B. About the Remedies and Helps Conferred on Us

18. As to the second article [n.5] I say that the passion of Christ, now shown and realized, merits more grace for those who believe it has now been realized than his passion as to be realized merited for those who believed it as to be realized. And therefore our sacraments, which have their efficacy in virtue of Christ’s passion now realized, confers more grace than the sacraments of the Old Law did.

19. In addition, we have several helps of grace as well, because we have more sacraments than they had in the Old Law. For besides matrimony (if it was a sacrament for them, which will be touched on in IV d.26 nn.12-13), they had no sacrament other than circumcision, and this as remedy of original sin (a matter to be discussed in IV d.1 q.3 n.8, q.6 nn.2, 9, 11-2, d.2 q.2 n.9). After lapse into sin, if they could merit some grace by their own movements, well and good, but they had then no sacrament instituted among them for perceiving grace, for they did not have the sacrament of confession nor the other sacraments [cf. IV d.1 q.6 n.10]. Therefore we have more helps for obtaining grace than they had.

20. Third, besides the greater efficacy and number of the sacraments, we have a more explicit doctrine than they had. We also have more numerous and more effective examples of saints to imitate. And lastly we have more merits of the saints, who perhaps merited not for themselves but also for us; and we also merit by invoking their help and intercession with God.

21. Simply speaking, then, the helps in the New Law are more numerous and more efficacious than in the Old Law, and so on this side too the Christian law is lighter.

22. There is also a good and notable help that eternal life is explicitly promised to us for our observation of the Christian law [Luke 18.18-30]. But to them rarely or never were certain things explicitly given, save temporal goods and the support of our prayers implored for them, which alone were promised to them [II Maccabees 12.43-46]. But never does any temporal good as much attract man’s spirit to observing the law as does an eternal good.