Wednesday, September 21, 2011

"The Power of Sacramental Signification"



The following is taken from Abbot Vonier's "A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist."  Abbot Vonier is again quoting St. Thomas Aquinas:

"My answer is, that, as has been already said, the sacrament, properly so-called, is a thing ordained to signify our sanctification; in which three phases may be taken into consideration, namely: the cause of our sanctification, which is the passion of Christ; the essence of our sanctification, which consists in grace and virtue; and then the ultimate goal of our sanctification, which is eternal life.  Now all these are signified by the sacraments.  Therefore a sacrament is a commemorative sign of what has gone before, in this case the passion of Christ, a demonstrative sign of what is being effected in us through the passion of Christ, that is grace, and a prognostic sign, foretelling our future glory."


St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us.

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