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Dear Father Bellon,

I am perplexed about certain passages of Romans and Ephesians, where Saint Paul says that “we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the newness of the spirit” (Romans 7:6).
I am wondering why, under the old system based on the Law, God did not help people to follow the precepts of the Law through the grace of the Spirit. Why did God send the Spirit to fortify believers only after the Passion of Jesus, when the Law was no longer apt at establishing whether we are righteous before God, since “we are now dead to the law”.
In other words, why did God wait for Jesus to be resurrected to give His grace to mankind? Couldn’t He have done it from the beginning?
From reading the Bible, I understand that we cannot be perfect and righteous in front of God by just following the precepts of the Law, so God gave us help. I’m wondering why God gave us His gifts and His grace only through Jesus Christs (Romans 5:15), rather than in a different way – a direct way.
Why did God decide to make us perfect in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:4) rather than making us perfect since the beginning?!
I hope I explained myself clearly and I hope not to have wasted your time.
Best regards,
Matteo M.


Priest’s answer

Dear Matteo,

  1. It is true that, after Original Sin, men can no longer be perfectly righteous and avoid all sins just on their own. 
    Saint Thomas writes: “in the state of perfect nature, without habitual grace, man could avoid sinning either mortally or venially; since sinning is nothing else but to stray away from our nature—and in the state of perfect nature man could avoid this. […] But in the state of corrupt nature man needs grace to heal his nature in order to entirely abstain from sin” (Summa Theologiae I-II, 109,8).
  2. One may ask: did God give grace only to the people who came after Christ?
    The answer is the following: since God “wants everyone to be saved” (1 Tm 2:4) and since nobody can be saved without sanctifying grace, it follows that God gave His grace to the people who lived before Christ as well.
    The most obvious example is Abram, about whom it is said: Abram believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6 ).
    Righteousness is here synonymous with salvation and sanctity. 
  3. At what point did He communicate the grace in the past?
    god could give it at any moment, especially when somebody was particularly open to it.
    This is why Saint Thomas says: “before Christ’s coming there was need for some visible signs whereby man might testify to his faith in the future coming of a Saviour” (Summa Theologiae, III, 61, 3).
  4. The rites prescribed in the Old Testament were sacred signs, which means they were sacraments.
    Indeed, Sacrament means sacred sign.
    This is the difference between them and the seven sacraments instituted by Christ: the latter do not simply represent sacred things, but they communicate them. They give grace.
    The rites or sacraments of the Old Testament did not communicate grace. They, however, represented sacred things and therefore renewed the faith in the coming Messiah.
    Saint Thomas says that “these precepts did not justify man through the devotion and obedience of those who performed them” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, 100,12).
    Using our theological language, we would say that they justified “ex opere operantis” (depending on the faith and devotion of a person), while the sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ generate grace ex opere operato, that is independently of the devotion of a person. Therefore, if the priest is in a state of mortal sin, he still validly consecrates the Eucharist and forgives sin. 
  5. In his encyclical Divinum illud munus (5.9.1897), Pope Leo XIII reminds us that the Holy Spirit was already present in the righteous of the Old Testament, well before Pentecost, and the same is true for Zakariah, John the Baptist, Simeon, Anna.
    He quotes Saint Augustine: “It wasn’t at Pentecost that the Holy Spirit started residing in His Saints for the first time; however, on that day, He multiplied His gifts, showing Himself richer and more generous” (Sermon 267 (ex 186) for Pentecost).
    He also says: “They were also sons of God, but they were still in the condition of servants, because even the heir son is no different from a servant, until ‘he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators’ (Gal 4:1); and while they were justified in view of the merits of Christ, the Holy Spirit spread more abundantly in many souls after His coming, just like the price agreed upon is higher than the advance and the truth exceeds what was imagined” (DS 3329).
  6. Therefore God did not wait for Christ’s incarnation to share the gift of the Holy Spirit and fortify the believers.
    The “Spirit of God” was already present and active in people such as Joseph, the patriarch, judges like Othniel (Judg 3:10), Gideon (Judg 6:34-35) and Jehphtah (Judg 11:29). He made them strong and invincible.
    He was also instilling His Spirit inside the hearts of men, He stimulated them to a moral renewal and made them say with David: “A clean heart create for me, God; renew within me a steadfast spirit. Do not drive me from before your face, nor take from me your holy spirit.” (Pslm 51,12:13).
  7. Finally, you ask why He gave us His gifts, that is grace, exclusively through Jesus Christ.
    this is because grace is participation in the Divine Life, as Saint Peter reminds us (cfr. 2Pet 1:4).
    Only God can give us divine life.
    He gives it to us by connecting us with Christ: “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon of grace” (Jh 1:16). 
  8. In order to participate in His life, it is not sufficient to reach whatever level of moral perfection, because it would still be within the natural order.
    A supernatural perfection is needed.
    We are, in fact, called to eternal life and supernatural communion with God. 

While wishing for you to keep growing in this supernatural life of grace – i.e., sanctity – I bless you and remember you in prayer.
Father Angelo