26. Fourth Sunday of Lent: Christ with His Passion opened the door of heaven
IV Sunday of Lent
"Therefore, brothers, have confidence to enter the Sanctuary by the blood of Christ." (Hebrews 10:19)
The closing of a door is an obstacle that prevents people from entering. Now, men were prevented from entering the kingdom of heaven because of sin, for, as Isaiah says (25:8): "They will call it a holy way. The unclean will not pass over it."
There are two sins that prevent entry into the kingdom of heaven. One is the sin of our first father, a common sin to all of human nature that closed the entrance to the heavenly kingdom for man. Therefore, it is read in the book of Genesis that after the sin of the first man, "God placed cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." The other is the special sin of each person, committed by the personal act of each man.
By the Passion of Christ, we are liberated not only from the common sin of all human nature, in relation to guilt and in relation to the debt of the penalty, since He paid the price for us, but also from the personal sins of each one who participates in His Passion through faith, love, and the sacraments of faith. Consequently, by the Passion of Christ, the door to the heavenly kingdom was opened to us. And this is precisely what the Letter to the Hebrews tells us (9:11): "Christ, the high priest of the good things to come, entered once for all into the sanctuary by His own blood and obtained eternal redemption." This is what the book of Numbers implies when it says that the murderer "shall remain there," that is, in the city of refuge, "until the death of the anointed high priest" (Numbers 35:25); after the death of this one, he shall return to his home.
It should be said that the Patriarchs, by performing acts of righteousness, deserved to enter the heavenly kingdom through faith in the Passion of Christ, according to what is stated in the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 11:33): "By faith, they conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness"; through it, each of them was cleansed of sin, as it pertains to the purification of the person. However, the faith or righteousness of none of them was sufficient to remove the impediment arising from the debt of all human creatures. An impediment that was removed by the price of the blood of Christ. Therefore, before the Passion of Christ, no one could enter the heavenly kingdom, that is, attain eternal bliss, which consists in the full enjoyment of God.
Christ, through His Passion, earned for us the opening of the heavenly kingdom and removed the impediment; but through the Ascension, He somehow introduced us into the possession of the heavenly kingdom. Thus, it is said that "He has already ascended, ahead of them, the one who opens the way" (Micah 2:13).
III, q. XLIX, a. 5
#God #Deus #Isten #Gott #Jesus #Católico #Catholic #Katholik #katholisch #Katolikus #catholique #Faith #Fé #foi #信仰 #Latin #Latim #Gospel #Evangelho #Evangélium #évangile #Dieu #福音 #日本 #カトリック #Bible #Biblestr #Nostr #Grownostr
quotingTitle of the work in Latin
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MEDULLA S. THOMAE AQUITATIS PER OMNES ANNI LITURGICI DIES DISTRBUITA, SEU MEDITATIONES EX OPERIBUS S. THOMAE DEPROMPTAE
Compilation and arrangement by
FR. Z. MÉZARD O. P.
NOTE
All titles with an asterisk contain material that is no longer attributed to Saint Thomas Aquinas.
25. Sábado depois do III domingo da Quaresma: Pela Paixão fomos reconciliados com Deus
Sábado da terceira semana da Quaresma
«Fomos reconciliados com Deus pela morte de seu Filho.» (Rm 5, 10) Pela Paixão de Cristo fomos liberados do reato da pena de dois modos:
I. — A Paixão de Cristo é a causa de nossa reconciliação com Deus, de dois modos.
Primeiro porque remove o pecado pelo qual os homens são constituídos inimigos de Deus, segundo aquilo da Escritura (Sb 14, 9): Deus igualmente aborreceu ao ímpio e a sua impiedade. E noutro lugar (Sl 5, 7): Aborreces a todos os que obram a iniqüidade.
De outro modo, como sacrifício muito aceito de Deus; assim como perdoamos uma ofensa cometida contra nós quando recebemos um serviço que nos é prestado. Donde o dizer a Escritura (1 Rs 26, 19): Se o Senhor te incita contra mim, receba ele o cheiro do sacrifício. Semelhantemente, o ter Cristo sofrido voluntariamente foi um bem tão grande, que em razão desse bem descoberto em a natureza humana, Deus se aplacou no tocante a qualquer ofensa do gênero humano, contanto que o homem se una com a Paixão de Cristo, segundo a fé e a caridade.
Não se diz que a Paixão de Cristo nos reconciliou com Deus porque de novo nos começasse a amar, pois está na Escritura (Jr 31, 3): Com amor eterno te amei. Mas porque a Paixão de Cristo eliminou a causa do ódio, quer por ter delido o pecado, quer pela compensação de um bem mais aceitável.
IIIa q. XLIX a. 4
II. — Se pensarmos naqueles que O lançaram à morte, a Paixão de Cristo foi verdadeiramente uma causa de indignação. Mas, a caridade de Cristo padecendo foi maior que a iniqüidade dos homens. Por isso a Paixão de Cristo é mais eficaz para reconciliarcom Deus todo o gênero humano que para provocar sua cólera.
O amor de Deus por nós se revela nos seus efeitos. Dizemos que Deus faz participar de sua bondade aqueles que ama. Ora, a maior e mais completa participação na sua bondade consiste na visão da sua essência, pela qual privamos com Ele como amigos, pois a beatitude consiste nesta serenidade. Assim, pode-se dizer simplesmente que Deus ama a quem admite a esta visão, quer pelo dom real, quer pelo dom da causa — como ocorre com aqueles a quem Deus deu o Espírito Santo como penhor desta visão. Pelo pecado, porém, ao homem foi retirada estaparticipação na bondade divina, ou seja, a visão de sua essência; e sob este aspecto, diz-se que o homem estava privado do amor de Deus. Ora, após Cristo ter satisfeito por nós pela sua Paixão, e conseguido que fossemos readmitidos à visão de Deus, diz-se que nos reconciliou com Deus.
2 Dist. 19, q. I, a. 5
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
25. Saturday after the III Sunday of Lent: By the Passion we were reconciled with God
Saturday of the third week of Lent
"We were reconciled to God through the death of His Son." (Romans 5:10) By the Passion of Christ, we were freed from the charge of the penalty in two ways:
I. — The Passion of Christ is the cause of our reconciliation with God in two ways.
First, because it removes the sin by which men are made enemies of God, according to what Scripture says (Wisdom 14:9): God equally hated the wicked and his wickedness. And elsewhere (Psalm 5:7): You hate all who do wrong.
In another way, as a very acceptable sacrifice to God; just as we forgive an offense committed against us when we receive a service rendered to us. Hence, Scripture says (1 Samuel 26:19): If the Lord incites you against me, may He accept the offering. Similarly, the fact that Christ suffered willingly was such a great good that because of that good found in human nature, God was appeased regarding any offense of the human race, provided that man unites himself with the Passion of Christ through faith and charity.
It is not said that the Passion of Christ reconciled us to God because He began to love us again, for it is in Scripture (Jeremiah 31:3): I have loved you with an everlasting love. But because the Passion of Christ eliminated the cause of hatred, either by erasing sin or by the compensation of a more acceptable good.
IIIa q. XLIX a. 4
II. — If we think of those who put Him to death, the Passion of Christ was indeed a cause of indignation. However, the love of Christ suffering was greater than the wickedness of men. Hence, the Passion of Christ is more effective for reconciling all mankind with God than for provoking His wrath.
God’s love for us is revealed in its effects. We say that God shares His goodness with those He loves. Now, the greatest and most complete participation in His goodness consists in the vision of His essence, by which we live with Him as friends, for beatitude consists in this serenity. Thus, it can be simply said that God loves those whom He admits to this vision, whether through the real gift or through the gift of the cause — as is the case with those to whom God has given the Holy Spirit as a pledge of this vision. However, through sin, this participation in divine goodness, that is, the vision of His essence, was taken away from man; and in this regard, it is said that man was deprived of the love of God. Now, after Christ satisfied for us through His Passion and achieved our readmission to the vision of God, it is said that He reconciled us with God.
2 Dist. 19, q. I, a. 5
(P. D. Mézard, O. P., Meditationes ex Operibus S. Thomae.)
#God #Deus #Isten #Gott #Jesus #Católico #Catholic #Katholik #katholisch #Katolikus #catholique #Faith #Fé #foi #信仰 #Latin #Latim #Gospel #Evangelho #Evangélium #évangile #Dieu #福音 #日本 #カトリック #Bible #Biblestr #Nostr #Grownostr
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