CHRIST BEFORE PILATES
OF THE MODALITY OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST
In the two preceding questions Saint Thomas dealt with the passion, which, as is clear from the scriptural testimonies, long adduced, is ordered to our health In the present question it is proposed to deal with the ways in which that same passion reaches the effects to which in the divine plans it is ordained. These are four ways: merit, satisfaction, sacrifice and redemption, The Angelic declares the difference between these modes at the end of the matter, by these words «The passion of Christ, considered in terms of the will of Christ, was the cause of salvation by way of merit in that if the flesh of Christ is considered who suffers, by way of satisfaction; that frees us from the burden of punishment; by way of redemption insofar as he frees us from servitude, of guilt, and by way of sacrifice, insofar as he reconciles us with God». And he completes these four points, exposed in as many articles, with two more that come to explain other more general modalities that reach the four preceding ones.
As a foundation for all this, it is necessary to establish the doctrine that Saint Paul proposes to us in the Epistle to the Romans, where he compares the work of Adam and that of Jesus Christ: For, as through one man sin entered into the world and through sin the death, and thus malice spread to all names, because all had sinned... The preceding words tell us how in Adam, head of the human race, all his children sinned; that is to say, they were constituted sinners and, consequently, they were deprived of the privileges that Adam had received when he was created. The words of the Apostle remain in abeyance. Origen completes them in this way: Thus also through one man justice entered this world, and through justice life, and thus life passed to all men, by which all are made alive. The Apostle amply declares his thought in what follows of the chapter: For until the law (of Moses) there were sins in the world; but since the (positive) law did not exist, sin, since the law did not exist, was not imputed. But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned as Adam sinned (breaking a positive precept), who is the type of the one who was to come. But it is not the gift (of grace) as was the transgression, Well, if by the transgression of one only many die. Much more the grace of God and the free gift of one, Jesus Christ, will be abundantly spread over many: And it was not the gift (of Christ) that was the work of one sinner, because by the sin of one came the judgment for condemnation, plus the gift, after many transgressions, I end in justification.
If, then, by the transgression of one only death reigns, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justice reign in life by the work of one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, also through the justice of one alone comes the justification of life for all. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. The law was brought in that sin might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more, so that sin reigned through death, so also the grace reigned through justice for eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord (5,12-21).
Yes, we will dispense throughout the appointment in attention to the importance of it. Here the Apostle settles the principles that he later develops, when he deals with Christ as head of his mystical body (1 Cor 12; d. 1,22; 5,22-33).
l. The merits of Christ (a.1)
This established, the Angelic establishes in his first article that Christ was the cause of our health by way of merit, because with the great works executed in honor of his Father, he not only deserved supreme exaltation for himself, but also for us, with all the graces that, to get there, were necessary, but here a question arises. It is evident that Christ, in attention to the infinite dignity of his divine person, deserved all this for himself and for men with only the humiliation of the incarnation and then, again with the smallest of his works or sufferings.
How, then, is this work of health attributed to passion alone? Because the Father, in his plans for the remedy of men, had placed this salvation in the painful life of Christ, consummated on the cross. Things are usually named by what is most important in them, and for this reason the redemptive work is attributed to the passion and the cross. On the other hand, as everything in this matter depends on the divine disposition, we must abide by it. St. Thomas says that "From the beginning, from his conception, Christ deserved eternal health for us, but on our part there were certain impediments that made it difficult to achieve the effect of the preceding merits" (ad 2). What are these impediments and what advantages does the passion have over the other meritorious works of Christ, the Angelic declares to us in question 46 (a.4), where he proves that the passion was the most convenient way to achieve human salvation. And the reader will be able to find in P. Granada (The fruits of the holy cross) the most complete declaration of this article by Saint Thomas.
The satisfaction of Christ (a.2)
One of the effects of sin is to offend God as the supreme legislator. With sin man outrages the honor of God, by condescending with his own tastes and passions. In the human right to those who act in this way, a penalty is imposed: death, forced labor, prison, a fine, etc., to satisfy the law and the society outraged by the criminal. Neither more nor less divine justice also demands satisfaction, imposes some penalty. For the passion of Christ was the most complete satisfaction of sins... not his own, which he did not have, but those for whom he had been constituted guarantor.
111 .. The sacrifice of Christ (a.3)
The third way to realize our health is that of sacrifice. This is the main act of religion. If we look at the material work, the sacrifice itself is the immolation of a victim, whose blood, collected by the priest, is spilled on the altar. In the blood is the life of the sacrificed animal, and that life is offered for the life of the offerer. But, if we penetrate into the deep sense of this act, the victim represents the same offerer; her life and blood, his life and blood, the expression of his full devotion to God. For this reason, God says through his prophet that he rejects sacrifices where that sincere devotion is lacking (ls. I, 11ss) and, instead, accepts praise as a true sacrifice when it is accompanied by that devotion (Ps. 50,14 ).
The only attempted sacrifice of Isaac, later substituted by a ram, is the best statement of the nature of the sacrifice, as Holy Scripture tells us, The sacrifice is offered to placate an offended God, to atone for the sins of the offerer , to give thanks to God for the graces received, to obtain new favors and, above all, to recognize the sovereign dominion of the Lord over the offerer.
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