Catechism on Abraham's Covenant and the Words “It is Consumated "

 

...the covenant-making event in Genesis 15:  Abraham is falsely claimed to have been expected to walk through the divided animal pieces but did not, implying that the covenant was incomplete until Christ fulfilled it... a fanciful myth!

Preamble

One of the favorite claims of Protestants is that they know the "true sense" of the Scriptures by a direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost. This claim is theologically untenable and inherently incoherent and self-refuting.  They try in vain to negate the fact the Bible is the Book of the Catholic Church: written by the Church, for the Church, and can only be rightly understood within the Church.

How dramatic their self-adulating frenzy when dabbling into Scripture, posing to divulge "untold truths" about certain passages. Being indeed "unlearned" and "unstable", they always "wrest...the scripture s... to their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16). 

Here we have a catechism concerning Abraham's covenant in relation to the words of our Lord on the Cross, "it is consumated" as a handy tool against the Protestant pretence to make known some "untold truth about Abraham fainting while making covenant with God".

This catechism is a summary of  the Catholic Sense of the texts involved gleaned from Haydock Bible Commentary; the Catechism of the Council of Trent; Cornelius a lapide Commentary; Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas; and Traditional Catholic Missal. 

The Handy Catechism

1. What did Christ mean when He said, “It is consumated” on the Cross?

Christ meant that His work of redemption was completed: the prophecies were fulfilled, the Old Law was brought to an end, and the New and Eternal Covenant was established in His Blood.

2. Did Christ mean that the covenant with Abraham was incomplete and had to be finished on the Cross?

No. The covenant with Abraham was validly ratified by God in Genesis 15 and was fulfilled in Christ. It was not incomplete, nor was it failed or interrupted.

3. What happened during the covenant between God and Abraham in Genesis 15?

God commanded Abraham to divide animals as a sacrificial ritual. Then God alone, represented by a smoking furnace and flaming torch, passed between the pieces. Abraham, placed into a deep sleep by God, did not walk through the pieces.

4. What is the meaning of Abraham's deep sleep during this covenant?

The deep sleep symbolizes man’s passive reception of grace and that the covenant was a free, unilateral promise from God. It was not a failure or neglect on Abraham’s part.

5. Is there any truth to the story that Abraham was supposed to “walk the blood” but fainted?

No. That is a modern and fanciful tale not found in Scripture, not taught by the Church Fathers, and contrary to Traditional Catholic theology. It has no place in Catholic doctrine.

6. How does the Church understand the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant?

The Church teaches that the promises made to Abraham were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As St. Paul says, “To Abraham were the promises made… and to his seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16).

7. What do the traditional commentators say about Genesis 15?

According to Cornelius a Lapide and the Church’s traditional teaching, God alone passed through the pieces to show that the covenant depended on His own faithfulness. Abraham’s sleep prefigured man’s dependence on divine grace.

8. What does the Catechism of the Council of Trent teach about “It is finished”?

It teaches that all the prophecies, figures of the Old Law, and the Father's will for our redemption were now fulfilled. The work of salvation was consummated.

9. Is the “walk of blood” myth part of Catholic Tradition?

No. It is a Protestant or modern invention and has no support in the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers, or the approved teachings of the Church.

10. What does this myth reveal about private interpretation?

It shows the danger of rejecting the Church’s authority to interpret Scripture. Without the Church, one easily falls into absurd or heretical conclusions that contradict the deposit of faith.

End of catechism!

Prayer to the Holy Spirit.

300 Days, once a day. 43 Pius X, June 5, 1908. 

O HOLY SPIRIT, divine spirit of light and love, I consecrate to Thee my understanding, heart and will, my whole being for time and for eternity. May my understanding be always submissive to thy heavenly inspirations, and to the teaching of the Catholic Church, of which Thou art the infallible Guide; may my heart be ever inflamed with love of GOD and of my neighbour; may my will be ever conformed to the divine will, and may my whole life be a faithful imitation of the life and virtues of our LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST, to whom with the FATHER and Thee be honour and glory forever. Amen.