s that character
renewed, when the man has been set free and reprimanded? is it not
rather acknowledged and approved? Are the Christian sacraments, by
any chance, of a nature less lasting than this bodily mark?"

Reply Obj. 1: The faithful of Christ are destined to the reward of
the glory that is to come, by the seal of Divine Predestination. But
they are deputed to acts becoming the Church that is now, by a
certain spiritual seal that is set on them, and is called a character.

Reply Obj. 2: The character imprinted on the soul is a kind of sign
in so far as it is imprinted by a sensible sacrament: since we know
that a certain one has received the baptismal character, through his
being cleansed by the sensible water. Nevertheless from a kind of
likeness, anything that assimilates one thing to another, or
discriminates one thing from another, even though it be not sensible,
can be called a character or a seal; thus the Apostle calls Christ
"the figure" or _charakter_ "of the substance of the Father" (Heb.
1:3).

Reply Obj. 3: As stated above (Q. 62, A. 6) the sacraments of the Old
Law had not in themselves any spiritual power of producing a
spiritual effect. Consequently in those sacraments there was no need
of a spiritual character, and bodily circumcision sufficed, which the
Apostle calls "a seal" (Rom. 4:11).
_______________________

SECOND ARTICLE [III, Q. 63, Art. 2]

Whether a Character Is a Spiritual Power?

Objection 1: It seems that a character is not a spiritual power. For
"character" seems to be the same thing as "figure"; hence (Heb. 1:3),
where we read "figure of His substance," for "figure" the Greek has
_charakter_. Now "figure" is in the fourth species of quality, and
thus differs from power which is in the second species. Therefore
character is not a spiritual power.

Obj. 2: Further, Dionysius says (Eccl. Hier. ii): "The Divine
Beatitude admits him that seeks happiness to a share in Itself, and
grants this share to him by conferring on him Its light as a kind of
seal." Consequently, it seems that a character is a kind of light.
Now light belongs rather to the third species of quality. Therefore a
character is not a power, since this seems to belong to the second
species.

Obj. 3: Further, character is defined by some thus: "A character is a
holy sign of the communion of faith and of the holy ordination
conferred by a hierarch." Now a sign is in the genus of _relation,_
not of _power._ Theref