Did Christ Make Progress? | Catherine Droste, OP

The Scriptures tell us that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in
years, and in divine and human favor” (Lk 2:52). How are to
interpret these inspired words in the context of the Church’s
teaching on the hypostatic union confirmed at both Nicea and
Chalcedonian? This conference draws us into the teaching of
theologians throughout the centuries who have struggled to properly
interpret “two na¬tures, inconfusedly, unchangeably,
indi¬vis¬i¬bly, insepara¬bly,” united in “one Person and one
Subsistence”, such that “the property of each nature being
pre¬served, and concur¬ring in one Person and one Subsis¬tence […]
the same Son, and only begot¬ten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus
Christ.” Having these profound theological statements as a
foundation, this paper addresses one seemingly simple question:
whether or not Christ, in his human nature, made progress? I will
respond to the question by analyzing three specific aspects of
Christ’s assumed nature: first, the question of physiological
change and progress; second, progress as to Christ’s knowledge
which will necessarily require distinctions as to his Divine and
human knowledge; third, the question of whether Christ progressed
in moral virtue. Since moral virtue perfects both the rational and
sensitive appetite, one cannot avoid mention of Christ’s passions
as movements of the latter appetite. This discussion, however, will
be limited to a few key points pertinent to the specific question
of progress. [Sources, both ancient, medieval, and contemporary,
abound, but Thomas Aquinas’s writings are key both for their
abundance and specificity. His Christological teachings appear in
many works, including De Veritate, De Virtutibus, and various
Commentaries on the Scriptures, and fine nuggets are gleaned from
these, but emphasis must be given to his comprehensive mature and
subtle synthesis which appears in the Tertia pars of his Summa
Theologiae, written shortly before his death. I also will make
brief reference to the other Dominican Doctor of the Church,
Catherine of Siena. Though not a systematic work, her Dialogue
offers a profound Christology, particularly noteworthy in the
doctrine of Christ as Il Ponte – the bridge between earth and
heaven.]