274. Cessation of Ceremonial Precepts in Christ
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Lecture Notes
Main Topics #
Three Temporal Statuses of Interior Worship #
Thomas distinguishes three distinct periods ordered to the diversity of exterior worship:
- First Status (Old Law): Interior worship consisted in faith and hope regarding celestial goods as future, and regarding the benefits of God leading to those goods as future
- Second Status (New Law/Gospel): Interior worship consists in faith and hope regarding celestial goods as future, but regarding the benefits of God leading to celestial goods as present (since Christ has come, the sacraments are instituted, etc.). This is why Christ said, “Do this in memory of me”—the past is commemorated
- Third Status (Beatific Vision): Both celestial goods and the means to them are regarded as present; nothing is believed as absent or hoped for in the future
Proportionality of Exterior to Interior Worship #
The fundamental principle: exterior worship must be proportioned to interior worship, which consists in faith, hope, and charity. As interior worship changes according to the status of revelation, exterior worship must change accordingly. Ceremonies that signified Christ as future become inappropriate when Christ is present and has been consummated.
Cessation of Ceremonies After the Passion #
The mystery of redemption was completed in the Passion of Christ, when the Lord said “It is consummated.” Therefore, the ceremonies—which were ordered to worship in the faith of things to come—ought to cease. This is why the veil of the temple was ripped at the Passion (Matthew 27). Before the Passion, Christ and His apostles ran together the law and the gospel because the mystery of Christ was begun but not yet consummated.
The Comparison Argument #
Just as it would be sinful to profess after the Incarnation that “Christ will be born” (future tense), so it is sinful to observe ceremonies that signify Christ as future after He has come and His Passion has been consummated.
Succession of Old Law Ceremonies by New Law Observances #
Each Old Law ceremony is succeeded by a corresponding observance in the New Law that commemorates the benefit itself rather than signifying it as future:
- Circumcision succeeded by Baptism (both signs of faith, but one prefigures the future seed; the other declares the faith already perfected)
- Sabbath (commemorating creation) succeeded by Lord’s Day (commemorating the new creature begun in Christ’s resurrection)
- Passover succeeded by Feast of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ
- Pentecost (giving of the Old Law) succeeded by Festival of Pentecost (giving of the Law of the Spirit of Life)
- Feast of the New Moon succeeded by Feast of the Blessed Virgin (in which first appears the illumination of the Sun—Christ—through fullness of grace)
- Feast of Trumpets succeeded by Feast of the Apostles
- Feast of Expiation succeeded by Feast of Martyrs and Confessors
- Feast of Tabernacles succeeded by Feast of the Consecration of the Church
- Feast of the Chetusatset succeeded by Feast of the Angels or Feast of All Saints
The Moral Law Endures #
When Scripture says the Old Law endures “in aeternum” (forever in Baruch 4), this applies to the moral precepts simply and absolutely, but to the ceremonial precepts only as regards the truth figured through them—not in their ancient status or observance.
Key Arguments #
Against the Cessation of Ceremonies (Objections) #
Objection 1: The law is said to endure in aeternum; ceremonies pertain to the law; therefore ceremonies should endure forever.
Objection 2: The leper is commanded to observe ceremonial offerings in the Gospel (Mark 1); Christ Himself observed the Passover; therefore ceremonies have not ceased.
Objection 3: Ceremonies have reasonable causes insofar as they are ordered to divine worship apart from their figural aspect; therefore they should not cease.
Objection 4: Circumcision was instituted as a sign of faith (Abraham), and the Sabbath commemorates creation; these benefits should always be recalled and imitated; therefore these ceremonies should not cease.
Thomas’s Responses #
To Objection 1: The law endures in aeternum according to the moral precepts absolutely; according to ceremonial precepts, only as regards the truth figured through them, not in their ancient status.
To Objection 2: Before the Passion, Christ and His apostles necessarily observed the ceremonies because the mystery was begun but not yet consummated. The command to the leper to observe ceremonies was given before the Passion; the veil of the temple was ripped at the Passion, signifying the cessation of the ceremonies.
To Objection 3: The literal reasons assigned to ceremonies refer to divine worship in faith of things to come. Once that which was to come has come, that worship ceased, and all reasons ordered to it ceased with it.
To Objection 4: The faith of Abraham consisted in believing the divine promise about the future seed in which all nations should be blessed. When this was future, circumcision was necessary to protest this faith. Once it was perfected, it was necessary to declare it by another sign—baptism—which succeeded to circumcision (Colossians 2). Similarly, the Sabbath, which signified the first creation, was changed to the Lord’s Day, which commemorates the new creature begun in Christ’s resurrection.
Important Definitions #
Ceremonial Precepts (Caeremonialia) #
Exterior expressions of interior worship ordered to two things: (1) the worship of God, and (2) the signification of Christ. They do not have intrinsic justifying power but derive their efficacy from faith in Christ whom they signify.
Interior Worship (Cultus Internus) #
Consists in faith, hope, and charity. The diversity of exterior worship flows from and must be proportioned to the diversity of interior worship.
Exterior Worship (Cultus Externus) #
The external expressions and ceremonies through which interior worship is manifested and practiced. It must be proportioned to the status of interior worship in any given age.
The Passion (Passio Christi) #
The completion and consummation of the mystery of human redemption. All ceremonial observances ordered to faith in things to come cease at the Passion, which is why Christ could say “It is consummated” (Consummatum est).
Examples & Illustrations #
Circumcision and Baptism: Before the Incarnation, circumcision testified to faith in the future seed (Christ). After the Incarnation, this faith is now perfected (the seed has come), so it must be declared by a different sign—baptism—which signifies faith in Christ already come. Observing circumcision after the Passion would be like falsely professing that Christ is still to come.
The Sabbath and the Lord’s Day: The Sabbath commemorated creation (God resting on the seventh day). After the Resurrection, this was changed to the Lord’s Day to commemorate the new creation begun in Christ’s resurrection. The benefit (God’s creative power) is now recalled in its fulfillment rather than as a promise.
The Command to the Leper: Before the Passion, when the mystery of Christ was begun but not consummated, the leper was commanded to observe the legal ceremonies. Christ Himself observed the Paschal dinner. This shows that the ceremonies were not yet dead in obligatory force.
The Ripping of the Veil: At the Passion, the veil of the temple was torn in two, signifying that the ceremonial system had reached its end and purpose.
Notable Quotes #
“The outside worship ought to be proportioned to the inside worship, which consists in faith, hope, and charity. Hence, according to the diversity of the inward worship, ought to be diversified the exterior worship.”
“The mystery of the redemption of the human race was completed in the passion of Christ. Whence then the Lord said ‘It is consummated.’ And therefore the legal things ought to seize [cease].”
“Just as it would be sinful to profess after the Incarnation that ‘Christ will be born’ (future tense), so it is sinful to observe ceremonies that signify Christ as future after He has come and His Passion has been consummated.”
Questions Addressed #
When exactly did the ceremonies cease to bind? #
Strictly speaking, the ceremonies ceased at the Passion of Christ, when the mystery of redemption was completed. Before the Passion, even Christ and His apostles could observe them because the mystery was begun but not yet consummated. The veil of the temple being ripped signified this cessation.
How do we reconcile Scripture saying the law endures “in aeternum” with the cessation of ceremonies? #
The phrase “in aeternum” applies to the moral precepts of the Old Law absolutely and without qualification. As for the ceremonial precepts, it applies to them only “as regards the truth figured through them”—that is, the truths they signify endure eternally, but not the ceremonies themselves in their ancient status.
Why must ceremonies change when the status of faith changes? #
Because exterior worship is proportioned to interior worship. Interior worship consists in faith, hope, and charity. When the status of faith changes from believing celestial goods are future to believing they are now present through Christ, the exterior expressions must change accordingly. A ceremony that signifies a future reality becomes inappropriate when that reality is now present and consummated.
If ceremonies had reasonable causes (ordering to divine worship), why did they cease? #
The reasonable causes assigned to the ceremonies referred to divine worship in the faith of things to come. Once the thing that was to come (Christ and His redemptive work) has come and is consummated, the worship ordered to that faith ceased, and all the reasons ordered to it ceased with it.