Dear Father Angelo,
As always, thank you for your reply and your kind wishes.
Forgive my ignorance, but while you cleared my doubt thanks to your answer, I now have new ones. Specifically, if the sacrifice of Christ earned us salvation as long as our actions are oriented toward charity, how is that different from before? I’ll try to explain it better: isn’t it true that as we christians get saved by living in virtue according to the laws of God, in the same way those which lived before Jesus were saved by living according to the laws of God? But if that is indeed true, what was the purpose of the death of Jesus? Taking for granted that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t useless, I must be mistaken. Hoping that I’m not taking too much of Your time, I’d ask You to correct me.

Thank you again, and have a good evening.
Matteo

Priest’s answer

Dear Matteo,
1. The passion of Christ earned salvation for all men, including those which came before him.
As Saint Paul says: “For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5,19).
Made righteous means cleansed from sin and justified by means of the sanctifying grace.
The righteous of the Old Testament could be saved by virtue of their faith in the coming of the Messiah, which would bring redemption.

2. Still from Saint Paul: “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” Romans 3,21-24).
Therefore, the effects of the sacrifice of Christ extend to all men of all times despite not everyone takes advantage of it. So, they are all justified, including those which came before Jesus.

3. Saint Thomas comments: “But the men who believe in him are not only those who lived after his Incarnation but even those who lived before. For as we believe in him as one who was born and suffered, so they believed in him as one who would be born and suffer. Hence, our faith and theirs is the same” (Comment on the Letter to Romans, 5,24).
Therefore our faith, in terms of its substance, is identical.
It differs from the one of the New Testament in the same way as what is imperfect differs from what is perfect: “Yet faith had a different state in the Old and in the New Law: since what they believed as future, we believe as fact. ” (Summa Theologiae, I-II, 107, 1 ad 1).

4.  We can say that Christ’s passion had retroactive effects through the faith that united us with Christ’s passion.
The rituals of the Old Testament were a foreshadowing of Christ’s passion.
Saint Thomas writes: “Now nothing hinders that which is subsequent in point of time, from causing movement, even before it exists in reality, in so far as it pre-exists in an act of the soul: thus the end, which is subsequent in point of time, moves the agent in so far as it is apprehended and desired by him. ” (Ib., III, 62, 6).
“Consequently grace was conferred in Circumcision in so far as it was a sign of Christ’s future Passion ” (Ib., ad 3).
And so, the righteous of the Old Testament didn’t get saved thanks to their good works, but by virtue of their faith in the redemption of Christ which secretly communicated the grace to their hearts.

5. But there’s no comparing it to the grace communicated by sacraments
Still Saint Thomas: “We must say, therefore, that grace was bestowed in circumcision as to all the effects of grace, but not as in Baptism. Because in Baptism grace is bestowed by the very power of Baptism itself, which power Baptism has as the instrument of Christ’s Passion already consummated. Whereas circumcision bestowed grace, inasmuch as it was a sign of faith in Christ’s future Passion: so that the man who was circumcised, professed to embrace that faith; whether, being an adult, he made profession for himself, or, being a child, someone else made profession for him. Hence, too, the Apostle says (Rm. 4:11), that Abraham “received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the justice of the faith”: because, to wit, justice was of faith signified: not of circumcision signifying. And since Baptism operates instrumentally by the power of Christ’s Passion, whereas circumcision does not, therefore Baptism imprints a character that incorporates man in Christ, and bestows grace more copiously than does circumcision; since greater is the effect of a thing already present, than of the hope thereof. ” (Ib., III, 70, 4).

6. It must also be noted that after the passion of Christ the grace is bestowed with much higher abundance than in the Old Testament.
There’s a huge difference between the faith expressed by looking at a snake hanging from a pole, and the one that springs from gazing at Jesus crucified.
We have the Gospel with its teachings, which is Christ itself.
We have Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, which walks with us until the end of centuries.
We have the sacraments, which communicate grace ex opere operato. They are sanctifying on their own, especially the Most Holy Eucharist in which “mens impletur gratia” (soul filled with grace).
We benefit from the doctrine of the apostles, which were granted with divine revelation.
We have the thoughts of our father saints, which spoon feed the Word of God, making us understand it in its spiritual meaning word by word.
We have the saint doctors, championed by our Saint Thomas Aquinas.
We have the Church teachings, which is akin to a lamp which shines in the dark.
We have the presence of the Most Holy Virgin Maria, which assists us moment by moment, the communion of the saints, the treasure of indulgences…

7. Therefore there is no comparison between before and after.
Although, from a subjective point of view, some figures from the Old Testament were greater in holiness than many who lived during the New Testament era.
Still Saint Thomas:  “Nevertheless there were some in the state of the Old Testament who, having charity and the grace of the Holy Ghost, looked chiefly to spiritual and eternal promises: and in this respect they belonged to the New Law. In like manner in the New Testament there are some carnal men who have not yet attained to the perfection of the New Law; and these it was necessary, even under the New Testament, to lead to virtuous action by the fear of punishment and by temporal promises. But although the Old Law contained precepts of charity, nevertheless it did not confer the Holy Ghost by Whom charity . . . is spread abroad in our hearts (Romans. 5:5) ” (Ib., I-II, 107, 1, ad 1).

8. Finally, for what concerns the law of God, there is another huge difference.
Still Saint Thomas: “Hence the Old Law, which was given to men who were imperfect, that is, who had not yet received spiritual grace, was called the “law of fear,” inasmuch as it induced men to observe its commandments by threatening them with penalties; and is spoken of as containing temporal promises. On the other hand, those who are possessed of virtue, are inclined to do virtuous deeds through love of virtue, not on account of some extrinsic punishment or reward. Hence the New Law which derives its pre-eminence from the spiritual grace instilled into our hearts, is called the “Law of love”“. (…).
For this reason, too, the Old Law is described as “restraining the hand, not the will” : since when a man refrains from some sins through fear of being punished, his will does not shrink simply from sin, as does the will of a man who refrains from sin through love of righteousness: and hence the New Law, which is the Law of love, is said to restrain the will”.  (Ib., I-II, 107, 1, ad 2).

9.With such great blessings come even greater responsibilities.
In fact, Our Lord said that “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. ” (Luke 12,48). With the hope that we may all make the most of these precious gifts that the Lord has placed in our hands, I bless you and keep you in my prayers.

Father Angelo

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