Tertia Pars
120. Christ Ascends by His Own Power, Above All the Heavens and All Spiritual Creatures; How the Ascension Causes Our Salvation
Class of 2011-01-13
https://berquistcourse.com/course/theology/13-tertia-pars/120-christ-ascends-by-his-own-power-above-all-the-heavens-and/

[0:00] Correct. Article three here, right? To the third one proceeds thus. It seems that Christ did not ascend by His own what power, right? For He said in Mark chapter sixteen that the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to the disciples, was assumed to heaven, right? And Act one nine is said that looking them looking at Him, I suppose, right? He was elevated, and the clouds received Him away from their eyes.

[0:39] But that which is assumed elevated is moved by another. The grammar, yes, the the thing, right? Therefore, Christ not by His own power, but by an alien power, right? Was born into heaven, huh? Moreover, the body of Christ was earthly, just as our bodies, huh? But it's against the nature of a earthly body to be born upwards, huh? That's why it's harder walking uphill than downhill, right?

[1:12] For some of us, boys. For Thomas, and walking uphill is contrary to nature, according to the the elements of which are composed, right? Although an animal nature can be, you know, quite the nature, right? But it's kind of a contrariety, huh? Between the two, right? Man of gravitas. Yes. Yes. I'm

[1:45] always kind of amused when Thomas talks about man's freedom, you know, to to walk or to run, right? You, Thomas, must be as big as having that choice, you know. He had a habitual choice on that one.

[2:07] But no motion is by its own power that is against the what? It is moved against nature. Therefore, Christ did not ascend to heaven by His own power. Moreover, the proper power of God of Christ is a divine power, but that motion did not seem to be from a divine power, because since the divine power is infinite, that motion would have been in an a what instant, right?

[2:37] This is a long history in history of philosophy, right? And thus it could not be that the disciples seeing Him was elevated in heaven, as is said in Acts one. Therefore, it seems that Christ did not ascend by His own power, right?

[2:54] But against this is what is said in Isaiah chapter sixty-three: He, the most beautiful in His garments, right, going up in the multitude of His own power. That's interesting. And Gregory says in his homily on ascension, it should be noted that Elias ascended, or read to have ascended, in a chariot, right? Huh? That might be clearly shown that a pure man, right, needs a alien aid, right?

[3:30] But our Redemptor, our Redeemer, not in a chariot, not by the angels, right, is read to have what? Is it that? Because who had made all things was born above all by His own what? Power.

[3:56] Answer: It should be said that in Christ there is a twofold nature, the divine nature and the human. Whence, according to both nature, can be taken this phrase, right? His own power, right? But according to His human nature, there can be taken a twofold power of Christ, huh? One which is natural, which goes forth from the principles of nature, which proceeds from the principles of nature, and by such a power it is manifest that Christ did not ascend.

[4:37] Another is the power in human nature; is the power of glory, right? This is one of the dowries and the gifts, according to which Christ ascended in heaven, right, by a power of His what? Glorified body. Of which power the reason some take from the nature of the fifth essence, huh?

[5:05] Which is light, huh? Which they say, or they place as one of the composing parts, right, of the human body, and through it the contrary elements to be reconciled in one. Thus, that in the state of this mortality,

[5:28] the nature, the elementary nature, dominates the human flesh, right, the human bodies, and therefore, according to the nature, the predominant element, the human body, by its natural power, is born above. I didn't what It's born down Oh yes, yes, yeah. But in the state of glory, the what celestial nature predominates, according to whose inclination, power, the body of Christ and the otherwise the saints are born heaven.

[6:04] But about this opinion, we've had something to say in the first part, and below we'll treat it more than the treatment of the common resurrection, right? So we've never discussed that opinion, so we'll have. To leave it to that. But this opinion set aside, others assign the reason for the force of power on the side of the glorified soul, from whose redundancy overflow the body is glorified, as Augustine himself says to Dioscorus.

[6:37] For so great is the obedience the glorified body to the blessed soul, as Augustine says in the twenty-second book of the City of God, that where the spirit what wills there right away right is the body.

[6:58] Spirit and the spirit lies, maybe. Yeah. And the body partidos partidos. If all is up, the spirit lifted thither, the body will be on the instant. Which immediately. But it's appropriate for the glorified body, the immortal body, to be in a celestial place, and therefore from the power of the soul, willing right, the body of Christ descended into what heaven, huh?

[7:37] For just as the body is made glorious, so as Augustine says upon John, by the partaking of God the soul becomes what blessed. Whence the first origin of the ascension heaven is a divine power, huh? Thus, therefore, Christ ascended into heaven by his own power, first by his divine power, secondly by virtue of the soul glorified, moving the body as it wishes, huh? That's the partaking in some way of the divine power.

[8:17] Under the first objection here, it should be said that just as Christ is said by his own power to have what resurrect, right? Nevertheless, he is said to be raised up by the Father.

[8:37] So, by the same power, in that there is the same power of the Father and the Son, right? So we can say that Christ rose by the power of the Father, because it's not contrary to His own power, because it's the same power. So also Christ by His own powers into heaven; nevertheless, by the Father's elevated and assumed.

[9:02] Yeah, I think when Paul, or not Paul, I mean when Peter first speaks to the crowd, doesn't he say, you know, the Father raised? Yeah, the kind of softening,

[9:13] preparing your mind. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If he said directly, "to all by its own power," they would maybe what taking up stones, hurl it at him or something. huh

[9:27] I mean, interesting moderation there. huh That's not a lie, of course See Paul says something like I think it's in Romans about He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead by the power of the Spirit. I think it's Romans or Hebrews, one or the other. Raise up our bodies to well they get the whole trinity. The second should be said that that reason proves that Christ did not ascend to heaven by His own power, which is of His natural, is natural to His human nature.

[10:12] But He ascended to heaven by His own power, which was a divine power, and by His own power, which is that of the blessed what soul. So we gotta go round, right? It's supposed to go up into heaven, right, to meet Christ, huh?

[10:29] And although to ascend upwards, right, is against the nature of the human body, according to the present status, in which the body is not altogether subject to the spirit. It will not, however, be against nature nor a violent thing to the glorified body, whose whole nature is entirely subject to the spirit, huh?

[10:54] It's good to know we're not shoving up there, you know. The body's not going to be... Well, we don't have to walk through snow, not the shell. We just go right over. No problem. Problem solved. That's it. Now that was coming out of the chapel there. I said, "Say, go through the pool like this and come around. You do it sometime, you know." And so somebody's got a little path there.

[11:14] I said, "I better go that path, you know, because he did all the work probably just for me, you know, so I could get there." He said, "Ungrateful me not to go, go the way that he did."

[11:28] It was funny because the the snow on top of the roof of the house, right, was melting, right, and it was dripping down. Was coming down, you know, like sheets of ice, like this, and really nicely formed, huh? And you you knock off the bottom, and no one drops down. I don't know how many I took out, but this morning we're trying to. There you go. It kind of is kind of on his metal, you know, drain thing, so it's kind of

[12:04] like you know like that, you know. So it comes out, you know, it kind of fluted like that, and really beautiful, you know. In fact, we got the whole thing, you know. I mean, without having to break it up, it would have been even more impressive, but.

[12:25] In Kansas City, there you get the fog coming in, right, and the freezing thing. You get the kind of effect that you get on the tree with the ice sometimes here, you know, and then the sun comes out and disappears. That's about as far as we got to snow. It wasn't any snow, you know.

[12:42] This was. These people who were behind us at church there in Dadey Master, you know, they're going down to Florida Wednesday. I don't think they're ever back at all, probably. I haven't seen them since. But my mom said, I guess every state in the continental United States had snow except Florida. They supposedly Jacksonville had a week or two ago, whatever it was when it got cold, and they had some kind of flurry.

[13:13] Well, they don't get snows down Atlanta where my son is, you know, by the sun, and so there's no shovel there. And it's the driveways He's out there with the kind of the dust pans, trying to try to get the snow off the. uh

[13:30] I was I was told somebody said this years ago that once in a while it'll snow in Rome, but not often. And people they said one somebody I knew said that they saw somebody out there was gardening, was just hosing snow. Mel, probably not that cold. Probably warmer.

[13:50] The sun was. Didn't have to worry about the water turning the ice. Now, to the third, it should be said that although divine power is infinite and infinitely acts according to, as regards the what on the side of the one operating, nevertheless the effect of that power is received in things according to their capacity and according to the divine disposition disposition of his will. Right.

[14:26] The body however, is not capable that it be moved instantaneously. Right in place, because it's necessary that it measures right itself with the space according to whose division time is divided, as is proved in the sixth book of Natural Hearing. And therefore, it is not necessary that the what

[14:51] body moved by God be moved in instants, but it moves by that velocity which God has disposed in his will. Because this comes up in the question when it starts talking about the the infinite power, the infinite power of moving the heavenly bodies, right? Well, if it's a natural power, the infinite power is going to move a thing any time. That's impossible. But then you get the idea that moving by will, you can don't use all your power, right?

[15:20] Okay. Whether Christ descended above all the heavens, right now, I'll get a little more understanding of the heavens here, in case you didn't know about the heavens that much.

[15:37] To the fourth one proceeds thus. It seemed that Christ did not ascend above all the heavens, for it is said in Psalm ten, the Lord in His holy temple, right? The Lord in heaven His seat. But what it is in heaven is not above heaven. Therefore, Christ did not ascend above all the what heavens? That's a different sense of heaven. Moreover, two bodies are not able to be in the same place.

[16:10] There's a secret objection between these. According to this edition. What? It says objection two, and it has an asterisk which says this objection with its solution is omitted in the Leonine edition as not being in the original manuscript. Shocking. Shocking. This one is there is no place above the heavens as proved in the De Caelo, but every body must occupy a place. Therefore, Christ's body did not descend above all the heavens.

[16:40] Okay, we'll stick here with the text here. We're ready here. Approved authority. Textually, once you get down to this, one page is missing here. Here's a page missing too, but they they supplied you know that kind of a loose page. I stick it there, you know, one page is missing. The apocryphal. Yeah. It's funny about

[17:10] buying a book and the pages are not in numeric order, you know. Yeah, yeah. Do they get pages, or you get? I've had it with this edition of Zumba. We'll have two signatures the same, you know, like thirty or sixty pages in a row will be repeated, and they're missing the other signature.

[17:37] So two bodies cannot be in the same place, since therefore there's no transition from extreme to extreme except to the middle. It's seen that Christ is not able to ascend above all the heavens, unless the heavens be divided, which is impossible, right? Crazy old idea. What the heavens are like. Of course, he came through the walls there, and came through locked doors there at the the resurrection.

[18:03] Moreover, it is said in Acts one that the clouds received him from their eyes, but the clouds could not be elevated above the heavens. Therefore, Christ did not ascend above all the heavens. So many times further though being down the clouds who knows. Oh, he came in between.

[18:24] In the airplane, I wasn't about to hit the clouds myself. Yeah, not by your power. No, no, no, no. Moreover, there we believe Christ to what remain forever where he ascended. But what is against nature cannot be what eternal, because that which is according to nature is for the most part. Since, therefore, it be against nature for earthly body to be above the heavens, it seems that the body of Christ did not ascend above the heavens.

[19:08] Thomas had to do this to us. And against this is what is said in Ephesians chapter four. He ascended above all the heavens, right? That he might what fulfill all things.

[19:29] I answer: It should be said that the more some bodies perfectly partake of the divine goodness, so are they what above the bodily order, which is the order of place, right? Whence we see that the bodies which are more formal are naturally what superior, as is clear through the philosopher in the fourth book of Natural Hearing, and in the second book about the what universe. I guess this book about the De Caelo there, but the De Caelo is translating a Greek word, right, which can mean the heavens or the universe, either one.

[20:15] But in Latin, the De Caelo means like the heavens and not the universe. So sometimes they call it the De Caelo et Mundo because he talks about both, right? But actually, the title of the Greek word is is universe, right? It's about the universe, which Thomas in his commentary will understand it to be, you know, the book about the universe.

[20:40] So by its form, each body partakes of the divine what being is clear in the one first book of the physics. So in the ancient physics, you had what the earth at the center, right? And on top of the earth, you have water. On top of that, you have air. On top of that, you have what fire, right? So as you go up, you're getting bodies that are more active, huh, and more formal, right?

[21:06] When you get down to the earth, you get the most earthly of it, huh? So in Shakespeare, you know, what is Cleopatra saying? I'm all fire and air and these elements. I get to the earth, you know. You have enough references to that, so it's a commonplace.

[21:30] But more does a body partake of the divine goodness through glory, right, than any natural body through the form of its what nature. And therefore, among other things, the glorious bodies is manifest among them that the body of Christ shines with a greater glory, right? Whence it was most suitable, and that it be what constituted above all bodies on high, right?

[22:06] And therefore, according to that, or on that of Ephesians chapter four, ascending what to the heights, the gloss says in place and what dignity, right? To be down here on the earth, they're in the lowest place, the universe. It's kind of funny now because you read all these popular scientific books, you know, and they talk about this great scandal that the earth was not the central universe, right?

[22:37] But the central universe didn't mean it's for you know. Most important. Yeah. the least important Here at this. It wasn't egocentrism Yeah, Geocentrism. Just a transposition of the letters. You should publish a book. I know. You just got the letters backwards. That's all. Geo.

[23:03] To the first, it should be said that the seat of God is said to be in heaven, right? Not as in something containing God, right? Huh. But more as in the what contained, huh?

[23:20] Whence it is not necessary for some part of the heaven to be what superior to him, right? Huh. But for him to be above all the heavens, huh? Just as in Psalm eight it is said, huh? Your magnificence is elevated above the what heavens.

[23:42] To the second, it should be said that although the nature of the body is not such that it can be in the same place as another body, nevertheless God is able to do this through a miracle, right? That in the same place be able to be. Just as he made the what body of Christ to go forth from the closed womb of the Blessed Virgin, huh? And that he entered the doors being what closed, as the Blessed what Gregory says, huh?

[24:18] To the body, therefore, of Christ it is possible to belong for it to be in another with another body in the same place. Not from the propriety of its own of the body, but through the divine power assisting it in doing this.

[24:41] To the third should be said that those clouds do not prevent the what? Do not give a an aid to Christ ascending through the manner of a what vehicle, right? But it appears in a sign of divinity, according as the glory of God of the Israel's appeared above the tabernacle tent there in a cloud. That's interesting. Yeah, that's like the transfiguration tent of the cloud. Yeah, yeah, that represents the Holy Spirit.

[25:13] Thomas will say, yeah. Yeah he said, "This is my beloved Son, right? So That's the Father." Mhm Hear him right. Okay Now, what about this being against nature, not therefore being eternal? To the fourth, it should be said that the glorified body does not have, from the principles of its own nature, that is able to be what in heaven or to be above heaven, but it has this from the blessed soul, from which it receives what glory, and thus the motion of the glorified body above is not what, yeah, or is it rest what, violent, huh?

[26:09] Once nothing prevents it from being what eternal, huh? Time for another article? Yes, we do. Article five: Whether the body of Christ ascended above every spiritual creature?

[26:36] To the fifth one precedes us. It seems that the body of Christ did not ascend above every what spiritual creature, because of those which are not said according to one reason or one meaning, one cannot suitably what make a comparison. But place is not the same reason attributed to bodies and to spiritual creatures, as is clear from those things which I said in the first part. So an angel said to be here, right?

[27:10] Not in the way in which your body is here, right? But an application of his power to this place here, right? My brother Mark is driving the tractor down the factory there, you know, and almost just ducks in time. The pipe is there, you know. He says that was my guardian angel, wasn't me? So his guardian angel was there, you know. He could have really, really hurt you, you know.

[27:40] Guardian angel. He's driving to Quebec one time in the winter time, and my tires are not too good, you know. Yeah. Set ice on them. Oh yeah. Beautifully done though. Was he with the car? You know, I didn't have the car. So that was my guardian angel, I think. Yeah.

[28:09] Moreover, Augustine says in the book about what religion that the spirit is referred to every what body. But to a more noble thing, there is owed a more sublime what place. Therefore, it seems that Christ did not ascend above every spiritual creature, right? Why should a body be above all spiritual creatures?

[28:43] Have you seen these paintings over there? That's the Virgin glorified up there, right? Above all them. Moreover, in every place there is some what body, huh? Since nothing is empty in nature, right? Nature abhors a vacuum, as they say. If therefore no body attained a higher place than a spirit in the order of natural bodies, no place would be above what every spiritual creature. Therefore, not.

[29:24] Therefore, the body of Christ is not able to what ascend above every what spiritual creature. But against this is what is said in Ephesians one twenty twenty one that he is constituted above every what prince and power and above every name that is named whether in this age or in the future.

[29:58] I answer it should be said. The more something is what more noble, the more there is owed to it a higher what place, huh? Whether it is owed to him a place by way of what bodily contact, right? As in the case of bodies, or by way of what spiritual contact, right? As in spiritual substances, huh?

[30:30] And thus it is that to spiritual substances is owed, according to certain agreement, a celestial place, right? Which is the highest of places, huh? Because those substances are supreme in the order of what substances.

[30:50] Now the body of Christ, although considering the condition of what a bodily nature, is below spiritual substances, right? But nevertheless, considering the dignity of the union by which it is joined personally to God, right, excels the dignity of all spiritual substances. That's kind of an amazing statement, isn't it? But the body of Christ, right. Excels in dignity, right? All the spiritual substances, because it's joined to the second person in personally, right?

[31:33] Yeah, that must be a lot of jokes in heaven between us and the angels about our bodies, right? And this and this comes up somewhere, I'm sure, in the

[31:49] crowning word on this subject. And therefore, by reason of the what foreseen congruency, there is owed to it a place higher than any what creature, even the what spiritual. Whence Gregory says in the Homily on Ascension that who made all things right was born above all by his power, right? What if that's true? He said also true about the body of the Blessed Virgin, right? Seems to me to say that.

[32:24] She's called the Queen of Angels, isn't she? One of her her titles, huh? My teacher Kasurik used to playfully say that you know the guardian angel of the Blessed Virgin was a lower angel, but by being her guardian, he was raised above the angels, so. But that's not definitive necessarily.

[32:51] Yeah. Told me you can start studying the angels any time you want, Dwayne. He said to me. I expressed an interest in knowing about that.

[33:14] Now, to the first, it should be said that although for another reason is attributed what place to a bodily substance and to a spiritual substance, right? Nevertheless, this is common in both reasons that to the more dignified thing, right, or the more worthy thing, is attributed a higher what place, huh?

[33:44] To the second, it should be said that that reason proceeds about the body of Christ according to the condition of the body nature, not, however, according to the ratio or the reason of the union to the person. of the ego that's God The third objection. huh.

[34:25] Every place there is some body, since nothing is empty in nature. If, therefore, no body attain a higher place in the spirit than the order of natural bodies, no place would be above what every spiritual creature. To third, should be said that that comparison can be noted either according by reason of the places, and thus no place is what so high that it exceeds the what dignity of the spiritual substance, according to which the objection proceeds, or according to the dignity of those to which places attributed, and thus to the body of Christ is owed it be above all spiritual creatures.

[35:13] That last objection is a little confusing. Yeah, it is. Is it thinking of things not physically, as it were? Yeah, yeah. Well, it's kind of funny here. In the text, there is a note here. The title of this article should be understood cum grano salis, not the green salt, as it as it appears in responding, right? This is

[35:57] note from from Cajetan of all people, huh? Whence the sense of the title is whether the place to which Christ was ascended is superior to the places in which are any what spiritual creatures. So

[36:18] I started clearing up. Yes. Okay. So I started with this question: with the ascension of Christ is the cause of. Of our what salvation? That's interesting. you raised that question. So the sixth one proceeds thus. It seems that the ascension of Christ is not the cause of our salvation. He's must be going to take that aside, maybe.

[36:44] For Christ was the cause of our salvation in so far as he merited our salvation. But to his ascension, but to the ascension, he merited nothing for us. Because the ascension pertains to the reward of his exaltation, but there is not the same thing merit and what reward. Just as neither the road and the end. Therefore, it seems that the ascension of Christ was not a cause of our salvation.

[37:20] Moreover, if the ascension of Christ is the cause of our salvation, most of all this would seem to be as regards this that his ascension was the cause of what our ascension. But this was granted to us through his passion, because as is said in Hebrews chapter ten, we have what confidence in entering into the what holy places through his blood, right? Through the passion, rather, his ascension his ascension.

[37:52] Therefore, it seems that the ascension of Christ was not a cause of our salvation. Moreover, the salvation granted to us through Christ is eternal, according to that of Isaiah fifty-one. Our salvation will be what forever, forever. But Christ did not ascend to heaven that he might be there forever, right?

[38:20] Because it is said in Acts Acts one that you have seen him ascending heaven, so he will come, right? But it is read that to many saints he showed himself on earth after his ascension, just as is read about Paul in Acts chapter nine. Therefore, it seems that his ascension was not a what cause of our what salvation. But against this is what he himself says, John sixteen.

[38:51] It's expedient for you that I go; that is, that I recede from you to ascension. huh Like many should bring me in other ways. The answer. it should be said that the ascension of Christ is a cause of our salvation in two ways. How did you discover these two ways, Thomas? What What a mind he had!

[39:14] In one way, on our side; another way, what his side. On our side, in so far as through the what ascension of Christ, our mind is moved what to him.

[39:33] Because through his ascension, as has been said above, first there is given place to what faith, secondly to hope, and third to what charity.

[39:48] That's why he supposed to remain upon earth, right? But fourth, because through this, our reverence for him is what increased. When we do not what estimate him to be just as a earthly what man, but as a celestial what God, just as the apostle says, Second Corinthians five, that although we know Christ according to the flesh, that is mortal, to which we what suppose him to be only a man, as to last six bounds.

[40:30] But now we do not know him that way. What is that? The old saying, familiarity breeds contempt. Yeah, yeah. There's a little bit of the idea here, right? You know, he's just not the man, right? And if he did not ascend, we would kind of think of him as just another man, you know.

[41:00] But on his side, as regards what that he is was what ascending on account of our what salvation. And first, he prepared a way for us of ascending in heaven, according to what he himself says in John chapter fourteen, "I go to prepare for you a what place." And in what, Micah, chapter two, he ascended. Opening the way, yeah, before us, right? Huh. Because he himself is our head, huh?

[41:44] It's necessary for there to follow the members, where the head what preceded, huh? Whence it is said in John fourteen that where I am, you also what will be, huh? Will be, will be. Where, right? In place huh place, huh?

[42:09] And as a sign of this, the souls of the saints, which he what brought out from hell, he what transferred into heaven, right? According to that of Psalm sixty-seven, ascending on high, he led captivity captive, right? Huh. Because those who were captive to the devil, he brought with himself in heaven. As into a place that is what strange to human nature, huh? By a good capture of the captives, right?

[42:47] That is to say, acquired by what Victory. victory, huh? That's the sign he says, huh? But the idea was basically that the not going to have them decapitated, right? But where the head is, there the members will be, right? Where the body is, there the eagles shall be gathered, huh?

[43:13] Secondly, because just as the high priest in the Old Testament entered the sanctuary, you might what stand before God. So Christ entered into heaven to what intercede for us, as is said in Hebrews seven. huh Quite an important epistle, Hebrews, right?

[43:45] You don't want to deny that by Paul, you know, nowadays, huh? Because its style is different, you know. Yeah, it's very interesting. One of the early fathers said, "It was now maybe Saint Justin Martyr or something." He said he wrote it. Saint Paul wrote it, but he wrote it in Hebrew and it was translated into Greek. Does that make sense? That's why you know it's different styles.

[44:08] Translation I know Thomas will say, you know, we use two different styles here, you know. Sometimes we just start for this reason, we just start for this reason. So I mean, the fact that you know the Saint Paul could write in different styles escapes them, I guess. Yeah. Sort of like if the Pope was to write a letter to people he knew in Germany, even if he's talking to his Pope, it's personal.

[44:32] Yeah. Seems more familiar in some way. Well, you read Thomas, do you read the epistle dedicatory to Urban the Fourth? You know. Yeah. And it's not like like you know, it's hard for me to read that Latin compared to this, you know. And.

[44:55] So Christ entered into heaven then, right, to intercede for us, as is said Hebrews seven, huh? For that representation of him from human nature, which he what.

[45:08] Bore in heaven. Yeah. Carried in heaven. Is a certain interceding for us, huh? That from this that God so exalted human nature in Christ, right?

[45:24] Also, he takes pity upon those for whom the Son of God assumed human nature, right? Yeah, Saint Thomas, because that that phrase is almost exactly the same from what Hebrews and. Led to the Romans, and I looked at that from Romans. He uses the same expression about the representation or as representation. He represents human nature and all its merits to the Father. That's how he intercedes for us.

[45:50] He's doing this over, and that's basically what the Mass is. He's applying. He's doing this again. I'm struck by the almost same word for word explanation here, and what was in the letter to the Romans. He's consistent. Third, as in what the seat of the heavens, right? As the word God and the Lord being constituted, right? From thence, divine gifts he sent to what men. According to that, Ephesians chapter four, he ascended above all the heavens that he might what. He might fill all all things with his to it with his gifts, according to the laws huh

[46:40] No, it's a total thing to make another sermon on the you know, you want something new in your sermon on the ascension. You know, you can use this text here.

[47:15] To the first, therefore, it should be said that the ascension of Christ is a cause of our salvation, not by way of merit. That would be said of his death on the cross, right? But by way of what? Efficient cause, right? Just as above has been said about the resurrection. So, resurrection is a cause of our salvation, but not by way of merit, right? By his death on the cross is a cause among other ways.

[47:46] By what? By merit, huh? Not only that way, maybe, but but that's the way in which it is a cause that the resurrection and the ascension are what, not huh?

[48:14] That's a distinction, rather than division. Distinction, division, definition. I talked to you about the order of those three, right? Now, it's like the famous distinction in order of beginning, cause, and what element, right? Well, one is more universal than the other, right? So every cause is a beginning, but not every beginning is a what cause, and every element is a cause, but not every cause is an element, right?

[48:50] So every definition is in a way a division, right? And not every division is a definition. And every division is a distinction, and not every distinction is a division, because division maybe more properly is a distinction of the parts of some whole, right? You divide a whole into its parts, or you divide a genus into its species, right? Distinction is more universal than that.

[49:24] Distinction is what's presupposed to what? Order right, very universal. Okay. To second should be said that the passion of Christ is a cause of our ascension to heaven, properly speaking, by its removal of the sin that prevents us from what ascending to heaven, right? Huh? And by way of what merit, huh? But the ascension of Christ is directly the cause of our ascension, as it were, by beginning in it in the head, right?

[50:16] To which the members must be joined, right? So you know Thomas's prayer there before communion, right? Wants to so receive the body that he got from Mary, right? That he might be incorporated, right, into his mystical body, right? Huh? So he can what ascend, right? Okay.

[50:40] It's kind of interesting, though huh? Those two ways of speaking, huh? Where the body is, there the ego shall be, and then the same. Where the head is, then the rest of the body will be, right?

[50:52] To want to be incorporated into that body, numbered among its members, as Thomas says, huh? Now to the third, it should be said, huh?

[51:08] That Christ, once ascending into heaven, obtained for himself and us in perpetual the right and dignity of what a celestial mansion, right? To which dignity it does not derogate, if from some what dispensation Christ sometimes bodily descends to what earth, huh? Either that he show himself to all, as he will do in the what time of judgment, or that he will show himself to someone specially, as to Paul, as is said in Acts nine.

[51:50] So it's not just imaginary vision that Paul had, right? And lest someone believe that this was done not by Christ, what being present there bodily, right? But in some way, what appearing, right? The contrary appears to this that the apostle says one Corinthians to confirming the faith of resurrection. In at last, right of all, as it were to one, or at a time, right? He was seen also by me, right?

[52:28] Huh? Which vision would not what prove the truth of resurrection, unless he himself right, unless the true body itself was seen by him right? It's quite a quite a guy that Saint Paul right now. I mean, it seems to me that Saint Paul is you know has the rank of a what apostle right, but this is part of it right you know because they're they're the witnesses of the resurrection you know.

[52:59] That's a good place to stop there.