XLV. As Christ hath purchased that heavenly kingdom the last perfection whereof is glory in the life to come, grace in this life a preparation thereunto; so the same he hath “opened” to the world in such sort, that whereas none can possibly without him attain salvation, by him “all that believe” are saved. Now whatsoever he did or suffered, the end thereof was to open the doors of the kingdom of heaven which our iniquities had “shut up.” But because by ascending after that the sharpness of death was overcome, he took the very local possession of glory, and that to the use of all that are his, even as himself before had witnessed, “I go to prepare a place for you1;” and again, “Whom thou hast given me, O Father, I will that where I am they be also with me, that my glory which thou hast given me they may behold2:” it appeareth that when Christ did ascend he then most liberally opened the kingdom of heaven, to the end that with him and by him all believers might reign.
In what estate the Fathers rested which were dead before, it is not hereby either one way or other determined. All we can rightly gather is, that as touching their souls what degree of joy or happiness soever it pleased God to bestow upon them, his ascension which succeeded procured theirs, and theirs concerning the body must needs be not only of but after his. As therefore Helvidius3 against whom St. Jerome writeth, abused greatly those words of Matthew concerning Joseph and the mother of our Saviour Christ4, “He knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born,” thereby gathering against the honour of the blessed Virgin, that a thing denied with special circumstance doth import an opposite affirmation when once that circumstance is expired: after the selfsame manner it should be a weak collection, if whereas we say that when Christ had “overcome the sharpness of death, he then opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers;” a thing in such sort affirmed with circumstance were taken as insinuating an opposite denial before that circumstance be accomplished, and consequently that because when the sharpness of death was overcome he then opened heaven as well to believing Gentiles as Jews, heaven till then was no receptacle to the souls of either. Wherefore be the spirits of the just and righteous before Christ truly or falsely thought excluded out of heavenly joy; by that which we in the words alleged before do attribute to Christ’s ascension, there is to no such opinion nor to the favourers5 thereof any countenance at all given. We cannot better interpret the meaning of these words than Pope Leo himself expoundeth them, whose speech concerning our Lord’s ascension may serve instead of a marginal gloss: “Christ’s exaltation is our promotion, and whither the glory of the head is already gone before, thither the hope of the body also is to follow. For as this day we have not only the possession of paradise assured unto us, but in Christ we have entered the highest of the heavens6.” His “opening the kingdom of heaven” and his entrance thereinto was not only to his own use but for the benefit of “all believers.”
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Footnotes
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John xiv. 2. ↩
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John xvii. 24. ↩
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Hieron. contra Helvid. [in init. t. ii. 7.] August. Her. lxxxiv. [t. viii. 24. “Helvidiani exorti ab Helvidio, ita virginitati Mariæ contradicunt, ut eam post Christum alios quoque filios de viro suo Joseph peperisse contendant.”] ↩
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[Matt. i. 25.] ↩
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Lyra super Gen. xxix. [xxv. Add. ii. on the expression, ‘Congregatus est ad populum suum.’ “De nonnullis sanctis antiqui testamenti, cum de hac vita migraverant, Scriptura dicit ipsos congregari ad populum suum: … . . nunquam tamen de aliquo eorum dicitur quod ‘obdormivit in Domino.’ ” marg. “Ante Christum nemo ascendit in cœlum,” i. p. 303 A. ed. Douay, 1617. And on c. xlix. v. 4. “Patres … . quantumcunque justi, non admittebantur ad regnum, sed descendebant ad Limbum.” 467 C.] Tho. [Aquin.] p. iii. q. 52. [t. xii. 168.] ↩
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Leo Ser. 1. de Ascens. [c. 4. “Christi ascensio, nostra provectio est, et quo processit gloria capitis, eo spes vocatur et corporis … . . Hodie enim non solum Paradisi possessores firmati sumus, sed etiam cœlorum in Christo superna penetravimus.”] ↩