Sect. 108The Temporal Mission of the Divine PersonsThe Temporal Mission of the Divine Persons
I. Revelation often speaks in general terms of a coming of God to and into His creatures, and of a manifesting Himself to, and dwelling in, them. This coming and indwelling is especially set forth in connection with the two Divine Persons Who have Their eternal origin from another Person, and it is represented so as to make this temporal procession appear as a continuation of Their eternal procession. In consequence of this, the Person from Whom another proceeds assumes towards the One Who proceeds the same position as exists between a human sender and his envoy; and for this reason the procession ad extra of a Divine Person is spoken of as a “Mission.”
II. The external mission of Divine Persons admits of none of the imperfections inherent in human missions. The perfect equality of the Divine Persons excludes the notion of authority in the Sender, and, in general, any influence of the Sender on the Sent other than the relation of origin. Again, the perfect coinherence or interpenetration (περιχώρησις) of the Divine Persons excludes the idea of any separation of the Person sent from His Sender, and of any separate activity or operation in the mission. Lastly, the immensity and omnipresence of the Trinity exclude the possibility of any local change caused by the temporal mission of one of the Persons. The procession ad extra can be brought about only by a new manifestation of the substantial presence of the Person sent, and consequently by a new operation taking place in the creature, whereby the Divine Person reveals Himself externally or enters into union with the creature.
III. To lay too great stress on what we have just said might lead to a false notion of the missions of Divine Persons. It must not be thought that the whole mission consists in a Divine Person coming down to the creature merely as representative of an operation appropriated to Him but common to the Three Persons, thus infusing not Himself but merely His operation into the creature, and consequently not proceeding ad extra in the character of a Person distinct from His Principle as well as from His operations. As a matter of fact, in many texts of Holy Scripture the mission of Divine Persons implies no more than that They reveal themselves in creatures as bearers of an activity appropriated to Them and as Principle of an operation in the creature. Such is the case, for instance, where, in the spiritual order, every supernatural influence of God on the soul is ascribed to a coming of the Son or the Holy Ghost. But the theologians of all times agree in considering this kind of mission as an improper one, and assert the existence of another, to which the name of mission properly belongs.
IV. The manifestation ad extra of a Divine Person, in a mission properly so called, takes place in a twofold manner. Either the Divine Person appears in a sensible form or image really distinct from Himself, which makes the Person Himself and His presence in the creature apparent,—this is called a Visible or External Mission; or the Divine Person really enters into an intellectual creature, uniting Himself with it in such intimate, real, and vivid manner, that He dwells in it, gives Himself to it, and takes special possession of it,—this is called an Invisible or Internal Mission.
Both forms are found in their greatest possible perfection in the Incarnation of the Son of God. In His Incarnation the Son of God contracts with a created nature, at the same time intellectual and visible, a union which is proper to Himself alone, exclusively of the other Divine Persons, and by reason of which the visible body in which He appears is not only a symbol of His Person, but is His own body. Besides, the Incarnation was at the same time a mission of the Son of God in His own human nature and to all men, among whom He dwelt visibly. The Incarnation stands alone as a pre-eminent mission. In other missions the visible and invisible are not necessarily connected, nor do they exist in the same perfection. A visible mission, indeed, never takes place without an invisible one, but invisible missions are not always accompanied by visible manifestations. Besides, excepting the Incarnation, visible missions are not real but symbolical; the invisible ones are real: but whilst in the Incarnation we have an hypostatic union with the substance of a created nature, here we have the hypostatic presence of the Divine Person in the life of the creature, which presence includes an intimate relation between the Divine and the created person, making them, as it were, belong to each other; wherefore this kind of mission is termed “Missio secundum gratiam” or, better, “secundum gratiam gratum facientem.”
V. The invisible mission of God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, especially the latter, to the souls of the just, being such a consoling mystery, it is of the utmost importance to gain a clear conception of it; viz. to understand as far as possible, how in this mission a Divine Person enters the soul, not figuratively but really, in the proper and strict sense of the word.
In order that the coming of a Divine Person to the soul may be really personal, two things are required. It is not enough that the Person should come as principle of a new operation; it is necessary that His Substance should become present to the soul in a new manner, otherwise the mission or coming would be personal only in a figurative sense. As, however, the Divine Substance and activity are common to all the Persons, the presence of the Substance of a Divine Person is not sufficient to enable us to say that He is present as a distinct Person, or as distinct from His Sender. If the hypostatic character of the Person sent is not brought to the fore, His mission is not strictly personal, but must be considered as an appropriation. Moreover, the coming of a Divine Person into the soul must be conceived from the point of view of a living union of the Person with the soul, or of an intimate presence of the Divine Person in the supernatural life of the soul, in virtue of which the Divine Person gives Himself to the soul and at the same time takes possession of it. Holy Scripture constantly speaks of an intimate, holy, and beatifying union as the consequence of the coming of a Divine Person into the soul; the Person is given to the soul and the soul becomes His temple (cf. Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 3:16). Hence, the personal mission of the Divine Persons consists in a donation of themselves to the soul and in a taking possession of the soul; their personal presence in the soul implies a relation of most intimate and mutual appurtenance between the Divine and the human person.
VI. We have, then, to show how, in the communication of supernatural life by means of sanctifying grace (gratia gratum faciens), a personal presence in the soul, and a personal relationship of the Divine Person to the soul, is to be conceived. The demonstration may be effected in two directions, considering, on the basis of Holy Writ, the relation of the Divine Person to the supernatural life of the soul: (1) as its exemplar principle, or (2) as its final object. Both relations, however, are closely connected, and ought to be considered together in order to arrive at an adequate conception of the personal presence and relationship.
1. The supernatural life of the soul consists, in its inmost essence, in a participation in the Divine Life—that is, in a knowledge and love of such an exalted kind as is proper only to the Divine Nature; it has, therefore, its root and ideal (= exemplar) in God Himself. Hence, God, when communicating supernatural life, must approach the soul in His Substance in a more special manner, distinct from every other Divine influence; so that, if He were not already substantially present as Creator, He would become so present as Giver of supernatural life. Moreover, this communication of God’s own life to the soul appears as an imitation, a continuation, and an extension of that manifestation and communication of life which produces the Son and the Holy Ghost. The irradiation of supernatural knowledge into the soul is essentially an imitation and an extension of the internal radiation of Divine knowledge terminating in the Eternal Word and Image, and so implies a speaking of His Divine Word into, and impression of this Divine Image upon, the soul. The infusion or inspiration of supernatural love is an imitation and an extension of the internal effusion of Divine Love terminating in the Holy Eternal Spirit, and thus implies an effusion of the Divine Spirit into the soul. Hence, just as the supernatural life results from an internal and permanent impression of the Divine Substance on the soul—as from the impression of a seal,—so also the Products of the Divine Life impress themselves on the soul in an innermost presence. Consequently, the Persons proceeding ad extra, enter into a living relationship with the soul, not only as to their Substance, but also as to their personal characters. They are personally united to the soul, inasmuch as They permeate the life of the soul, manifest Their personal glory in it, and live in it.
This view of the Divine missions is alluded to in the following texts:
(a) The mission of the Son: “My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19); “That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts” (Eph. 3:17).
(b) The mission of the Holy Ghost: “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us” (Rom. 5:5); “In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). To these must be added all the texts which represent the Holy Ghost as living in us, or us as living in Him, as if He were the breath of our life. Thus: “But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ [= the Spirit of Love], he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9); “For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons [= in filial love], whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (ibid., 14, 15); “We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God” (1 Cor. 2:12).
2. The knowledge and love which constitute supernatural life (like the Divine knowledge and love of which they are a copy), have for their proper object God Himself, as He is in Himself. As in the Divine Life, so in the supernatural life of the soul, the Divine Essence is the object of possession and fruition, and must therefore be substantially present to the soul in a manner not required by the natural life of the soul. This presence attains its perfection only in the Beatific Vision and in beatific charity, but it already exists in an obscure and imperfect manner in our present state of cognition and charity (cognitio et caritas viœ). For if the Divine Substance becomes an object of intimate possession and fruition to the soul, the Divine Persons Themselves, each with His original characters, likewise become the object of the soul’s possession and fruition by knowledge and love, and They enter the soul as such object. The Son is given to the soul as the Radiance and Image of the glory of the Father, in order that in Him and through Him, the soul may know and possess the Father. And the Holy Ghost is given as the Effusion and the Pledge of the infinite Love that unites Father and Son, and of God’s Fatherly love for His creatures; as the Blossom of the Divine sweetness and loveliness, as the personal “osculum Dei,” which the soul receives as the adopted daughter of the Father and bride of the Son, and which is the food and the fuel of the soul’s love to God. This is the deeper sense of the words, “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). Consequently, both Persons are given to the soul as an uncreated Gift, and the created gift of sanctifying grace has precisely this object—to enable the soul to receive and to enjoy the uncreated Gift.
As the object of supernatural knowledge and love, the Divine Persons are also the final object, or the end, of the soul, in which the soul finds rest and beatitude, but which likewise claims from the soul honour and glorification. Now, each Divine Person, in His hypostatical character, can claim an honour especially directed to Himself, and a special manner of dominion over creatures; hence, although the Three Persons always enter the soul together, and take possession of it and live in it as in Their consecrated temple, nevertheless each of Them does so in a manner peculiar to Himself. This indwelling is especially proper to the Holy Ghost, because He is the representative of the Divine sanctity and the model of the sanctity of the soul; and further because, being pre-eminently the personal Gift of the Divine Love, He naturally receives and accepts the love by which the soul gives itself to God. The Holy Ghost being pre-eminently the “Sweet Host” of the soul, is also the Holy Lord and Master Who transforms it into His temple and takes possession of it in the name of the Father and of the Son. (See Scheeben’s Mysteries, § 30; and Card. Manning’s two works on the Holy Ghost).
I. Revelation often speaks in general terms of a coming of God to and into His creatures, and of a manifesting Himself to, and dwelling in, them. This coming and indwelling is especially set forth in connection with the two Divine Persons Who have Their eternal origin from another Person, and it is represented so as to make this temporal procession appear as a continuation of Their eternal procession. In consequence of this, the Person from Whom another proceeds assumes towards the One Who proceeds the same position as exists between a human sender and his envoy; and for this reason the procession ad extra of a Divine Person is spoken of as a “Mission.”
II. The external mission of Divine Persons admits of none of the imperfections inherent in human missions. The perfect equality of the Divine Persons excludes the notion of authority in the Sender, and, in general, any influence of the Sender on the Sent other than the relation of origin. Again, the perfect coinherence or interpenetration (περιχώρησις) of the Divine Persons excludes the idea of any separation of the Person sent from His Sender, and of any separate activity or operation in the mission. Lastly, the immensity and omnipresence of the Trinity exclude the possibility of any local change caused by the temporal mission of one of the Persons. The procession ad extra can be brought about only by a new manifestation of the substantial presence of the Person sent, and consequently by a new operation taking place in the creature, whereby the Divine Person reveals Himself externally or enters into union with the creature.
III. To lay too great stress on what we have just said might lead to a false notion of the missions of Divine Persons. It must not be thought that the whole mission consists in a Divine Person coming down to the creature merely as representative of an operation appropriated to Him but common to the Three Persons, thus infusing not Himself but merely His operation into the creature, and consequently not proceeding ad extra in the character of a Person distinct from His Principle as well as from His operations. As a matter of fact, in many texts of Holy Scripture the mission of Divine Persons implies no more than that They reveal themselves in creatures as bearers of an activity appropriated to Them and as Principle of an operation in the creature. Such is the case, for instance, where, in the spiritual order, every supernatural influence of God on the soul is ascribed to a coming of the Son or the Holy Ghost. But the theologians of all times agree in considering this kind of mission as an improper one, and assert the existence of another, to which the name of mission properly belongs.
IV. The manifestation ad extra of a Divine Person, in a mission properly so called, takes place in a twofold manner. Either the Divine Person appears in a sensible form or image really distinct from Himself, which makes the Person Himself and His presence in the creature apparent,—this is called a Visible or External Mission; or the Divine Person really enters into an intellectual creature, uniting Himself with it in such intimate, real, and vivid manner, that He dwells in it, gives Himself to it, and takes special possession of it,—this is called an Invisible or Internal Mission.
Both forms are found in their greatest possible perfection in the Incarnation of the Son of God. In His Incarnation the Son of God contracts with a created nature, at the same time intellectual and visible, a union which is proper to Himself alone, exclusively of the other Divine Persons, and by reason of which the visible body in which He appears is not only a symbol of His Person, but is His own body. Besides, the Incarnation was at the same time a mission of the Son of God in His own human nature and to all men, among whom He dwelt visibly. The Incarnation stands alone as a pre-eminent mission. In other missions the visible and invisible are not necessarily connected, nor do they exist in the same perfection. A visible mission, indeed, never takes place without an invisible one, but invisible missions are not always accompanied by visible manifestations. Besides, excepting the Incarnation, visible missions are not real but symbolical; the invisible ones are real: but whilst in the Incarnation we have an hypostatic union with the substance of a created nature, here we have the hypostatic presence of the Divine Person in the life of the creature, which presence includes an intimate relation between the Divine and the created person, making them, as it were, belong to each other; wherefore this kind of mission is termed “Missio secundum gratiam” or, better, “secundum gratiam gratum facientem.”
V. The invisible mission of God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, especially the latter, to the souls of the just, being such a consoling mystery, it is of the utmost importance to gain a clear conception of it; viz. to understand as far as possible, how in this mission a Divine Person enters the soul, not figuratively but really, in the proper and strict sense of the word.
In order that the coming of a Divine Person to the soul may be really personal, two things are required. It is not enough that the Person should come as principle of a new operation; it is necessary that His Substance should become present to the soul in a new manner, otherwise the mission or coming would be personal only in a figurative sense. As, however, the Divine Substance and activity are common to all the Persons, the presence of the Substance of a Divine Person is not sufficient to enable us to say that He is present as a distinct Person, or as distinct from His Sender. If the hypostatic character of the Person sent is not brought to the fore, His mission is not strictly personal, but must be considered as an appropriation. Moreover, the coming of a Divine Person into the soul must be conceived from the point of view of a living union of the Person with the soul, or of an intimate presence of the Divine Person in the supernatural life of the soul, in virtue of which the Divine Person gives Himself to the soul and at the same time takes possession of it. Holy Scripture constantly speaks of an intimate, holy, and beatifying union as the consequence of the coming of a Divine Person into the soul; the Person is given to the soul and the soul becomes His temple (cf. Rom. 5:5; 1 Cor. 3:16). Hence, the personal mission of the Divine Persons consists in a donation of themselves to the soul and in a taking possession of the soul; their personal presence in the soul implies a relation of most intimate and mutual appurtenance between the Divine and the human person.
VI. We have, then, to show how, in the communication of supernatural life by means of sanctifying grace (gratia gratum faciens), a personal presence in the soul, and a personal relationship of the Divine Person to the soul, is to be conceived. The demonstration may be effected in two directions, considering, on the basis of Holy Writ, the relation of the Divine Person to the supernatural life of the soul: (1) as its exemplar principle, or (2) as its final object. Both relations, however, are closely connected, and ought to be considered together in order to arrive at an adequate conception of the personal presence and relationship.
1. The supernatural life of the soul consists, in its inmost essence, in a participation in the Divine Life—that is, in a knowledge and love of such an exalted kind as is proper only to the Divine Nature; it has, therefore, its root and ideal (= exemplar) in God Himself. Hence, God, when communicating supernatural life, must approach the soul in His Substance in a more special manner, distinct from every other Divine influence; so that, if He were not already substantially present as Creator, He would become so present as Giver of supernatural life. Moreover, this communication of God’s own life to the soul appears as an imitation, a continuation, and an extension of that manifestation and communication of life which produces the Son and the Holy Ghost. The irradiation of supernatural knowledge into the soul is essentially an imitation and an extension of the internal radiation of Divine knowledge terminating in the Eternal Word and Image, and so implies a speaking of His Divine Word into, and impression of this Divine Image upon, the soul. The infusion or inspiration of supernatural love is an imitation and an extension of the internal effusion of Divine Love terminating in the Holy Eternal Spirit, and thus implies an effusion of the Divine Spirit into the soul. Hence, just as the supernatural life results from an internal and permanent impression of the Divine Substance on the soul—as from the impression of a seal,—so also the Products of the Divine Life impress themselves on the soul in an innermost presence. Consequently, the Persons proceeding ad extra, enter into a living relationship with the soul, not only as to their Substance, but also as to their personal characters. They are personally united to the soul, inasmuch as They permeate the life of the soul, manifest Their personal glory in it, and live in it.
This view of the Divine missions is alluded to in the following texts:
(a) The mission of the Son: “My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you” (Gal. 4:19); “That Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts” (Eph. 3:17).
(b) The mission of the Holy Ghost: “The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost Who is given to us” (Rom. 5:5); “In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13). To these must be added all the texts which represent the Holy Ghost as living in us, or us as living in Him, as if He were the breath of our life. Thus: “But you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ [= the Spirit of Love], he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9); “For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons [= in filial love], whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (ibid., 14, 15); “We have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God” (1 Cor. 2:12).
2. The knowledge and love which constitute supernatural life (like the Divine knowledge and love of which they are a copy), have for their proper object God Himself, as He is in Himself. As in the Divine Life, so in the supernatural life of the soul, the Divine Essence is the object of possession and fruition, and must therefore be substantially present to the soul in a manner not required by the natural life of the soul. This presence attains its perfection only in the Beatific Vision and in beatific charity, but it already exists in an obscure and imperfect manner in our present state of cognition and charity (cognitio et caritas viœ). For if the Divine Substance becomes an object of intimate possession and fruition to the soul, the Divine Persons Themselves, each with His original characters, likewise become the object of the soul’s possession and fruition by knowledge and love, and They enter the soul as such object. The Son is given to the soul as the Radiance and Image of the glory of the Father, in order that in Him and through Him, the soul may know and possess the Father. And the Holy Ghost is given as the Effusion and the Pledge of the infinite Love that unites Father and Son, and of God’s Fatherly love for His creatures; as the Blossom of the Divine sweetness and loveliness, as the personal “osculum Dei,” which the soul receives as the adopted daughter of the Father and bride of the Son, and which is the food and the fuel of the soul’s love to God. This is the deeper sense of the words, “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17:26). Consequently, both Persons are given to the soul as an uncreated Gift, and the created gift of sanctifying grace has precisely this object—to enable the soul to receive and to enjoy the uncreated Gift.
As the object of supernatural knowledge and love, the Divine Persons are also the final object, or the end, of the soul, in which the soul finds rest and beatitude, but which likewise claims from the soul honour and glorification. Now, each Divine Person, in His hypostatical character, can claim an honour especially directed to Himself, and a special manner of dominion over creatures; hence, although the Three Persons always enter the soul together, and take possession of it and live in it as in Their consecrated temple, nevertheless each of Them does so in a manner peculiar to Himself. This indwelling is especially proper to the Holy Ghost, because He is the representative of the Divine sanctity and the model of the sanctity of the soul; and further because, being pre-eminently the personal Gift of the Divine Love, He naturally receives and accepts the love by which the soul gives itself to God. The Holy Ghost being pre-eminently the “Sweet Host” of the soul, is also the Holy Lord and Master Who transforms it into His temple and takes possession of it in the name of the Father and of the Son. (See Scheeben’s Mysteries, § 30; and Card. Manning’s two works on the Holy Ghost).
Seção 36% da obra, de A Manual of Catholic Theology (Wilhelm & Scannell, sobre a Dogmatik de Scheeben). Ver o original.