The Bloody Sacrifice of the Cross

9. Application and Conception of the Redemption Accomplished on the Cross

1. That with the sacrificial death of the Divine Redeemer on the Cross the work of our redemption was effectually accomplished, is a fundamental truth of faith.⁵⁰50In His ignominious death the satisfactory and meritorious efficacy of Christ reached its full measure, and also accomplished its object: although the Resurrection and Ascension, in a manifold sense, belong to the objective completion (integrity) of the redeeming act of salvation—in so far, namely, as these two glorious mysteries set the seal upon the redemption accomplished in a state of humiliation, and both guarantee and prefigure its eternal valid efficacy. — Our Saviour, indeed, during His earthly pilgrimage, from the first moment of His existence until His last breath on the Cross, offered satisfaction and accumulated merits for us, that is, for our redemption. But why does Holy Scripture ascribe the redemption of the world to the death, the blood, the Cross of Christ? Because in accordance with the good pleasure of God and the will of Christ, it was precisely the shedding of His blood and the offering of His life in the sacrifice of the Cross, that were to serve as the appropriate ransom and full price of p. 59redemption. — The preceding labors, sufferings and prayers, that is, the satisfactions and merits of the whole earthly career of Jesus, belong indeed to the treasure of redemption; but independently of His death they were not offered by Christ and accepted by the Father for the actual redemption, but only in so far as they were to find therein their completion and consummation.⁵¹51For an actual ransom it is not sufficient only, that there should be an equivalent price paid, but it must also be destined for the object in question, that is, be offered by him who would redeem and be accepted by him who is to grant the release. Si loquamur de redemptione humani generis quantum ad quantitatem pretii, sic quaelibet passio Christi etiam sine morte suffecisset ad redemptionem humani generis propter infinitam dignitatem personae. Si autem loquamur quantum ad deputationem pretii, sic dicendum est, quod non sunt deputatae ad redemptionem humani generis a Deo Patre et Christo aliae passiones Christi absque morte.... Ideo humanum genus non est redemptum per aliam passionem absque morte (S. Thom. Quodlib. II, a. 2). “Unless the grain of wheat falling into the ground, die, itself remaineth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12, 24). These words of our Saviour were marvellously accomplished in His own person: by dying He produced fruits of life and grace in superabundance. His life of redemption reaches its zenith in His sacrificial death; therein the work of redemption was consummated. This the Lord Himself announced, in the presence of heaven and earth, when on the Cross He cried out in a loud voice: Consummatum est! “It is consummated!” (John 19, 30).

“All the riches that our Lord has lavished upon us by His holy Incarnation, are beyond the understanding of angels and of men. Hence no one can sufficiently praise and thank our Lord therefor. But, my God, how can we thank Thee as we should for the priceless good which Thou, by Thy wounds, by Thy sufferings, hast bestowed upon us in restoring and healing the breach, which all creatures together could never have remedied? Even the slightest insult offered Thee would have been powerful enough fully to atone for all our indebtedness, yea, for millions of worlds—for innumerable worlds. For the service rendered is measured by the dignity of the person. What shall we, therefore, give Thee in return, sweet Jesus, for the great goodness Thou hast shown us, that out of Thy boundless love and for our sake, Thou, during thirty-three years, didst not pass a single day without suffering, and, finally, Thou didst die a shameful death on the Cross?” (Suso.)

It was by the death of Christ, that the redemption of the human race, the restoration of the supernatural kingdom of God upon earth, were accomplished. On the Cross “the handwriting of the decree that was against us” (Col. 2, 14) was blotted out and destroyed: then God was appeased and the rigor of His justice satisfied, so that the stream of His mercies could again flow without hindrance; then were sin and the curse of sin taken away, and grace and glory once more restored; then was death swallowed up in victory and life resuscitated; then was the power of darkness broken and mankind delivered from ignominious captivity; then was the abyss of hell closed and the gates of paradise reopened; then Heaven and earth were again united in peace.⁵²52Per passionem Christi liberati sumus non solum a peccato totius naturae humanae (from original sin), et quantum ad culpam et quantum ad reatum poenae, ipso solvente pretium pro nobis, sed etiam a peccatis propriis singulorum, qui communicant ejus passioni per fidem et caritatem et fidei sacramenta. Et ideo per passionem Christi aperta est nobis janua regni coelestis (Hebr. 9, 11). S. Thom. 3,qu. 49, a. 5.

With death came also for our Saviour “the night when He could no more work” (John 9, 4) in a meritorious manner. At the moment in which His divine Heart ceased to beat on the Cross, the acquisition of new merits and new atonements for our redemption also ceased: the ransom is neither susceptible nor in need of augmentation. — For our immense debt our divine and bountiful Redeemer has atoned not only sufficiently, but in superabundant measure, out of His overflowing love He paid infinitely more than was required. The treasure of our redemption is infinitely great and, consequently, inexhaustible; it can neither be increased nor diminished. Superabundant, infinitely rich, is the atonement and merit of the death of the Cross, not merely on account of the infinite dignity of the suffering and expiring Redeemer, but also because of the immensity of the love wherewith He suffered and died, as well as on account of the value of the divinely human life which He sacrificed; finally, the extent, the number and the bitterness of the torments and ignominies which He endured, contributed thereto.

The satisfaction offered for us by Christ is, therefore, infinite, that is, far surpassing all sins conceivable: it is a satisfaction beyond which none more bountiful and complete can be thought of. “Far more than we owed has Christ paid for us; in so far as the ocean exceeds a drop of water, does Christ’s satisfaction outweigh our indebtedness.”⁵³53S. Chrysost., Homil. 10 in cap. 5 ad Rom. n. 2. The number and greatness of our sins should not, therefore, deprive us of confidence, they should not tempt us to despair: be they ever so great and numerous,—relying on the blood of Christ, we must always hope for mercy and pardon; for Jesus Christ “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world” (1 John 2, 1). All the sins and all the punishment of sin which God has remitted since the beginning of time or which He will continue to remit until the end of time—He has pardoned and will pardon only because the blood of the divine Lamb flowed in sacrifice on the Cross for their atonement.

The merit acquired for us by Christ is likewise infinite; that is, it is a merit beyond which none greater and more precious can be imagined. Therefore, in consideration of the infinite merits of Christ, we may and we should confidently expect and implore all that is conducive to our salvation; for no gifts and goods imaginable are equal to His merits. All the graces imparted to mortals from the beginning of the world, that is, since the fall of man, and that may still be imparted to them until the end of the world,—were and will be imparted only because Christ purchased them at the price of His precious blood.⁵⁴54Those theologians, who are of opinion that the Son of God would have assumed human nature even if Adam had not sinned, refer, as a general thing, all graces, those of our first parents in Paradise (in statu justitiae originalis) and those of the Angels, to Christ as their meritorious cause; consequently, they reject the known distinction of gratia Dei (grace imparted to our first parents before their fall and to the angels without regard to the merits of Christ) and gratia Christi (grace bestowed upon men since the fall in virtue of the merits of Christ). Cf. Mazzella, S. J., De gratia Christi, disp. I, art. 1, 2, n. 12.

The numerous host of the blessed in heaven, whom no one can count, are glorious, ripe fruits of the Sacrifice of Christ; because the Lamb was slain and has redeemed them to God, in His blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Apoc. 5, 9), and in the blood of the Lamb they have washed their robes, so that they are whiter than the newly fallen snow (Apoc. 7, 14). Therefore, they fall down before the Lamb and amid the harmony of celestial harps sing for all eternity the enchanting canticle of praise and thanksgiving: “The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and divinity and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and benediction” (Apoc. 5, 12.)

Incomprehensible and unfathomable are the riches of Christ: from His bleeding wounds and from His transpierced heart all blessings and salvation have come to us. His blood, poured out in sacrifice upon Golgotha, is a fountain of grace, flowing and atoning for, healing and sanctifying all the world,—ever new and ever abundant; it does not diminish, it does not cease to flow, though millions upon millions draw from it grace upon grace, health and strength, light and life and the plenitude of life.

2. Thus the work of redemption is objectively fulfilled; but it must also be subjectively accomplished and completed in the individual man. — On the Cross Christ merited for us all forgiveness of sin, the grace of sanctification and eternal beatitude; this merit is to be applied to individuals, that by it they may be freed from sin, receive grace and sanctification. Now, what is requisite in order that salvation founded upon the Cross, and placed in the Church within the reach of and offered to all, may be realized in the individual man? The Apostle tells it in these words: “Christ, being consummated, became to all that obey Him, the cause of eternal salvation” (Heb. 5, 9). There is indeed “with the Lord mercy and plentiful redemption” (Ps. 129, 7); but to partake of it and to attain to the imperishable heirship of heaven, obedience to the Lord is demanded, that is, it is required to do all and to comply with all that He has ordained and prescribed. — The obedience requisite for obtaining salvation extends to two things: we must first diligently employ the means of grace instituted and ordained by Christ; and then faithfully co-operate unto the end with the graces received.

From the precious blood of Jesus Christ is the heavenly medicine prepared for all: it depends upon us to receive it for the cure of our sickness and infirmities, and thus to be enabled to enjoy eternal health of soul and body. — The fountain of grace that sprang forth upon Golgotha, is open and available to all; but we must approach it and drink therefrom “that living water,” that it may become in us “a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting” (John 4, 14), and that we famish not “in this world’s desert land, where there is no way and no water” (Ps. 62, 3). — In the sight of all is the wonderful tree of the Cross planted; but we must pluck and eat of its fruits, in order to live eternally and be able to walk in the strength of this food, unto the holy mountain of God (3 Kings 19, 8).

Christ has given to men the power to be made the sons of God (John 1, 12) and thus to remain; but so long as we are in this land of probation, there is no infallible security and certainty of salvation. That we may not lose the grace of divine adoption and be excluded from the eternal inheritance of heaven, we should “not receive the grace of God in vain,” but we must diligently employ “the acceptable time, the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6, 1–2), and by good works make sure our predestination. — We must use violence in order to secure the kingdom of heaven, and strive earnestly to enter by the narrow gate; during the heat and burden of the day, we must cultivate the vineyard of our soul; we must fight the good fight, keep the faith and win the race so as to gain the crown of justice; we must suffer with Christ in order to be glorified with Him, and die with Christ in order to live with Him; we must walk in a manner worthy of God, pleasing Him in all things, fruitful in good works, increasing in the knowledge of God; by a holy and devout life we should be ready and hasten to the coming of the day of the Lord, so as to be found by Him spotless and without blame; we should renounce all in order to purchase the hidden treasure, the precious pearl of the kingdom of heaven; with burning lamps, filled with the oil of charity and good works, we should go forth to meet the Bridegroom, in order to be admitted into the heavenly nuptial chamber.⁵⁵55Cf. Matth. 2, 12. Luc. 13, 24. Matth. 28, 8. 2 Tim. 4, 8; 2, 11–12. Col. 1, 10. 2 Petr. 3, 12–13. Matth. 13, 44–46; 25, 1.

Therefore, we must watch, pray, labor, suffer and combat, in order to become holy and to secure our salvation. — Eternal life is not merely an inheritance, not merely a pure gift of divine mercy, but a reward also that we must deserve, and a crown of justice which we must win in lawful combat. The superabundant satisfactions and merits of Christ do not exempt us from the obligation that we are under of satisfying God for our sins by performing works of satisfaction and accumulating merits for heaven; but all our satisfactions have their root and source in Jesus Christ, from whom they draw their efficacy and value, by whom they are presented to the Father and through whose mediation they are accepted by the Father.⁵⁶56Trid. sess. 14, cap. 8. It is precisely in this that the glory and superabundance of the redemption are shown, that Christ our Chief has not only satisfied and merited for us, but has, moreover, acquired for us grace and efficacy, presenting them to us that we ourselves may also in Him, through Him and with Him be enabled to render satisfaction and to merit heaven.⁵⁷57Meritum Christi sufficienter operatur ut quaedam causa universalis salutis humanae; sed oportet hanc causam applicari singulis per sacramenta et per fidem formatam, quae per dilectionem operatur. Et ideo requiritur aliquid aliud ad salutem nostram praeter meritum Christi, cujus tamen meritum Christi est causa (S. Thom., De verit., q. 29, a. 7 ad 8).

Now, how in the course of time are the plentiful fruits of the redemption, the gifts and graces purchased on the Cross, to be applied to and appropriated by individual man? This is effected in various ways. Some graces God imparts to us without our co-operation; others we obtain only by our co-operation, that is, by disposing ourselves for their reception and employing well the means of grace. Such means of grace are manifold and by God’s disposition are found in the Church: on the one hand, the principal ones are prayer and good works; on the other, the Sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.⁵⁸58The holy Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, does not exclude such a sacrifice as is repeatedly and constantly offered, in order to impart to men the fruits of redemption acquired on the Cross. He therein proves and insists on the uniqueness and the complete adequateness of the bloody sacrifice of Christ only in the sense, that along with it and after it there is and can be no other sacrifice, whose object would be to express the acknowledgment of unatoned guilt, as was the case in the sacrifices of the Old Testament,—or to increase or supply the price of redemption, as though this had been insufficiently or not fully paid for by the Sacrifice of the Cross. All these means of grace are channels through which the graces merited by Christ flow to us in abundance and in a mysterious manner. Thus has Jesus Christ by the Sacrifice of the Cross won for us an “eternal redemption”, and once for all accomplished the regeneration of the world, that is, atoned for all the sins of all men and merited for us every grace.

Consequently, by the Sacrifice of the Cross we expect and obtain full reconciliation and favor in time, as well as happiness and glory in eternity—“gratiam in praesenti et gloriam in futuro.” Whosoever separates himself from this Sacrifice; whosoever, through disobedience and unbelief, despises and rejects it, for him “there is left no (other) sacrifice for sins, but a certain dreadful expectation of judgment, and the rage of fire” (Heb. 10, 26). Therefore, with the Church, we joyfully and fervently unite in the hymn:

10. Jesus Christ, “a Priest Forever According to the Order of Melchisedech.”

In a short, but magnificent and mystical psalm David prophetically announced that the Messiah would unite in His person both the regal and priestly dignity; at the same time His priesthood is more distinctly characterized as eternal, according to the order of Melchisedech: “The Lord hath sworn, and He will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech” (Ps. 109, 4). St. Paul also ascribes to the Lord “an everlasting priesthood” (sempiternum sacerdotium—Heb. 7, 24). Now if it be asked in what manner we are to understand the perpetual duration of the priesthood of Christ, we must then consider the priestly dignity and the exercise of the priestly office.

1. On the Cross Christ exercised His office of Highpriest, to which at the moment of Incarnation He had been destined and for which He had been sanctified. After having by the bloody sacrifice of His life taken away the sins of the world, He sitteth eternally at the right hand of the Father and dieth no more: thus He retains His priestly dignity which can never be lost. Of every sainted bishop the Church sings, God “made him to be a prince in order that the dignity of the priesthood might belong to him forever;”⁵⁹59Principem fecit eum, ut sit illi sacerdotii dignitas in aeternum (Introit. Missae). for the priestly character is forever indelibly impressed upon the soul of him who has received ordination. — It must be added that the power and fruit of the Sacrifice of Christ remains and endures forever. As the Highpriest of the good things to come (Heb. 9, 11), He has acquired and purchased for us by His bloody sacrifice not earthly and perishable treasures, but the new, imperishable life of grace and glory. The priestly dignity as well as the precious effects of His priestly office never cease, but continue unchanged for all eternity. These two characteristics are manifest in the eternal priesthood of Christ, but they do not exhaust it; for it has a broader and richer capacity, as it, moreover, includes a certain continuance and permanence of the priestly activity of Jesus Christ.

2. Our glorified Saviour continues His priestly functions, His redeeming office as mediator for the salvation of mankind, chiefly in a twofold manner—in heaven by mediatory intercession, and upon earth by the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice: both will endure until the end of the world, that is, until the last elect soul shall have entered into the joys of paradise.

That Christ in heaven is our mediator, intercessor and advocate with the Father, is frequently and clearly expressed in Holy Scripture. Previous to His passion and death, He consoled and encouraged His sorrowful disciples, by promising that when in heaven He would intercede for them with the Father (John 14, 16). The Apostle St. Paul says that Christ, after dying and rising again, sitteth at the right hand of God, making intercession for us (Rom. p. 658, 34). And elsewhere he says: “Christ has an everlasting priesthood, whereby He is able to save forever them that come to God by Him; always living to make intercession for us” (semper vivens ad interpellandum pro nobis—Heb. 7, 25). The same truth is expressed in the following words: “Jesus Christ entered into heaven, that He may appear in the presence of God for us” (ut appareat vultui Dei pro nobis—Heb. 9, 24).

That we may the better appreciate the presence of Christ before the face of God for us (ἐμφανισμός) and His everlasting mediatorial intercession in our behalf (ἔντευξις), we will cast a rapid glance upon the prayer which our Saviour made during His mortal life upon earth.⁶⁰60Absque dubio decens fuit, Christum orare, maxime in diebus carnis suae (Hebr. 5, 7). Ratio autem hujus condecentiae potest quadruplex assignari, videlicet propter meritum, propter virtutis exemplum, propter veritatis argumentum et propter officium explendum. — Propter meritum: quia sua petitione et postulatione merebatur nobis, qui minus idonei eramus ad susceptionem beneficiorum Dei. — Propter exemplum: ut sc. discipulos suos et per consequens alios invitaret ad orationis studium, in cujus exercitio maxime superatur adversarius (Matth. 26, 41). — Propter veritatis argumentum: ut ostenderet, se esse verum hominem et vere a Deo missum (Joan. 11, 41). — Propter officium, quia Christus habebat dignitatem sacerdotis et pontificis; unde sicut ad ipsius officium pertinebat sacrificium offerre pro peccatis, ita et pro peccatoribus exorare (Hebr. 5, 1; 7, 26). S. Bonav. III. Dist. 17, a. 2, q. 1.

Prayer occupied the entire life of Jesus: for what else was His sojourn upon earth than an unspeakably holy and mysterious life of prayer, intercession, meditation and contemplation? He prayed in the crib, in the Temple at Jerusalem, during the flight into Egypt, in the house of Nazareth, in the desert. During His public life He frequently retired to secluded places, chiefly to mountains, there to pray and to watch throughout the night in prayer; praying He raised His eyes to heaven before working miracles or imparting blessings; during His prayer, He was gloriously transfigured on the holy Mount; the whole time of His passion—from the beginning to the end—He continued to offer most humble, fervent sacrificial prayer: He prayed at the Last Supper, on the Mount of Olives and upon the Cross.⁶¹61Cf. Luc. 6, 12; 23, 34; 22, 39. Matth. 19, 13; 26, 36. John 11, 41; 17, 1 et seq. Thus Jesus entered into the world praying, He prayed while He lived, prayed while He suffered, and it was while praying that He expired. — What significance, what power and efficacy, His most holy prayer and intercession had for us in the work of redemption! He wished to procure our eternal salvation, not only by satisfaction and merit, but also by prayer;⁶²62Magna Domini propter salutem nostram benignitas pariter et pietas, ut non contentus quod nos sanguine suo redimeret, adhuc pro nobis amplius et rogaret (S. Cyprian., De orat. domin., c. 30). for all the gifts of grace that He merited in His life, in His passion and in His death, He at the same time implored and obtained for us by supplication, laboring thus in p. 66every possible way for His vineyard (Isa. 5, 4).⁶³63Omnia quae pro genere humano impetravit satisfaciendo merendoque, etiam orando impetravit, quia his omnibus justitiae titulis remedium hominum operari voluit, quo copiosior esset redemptio ipseque suum erga illos amorem immensum amplius declararet (Arias, Thesaur. inexhaust., tom. I, tr. 3, cap. 14). — Christus exercuit officium sacerdotis merendo nobis, satisfaciendo pro nobis et interpellando pro nobis: hac enim via Deum nobis reconciliavit et nos adduxit ad Deum, quod est munus sacerdotis propriissimum (Salmant., De Incarn., disp. 31, dub. 1, n. 11). It was this spirit of prayer animating His Sacred Heart at all times, which in reality made His passion and death, the offering of His body and the shedding of His blood, an atoning and meritorious sacrifice;—prayer is, therefore, the soul of sacrifice. Thus our Saviour through prayer fulfilled the will of God and accomplished His work; through prayer He redeemed the world and saved mankind.

3. But not only during His earthly life did our Lord “with a strong cry and tears offer up prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard for His reverence” (pro sua reverentia, Heb. 5, 7),—but glorified in heaven He is also an advocate and intercessor for men, in order to bring them to the full possession of salvation merited by Him. His heavenly intercession has for its object to procure for individual man the treasures of grace acquired and gathered on the Cross.

On the best grounds we may or should admit, that Christ in heaven really and expressly intercedes for us with the Father. — Why should not the Divine Heart of Jesus, which on earth so often, so earnestly, so constantly prayed and supplicated in our behalf, why should not this Heart also in the glory of heaven present to the Father His wish, His fervent desires for our salvation? This intercession of the glorified Saviour, to whom all dominion and power has been given in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28, 18), is incomparably more perfect, more potent and more efficacious than all the united petitions of all the angels and saints; for it is not merely the divinely human prayer which Christ offered when upon earth and which was always answered (John 11, 42), but it is the prayer of the Eternal Highpriest, who with the price of His blood purchased all those gifts and graces which He desires to obtain for us, and who, consequently, has a just claim to that which He wishes to procure for us and to impart to us. What our Lord thus in virtue of His infinite merits asks, He will infallibly obtain. “Ask (postula) of Me and I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession” (Ps. 2, 8), says the Father to the Son, who sitteth at His right hand, waiting until His enemies be placed under His feet.

4. To this especial intercession, by which Christ as mediator becomes our advocate with the Father, is moreover added the representation and the offering of the Sacrifice of the Life of the Lord on the Cross, and of the merits He thereby acquired. — Christ appears for us before the face of God, that is, He presents to the Father the wounds He received, the blood He shed and the death which He underwent on the Cross, in order to move Him to impart to us His favor, His mercy and His grace. — In this is found one of the reasons why the Saviour desires to retain for all eternity in His risen body the glorious marks of His wounds. These emblems of His bloody passion and combat represent to the Father what price was given for “the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free” (Gal. 4, 31).⁶⁴64In quo non solum fidem firmat, sed etiam devotionem acuit, quod vulnera suscepta pro nobis coelo inferre maluit, abolere noluit, ut Deo Patri nostrae pretia libertatis ostenderet (S. Ambros. in Luc. l. 10, n. 170). These open deep death-wounds now shine as stars with marvellous beauty and brilliance; but they continually proclaim to the Eternal Father that the Heart, the hands and the feet of His Beloved Son were once cruelly transpierced; they repeat loudly and solemnly that the Saviour in lavish profusion shed all His blood in order to ransom us. The sufferings and the wounds of the glorified Saviour appear—as St. Hildegarde declares⁶⁵65Ante oculos meos apparet, quid Filius meus propter amorem hominis in mundo passus sit; quoniam nativitas, passio et sepultura, resurrectio et ascensio Unigeniti mei mortem humani generis occiderunt. Unde et ea in coelestibus coram me fulgent, quia eorum non sum oblitus, sed usque ad consummationem saeculi quasi aurora ante me in multa claritate apparebunt. (S. Hildegardis, Scivias, lib. 2, vis. 6).—before the face of the Father like unto the aurora, which ceases not to increase in splendor until the perfection of day. Or, as Father Faber puts it, God beholds all things in that never-setting red sunset of the Precious Blood, which by His command is forever to be seen hovering on the horizon in all its splendor.

How dear and how precious, therefore, to our soul should be the sight of those glorified wounds of the Lord! They testify that He has written us in His hands and engraved us in His Heart in indelible characters. With gratitude should we gaze upon these sweet tokens of His martyrdom. Yes, for us they are fountains of eternal atonement and mercy, pledges of heavenly goodness and longanimity. In every tribulation and necessity, animated with a confidence full of joy, we should look up to our merciful and faithful Highpriest in heaven; for His Heart is the dwelling-place of eternal gentleness, an abyss of love and clemency. When we sin, we should never despair, for “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just, and He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2, 2).

5. The exercise of the office of mediator and intercessor, explained above, which the God-Man discharges in heaven before the throne of His Father, is a priestly function; for there He propitiates Him in our behalf by virtue of the Sacrifice He once offered for us on the Cross. His heavenly intercession is based upon and supported by the sacrificial merits acquired at the price of His blood, and is, therefore, a priestly function, a priestly intercession (interpellatio sacerdotalis).⁶⁶66Christus in coelo interpellat et orat pro nobis idque proprium est Christo, ut, tamquam pontifex oret pro nobis; alii enim Sancti, etiam ii, qui in hac vita sacerdotes fuerunt, orant pro nobis in coelo, non tamquam sacerdotes, sed tamquam privati Sancti et amici Dei; non enim amplius funguntur sacerdotio in coelis (Corn. a Lap. in Rom. 7, 25). After our Lord had, by the bloody sacrifice of Himself, atoned for the sins of the people and “obtained an eternal redemption,” He entered into the Sanctuary of heaven (Heb. 9, 11–12). There He continually exercises His office of Highpriest, by intercessory supplication, the object of which is to apply and to procure for man, throughout all ages, the fruits of the redeeming sacrifice accomplished on the Cross, that man may obtain salvation and eternal beatitude. This application of the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Cross, by the priestly intercession and oblation of Christ in heaven, may in a certain sense be called the continuation or—according to St. Thomas—the consummation (consummatio) of the Sacrifice of the Cross; but we do not intend to assert by this, that the Sacrifice of the Cross was not essentially consummated upon earth. This would be altogether erroneous. For the exercise of the priestly function of mediator in heaven is not in an exact and strict sense a sacrifice.⁶⁷67With regard to the so-called heavenly sacrifice of Christ, there prevails at present a theological controversy, which, however, in our opinion, refers more to the manner of expression than to the thing itself. As in the Holy Mass the liturgical oblation is annexed to the transient sacrificial act (in actu consecrationis), thus Christ with unchangeable sentiments of sacrifice continues in heaven the priestly representation and offering (oblatio) of the Sacrifice once accomplished on the Cross, so as to apply, until the end of time, to all men God’s favor and grace. But this heavenly oblation of Christ is no sacrificatio vel immolatio corporis et sanguinis Christi—and, consequently, it is no sacrifice in the real and strict sense as are the Sacrifice of the Cross and that of the Mass. — Therefore, the celebration of the Eucharist is a verum sacrificium and not a mere oblatio, since therein, as the Council of Trent says, Christ according to His humanity is offered in an unbloody, but yet true and real manner—incruente immolatur (sacrificatur, in statu victimae ponitur hic et nunc). But this last quality (actualis positio in statu victimae) is not to be found in the humanity of Christ, inasmuch as it is glorified in heaven, and therefore—because this requisite which is essential for the complete idea of sacrifice is wanting—there can be no question of a heavenly sacrifice in the strict sense of the word. The heavenly interpellatio (ἔντευξις) of Christ is indeed an oblatio sacerdotalis, but no actio sacrifica. — Officii ratione (Christus vocatur sacerdos in aeternum), quia semper apud Patrem in coelis interpellat pro nobis. Est enim sacerdotis officium interpellare Deum pro salute eorum, quibus datus est sacerdos. Fungitur autem hoc officio Christus in aeternum, i. e. usque in finem saeculi, donec omnes electos suos adduxerit ad salutem. Nec vero haec interpellatio est sine oblatione, quae et ipsa ad sacerdotis officium pertinet; nam continuo seipsum hominem et vulnerum signa, quae passus est, exhibet atque offert Patri pro salute electorum. . . . His addi poterat ratio sumpta ab officio sacrificandi, quia nimirum Christus Dominus non solum interpellando causam electorum suorum etiamnum promovet apud Deum, verum etiam jugiter pro iis sacrificando. Sed illud agit continuo per se ipsum; hoc per ministros ac vicarios suos sacerdotes, quibus commisit offerendum in Ecclesia, usque at saeculi consummationem, visibile sacrificium corporis et sanguinis sui sub speciebus panis et vini, quod tamen et ipse primus in ultima coena obtulit (Estius, In Epist. ad Hebr. 7, 17; Cf. 7, 25; 8, 2–3; 9, 25). — Est Christus in coelo sacerdos in aeternum non solum dignitate permanente et effectu sacrificii perpetuo, sed etiam continuata quadam functione, non quod sacrificium in coelo offerat, sed quod statum victimae in cruce et totum meritum illius sacrificii Patri pro nobis repraesentat, et ita interpellat pro nobis interpellatione sacerdotali. Unde etiam in coelo victima est, non quae ibi nunc actu sacrificetur, sed quae semel est sacrificata et nunc cum omnibus meritis illa oblatione consummatis perseverat et vivit in aeternum (Cardin. Franzelin, De Verbo incarnato, thes. 51, n. 2). — Cf. in particular Stentrup, S. J., Soteriologia, thes. 81–83. Our Saviour having ascended p. 69into heaven does not sacrifice Himself, inasmuch as He is in the glory of the Father, but only inasmuch as He is present on our earthly altars under the sacramental species; in heaven He is not in the state of Sacrificial Lamb, but He reigns there in the splendor of the saints and is there enthroned as King of kings in the radiant glory of victory.

6. Upon earth also does our glorified Saviour continually exercise His office of Highpriest—and that by the accomplishment of a true and real sacrifice; for He is the chief Sacrificial Priest, who upon the altar, by the hands of His duly authorized ministers, ever performs the Eucharistic action of sacrifice. For this reason the Prophet glorifies Him as a priest forever according to the order (secundum ordinem) of Melchisedech. In what then is Melchisedech “likened unto the Son of God” (Heb. 7, 3), that is, a figure of the Eternal Highpriest Jesus Christ? Melchisedech was priest and king: according to his name Melchisedech, “King of Justice,” and according to his kingdom of Salem, “King of Peace.” Christ also in His divine-human dignity is priest and king at one and the same time—and as such the author and source of all supernatural justice, as well as the founder and prince of all true peace in time and eternity; for already David had announced that “in His days shall justice spring up and abundance of peace, till the moon shall be taken away” (Ps. 71, 7). — Holy Scripture makes mention neither of the father nor of the mother of Melchisedech, and portrays him as though he had neither beginning of days nor end of life. — Christ was upon earth according to His humanity, without a father; and He is in heaven, according to His divinity, without a mother; and His priesthood is eternal and imperishable: He is the only priest in His order, having neither predecessor nor successor. — But this figure of Melchisedech would be defective, if he did not prefigure Christ, at the same time, in the essential and truly priestly function, that is, in the offering of sacrifice. But this characteristic also is not wanting. Melchisedech was a priest of the Most High, and as such he presented to Him earthly offerings of bread and wine; thereby prefiguring the new and eternal Sacrifice of the Eucharist, which the eternal and real Melchisedech, Jesus Christ, instituted in the new and eternal Covenant under the sacramental species of bread and wine, and which He will offer until the end of the world. This is the principal reason why it is said of Jesus Christ that He is a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech.

This twofold priestly function, namely, of intercession in heaven and of offering sacrifice on earth through the application of the healing and sanctifying power of His sacrificial blood and merits, Christ will continue so long as there are men who require help, deliverance from sin and justification,—and, therefore, until Judgment Day, when the number of the saints will be filled and completed, the Heavenly Jerusalem constructed upon and of the living and chosen stones of the elect. — Then, too, when the work of redemption shall have been victoriously and universally accomplished, when the enemies of Christ shall have been placed at His feet and dashed to pieces like the potter’s ware,—even then will the Lord, as the glorious Head of the Church triumphant, present to the majesty of the triune God the sacrifice of praise, of adoration and of thanksgiving throughout all eternity!