Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
All Commentaries on Acts 2:38 Go To Acts 2
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
Do penance:
He had admonished men to do penance before admonishing them to be baptized, this would be because also before Baptism some kind of penance is required. Confession is a part of sacramental Penance, which is not required before Baptism, but the inward virtue of Penance is required. Moreover, the penance which precedes Baptism is not the sacrament of Penance.
And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit:
the sacrament of confirmation unto renovation: ‘By the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Spirit’ (Titus. 3:5). For in confirmation the Holy Spirit is given for strength to enable a man to boldly confess Christ’s name before men. For just as in the natural order a man is first born and then grows and becomes strong, so, too, in the order of grace. Hence Pope Melchiades says: "The Holy Spirit, Who comes down on the waters of Baptism bearing salvation in His flight, bestows at the font, the fulness of innocence; but in Confirmation He confers an increase of grace. In Baptism we are born again unto life; after Baptism we are strengthened." Christ, by the power which He exercises in the sacraments, bestowed on the apostles the reality of this sacrament, i.e. the fulness of the Holy Spirit, without the sacrament itself, because they had received "the first fruits of the Spirit" (Romans 8:23). In like manner, too, when the apostles imposed their hands, and when they preached, the fulness of the Holy Spirit came down under visible signs on the faithful. However, the apostles commonly made use of chrism in bestowing the sacrament, when such like visible signs were lacking. Now the grace of the Holy Spirit is signified by oil; hence Christ is said to be "anointed with the oil of gladness" (Psalm 44:8), by reason of His being gifted with the fulness of the Holy Spirit. Consequently oil is a suitable matter of this sacrament. Pierre de Tarentaise, (Sent. iv, D, 7) held that it was instituted by the apostles. But this cannot be admitted; since the institution of a new sacrament belongs to the power of excellence, which belongs to Christ alone. And therefore we must say that Christ instituted this sacrament not by bestowing, but by promising it, according to John 16:7: "If I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you, but if I go, I will send Him to you." And this was because in this sacrament the fulness of the Holy Spirit is bestowed, which was not to be given before Christ's Resurrection and Ascension; according to John 7:39: "As yet the Spirit was not given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
