Sect. 201Combination of Various Human States in ChristCombination of Various Human States in Christ
I. The possession of two natures so widely different as the Divine and the human, places Christ simultaneously in widely different states. His soul was united with God and filled with the plenitude of sanctity, like the souls of the Blessed. His will had power over the forces and elements of nature sufficient to render them innocuous, like Adam in the state of integrity. But as He refrained from the use of this power, and willingly submitted to the penalties of sin, He placed Himself in the state of man after the Fall.
II. A considerable difficulty arises here from the natural incompatibility of the highest beatitude implied in the Beatific Vision, with the extreme of wretchedness suffered especially during the Passion (Matt. 26:38). St. Thomas, and after him the majority of theologians, propose the following solution: The highest joy and the deepest misery cannot coexist naturally in the same soul, for they are opposed to one another. They cannot even coexist supernaturally, i.e. by a miracle, if they are to be felt in the same mental faculty, and to bear on exactly the same object. As, however, there are various faculties and, as it were, various regions in the soul; as, again, the same object may be considered under different aspects, and thus appeal differently to our faculties, we can understand that the soul of Christ, in its superior region, was filled with joy at the vision of God, whilst sadness for the sins of man afflicted its inferior region. Likewise His Passion considered as leading to the Redemption of mankind was a source of joy, whilst that same Passion gave intense pain to His body and soul. But as, on account of the unity and simplicity of the soul, the pleasures and pains of one faculty or of one region are felt by all other faculties and in all other regions, it may be asked how the infinite pleasure of the Beatific Vision did not render the soul of Christ inaccessible to sadness or pain of any kind. Or, on the other hand, how did His agony not interfere with His heavenly beatitude? It was a miracle: Christ, by His Divine power, prevented the feelings of one faculty from overflowing into and affecting any other. St. Thomas, 3, q. 46, aa. 7, 8.
I. The possession of two natures so widely different as the Divine and the human, places Christ simultaneously in widely different states. His soul was united with God and filled with the plenitude of sanctity, like the souls of the Blessed. His will had power over the forces and elements of nature sufficient to render them innocuous, like Adam in the state of integrity. But as He refrained from the use of this power, and willingly submitted to the penalties of sin, He placed Himself in the state of man after the Fall.
II. A considerable difficulty arises here from the natural incompatibility of the highest beatitude implied in the Beatific Vision, with the extreme of wretchedness suffered especially during the Passion (Matt. 26:38). St. Thomas, and after him the majority of theologians, propose the following solution: The highest joy and the deepest misery cannot coexist naturally in the same soul, for they are opposed to one another. They cannot even coexist supernaturally, i.e. by a miracle, if they are to be felt in the same mental faculty, and to bear on exactly the same object. As, however, there are various faculties and, as it were, various regions in the soul; as, again, the same object may be considered under different aspects, and thus appeal differently to our faculties, we can understand that the soul of Christ, in its superior region, was filled with joy at the vision of God, whilst sadness for the sins of man afflicted its inferior region. Likewise His Passion considered as leading to the Redemption of mankind was a source of joy, whilst that same Passion gave intense pain to His body and soul. But as, on account of the unity and simplicity of the soul, the pleasures and pains of one faculty or of one region are felt by all other faculties and in all other regions, it may be asked how the infinite pleasure of the Beatific Vision did not render the soul of Christ inaccessible to sadness or pain of any kind. Or, on the other hand, how did His agony not interfere with His heavenly beatitude? It was a miracle: Christ, by His Divine power, prevented the feelings of one faculty from overflowing into and affecting any other. St. Thomas, 3, q. 46, aa. 7, 8.
Seção 68% da obra, de A Manual of Catholic Theology (Wilhelm & Scannell, sobre a Dogmatik de Scheeben). Ver o original.