Hello Father Angelo,

I consider you a reliable and important reference point in my journey of faith, and it is precisely this journey that leads me to ask you a question.

Given that, as I read in one of your answers, in order to go to heaven one must be “a friend of Jesus (and one is his friend by living in grace, in harmony of thought and will, with a heart open to the love of God and the love of each of our neighbours),” but that in order to be so one must receive absolution from sins through confession, I ask you: how could those who lived before Jesus receive forgiveness for their sins (i.e., draw on the retroactive merits of Christ, thus restoring their friendship with God), given that confession did not yet exist or, in any case, if it did exist, it was not known to be an essential requirement for the forgiveness of sins, since it was only later that Jesus, with his coming to Earth, gave this power to his disciples (and to future ministers performing the same function), telling them that the sins they would forgive on Earth would also be forgiven in Heaven, and that the same would apply to sins not forgiven on Earth?

Thank you.

Jacopo

Priest’s answer

Dear Jacopo,

1. those who came before Christ were able to receive forgiveness of sins through faith in the coming Messiah.

We know that even in the Old Testament there were special rituals, sacrifices, and prayers.

None of these practices could atone for sins.

“This is because only Christ can accomplish the expiation of sins, ‘who takes away the sin of the world’ as the Gospel says (Jn 1:29).

And since the mystery of Christ’s incarnation and passion had not yet been truly accomplished, the ceremonies of the old law could not truly contain within themselves, as the sacraments of the new law do, the virtue that emanates from Christ incarnate and immolated. Therefore, they could not purify from sin, as the Apostle teaches, since “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” And that is why the Apostle calls them “weak and poor elements” (Gal 4:9): weak, because they cannot purify from sin; and, as a consequence of their weakness, also poor, because they do not contain grace” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, I-II, 103, 2).

2.St. Thomas adds: “However, in the time of the law, the souls of the faithful could unite themselves with Christ incarnate and immolated through faith: and thus they were justified by faith. And the observance of ceremonies was a profession of this faith, inasmuch as they prefigured Christ. And that is why sacrifices were offered for sins in the old law: not because they themselves cleansed from sin, but because they were professions of that faith which cleansed from sin. The law itself makes this clear from the way it is expressed. In Leviticus, in fact, we read that in the offering of victims for sin, “the priest shall pray for him, and he shall be forgiven”; as if to say that sin was not forgiven by virtue of the sacrifice, but by the faith and devotion of those who offered it” (Ib.). 

3. Among the rites that contributed to the remission of sins, circumcision and the offering of sacrifices for sin deserve special mention.

Regarding circumcision, St. Thomas writes: “In circumcision, grace was conferred with respect to all its effects, but in a different way than in baptism.

In fact, in baptism, grace is granted by virtue of the sacrament itself, a virtue that baptism has as an instrument of Christ’s passion already accomplished.

Circumcision, on the other hand, conferred grace insofar as it was a symbol of faith in Christ’s future passion, in the sense that by receiving circumcision, a man declared that he embraced that faith, either directly, as adults did, or through others, in the case of children.

This is why the Apostle also says that “Abraham received the sign of circumcision as a seal on the righteousness received through faith” (Rom 4:11), precisely because righteousness came from the faith signified, not from the circumcision signifying it. And so, since baptism, unlike circumcision, works instrumentally by virtue of Christ’s passion, baptism imprints the character that incorporates man into Christ and confers more grace than circumcision: for the effect of a reality already present is greater than that of its hope” (Summa Theologica, III, 70, 4).

4. Then there was the sin offering, which was offered for the forgiveness of sins.

Sometimes it was offered in a bloody manner, that is, with the sacrifice of an animal and its blood, which was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ.

At other times, however, the sin offering was offered in an unbloody manner, as when a goat was taken, placed in the midst of the assembly, the sins of the people were poured out upon it, and then it was sent into the desert to be eaten by the devil, where it was thought that he dwelt.

5. There was also another practice held in high regard for the remission of sins: almsgiving.

Daniel addresses Nebuchadnezzar with these words: “Therefore, O king, take my advice; atone for your sins by good deeds, and for your misdeeds by kindness to the poor; then your prosperity will be long”. (Dan 4:24).

In Sacred Scripture we read again: “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.” (Sir 3:29).

Almsgiving was equated with the offering of a sacrifice: “He who observes the law is worth many offerings; he who fulfills the commandments offers a sacrifice that saves” (Sir 35:1-2).

6. The same applies in some way to those who belong to other religions. They too can pray, repent of their sins, perform acts of patience, almsgiving…

They too can do these things in expiation of their sins.

We can hope that the Lord will accompany these acts with sanctifying grace, which entails the remission of sins, even if they have no notion of sanctifying grace.

We know that God wants all men to be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4). It is precisely because he wants them to be saved that he goes out to meet them, secretly communicating grace to them.

7.Both for the Old Testament and for those who do not receive the sacrament of confession, we must therefore appeal to the extraordinary ways of salvation.

The ordinary ways are constituted by the sacraments.

With best wishes for a blessed Advent, I bless you and remember you in my prayers.

Father Angelo

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