Thomistic sacramental theology: Difference between revisions

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Thomistic sacramental theology is St. Thomas Aquinas's theology of the sacraments of the Catholic Church. It can be found through his writings in the Summa contra Gentiles and in the Summa Theologiæ.

As can be seen, Aquinas relied heavily on Scriptural passages, as well as the writings of various Church Fathers.

Sacraments

In the Catholic Church, there are seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction (Anointing of the Sick), Holy Orders, Matrimony.

From Summa Contra Gentiles Book 4, Chapter 58:

"since the spiritual remedies of salvation (as was said) have been given to men under sensible signs, it was suitable also to distinguish the remedies provided for the spiritual life after the likeness of bodily life. Now, in bodily life we find a twofold order: for some propagate and order the bodily life in others; and some are propagated and ordered in the bodily life. [...] [I]n the spiritual life, also, the first thing is spiritual generation: by baptism; the second is spiritual growth leading to perfect strength: by the sacrament of confirmation; the third is spiritual nourishment: by the sacrament of the Eucharist. A fourth remains, which is the spiritual healing; it takes place either in the soul alone through the sacrament of penance; or from the soul flows to the body when this is timely, through extreme unction. These, therefore, bear on those who are propagated and preserved in the spiritual life."^[1]

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 ==Confirmation==
 {{see also|Confirmation (Catholic Church)}}
-===''Summa Contra Gentiles''===
-The following is condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapter 60.
-The perfection of spiritual strength consists in a man's daring to confess the faith of Christ in the presence of everyone.  This is done without error or confusion.  Spiritual strength drives out inordinate terror.  This is the sacrament of Confirmation.   One becomes a front line fighter for the faith of Christ.  Warriors carry the insignia of their master.  So it is with the confirmed: they carry the sign of Christ.  The signing takes place with a mixture of oil and balm which is called chrism, and not without reason.    This designated the power of the Holy Spirit.  They are called anointed ([[Psalm]] 44,8; [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 4,18). They are called Christians ([[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 9,26).  This is because they are warriors under Christ.  The balm gives a pleasing fragrance, which indicates one of good public repute.  These are called forth from the recesses of the Church to the field of battle.  This sacrament is conferred only by bishops. These are enrolled in the spiritual military forces.  Manliness is derived from Christ.
 ==The Holy Eucharist==
 {{see also|Eucharist (Catholic Church)}}
+== Extreme Unction (Blessing of the Sick) ==
-===''Summa Contra Gentiles''===
-Condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapters 61 to 69:
-Life needs material nourishment to increase in quantity and to maintain the body. Spiritual effects are given under the likeness of things that are visible, hence are given the appearance of things men commonly use for bodily nourishment.  These are bread and wine.  He who begets is joined to the begotten in a way.  The nourished and the nourishment are joined.  It is the spiritual mystery that unites the Eucharist to us.  [[Gospel of John|John]] 6, 56: "My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."  John 6, 61:  "This saying is hard, and who can bear it?"  So it is with the heretics who put themselves at odds with the teaching of the Church.  [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 26, 26 "This is my body." He did not say, "This is a sign or representation of my body."  Yet some heretics disclaim the truth of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  To some, it appears scandalous to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ.  [[Gospel of John|John]] 6, 64:  "The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life."  A thing begins to be where it was not before in two ways:  1.) by local motion; 2.) Conversion of something into itself.  Manifestly, the body of Christ ascended into  heaven, hence cannot be always on the altar.  It does not seem possible to some there is a new conversion of another into itself on the altar.  In a similar manner, a thing cannot be moved from one place to another without ceasing to be in the original place.  Therefore, it seems to some that Christ must cease to be in heaven when He is on the altar.  It seems impossible to some that the large body of a man could be contained in the host used in the Eucharist.  It is also hard to understand how the body of Christ can be present simultaneously, on many altars at once.
-==Penance, Confession (Reconciliation)==
-{{see also|Confession (Catholic Church)}}
-The following is condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapters 70-72:
-Although grace is bestowed upon men by the sacraments, they are not rendered incapable of sin.  He who receives the gratuitous gifts of grace, can still sin by acting against grace.  [[Aristotle]] "every evil man is ignorant."  [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] 14,22: "They err that work evil."  [[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]] 12,15:  "Looking diligently, lest any man be wanting to the grace of God;  lest any root of bitterness springing up to hinder."  [[Ephesians]] 4, 30:  "Grieve not the Holy  Spirit of God whereby you are sealed."   [[I Corinthians]] 9.27:  "I chastise my body and bring into subjection, lest perhaps when I preached to others, I myself should become a castaway."  This does away with the belief of some heretics that say that after a man has received the grace of the Spirit, is unable to sin, and that if he sins, he never had the grace of the Holy Spirit.  In this, they used to following to support their position: [[I Corinthians]] 13:  "Charity never falls away."  [[Gospel of John|John]]  3, 6-9: "Whoever abides in Him sins not, and whosoever sins has not seen Him nor known Him."  This is rebutted by the following:  [[Apocalypse]] 2, 4: "I have somewhat against you because you have your first charity."  [[I Corinthians]] 1, 8-10: "Shall be made void... when that which is perfect is come."  It is then that a perfect state of charity shall abide.  As long as a man lives with grace granted him, he will not sin.  If he turns from that grace, he will sin. As long as we are alive, the will is mutable toward good or evil.  Good is more powerful than evil.  [[I Corinthians]] 6,9-11: "Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, shall possess the Kingdom of God.  And such of you were;  but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you were justified in the name of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God."  Grace and the sacrament increases nature's good.  If sin takes place after grace is received, we can still be led back to a state of justice.  Despair is an invitation to sinfulness.  [[Ephesians]] 4,19:  "Despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness, unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness."
-Despair is a dangerous cesspool leading men to vices.  [[I John]] 2, 1-2:  "My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin.  But if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the just.  And He is the propitiation for our sins."  [[II Corinthians]] 2, 6-7, 7-9: "[To the Corinthian fornicator] To him who is such a one, this rebuke is sufficient which is given by many: so that on the contrary you should rather forgive him and comfort him... I am glad:  not because you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sorrowful unto penance."  [[Book of Jeremiah|Jeremiah]] 3,1: "You have prostituted yourself to many lovers;  nevertheless, return to Me, says the Lord."  [[Book of Lamentations|Lamentations]] 5, 21: "Convert us, O Lord, and we shall be converted;  renew our days, as from the beginning."  In this way one excludes the error of the [[Novatianism|Novatians]] who were wont to deny forgiveness to those who had sinned after Baptism.  They used the following to justify their error:  [[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]] 6, 4-5: "It is impossible for those who were once illuminated, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit, have moreover tasted the good of God, and the powers of the world to come, and are fallen away: to be renewed again to penance."  However, these overlooked the passage which followed:  "Crucify again themselves the Son of God and of Him a mockery."  Therefore, to be renewed, one must be again crucified with the penance of Christ.  [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 6, 3:  "All we who were baptized in Christ Jesus are baptized in His death."  [[Epistle to Titus|Titus]] 3, 5: "According to His mercy, He has saved us, by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Spirit."
-If a man sins after baptism, he cannot have baptism as a remedy.  Baptism, which is a spiritual regeneration cannot be given a second time.
-==Extreme Unction (Blessing of the Sick)==
 {{main|Anointing of the Sick (Catholic Church)}}
-The following is condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapter 73:
-The body is the instrument of the soul, and the instrument is for the use of the principal agent.  Hence, the body is disposed to be in harmony with the soul.  therefore, infirmity of the soul sometimes flows from the body, causing infirmity as well.  Also, bodily infirmity can sometimes hinder spiritual health.  Therefore, it was proper to employ a spiritual medicine against sin. [[Epistle of James|James]] 5, 14-15: "Is any man sick among you?  Let him bring in the priests of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of the faith shall heal the sick man."  There is no guarantee that even is a man healed from his bodily infirmity, that he will necessarily be forgiven the infirmity of the soul.  Also, some who do not recover, physically, may enjoy great spiritual restoration from the sacrament. James adds: "And the Lord shall raise him up... if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven."  Now it frequently occurs that a man in a state of illness has no recollection of the sins he has committed, and never confessed, nor performed penance for remission.  It is impossible for one to lead a daily life without committing some form of sin.  This sacrament should serve to cleanse these sins.  This sacrament does not confer a consecration as occurs in Baptism or Confirmation.  Still, the sacrament should not be administered to one who is healthy, but rather reserved for the sick, since it has the external appearance of a medicine, or a medicinal rite.  The oils should be applied to the sources of the sins, namely the organs of the senses and the hands and the feet, by which the works of sin are carried out.  Some engage in anointing the loins, since these are a source of sin.  There is nothing incorrect in this practice.  Since no sin is forgiven, except by grace, it is clear that grace is conferred in this sacrament.  [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite|Dionysius]]: "It is proper for priests to confer this sacrament."  This is because the sacrament confers enlightening grace, and the order of priests tends to enlightenment. However, the sacrament does not require a bishop.  The effect of the sacrament can be blocked by a pretense in the receiver.  In this way, it is no different from any other sacrament.
 ==Holy Orders==
 {{main|Holy orders (Catholic Church)}}
-The following is condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapters 74-77.
-According to [[Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite|Dionysius]], all the sacraments confer a spiritual grace.  This is a correct assessment.  The sacraments are conferred by visible men, who employ visual methods, to dispense invisible grace.  [[Hebrews]] 5, 1: "Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God."  [[Ephesians]] 5, 25-26: "Christ loved the Church and delivered Himself up for it: that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life." [[I Corinthians]] 4, 1: "Let no man so account of us as ministers of Christ and  dispensers of the mysteries of God."  [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 22, 19: "Do this in commemoration of Me."  [[Gospel of John|John]] 20, 23: "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them."  The same instructions are given concerning teaching and baptizing.  [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 28, 19: "Going, therefore, teach all nations, baptizing them."  [[II Corinthians]] 13, 10: "The power which the Lord has given me unto edification and not into destruction."  [[Paul the Apostle|St. Paul]] says this power is "for building up the Church."  [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] 13, 27: "What I say to you, I say to all." [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 28, 20: "Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world."  The conferring of spiritual power is the province of the divine liberality.  This is the sacrament of Holy Orders.
-The power of orders as a sacrament is established for the dispensation of the sacraments. [[Aristotle]]:  "Everything is denominated from its end."  The power of orders must extend itself to the remission of sins by the dispensation of the sacraments which are ordered to the remission of sins:  baptism and penance (confession, reconciliation).  The powers of orders is also toward the Eucharist.  This is the meaning of the "keys to the Kingdom." [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 15, 19: "I will give to you the keys to the Kingdom."  The lowest orders serves the priestly order.  These are doorkeepers who let the faithful in, and keep the unfaithful out.  Acolytes help prepare the sacred vessels.  Others prepare the people in the consummation of the sacrament. The three orders - the priesthood, the diaconate, and the subdiaconate are called sacred orders because they receive a ministry in something sacred.  There is a superior power within the Church which has a ministry of dispensing the sacrament of orders.  Church unity requires that all the faithful agree as to the faith.  In matters of faith, questions are bound to arise.  The unity of the Church demands that there is a single head of the Church.  This single head of the Church provides one voice to answer these questions.  [[Isaiah]] 5, 4: "What is there that I ought to do more to My vineyard that I have not done to it?"  It is a mistake to doubt that there is a single head of the Church.  [[Book of Proverbs|Proverbs]] 8, 15:  "Kings reign, and lawmakers decree just things." the best government is one ruled by one. The Church is a militant Church.  [[Apocalypse]] 21, 2: "Jerusalem is coming down from heaven."
-==Holy Matrimony==
-{{see also|Marriage (Catholic Church)}}
-The following is condensed from [[Summa Contra Gentiles]], Book 4, Chapter 78.
-So far as generation is ordered to a political good, it is subject to the ordering of [[law|civil law]]. Insofar as it is ordered to the good of the Church, it must be subject to the government of the Church. Matrimony consists of the union of a man and a woman purposing to generate and educate offspring for the worship of God. It is a sacrament of the Church.
 ==See also==
 {{wikisource|Summa Theologiae/Third Part/Question 60|Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, "On the Sacraments in general (III qq.60-64)"}}

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Revision as of 11:11, 30 August 2022

Sacraments

Confirmation

The Holy Eucharist

Extreme Unction (Blessing of the Sick)

Holy Orders

See also

Further reading