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State of the question. It concerns Christ as man, for there is not
indeed any doubt that Christ, as God, is the head of the angels even
as regards essential grace and glory, which is a participation of the
divine nature.
There are three difficulties presented at the beginning of this
article. (1) It seems that Christ is not the head of the angels,
because the head and members are of the same nature; but Christ, as
man, is not of the same nature with the angels. (2) The angels do
not belong to the Church, which is the congregation of the faithful
who are wayfarers exiled from the Lord. (3) Christ as man gives
life to the souls of men, but in this respect He does not give life to
the angels.
Reply. Christ is the head of the angels.
Scriptural proof. St. Paul says: "In Him[Christ] dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead Corporeally, and you are filled in
Him, who is the head of all principality and power."[1048]
There is a similar text from St. Paul quoted in the body of this
article.[1049] In fact, the words of Jesus, as quoted by the
Evangelist, are evidence of this truth, for He says: "The Son of
man shall send His angels."[1050] And again: "He shall send
His angels, and shall gather together His elect."[1051] "He
shall send His angels with a trumpet, and a great
voice."[1052] "All power is given to Me in heaven and in
earth."[1053] Likewise St. Paul declares that Christ has
inherited "a more excellent name than the angels,"[1054] and
this for three reasons, because He is the only Son of God, because
He is the Lord of God's kingdom, whereas the angels are His
ministers, and because He is full of grace, this fullness being
absolute and superabundant.
Theological proof. It is proved by two syllogistic reasonings, as
follows:
There must be one head to one body. But there is one mystical body of
the Church, which consists of men and angels, who are ordained to the
same glory. Therefore this particular body, which is one because of
the unity of its end, has one head.
But this one and only head is Christ, because He is nearer to God.
Therefore not only men, but angels share in Christ's influence.
The first syllogism has its foundation in the one end of the entire
mystical body, inasmuch as men and angels are ordained to the same
ultimate supernatural end. The source of their spiritual life is
derived from the same divine truth and from the same supreme divine
good.
The second syllogism has its foundation in this principle: that
Christ is nearer God by the hypostatic union and more perfectly shares
in God's gifts, according to the absolute fullness of
grace.[1055]
Thus the conclusion is that Christ is truly and in the strict sense
the head of the angels, as attested by St. Paul.[1056]
The solution of the difficulties confirms this conclusion.
Reply to first objection. Christ as man is not in agreement with the
angels in their specific nature, but in their generic nature, or in
the generic grade of intellectuality. And though this does not suffice
for natural headship, at least it does so for moral headship,
otherwise God Himself would not be the head of the angels.
Moreover, Christ has the same specific nature as the angels in the
supernatural order, namely, the same and only species of habitual
grace, which is the participation of the divine nature.
Reply to second objection. "The church in heaven is the congregation
of comprehensors." But Christ already in this life was both wayfarer
and comprehensor, having grace and glory to the fullest extent.
Reply to third objection. "Christ's humanity, by virtue of the
divine nature, can cause something in the spirits of angels on account
of its close conjunction with God, that is, by personal union."
Several doubts must be examined.
First doubt. Is Christ, as man, truly and strictly speaking, the
head of the angels as regards their external government?
Theologians generally agree that Christ is the head in this sense,
and to deny it would be an error on account of the very clear texts of
Sacred Scripture, as quoted above. Also, just as the pope is
called the head of the Church as regards its eternal government, so
Christ as man, by reason of the hypostatic union, is the prince and
lord of the entire Church triumphant, which consists of men and
angels. Manifestly this is so from the very fact that Jesus said:
"The Son of man... shall send His angels,"[1057] and
"All power is given to Me in heaven and in earth."[1058]
Hence St. Thomas shows that Christ ascended above every spiritual
creature,[1059] and that Christ's judiciary power, as man,
extends to the angels, who are His ministers concerning men.
Second doubt. What grace does Christ as man bestow on the angels?
Reply. There is no doubt that He bestows on them accidental grace,
which consists in the illumination of their intellect concerning those
things that pertain to our redemption, especially the mystery of the
redemptive Incarnation, that they may cooperate with Christ as His
ministers in the business of man's salvation. Thus the archangel
Gabriel was sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph was
enlightened by the angel concerning those things that pertain to Christ
and His defense, and Christ sends His angels to be guardians of
men.
Thus Christ, as man, bestows on the angels by a physically
instrumental influx, accidental graces that they minister to us, and
so He purges them from error in this ministry, illumines and perfects
them. Similarly Christ as man bestows accidental reward or accidental
glory on the angels, on account of this ministry, and accidental joy
in the objective and indirect reparation made for those seats lost by
the fallen angels, through the justification and glorification of the
saints. Thus the angels rejoice in the fact that, because of
Christ's merits, the Blessed Virgin Mary has been exalted above
their choirs and that the soul of St. Joseph is among them.
But Christ formerly merited the accidental graces, which by His
physical instrumentality He bestows on the angels; for He merited
whatever He afterward confers. This is clearly enough expressed by
St. Paul in the following text: "Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent to minister for them, who shall receive the inheritance
of salvation?"[1060]
Now indeed, since Christ as man rules over the angels, and merited
the accidental grace and glory He now bestows on them, He is truly
and properly called their head, more than the pope is as regards the
faithful; for the pope only governs the faithful and does not either
merit or bestow such accidental grace and glory on them. In fact,
Christ is more the head of the angels than of infidels, who are not
actually subjected to Him as their head; for He does not impart
actual graces to infidels as to actual living members of the Church,
but only to dispose them to receive the life of faith.
It is not necessary for the moral head of the angels to bestow on them
essential grace, for it is not the primary function of the natural head
to give essential life to the members of the body, for this comes from
the soul as the substantial form of the body; but it imparts only some
vital motion as its secondary act. A fortiori, it suffices that the
moral head exert its influence by ruling, as the pope does in the
Church and the king in his kingdom.
Third doubt. Does Christ as man bestow on the angels also essential
grace and glory, these being a participation of the divine nature? It
is certain that as God He bestows this grace on them; but the
question is whether He bestows this grace in His human nature,
inasmuch as it is personally united with the Word and because of the
fullness of grace possessed by Christ in His human nature.
It is a disputed question among theologians. Some absolutely affirm
that He does, such as Scotus, the Scotists, Suarez, Valentia,
and Godoy, among the Thomists. They give as their principal reason
that Christ is the first of all the predestined, and therefore He is
the cause of all graces for others.
On the contrary, some absolutely deny that Christ as man gives this
grace to the angels. Many of these are Thomists, such as Medina,
Alvarez, John of St. Thomas, Gonet, Billuart, and others;
outside the school of St. Thomas, we have Vasquez and de Lugo.
The principal reason advanced by these Thomists is that Christ came
as the Redeemer, to redeem us men, and He did not die for the angels
who were not in need of redemption.
But others try to reconcile the two above-mentioned opinions. Among
the Thomists are Vincent of Asturia and Cipullus, who maintain that
the essential grace of the angels rests on a twofold title: (1) on
God's liberality, and (2) on Christ's merits, just as there
were two reasons for the glorification of Christ's body, namely, the
connatural overflow of this glory from His soul, and the merit He
acquired.
Finally, the Salmanticenses seem to solve the question better by
saying: "Christ bestowed this essential grace on the angels, not
indeed as physically efficient cause or as morally meritorious cause or
as redemptive cause, but by way of objective end,"[1061]
inasmuch as Christ was first intended by God above the angels.
Let us first consider the more common opinion among the Thomists,
namely, that Christ as man does not bestow essential grace and glory
on the angels.[1062]
Scriptural proof. In the Gospel we read: "The angel said to
them[the shepherds], "I bring you good tidings of great joy...
for this day is born to you a Savior."[1063] The angel says:
"to you," not "to us." Similarly St. Bernard in one of his
homilies, quoting the scriptural text, "A child is born to us, and
a Son is given to us,"[1064] says: "He was not given also to
the angels, who having the great, did not need the very little.
Therefore He was born for us, given to us, because He is necessary
to us."[1065]
But if St. Gregory the Great says, "No man or angel is holy
except through Christ,"[1066] this can be understood of Christ
as God.
Moreover, the Church says of the Son of God: "Who for us men and
for our salvation came down from heaven and became
incarnate,"[1067] not for the angels.
Proof from various texts of St. Thomas. Thus he says: "The
angels are not wayfarers as regards their essential reward and therefore
in this sense Christ did not merit anything for them. But they are in
some manner wayfarers as regards their accidental reward; inasmuch as
they minister to us, and this is what Christ merited for
them."[1068]
Again he says: "He[Christ] does not exert His influence on the
angels by removing the obstacle either by meriting grace for them or
praying for them, because they are already in a state of bliss; but
He exerts His influence in those things that pertain to hierarchic
acts, inasmuch as one angel illumines, purges, and purifies
another."[1069]
St. Thomas likewise says, concerning the extent of Christ's
judiciary power as regards the angels: "They are submitted to
Christ's judgment: (1) as regards the dispensation of those things
which are done through them... whereas they minister to Christ as
man; (2) as to other accidental rewards...; (3) as to the
essential reward of the good angels, which is everlasting bliss; and
as to the essential punishment of the wicked angels, which is
everlasting damnation. But this was done by Christ from the beginning
of the world inasmuch as He is the Word of God."[1070]
The principal theological proof for this more common opinion among the
Thomists is about the same as for Adam's essential grace in the state
of innocence and may be expressed by the following syllogistic
reasoning.
Christ was willed by God primarily and principally as the Redeemer;
and the grace that comes from Him is medicinal or healing, derived
from His death. But the essential grace of the angels is not at all
medicinal or healing, nor did Christ die for them.
Therefore the essential grace of the angels is not the result of
Christ's merits.
Confirmation. In fact, God's efficacious decree of the
Incarnation in passible flesh presupposes, even for the Scotists,
that He permitted and foresaw Adam's sin; and this permission
presupposes that He permitted the devil's sin, inasmuch as de facto
Adam's sin came about from the temptation by the devil, who was the
first to fall. Therefore the Word incarnate, as incarnate, was not
the cause of essential grace in the angels, which had been lost through
the devil's sin.
Solution of objections. The principal reason advanced by the
Scotists in opposition to the Thomist opinion is as follows:
Christ as man is the first of all the predestined. But the first of
all the predestined is the cause of all graces for the others, among
whom are the good angels. Therefore Christ as man was the cause of
the essential grace and glory of the angels.
Reply. As in the case of essential grace for Adam in the state of
innocence, the answer is made by distinguishing the major: that
Christ is the first of all the predestined by a priority of dignity,
this I concede, because He was predestined to natural divine sonship
which far transcends adoptive sonship of the angels;[1071] that
He is the first of all the predestined by a priority of meritorious
causality, this I deny, because He is such only as regards those to
be redeemed, since He came as Redeemer for us men and not for the
angels. I contradistinguish the minor: the first of all the
predestined is the meritorious cause of all the graces of the
predestined to be redeemed, this I concede; of the others, namely,
of the angels, this I deny. And I deny the consequent and
consequence.
But I insist. The Scotists in confirmation of their thesis add:
For Christ to be truly and in the strict sense the head of the
angels, it is not enough for Him to bestow upon them accidental grace
and glory. For Christ is the head only of those on whom He bestows
those gifts by which they are constituted members either of the Church
militant, suffering, or triumphant, and which are grace, charity,
faith, and in heaven the light of glory and the beatific vision.
Reply. The Thomists distinguish the antecedent. That the bestowal
of accidental grace and glory is not enough for Christ to be considered
in the absolutely strict sense the head of the angels just as He is the
head of the just, this I concede; that such is not enough for Him to
be truly their head, this I deny. Indeed, it is not the primary
function even of the natural head and a fortiori of the moral head to
bestow essential life on the members. It is not the primary function
of the head to make the members living members, for this pertains to
the soul as the substantial form of the whole body; but the head
imparts to the members a vital motion, which is life in its secondary
act. A fortiori the moral head, such as the pope in the Church or
the king in his kingdom, each exerts influence on the members by
external government, and yet each is truly called the head. But
Christ as man, not only governs the angels by sending them on this or
that ministry, but He also bestows on them accidental graces or
illuminations for the correct and devout fulfillment of their ministry;
and because of their having fulfilled their ministry in this way, He
bestows on them an accidental reward. Thus Christ as man is truly and
in the strict sense the head of the angels, although in a way not so
perfect as He is the head of the just, though He is more the head of
the angels than the pope is the head of the faithful.
Finally, the Scotists quote in their favor the following scriptural
texts: "No man cometh to the Father, but by Me"'[1072] and
"For if by the offense of one, many died, much more... the grace
of one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."[1073]
The Thomists point out that the scriptural texts and statements of the
Fathers to which the Scotists refer on this subject, either do not
certainly concern the angels but only the just, or if the angels are
included, it is not evident from these texts that Christ as man
bestows on them essential grace. Thus, when St. John quotes our
Lord as saying: "No man cometh to the Father but by
Me,"[1074] the meaning is: No one, either angel or man,
comes to the Father, except through the Son, but in a different
way; for man comes to the Father through the Son veiled in the
flesh, but the angel through the Son inasmuch as He is God.
Fourth doubt. If the doctrine of St. Thomas on the motive of the
Incarnation be admitted, is it probable that there are two reasons why
the angels have their essential grace and glory, namely: (1)
because of God's liberality independently of Christ; (2)
dependent on Christ's merits?
Reply. Among Thomists, Godoy O. P. and Cipullus O. P.,
are of this opinion. Although Gonet and Billuart are against them,
yet their opinion, as Contenson shows,[1075] does not lack
probability. Their principal reason for this opinion is that it
contributes to Christ's glory for Him to be the source of all
graces; and in truth, Christ Himself obtained the glorification of
His body by a twofold right: (1) in that it was connatural to
Him, as being the overflow of glory from the soul; (2) by having
merited this right.
As Contenson remarks,[1076] this opinion is probable. But if
against this opinion the objection is raised that Christ, however,
did not die for the angels, and therefore He did not merit for them,
then the answer is that neither did Christ die for Himself, and yet
He merited for Himself the glorification of His body, and this by a
twofold right.
But this opinion cannot be demonstrated because, if it is an
established fact, then this opinion depends on God's most free decree
that has not been sufficiently revealed; nor can it be deduced with
theological certainty from revealed principles. Hence St. Thomas
observes a prudent silence concerning these things known to God alone.
As the Apostle says, it behooves us "to be wise unto
sobriety."[1077]
Fifth doubt. Is Christ as man the final cause of essential grace and
glory in the angels?
Reply. That Christ is the final cause, we affirm along with the
Salmanticenses, who say: "We add that Christ bestowed substantial
grace and first justification on the angels, not indeed that He was
either the efficient physical cause or the moral, meritorious, or
redemptive cause, but He was the cause by way of objective
end."[1078] This can most probably be declared in two
ways.[1079]
The first reason, indeed, is that Christ was intended by God as the
end of all things, to whom God ordained all things He decreed to
make, as we explicitly showed.[1080] Now it suffices to say of
this particular disposition on God's part that on the one hand there
is nothing derogatory to God, and on the other that it is most
befitting the excellence of Christ, our Lord, who, as He was the
first of the predestined and the exemplary cause of all the
predestined, thus it was becoming for Him to be the
quasi-intermediate end for whose sake all things were created, and to
whom God referred and subjected all things, so that they should serve
Him and increase His glory.[1081] Hence, whatever grace and
perfection they had and the angels have, they all participate in
Christ's bestowal of this in the genus of final cause.
The second reason, however, is that the angels in the state of
probation, and also our first parents in the state of innocence,
believed in Christ as the consummator of glory. Thus Christ bestowed
faith on the angels, and on our first parents in the state of innocence
objectively.
Hence Christ is the end of essential grace in the angels, but He
does not appear to be the meritorious cause of this grace, unless their
grace rests on a twofold title, which is conjectural but cannot be
proved; because, if it is so, this depends on God's decree that is
not sufficiently made manifest.
Conclusion. Therefore Christ is truly and in the strict sense the
head of the angels, although not so completely as He is of the just,
whom He redeemed and on whom He certainly bestows not only accidental
grace, but also essential grace and glory.[1082] The unanimous
teaching of theologians is that Christ did not redeem the angels, and
it is the more common opinion among Thomists that He probably did not
merit for them essential grace.
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