reiteration). The administration of a non-iterable Sacrament is invalid, and whoever knowingly administers or receives it commits the sin of sacrilege.The iteration of the Sacraments is permitted when their validity is doubtful. Moralists distinguish a twofold doubt: of fact and of law. The former concerns the circumstances of fact, namely whether the Sacrament was conferred and in the proper manner, i.e., with the due matter, form and intention. Doubt of law arises when, having ascertained the facts, one doubts the validity of the Sacrament because of the disagreement among authors regarding the value of the matter or form used. The doubt may be prudent or imprudent, according as it has a grave and reasonable foundation or is entirely lacking in II. With imprudent doubt, the iteration of the Sacraments is not lawful. If performed, even conditionally, one sins gravely in itself, because it certainly exposes the Sacrament, without just cause, to the danger of nullity. The condition, when the doubt is frivolous, is considered as not having been made. One may be excused from sin if driven by persistent anxieties and scruples of conscience, as happens in the case of scrupulous persons. Any prudent and reasonable doubt legitimizes the iteration of every Sacrament. The danger, in fact, that the faithful remain deprived of its fruit is a sufficient reason for iteration, since the Sacraments were instituted for men. If the Sacrament whose validity is doubted is necessary for salvation, or if the validity of other Sacraments depends upon it, it must be repeated until moral certainty of its validity is attained. Therefore, for the salvation of man, Baptism, absolution and Extreme Unction of the dying person, deprived of his senses, must be repeated if there is a reasonable doubt regarding their validity. To avoid the danger of idolatry, doubtfully administered Hosts must be reconsecrated. The danger of the invalid administration of the other Sacraments requires the iteration of Holy Orders, secretly (CIC, can. 1007), if its validity is doubtful. In these cases the principle holds: if it is lawful to repeat the Sacrament, it must be repeated. The iteration of Sacraments which impress a character is expressly prescribed (CIC, can. 732 § 2). At times the repetition of Sacraments necessary for salvation, though not prescribed, is permitted for the peace of mind, disturbed by scruples or by a doubt of law arising from an opinion lacking true probability.