OUR BELIEF IN THE PASSION OF CHRIST, IN THE OTHER MYSTERIES OF HIS
HUMANITY, AND IN ALL THE ARTICLES DEFINED BY THE CHURCH, IS STRICTLY
CONSISTENT WITH REASON.
God, the Father of mercies, who is all-bountiful, has supplied for the
defects caused by original sin, certain fitting remedies. Of these the
chief are: first, the faith and sacrifices of the Patriarchs; next,
Circumcision; and thirdly, Holy Baptism. These remedies render man
capable of attaining, by grace, to supernatural happiness. And if we do
not receive this grace, we ought to blame, not the Providence of God, but
the remissness of our parents.
Some persons may find a difficulty in the fact, that, although the Saints
of the Old Testament died in a state of grace and cleansed from original
sin, they nevertheless were debarred from entering Heaven. The answer
to this objection is, that, as original sin was an offence against God,
imputed, not to individuals, but to human nature, it was necessary that
His Divine Majesty should be satisfied, before the gates of Paradise
could be opened. And again, as, by original sin, guilt was incurred by
human nature, which may be said to be composed of an infinite number of
persons, this guilt was in a manner infinite, and demanded satisfaction,
not from one individual alone, since every creature is finite, but from
the whole human race.
But, another difficulty may be raised on this point. It may be argued,
that it beseems the infinite mercy of God to accept from man the
satisfaction which he is capable of making, and to remit the debt which
he cannot pay. We answer, that, had there been no other possibility
of satisfying for original sin, God would have accepted the only
satisfaction which man was capable of making. But, as He was able to
satisfy His justice by other means, He chose to make use of these other
means, thereby both satisfying for sin, and perfecting human nature. Man
could not, of himself, atone for sin. Only God, who had never sinned,
could make fitting satisfaction for it. Therefore, He, in His infinite
mercy, wisdom, and power, willed, by becoming man, to pay the debt which
man owed, and was unable to pay.
Man owed satisfaction, and God-made Man, alone had power to make that
satisfaction, not, indeed, for Himself, but for the whole human race.
In this fact is revealed the fitness of His Incarnation, wherein He has
united the Divine to the Human nature. In this mystery we behold His
power, His wisdom, and the goodness whereby He has wholly given Himself
to the human race, to embrace it, and draw it to His love. But, above all
His other attributes, His mercy is made manifest; for it has led Him to
be crucified for love of us. His justice also is seen; for He has Himself
made satisfaction for original sin. Hence, while His mercy should inspire
repentant sinners with the surest hope, His justice should cause the
impenitent to tremble. This is the reason why, since the coming of Christ
into the world, so many men have been drawn from sin to holiness of life.
When we consider these mercies, and the innumerable other benefits
conferred by Christ upon human nature, we discover depths of wisdom
which are unfathomable by the intellect of man, and which, for this very
reason, are accounted folly by the world. We see, moreover, how fitting
it was that Christ should suffer for the guilt of mankind.
But since He came, not merely to suffer for man, but likewise to set
him an example of righteous living, it behoved Him to choose a most
bitter and disgraceful death; thus teaching us that neither shame, nor
suffering, should force us to betray the cause of truth and justice. Time
forbids me to enlarge upon the other reasons which caused our Saviour to
choose His terrible mode of death. I will only add, that His cross has
been, to them that love Him, a fount of sweetness and of light, known
only to those who have experienced it.
As Christ died in order to make satisfaction for our sins, and
especially for that original sin, on account of which the Patriarchs
were detained in Limbo, it was meet that, being already delivered from
original sin, they should be enlightened by the descent of Christ
into Limbo, which took place immediately after His death. And it was,
likewise, most fitting that he should remain for three days in the
tomb. Had He stayed there longer, men would have lost all hope of His
Resurrection; and had He not remained in the sepulchre so long, they
would have denied the reality of His death. But, as abode in this present
life does not befit the life of glory, Christ, after His Resurrection,
did not converse with men, as He had done before His death. But, as His
body was perfect, and noble above all human bodies, on account both of
the perfection of His Soul, and of His union with the Word, He ascended
into Heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, as His true and
sole-begotten Son. The expression _sitteth at the right hand of the
Father_, is not to be understood as referring to bodily posture, but as
signifying that Christ, beyond all creatures, enjoyed the fruition of
eternal happiness. And, if it be asked how His body could penetrate the
heavens, we answer that the Divine Power can enable two bodies to exist
together.
Further, it is fitting that the Son of God, who was unjustly judged by
men, should be the Head, and Standard, and Judge of the living and the
dead. For, in this wise, does His reward correspond to the suffering
which He bore for us. Thus, if we reflect, we shall see that the acts
which Christ performed in the world are full of mysteries; and we shall
understand, that the Christian religion is not only reasonable, but
wonderful, and Divine.
We have already spoken of the faith which enables us to believe
everything contained in Holy Scripture; and we have shown how true it
is and how reasonable. We have also shown, that, as the objects of our
faith can proceed from no one but from God, we are bound to believe them
unwaveringly. But since, in doctrine as in material things, every movable
thing must be reduced to something immovable, we acknowledge, with the
fullest reason, that God has established in His Church, over which He
exercises peculiar care, certain unchanging doctrines to which all men
must submit, doctrines which contain those first principles from which
all conclusions are deduced. Therefore, the Catholic Faith most fittingly
holds, that all that the Holy Roman Church has defined, or shall define,
is most certain truth. It rejects all other teaching. For the Church, as
we shall show hereafter, is the firm and solid foundation of the faith,
and our guide to salvation.