# @thomisticinstitute on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqw80HutRD-
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/13891390-thomisticinstitute-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/0d08a5176d467fe1537930c619dc758dc16bced3bbf72d0b5bda12c7ca361e93.jpg
- **Posted:** 2023-04-08T06:18:59.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Thomistic Institute (@thomisticinstitute) — https://gondola.cc/thomisticinstitute

## Caption

Holy Saturday: Related meditation by St. Thomas Aquinas

There are four reasons why Christ together with His soul descended to the underworld. First, He wished to take upon Himself the entire punishment for our sin, and thus atone for its entire guilt. The punishment for the sin of man was not alone death of the body, but there was also a punishment of the soul, since the soul had its share in sin; and it was punished by being deprived of the beatific vision; and as yet no atonement had been offered whereby this punishment would be taken away. Therefore, before the coming of Christ all men, even the holy fathers after their death, descended into the underworld. Accordingly in order to take upon Himself most perfectly the punishment due to sinners, Christ not only suffered death, but also His soul descended to the underworld. He, however, descended for a different cause than did the fathers; for they did so out of necessity and were of necessity taken there and detained, but Christ descended there of His own power and free will: “I am counted among them that go down to the pit; I am become as a man without help, free among the dead” [Ps 87:5–Vulgate]. The others were there as captives, but Christ was freely there.

The second reason is that He might perfectly deliver all His friends. Christ had His friends both in the world and in the underworld. The former were His friends in that they possessed charity; and the latter were they who departed this life with charity and faith in the future Redeemer, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and other just and good men. Therefore, since Christ had dwelt among His friends in this world and had delivered them by His death, so He wished to visit His friends who were detained in the underworld and deliver them also: “I will penetrate all the lower parts of the earth, and will behold all that hope in the Lord” [Sir 24:45].

(Tap the link in our bio to read the full excerpt from Exposition 8 on "Credo in Deum" by St. Thomas Aquinas) 👉 [https://www.facebook.com/ThomisticInstitute/posts/pfbid02dgDRF9QMrzkHoAqCGY9CdB1D7LTXN9H7MzUoiq4WfDKi2fQSZEMrUjyEUAAEJBr3l]

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Thomistic Institute | @thomisticinstitute | https://gondola.cc/thomisticinstitute | University |
| Alexander Norton | @ale_norton | https://gondola.cc/ale_norton | Graphic Designer |

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