Part IV (Tertia Pars) Part 161 (1/2)

[*Implicitly in the pa.s.sage referred to, but explicitly Serm. xv de verb. Apost.]), ”He Who created thee without thee, will not justify thee without thee.” Therefore it is evident that after sin the sacrament of Penance is necessary for salvation, even as bodily medicine after man has contracted a dangerous disease.

Reply Obj. 1: This gloss should apparently be understood as referring to the man who has a good will unimpaired by sin, for such a man has no cause for sorrow: but as soon as the good will is forfeited through sin, it cannot be restored without that sorrow whereby a man sorrows for his past sin, and which belongs to Penance.

Reply Obj. 2: As soon as a man falls into sin, charity, faith, and mercy do not deliver him from sin, without Penance. Because charity demands that a man should grieve for the offense committed against his friend, and that he should be anxious to make satisfaction to his friend; faith requires that he should seek to be justified from his sins through the power of Christ's Pa.s.sion which operates in the sacraments of the Church; and well-ordered pity necessitates that man should succor himself by repenting of the pitiful condition into which sin has brought him, according to Prov. 14:34: ”Sin maketh nations miserable”; wherefore it is written (Ecclus. 30:24): ”Have pity on thy own soul, pleasing G.o.d.”

Reply Obj. 3: It was due to His power of _excellence,_ which He alone had, as stated above (Q. 64, A. 3), that Christ bestowed on the adulterous woman the effect of the sacrament of Penance, viz. the forgiveness of sins, without the sacrament of Penance, although not without internal repentance, which He operated in her by grace.

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SIXTH ARTICLE [III, Q. 84, Art. 6]

Whether Penance Is a Second Plank After s.h.i.+pwreck?

Objection 1: It would seem that Penance is not a second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck. Because on Isa. 3:9, ”They have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom,” a gloss says: ”The second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck is to hide one's sins.” Now Penance does not hide sins, but reveals them.

Therefore Penance is not a second plank.

Obj. 2: Further, in a building the foundation takes the first, not the second place. Now in the spiritual edifice, Penance is the foundation, according to Heb. 6:1: ”Not laying again the foundation of Penance from dead works”; wherefore it precedes even Baptism, according to Acts 2:38: ”Do penance, and be baptized every one of you.” Therefore Penance should not be called a second plank.

Obj. 3: Further, all the sacraments are planks, i.e. helps against sin. Now Penance holds, not the second but the fourth, place among the sacraments, as is clear from what has been said above (Q. 65, AA.

1, 2). Therefore Penance should not be called a second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck.

_On the contrary,_ Jerome says (Ep. cx.x.x) that ”Penance is a second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck.”

_I answer that,_ That which is of itself precedes naturally that which is accidental, as substance precedes accident. Now some sacraments are, of themselves, ordained to man's salvation, e.g.

Baptism, which is the spiritual birth, Confirmation which is the spiritual growth, the Eucharist which is the spiritual food; whereas Penance is ordained to man's salvation accidentally as it were, and on something being supposed, viz. sin: for unless man were to sin actually, he would not stand in need of Penance and yet he would need Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist; even as in the life of the body, man would need no medical treatment, unless he were ill, and yet life, birth, growth, and food are, of themselves, necessary to man.

Consequently Penance holds the second place with regard to the state of integrity which is bestowed and safeguarded by the aforesaid sacraments, so that it is called metaphorically ”a second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck.” For just as the first help for those who cross the sea is to be safeguarded in a whole s.h.i.+p, while the second help when the s.h.i.+p is wrecked, is to cling to a plank; so too the first help in this life's ocean is that man safeguard his integrity, while the second help is, if he lose his integrity through sin, that he regain it by means of Penance.

Reply Obj. 1: To hide one's sins may happen in two ways: first, in the very act of sinning. Now it is worse to sin in public than in private, both because a public sinner seems to sin more from contempt, and because by sinning he gives scandal to others.

Consequently in sin it is a kind of remedy to sin secretly, and it is in this sense that the gloss says that ”to hide one's sins is a second plank after s.h.i.+pwreck”; not that it takes away sin, as Penance does, but because it makes the sin less grievous. Secondly, one hides one's sin previously committed, by neglecting to confess it: this is opposed to Penance, and to hide one's sins thus is not a second plank, but is the reverse, since it is written (Prov. 28:13): ”He that hideth his sins shall not prosper.”

Reply Obj. 2: Penance cannot be called the foundation of the spiritual edifice simply, i.e. in the first building thereof; but it is the foundation in the second building which is accomplished by destroying sin, because man, on his return to G.o.d, needs Penance first. However, the Apostle is speaking there of the foundation of spiritual doctrine. Moreover, the penance which precedes Baptism is not the sacrament of Penance.

Reply Obj. 3: The three sacraments which precede Penance refer to the s.h.i.+p in its integrity, i.e. to man's state of integrity, with regard to which Penance is called a second plank.

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SEVENTH ARTICLE [III, Q. 84, Art. 7]

Whether This Sacrament Was Suitably Inst.i.tuted in the New Law?

Objection 1: It would seem that this sacrament was unsuitably inst.i.tuted in the New Law. Because those things which belong to the natural law need not to be inst.i.tuted. Now it belongs to the natural law that one should repent of the evil one has done: for it is impossible to love good without grieving for its contrary. Therefore Penance was unsuitably inst.i.tuted in the New Law.

Obj. 2: Further, that which existed in the Old Law had not to be inst.i.tuted in the New. Now there was Penance in the old Law wherefore the Lord complains (Jer. 8:6) saying: ”There is none that doth penance for his sin, saying: What have I done?” Therefore Penance should not have been inst.i.tuted in the New Law.

Obj. 3: Further, Penance comes after Baptism, since it is a second plank, as stated above (A. 6). Now it seems that our Lord inst.i.tuted Penance before Baptism, because we read that at the beginning of His preaching He said (Matt. 4:17): ”Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Therefore this sacrament was not suitably inst.i.tuted in the New Law.

Obj. 4: Further, the sacraments of the New Law were inst.i.tuted by Christ, by Whose power they work, as stated above (Q. 62, A. 5; Q.

64, A. 1). But Christ does not seem to have inst.i.tuted this sacrament, since He made no use of it, as of the other sacraments which He inst.i.tuted. Therefore this sacrament was unsuitably inst.i.tuted in the New Law.

_On the contrary,_ our Lord said (Luke 24:46, 47): ”It behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead the third day: and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in His name unto all nations.”