es up to the
Divine worship according to the rite of the Old Law, which was wholly
ordained to the foreshadowing of Christ's Passion.

Reply Obj. 3: There have been many opinions about Circumcision. For,
according to some, Circumcision conferred no grace, but only remitted
sin. But this is impossible; because man is not justified from sin
save by grace, according to Rom. 3:24: "Being justified freely by His
grace."

Wherefore others said that by Circumcision grace is conferred, as to
the privative effects of sin, but not as to its positive effects. But
this also appears to be false, because by Circumcision, children
received the faculty of obtaining glory, which is the ultimate
positive effect of grace. Moreover, as regards the order of the
formal cause, positive effects are naturally prior to privative
effects, though according to the order of the material cause, the
reverse is the case: for a form does not exclude privation save by
informing the subject.

Hence others say that Circumcision conferred grace also as regards a
certain positive effect, i.e. by making man worthy of eternal life,
but not so as to repress concupiscence which makes man prone to sin.
And so at one time it seemed to me. But if the matter be considered
carefully, this too appears to be untrue; because the very least
grace is sufficient to resist any degree of concupiscence, and to
merit eternal life.

And therefore it seems better to say that Circumcision was a sign of
justifying faith: wherefore the Apostle says (Rom. 4:11) that Abraham
"received the sign of Circumcision, a seal of the justice of faith."
Consequently grace was conferred in Circumcision in so far as it was
a sign of Christ's future Passion, as will be made clear further on
(Q. 70, A. 4).
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QUESTION 63

OF THE OTHER EFFECT OF THE SACRAMENTS, WHICH IS A CHARACTER
(In Six Articles)

We have now to consider the other effect of the sacraments, which is
a character: and concerning this there are six points of inquiry:

(1) Whether by the sacraments a character is produced in the soul?

(2) What is this character?

(3) Of whom is this character?

(4) What is its subject?

(5) Is it indelible?

(6) Whether every sacrament imprints a character?
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FIRST ARTICLE [III, Q. 63, Art. 1]

Whether a Sacrament Imprints a Character on the Soul?

Objection 1: It seems that a sacrament does not imprint a character
on the soul. For