115. Merit, Satisfaction, and Sacrifice in Christ's Passion

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Merit Through the Passion #

• The Problem: Passion comes from outside the agent; how can it merit?
• The Solution: When Christ voluntarily sustains the passion, it has its principle from within and therefore can merit
• Christ as Head of the Church: Christ’s merits benefit not only himself but all the faithful as members of his mystical body
• The Unique Effect of the Passion: Although Christ merited from the beginning of his conception, the Passion had a unique meritorious effect because it removed impediments on our side that prevented the application of his prior merits
• Charity Unchanged: The Passion’s effect derives from the nature of the work itself, not from any increase in charity, which remained constant throughout Christ’s life

Satisfaction Through the Passion #

• Definition: One properly satisfies for an offense by showing to the one offended something equal to or greater than what he hates in the offense and loves in the one offended
• Superabundance: Christ’s Passion is not merely sufficient but superabundant satisfaction for all sins of the human race
• Three Reasons for Sufficiency:
  1. The magnitude of the charity from which he suffered
  2. The dignity or worth of his life, which was both God and man
  3. The general character of the passion and the magnitude of pain assumed
• The Problem of the Sinner: How can Christ, who did not sin, satisfy for sins?
• The Mystical Body Solution: The head and its members form one mystical person; Christ’s satisfaction pertains to all the faithful as his own members
• Vicarious Satisfaction: One person can satisfy for another through charity, as exemplified in saints who become victim souls
• The Charity of the Persecutors: Greater was the charity of Christ’s suffering than the malice of those crucifying him; therefore Christ could satisfy even for the sins of his crucifiers

Sacrifice Through the Passion #

• Definition of Sacrifice: An offering made to God to obtain reconciliation and acknowledge his sovereignty
• Fulfillment of Figures: The figurative sacrifices of the Old Law prefigured Christ’s Passion; Christ’s flesh, being the flesh of God, has infinite dignity surpassing all animal sacrifices
• The Dual Nature of the Action: The same action is judged differently according to its source—on the part of those killing him it was a grave sin; on the part of Christ suffering from charity it was a sacrifice
• Reconciliation to God: Through the Passion as sacrifice, humanity is reconciled to God
• Sign and Efficacy: Although the Passion is a bodily passion, it has spiritual power through union with Christ’s divinity and therefore obtains its efficacy through spiritual contact

The Connection Between Effects #

• Comprehensive Analysis: Thomas shows how the Passion operates according to different aspects: as compared to Christ’s divinity it acts as efficient cause; to his will as merit; to his flesh as satisfaction; as liberation from guilt as redemption; as offering to God as sacrifice
• Integration of Modes: These four modes are not competing explanations but complementary dimensions of the single redemptive action

Key Arguments #

On Merit #

• Objection: Passion has its source from outside; no one merits through what he does not originate
• Response: While passion as such comes from outside, insofar as it is voluntarily sustained, it has its principle from within and can merit
• Objection: Christ merited from the beginning of his conception; therefore the Passion adds nothing new
• Response: Christ’s merits from conception were impeded by obstacles on our side; the Passion removes these impediments, making the effect of his merits applicable to us
• Objection: The root of merit is charity; Christ’s charity was not greater in the Passion than before
• Response: The effect derives not from greater charity but from the nature of the work itself, which was suitable to such an effect

On Satisfaction #

• Objection: Only the sinner can satisfy; Christ did not sin; therefore he cannot satisfy
• Response: The head and members form one mystical body; Christ’s satisfaction pertains to all the faithful as his members. One person can satisfy for another through charity
• Objection: No one is satisfied through a greater offense; the Passion involved the grave sin of killing God
• Response: Greater was the charity of Christ’s suffering than the malice of those crucifying him
• Objection: Satisfaction implies equality with guilt; the flesh (suffering) is less potent than the soul (where sin dwells)
• Response: The dignity of Christ’s flesh should be estimated not according to the nature of flesh alone but according to the person assuming it—the flesh of God has infinite dignity

On Sacrifice #

• Objection: Truth must correspond to figure; the figurative sacrifices never involved human flesh
• Response: Augustine speaks of the figurative sacrifices; nevertheless the Passion, though bodily, has spiritual power through union with divinity
• Objection: The Passion is as much a crime as a sacrifice (from the perspective of the crucifiers)
• Response: On the part of those killing him it was a sin; on the part of Christ suffering from charity it was a sacrifice. Christ himself is said to offer up the sacrifice, not those who kill him

Important Definitions #

Meritum (Merit) #

A voluntary action performed in grace that deserves reward. In Christ’s case, merit extends not only to himself but to all the faithful as members of his mystical body through the hypostatic union.

Satisfactio (Satisfaction) #

The act of making amends for an offense by offering to the one offended something equal to or greater than what he hates in the offense. Christ’s satisfaction is superabundant because it exceeds what justice requires for all human sins.

Sacrificium (Sacrifice) #

An offering made to God to obtain reconciliation and acknowledge his sovereignty. The Passion functions as sacrifice insofar as it reconciles humanity to God through an offering made from charity.

Corpus Mysticum Christi (Mystical Body of Christ) #

The Church understood as the body of which Christ is the head and the faithful are the members. This union allows Christ’s merits, satisfaction, and redemptive work to extend to all the faithful.

Anima Christi #

The soul of Christ. Referenced in the discussion of the dignity of Christ’s flesh—the worth of the flesh derives from its union with the divine person, not from the flesh alone.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Victim Soul #

Berquist discusses saints who explicitly offer themselves to suffer for others, becoming “victim souls.” Examples include St. Thérèse of Lisieux and St. Catherine of Siena, who understood their suffering as participating in Christ’s redemptive work. This illustrates the principle that one person can satisfy for another through charity.

St. Edmund Campion’s Martyrdom #

When the Jesuit martyr Campion was executed, his bowels were cast into boiling water. A bystander watching indifferently was instantly converted when a drop fell on his coat. The bystander later became a Jesuit and was himself martyred—illustrating the power of Christ’s sacrifice to effect conversion and inspire vicarious suffering.

The Story of a Penitent’s Substitute #

Berquist recounts a story where a man was wrongly punished, but when the true guilty man was to be punished, the innocent man offered his punishment to serve for the guilty one, and the guilty man was released. This exemplifies how one person can satisfy for another’s debt through charity.

The Revolutionary’s Blasphemy and the Peasant’s Prayer #

During a revolution, revolutionaries shot a priest during Mass; the consecrated host fell and a revolutionary crushed it under his heel, saying “That’s your God under my heel.” A peasant responded: “Father, forgive him even if he knows what he’s doing.” This illustrates both the gravity of sacrilege and the superabundance of Christ’s mercy in forgiving even deliberate offenses against himself.

Shakespeare’s Richard II #

Berquist references Shakespeare’s portrayal of Richard II and discusses the lines about appetite affecting judgment. He connects this to Thomas Aquinas’s teaching on how deliberate ignorance (ignorantia affectata) aggravates guilt—the king’s willful refusal to heed his uncles’ counsel exemplifies how one can deliberately incur ignorance to avoid changing one’s behavior.

Notable Quotes #

“The passion of Christ, according as it is compared to his divinity, huh? It acted per modum efficientiae, that’s the last thing of the five he’s going to be saying, right? Insofar as it is compared to the will, the human will now, it’s the will of the soul of Christ, right? It acted by way of what? Merit, huh?”

“The head and its members are, as it were, one mystical person, right? And didn’t the Pius XII say that the mystical body of Christ is perhaps the most profound statement of what the church is?”

“Greater was the charity of Christ’s suffering than the malice of those, what? Crucifying them. And therefore, more Christ was able to satisfy by his passion than the crucifixers were able to offend, right?”

“The dignity or worth of the flesh of Christ, then, should not be estimated only according to the nature of flesh, but according to the person assuming that flesh, right? Insofar as it was, in fact, the flesh of what? Yeah. Of God, huh?”

“One is able to satisfy for the other, right? I guess you’ve been the famous example of this, where they punish the wrong guy, and then when they discovered he had not, what? He was not the man who was guilty, and they’re going to punish the real man, and he says, well, let my punishment serve for him, right?”

Questions Addressed #

Did Christ merit our salvation through his Passion? #

Resolution: Yes. Though Christ merited from the beginning of his conception for all humanity, the Passion had a unique meritorious effect because it removed the impediments on our side that prevented the application of his prior merits. The effect derives from the nature of the work itself, not from any increase in charity.

Is Christ’s Passion a sufficient satisfaction for all sins? #

Resolution: Yes, and superabundantly so. Three factors give it infinite worth: (1) the magnitude of the charity from which he suffered; (2) the dignity of his life as both God and man; (3) the intensity of pain assumed. One drop of his blood would suffice for the sins of all humanity.

How can Christ satisfy for sins he did not commit? #

Resolution: The head and members form one mystical body. Christ’s satisfaction pertains to all the faithful as his members. Moreover, one person can satisfy for another through charity, as illustrated by saints who become victim souls.

Does the Passion function as a sacrifice? #

Resolution: Yes. The Passion operates as a true sacrifice insofar as it reconciles humanity to God through an offering made from charity. The same action that is a grave sin on the part of the crucifiers is a sacrifice on Christ’s part who willingly suffers from obedience and love.

How does the flesh of Christ have sufficient dignity for satisfaction? #

Resolution: The dignity of Christ’s flesh must not be estimated according to the nature of flesh alone but according to the person assuming it. Since it is the flesh of God, it has in a certain way infinite dignity and power.