The gifts of the Holy Spirit : sin, law, grace HIGHLIGHTS /nsAcy. CZ r' ' ^ 77}-e n^'y . . .- PAMPHLET No. 4 in the Series HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMA The Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Sin, Law, Grace By REV. GERALD C. TREACY, S.J. THE PAULIST PRESS 401 West 59th Street New York 19, N. Y. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SUMMA is a simpli- fied and abbreviated translation of Aquinas' work. It is intended for classroom, discus- sion clubs or private study. Only one chapter should be taken at a time. For St. Thomas packs a great deal of thought into a few sentences. Imprimi Potest: Nihil Obstat: Imprimatur: Rev. Thomas E. Hennebeery, S.J., Provincial. John M. A. Fearns, S.T.D., Censor Librorum. Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York. New York, October 24, 1955. Copyright, 1955, by The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York printed and published in the u. s. a. by THE PAULIST PRESS, NEW YORK 19, N. Y. 51 Highlights of the Summa THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, SIN, LAW, GRACE CHAPTER I THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Man has received from God the supernatural infused vir- tues to empower him to do those divine-human acts that lead to the Beatific Vision. As man is unfamiliar with the super- natural world he needs God’s guidance in that world. He gets that guidance in the gifts, fruits and beatitudes of the Holy Spirit bestowed on him by God. To aid man in following the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, God infuses into him these gifts or habits. The gifts of understanding, knowledge, wisdom and counsel perfect the intellect. The gifts of piety, fortitude and fear per- fect the appetite. Compfeting the Virtue of Faith The virtue of faith is completed by the four gifts which per- fect the intellect. Understanding enables us to easily grasp the truths of revelation. Knowledge helps us see the relation be- tween the Creator and His creatures. Wisdom aids us to evalu- ate divine things. Counsel aids us in using all this knowledge in making decisions. Out of reverence for God we are helped to do good to men by the gift of piety. We are built up against the fear of danger by fortitude. And our appetite for pleasure is curbed by fear. The Gifts Are Rooted in Charity The Holy Spirit dwelling in us through charity gives us these gifts. While charity remains the gifts remain, for their roots are in charity. Even in Heaven man will possess these — 3 — gifts. They will remain to condition man^s soul for God^s ac- tion. In Heaven God will be in man’s soul perfectly. The gifts empower us to perform divine-human acts. We are moved to act by the Holy Spirit but still it is our action. They proceed from our reason and appetite. The Fruits of the Holy Spirit The good acts flowing from the Holy Spirit’s gifts are the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They are many. St. Paul declares: “But the fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace, patience, be- nignity, goodness, longanimity, mildness, faith, modesty, con- tinency, chastity. ” (Epistle to Galatians v, 19) The Result of These Fruits By these fruits man’s mind is rightly ordered toward him- self, his equals and inferiors. Charity disposes the mind rightly toward good for it gives man the Holy Spirit. Man’s union with God in charity results in joy. This produces peace as man enjoys the presence of God. When evil approaches, patience stops it from disturbing the mind, and when good things are slow in coming longanimity does the same. The gift of goodness makes man capable of doing the right thing in his relations with his neighbors, while by benignity he will actually do good for them. Mildness enables man to suffer injuries calmly, and fidelity makes him strong to resist harming his fellow-man. Modesty orders his exterior acts in relation to his inferiors while chastity governs his interior acts. The Beatifudes The Beatitudes result from the infused virtues which the Holy Spirit perfects by His gifts. Man can do nothing more perfect than these divine-human acts. They are rewarded by Christ in time and eternity. He gave them to us in His Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of Heaven. — 4 — Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for their’s is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Beatitudes Spell Happiness These Beatitudes portray happiness in time and eternity. Poverty of spirit rescues man from the snares of riches and honor. Meekness saves him from the passion of anger. For the sake of a greater good the Holy Spirit enables man to give up many pleasant things. Both action and contemplation give us happiness. The Beatitudes prove this. A man in active life must guide his ac- tivities by justice or by liberality. The fourth Beatitude speaks justice, and the fifth teaches liberality in dealing with the suf- fering poor. Cleanness of heart and peace are the Beatitudes of the con- templative life, and yet they are the results of the active life. For when humility, meekness, and justice possess a man, he is passion-free and has gained cleanness of heart. After mercy and justice sway a man he is at peace with his fellow-men. And we may say that the vision of Heaven is seen through the sixth and seventh Beatitudes. The final Beatitude sums up all the rest. For no persecu- tion will force a man to lose the treasures he has found in the virtues of the Beatitudes. And so he is close to God’s Kingdom. Christ promises the Beatific Vision to all those who live the Beatitudes. They foreshadow Heaven, and a man is happy in his hope of finding everlasting happiness. The virtues and gifts of the Holy Spirit fitting a man to follow the Beatitudes, also leave him the hope that God’s reward for this will be the Beatific Vision. — S — CHAPTER II THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SIN The Meaning of Sin Unhappiness follows sin as surely as happiness follows vir- tue. Virtue controlled by reason and faith orders human ener- gies aright. Sin wastes these energies. Peace with God, himself and his neighbor is the result of virtue. War with these three follows from sin. Sin is a bad habit just as virtue is a good habit. Both habits follow from repeated acts. Sin guides human acts against reason as virute guides them according to reason. Bad actions lead to bad habits and bad habits destroy peace of soul and happiness. Life’s unhappiness is caused by sin. The Definition of Sin St. Augustine defines sin as any thought, word or deed against the Eternal Law. The two elements in sin are the act itself, either thought, word or deed, and secondly the fact that it is against the Eternal Law. The act is formally sinful because of the second element. St. Augustine deals with the Eternal Law rather than with reason, because the law of reason rests on the Eternal Law. And in addition the Eternal Law guides men in questions of faith which outreach reason. Enemies to the Death Virtue and sin are enemies. They cannot abide together in man’s soul. One or the other must vanish. Mortal sin means preferring a creature to God. It cannot coexist with charity or with the charity-rooted virtues. Faith and hope are not lost when charity is lost unless the mortal sin is against faith or hope. However even though these virtues are not lost, their power to merit is lost because their roots are not in charity. One mortal sin cannot destroy an acquired natural virtue. That virtue can only be uprooted by continued sinning. Finally, venial sin does not destroy either the acquired or infused vir- — 6 — 4 tues. But it weakens the will and so conditions the soul to commit mortal sin. Differentiating Sins The objects differentiate sins. To get the difference between sins is to get the difference of their objects. Every sin is against reason or the Eternal Law. It outrages the sinner or his fellow- man or God. The sinner either acts against himself, his neigh- bor or God. The man who sins by gluttony sins against his own nature. The man who is guilty of detraction sins against his fellow-man. The man who tramples on the Cross sins against God. Classifying Sins We classify sins also as sins of the spirit or of the flesh, of mortal or venial sins, of thought, word or act. Mortal sin means death for the soul, venial sin means the soul is diseased. Mortal sin turns a man completely away from God the Object of his existence. ‘Tor Thee have we been created and only in Thee shall we find complete rest,’’ said St. Augustine. Venial sin is not a complete rejection of God. It is rather a slight deflection from the straight path leading to God. The sinner so deflecting still loves God. Sin spells disorder. Man’s body wars against his soul, his sense appetite wars against his reason and will, his will wars against his fellow-man and against God. That is sin. As human acts are directed to the gaining of happiness by the union of all the virtues, sins are warring against each other to deprive man of happiness here and hereafter. The Eyil of Sin Every sin is evil yet all sins are not equally evil. Sin’s evil varies with its object. Sin means a blow against some good. The greater the good the greater the sin. It is a greater evil to blaspheme than to tell a lie. Sin’s seriousness varies with the greatness of the virtue which it betrays. For example a sin against faith is a greater evil than a sin against temperance. — 7 — Again, sins of the flesh are usually less evil than sins of the spirit. First because it is natural for a man’s flesh to seek bodily good and normal for his spirit to turn to his Maker. Again, a man should love God and his fellow-man more than his body. Finally the urge of the flesh draws a man to sin more forcefully than the urge of the spirit. And the sin is less serious when the urge is strongest. There are other elements that make a sin more serious. If the will in sinning is deliberately malicious, the sin is more grievous. And so a sin is less serious if freedom is lessened. A man under torture is less guilty if he lies, than a man who lies under normal conditions. The harm done by a sin will bear on its seriousness. To call a man a miser is less harmful than calling him a robber. The seriousness of a sin will depend too on the dignity of the person sinning or the person sinned against. To sin against my fellow-man is less serious than to sin directly against God. It is more serious a sin for a public official to steal public funds than for a man to steal from another man. As a human act sin derives chiefly from man’s will. It is also in the intellect and the sense appetite in as much as these are moved by the will to good or bad actions. Sin is a disease. It is a cancer of the soul. It gradually eats away a man’s self-control. If not checked it will at last wreck a man’s chance for happiness. And that means eternal death, the failure of man as man. Note—In a recent statement of the Bishops of the United States on Secularism, we were told that while many Americans would not deny God they would and did ignore Him when they were seeking some- thing forbidden by His Law. This was because they had lost their sense of responsibility to God as Sovereign Lord of man’s world, which is the same thing as saying that they had lost their sense of sin. In the first section of St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises the effort is made to deepen in the heart of the retreatant the sense of sin. In fact every one of the five exercises that make up this section is concerned with some aspect of sin. The truth is that the objective of the Exercises and the objective of real Christian living are identical. If a man wants to get the full impact of Christ’s teaching into his life, he must be con- stantly growing into a deeper and deeper hatred for sin, and a stronger and stronger personal love for Christ.—G. C. T. — 8 — How Does Sin Hoppen? Sin is an act of the will against reason or the Eternal Law. It proceeds then from the will. There are various influences that affect the will’s action, such as reason, the sense appetite, God, man and Satan. These are the causes of sin. The prime cause of sin are the reason, the sense appetite and the will. The reason may be the cause of sin through ignorance. If that ignorance is not the individual’s fault then his bad act is not sinful. However if the ignorance is avoidable but the man will not trouble to repair it, his act is sinful. Also Ignorance of one of the circumstances of a sin will excuse from sin in that circumstance. The sense appetite or passion can cause sin also. The pas- sions can so sway a man’s judgment that he will do evil and justify it. As the passions affect the judgment, sins of passion are called sins of weakness. These sins are due to self-love. Passion and Sin Passion can lessen the malice of sin in as far as it decreases the voluntariness of the action. However if a man provokes the urge of passion he is guilty of the sin he has provoked. A sud- den upsurge of passion that a man is not the cause of, will render him guiltless of the sin. Ignorance and the passions as they affect the will might be called contributory causes of sin. When a man knowingly chooses to do a bad act we call that a sin of malice. A man schemes to defraud his neighbor with cool calculation. That is malicious. Such sins are worse than sins of passion or ignorance. They proceed from a bad will, a diseased will. This will has a real tendency to evil. Outside Causes of Sin There are outside causes of sin besides those within. It is sometimes said that God or Satan or other men cause the sinner to do evil. As God is Infinite Good He cannot be the direct — 9 — cause of sin. As He is the cause of all being He is the cause of beingy in sin. However the disorder in the evil action comes not from God but from the will of the person sinning. The individual is the cause of sin. Satan and his evil cohorts are also causes of sin. But while the evil spirits allure a man to sin they cannot sway his in- tellect or will. They can act on the sense appetites and the im- agination. While man can induce others to sin, the fact is every man is responsible for his sin as he is free to do evil or good. Other men are indirect causes of sin. Adam's Sin One man’s sin did render the whole race sinful. That was Adam’s sin. That sin was passed on to all his children. We call it Original Sin. It is original because it is the first sin, and because it infects all Adam’s children, through human genera- tion. Or course this is a mystery. Adam was the physical and spiritual head of the human race. In God’s view all men were contained physically in Adam. We are of his seed. Besides God gave Adam spiritual gifts that were to belong to all men if Adam obeyed God. If he was unfaithful to God all these gifts would be lost to his children. Originol Sin Adam failed and so all his children are without these spirit- ual gifts. Original Sin means the absence of these gifts. By Adam’s will this sin is voluntary in each child of Adam. For Adam acted as the head and representative of all men. Original Justice These gifts constituted Original Justice. All man’s powers act harmoniously with the gift of Original Justice. His sense appetite, his intellect, his will are all in order and subject to God. Without Original Justice it is hard for man to balance rightly his different powers. That is why God gave Adam for his children Original Justice. — 10 By Original Justice Adam had perfect self-control and so he was a perfect man able to seek and find the Beatific Vision. Had Adam been true to God he would have possessed complete self-control and so would his children, for Original Justice would have been inherited by them. His sin against God lost Original Justice for himself and his children. This is the one sin we inherit from Adam, the lack of Orig- inal Justice. And this sin is the same in all men, as all men find the balance of their powers a difficult thing to secure. Lack of Order Original Sin then means the lack of order in man’s powers in themselves and in respect to God. Man’s sense appetite gets out of hand and rebels against intellect and will. This is con- cupiscence. Original Sin is disorder in man’s soul. It makes its impact on will, intellect and sense appetite. This makes it an easy thing for a man to commit personal sin. The great gift that God gave Adam and would have given his children, was a free gift from God. He did not have to give it to our first parent or to us. Personal Sins Knowing that man begins life with disorder in his whole being which we call Original Sin, we know too that man com- mits personal sins, and that these lead to other sins. The lead- ing sins are called capital sins. They are seven, and. they are sources of other sins. A capital sin is a bad inclination leading man to an evil objective. The capital sins are pride, covetous- ness, gluttony, lust, envy, anger and sloth. They are all dis- ordered tendencies. Pride is an unbalanced desire for honor and distinction and will lead to other sins in order that honor and distinction may be won. Covetousness is an unbalanced yearning for material things and will bring a man to the commission of other sins that he may accumulate material things. - 11 — The glutton seeks an excess of food or drink. The lustful man makes sex an end in itself, forgetting that it is for the good of the race. The envious, the angry, the slothful will all in- dulge in other sins, propelled by their dominant tendency or capital sin. Our conclusion is that when we consider every aspect of sin, it is the human will that sins. It prefers evil to good. No matter who the tempter or what the temptation man by God’s grace can avoid sin. Since sin is our own doing so is unhappiness, for the sinner is the unhappy man. The man of virtue is the happy man. Sins' Consequences The first effect of sin is to corrupt human nature. This ap- plies to Original Sin and to personal sin. By original justice reason and will dominated the sense appetite, and the will was dominated by God. If this gift is lost as it was by Adam’s Sin, then man’s powers are weakened. Ignorance darkens man’s intellect, malice grips his will, and his sense appetites are weakened by Original Sin. The same effects are produced by personal sin. Human experience proves that. All sin makes it harder for a man to gain his true happiness, and in that sense it wounds and weakens his human nature. A man of virtue has all his powers ordered aright in gaining good, while a sinful man has these powers perverted to evil. Man Is Not' Destroyed by Sin While sin thus affects human nature it does not kill it. Man still is after sin a free, reasoning being. Because this is true man can rise from sin. To recover from sin’s disease however is not easy. For every sin inclines a man away from virtue. So a man must repent if he is to save his soul. Continual sinning brings on eternal death. Multiplying sins pulls a man farther and far- ther from God. — 12 — Sin and Deoth Death is a punishment for sin. Had Adam been true to God he would have had the gift of immortality for himself and his children. By sin he brought death upon himself and upon his descendants, ^^It is decreed that all men must die/’ says St. Paul. The gift of immortality which God planned for us is not natural to man, while bodily death is. This special gift of God which Adam lost, will be restored to us at the General Resur- rection. Darkness and Sin The most awful effect of sin is the darkening of man’s soul. On the soul God has left the imprint of reason’s light which re- flects God’s Reason or Law. Grace within the soul lights it up with God’s glorious light. Mortal sin kills this light and glory. So it stains the soul, reducing man’s reasoning power. Sin is turning away from God for the sake of a creature. Until man turns away from the creature and back to God sin will remain in his soul. The external act of sinning ends but the sin remains till it is repented of. The reason is clouded by sin’s stain and so it is hard for a a man to see what is for his own good. If death meets the soul in sin, there will be no happiness for that soul down through the eternal years. Sin and God's Order As sin is a break with God’s order it calls for punishment. The authority that is defied by sin punishes sin. Now sin vio- lates the reason’s order, or the order of reason in society’s rulers, or it violates the Divine Law’s order. One or all of these authorities will punish sin. Remorse punishes the individual. Man realizing the dis- order in sin suffers remorse. This is every sin’s punishment. If a man violates society’s laws he faces society’s punishment, fines or imprisonment. God likewise punishes sin since it de- fies the Divine Law. — 13 — The Measurement of Punishment God’s punishment is meted out in this life and in the here- after. This punishment is measured by the guilt of the sin. It is measured by the two elements entering into sin, the turning away from God and the turning to some creature. The sinner who rejects God does not want Him, and God will not force Himself on any man. A man dying in such a state will never see God but he will suffer the punishment of loss. As he goes after the lesser good and passes God by, he will suffer the pain of sense. Mortal and venial sins deserve different punishments. Venial sin does not turn a man away completely from God as his final End. The sinner is not excluding God for some creature. So the sin does not merit eternal punishment. In mortal sin however the sinner excludes God and chooses a creature. And so it is answered by eternal punishment. Venial sins will hinder man’s approach toward God, while mortal sins pull him away from God and push him toward Hell. Sins and Happiness As venial sin by weakening the soul leads to mortal sin, it should not be treated lightly. Man should fight against all sins for they destroy his happiness. The first thing for the sin- ner to do is repent, and so return to God’s love. God’s grace puts order into the soul which sin has banished. After order has been restored to the soul through God’s grace there remains a debt on the sinner’s part, as he has broken the order that God has placed in His world. That debt is pen- ance that should be done by the sinner willingly and of his own choosing. Then again he should gladly accept whatever suffer- ing God may send him either now or hereafter in Purgatory. To seek happiness in sin is a delusion for every sin carries with it punishment either in this life or in the hereafter. As punishment is pain, sin is the destroyer of happiness. It is sick- ness of soul, that if not cured, finally brings death. During life it tosses the soul about in constant conflict with opposing de- sires, while in eternity its effect is unending torment. — 14 — CHAPTER III THE NEED FOR LAW The Value of Law Happiness is the object of all human acts. In this life it means seeking truth and goodness. In eternity it means mainly the Vision of God, Perfect Truth and Goodness. Man as a member of society does not operate merely as an individual, but he operates with his fellows to gain the ends of life. It is society’s duty to see that men have the proper conditions to labor together for happiness. The common good is society’s concern. Society, the family, nation or state, furnish all with the means of life. That is those things that make social life and effort possible must be furnished by society. They are food, shelter, work, education, laws, government. The peace and harmony that make it pos- sible for men to work togther for the common good must be supplied by society. Since individual happiness is dependent on the common good, the common good must be the supreme concern of law. The members of the community in consequence have the law-making right. They may delegate that right to a ruler or an elected legislative body. The ruler or the legislative body then, carry out a function given them by society. As a directive of human action a law must be obeyed. To be obeyed it must be known and it is the duty of the lawmaker to make it known. This is called the promulgation of law, which is needed to make a law effective. A law then is defined as a directive of reason for the com- mon good made by the ruling authority and promulgated to the citizens. , Variety of Laws There are various laws guiding human action to happiness. We have the Eternal Law in God’s Mind, the Natural Law in man’s intelligence. Divine Positive Law, and Human Positive Law. We have seen that the Providence of God rules the world. — 15 — God has made all creatures and directs them to their separate destinies. The activities of creatures are directed to their ob- jectives by the Divine Mind. In the Mind of God this is eternal. This is called the Eternal Law ruling the world. All world activities fall under the sway of the Eternal Law. This Law is known perfectly only by God. It is seen directly but not perfectly by the saints in Heaven because they enjoy the Beatific Vision. On earth only its effects may be seen. As the Divine Mind has fixed the objectives of all creatures and the means to those objectives, all other laws are based on the Eternal Law. Man’s reason shares in the Eternal Law by the Natural Law. The Eternal Law gives creatures their tendency to their right objectives, and as man is rational he can figure out his objective and the means whereby to reach it. In him this shar- ing in the Eternal Law is called the Natural Law. Man sees that the natural tendency of every creature is to good. Man’s reason seeing this, sees that the first command of law is that good is to be sought and evil avoided. All other directives of the Natural Law rest on this first precept. All other laws strive to obtain the objective of this primary law, the gaining of good and the avoiding of evil. The derived principles from the Natural Law are the Ten Commandments. They are fundamental rules on right behavior in regard to God and fellow-men. Because human nature is the same in all of us, the root principles of the Natural Law are the same for all men. How- ever the Natural Law’s principles must be applied to concrete cases. For the law bears on individual actions. At times the principles may be precisely applied, at times conditions may make the law’s application vary. The fundamental principles of the Natural Law are owned up to by all men. But some of the secondary principles may not be owned up to on account of ignorance or passion. Laws Are Necessary As the living together in society is not a simple thing but very complex, men need laws to guide them to the objective — 16 — of the common good. These laws make up human positive law. The Natural Law is the source of human positive law. Human positive law is a detailed expression of the Natural Law regularizing the actual conditions of human acts. ‘^Thou shalt not kill” is a general principle of conduct, but to say when kill- ing is murder, and to what degree it is murder is determined by positive law. Positive law is a means to obtain the objective of the Natural Law, namely true happiness. It looks always to the common good, cultivating religion, fostering peace and disci- pline in the community. The good of all and not the good of the few must be the aim of positive law. Natural Law forbids all sins and fosters all virtues, while positive law will strike against only those sins that endanger the common good, and cultivate those virtues that develop the common good. All just laws bind a man’s conscience. The conditions for a just law are: it is aimed at the common good, does not exceed the lawmaker’s power, and distributes its burdens among citi- zens impartially. Laws Are Changeable Law may be subject to change. Positive law, divine or human is changeable. If a law no longer serves the common good it can be and should be changed. These positive laws have to do with changing human conditions and so can be changed to face up to these conditions. However the Eternal Law and the primary directives of the Natural Law can never be changed since they are rooted in the unchangeable natures of God and man. As God has called man to an objective that is beyond the reach of natural activity, the Beatific Vision, God revealed to man the divine positive law which would guide him to his supernatural objective. Man received this law from Moses who gave it to the Jew- ish people. It is called The Old Law. Then God gave the New Law or the Gospel Law through Christ. The Old Law was a preparatory law, to get men ready for — 17 — the coming of Christ their Redeemer. It was not to be perma- nent in all its directives, and was to be fulfilled by the New Law which Christ would bring to mankind. Moral, ceremonial and judicial directive are contained in the Old Law. The Ten Commandments are the chief moral directives and are the secondary directives of the Natural Law. For fear men might forget them God revealed them. They are binding on all men in all generations. Why External Worship The ceremonial precepts of the Old Law regulated men’s worship. Because man has a body and is besides a social being he should give God external worship. The interior worship is made plain by his exterior worship. External worship was guided by the ceremonial precepts. The judicial precepts of the Old Law were concrete direc- tives on the justice that should prevail among men. They ex- plained the relations of rulers and ruled, the relations between individuals of the Jewish nation, between Jews and non-Jews, and the relations between members of the same household. The Old Law guided the relations of men with them- selves, their fellow-men and God. It was a preparation for the coming of Christ the Redeemer. As its moral directives stemmed from the Natural Law they were to last always. Its ceremonial and judicial precepts were not to last be- cause they were preparatory steps to the New Law to be revealed by Christ. The New Law is the final and perfect law given mankind by Christ. It is for all mankind and not for a section of mankind. It brings men to their objective, happiness in the Beatific Vision. Its power to lead men to this vision comes from the grace of the Holy Spirit, which men receive through faith in Christ. It is grace which puts man on the right path of the Beatific Vision. Grace empowers man to reach God through human ac- tions. The New Law contains directives just as the Old Law did. It reinforces the moral dictates of the Natural Law and the Old Law. Through the seven sacraments it gives direc- — 18 tives for divine worship. Because all these directives get their power to lead men to God from grace, the New Law is called the Law of Grace. This power lifts man out of na- ture’s world unto God. Law gives man intelligent direction in his activities. Man is directed to the procucurement of the natural good of the individual and of society by the Natural Law and the human positive law. The New Law empowers men to gain the Beatific Vision. Law does not imprison man, it frees him. It is a light for the path of life’s journey to happiness. Without it man is in darkness, pilgrimaging over strange, unknown paths. Under the light of reason and the Divine Mind man travels securely to the objective he really wants. True freedom comes from Law, the freedom to be happy and to search for happiness. CHAPTER IV GOD'S GRACE The Power of Groce Man gains happiness by his free human acts but at the same time this is God’s gift to him. As man’s true happiness is the Beatific Vision, he cannot by his natural powers secure this. But God gives him a supernatural power, that is grace and this makes the vision of God attainable by man. The proper use of reason and free will lead man to the vision of God if these powers are permeated by grace. While reason can attain the truths of the natural order, it cannot penetrate the supernatural order. God’s existence for in- stance can be discovered by reason. But without the light of faith, which is the light of grace, reason cannot discover the truth of the Trinity. As the Beatific Vision can be gained only by supernatural acts, the will needs grace to perform these acts. As original Sin bruised the will, it needs grace to cure it and make it capable of doing supernatural acts. 19 — Our Nature Is Wounded As our nature is corrupted we cannot keep God’s Com- mandments for a lifetime without God’s grace. Grace is needed to raise human acts to a supernatural plane so they can achieve the Beatific Vision. If man is to lead a supernatural life and finally arrive at the vision of God he needs the gift of habitual grace. This turns man’s will to God, and for this God must prepare the will. To repent the man in sin must turn from his sin to God. He cannot do this without God prompting his will and so getting it ready to receive habitual grace. Grace is necessary also for man to keep out of sin. The disorder in his reason and sense appetite will cause him to sin unless God’s grace assists him. He likewise needs grace to enable him to keep in the state of grace; without it his pas- sions will conquer him. As God’s help is needed for man’s natural activity, for no creature can propel itself by its own power, so is grace neces- sary for supernatural activity. God must raise man’s nature to a plane suitable to his supernatural objective. This is the function of habitual grace. As reason and will need God to move them to know and love, so reason and will need help in their supernatural ac- tivities. By actual grace God prompts reason and will to their supernatural acts. And as in the natural so in the su- pernatural order the will moves freely. Happiness the objec- tive of grace is the result of man’s free choice and of God’s grace. Actual and Habitual Grace Habitual grace is really a supernature. By it man enjoys supernatural powers of knowing and loving. Yet God must prompt these powers to supernatural activity. This prompting is actual grace, a temporary, divine motion in man’s soul. It is an infused quality in man’s soul, empowering man to know and love supernaturally. It enables man to share God’s life. From this quality the soul receives a special way of living and acting. — 20 As it is a participation in divine life it is infused in the soul. Man has the powers of intellect and will because he has human nature. And so on account of habitual grace he has a supernature with powers to know and love supernaturally. The Divine Giver Only God can give man a share in His Nature which is grace. He may use Christ’s human nature or the sacraments to give men grace, but they are only Instruments. God is the Prin- cipal Agent sharing His life with men. Men by turning to God get themselves ready to receive habitual grace. Yet this is accounted for by grace which moves them to readiness. So from every angle grace is God’s gift. Habitual grace is equal in all men in as far as it unites man with God. Yet this life of union has degrees as one man may correspond more generously with grace than another. In this however it is God’s action in the soul that gives the increase of grace, and so the different degrees are really due to God. While it is not possible to say without a special revelation that God has given me grace, even though He has declared that He wills to give grace to all men, yet if I strive to keep the Commandments and frequently approach the Sacraments, I can be reasonably sure that God has given me grace. Grace and Sin Cannot Co-exist As grace joins men to God by giving them a share in God’s life there can be no sin in the soul possessing grace. The soul is either joined to God or separated from Him. Sin and grace cannot dwell together. Effects of Grace When grace is infused into the soul man turns from sin to God, and God forgives his sin. He once more becomes God’s child and friend, and heir to Heaven. Man becomes God’s friend through grace, as it is the effect of God’s love for him, and through charity it empowers man to love God. -Besides as — 21 man shares God’s life a community of interests prevails be- tween man and God. Man becomes an adopted child of God because he gets a share in God’s life and happiness. God gives supernatural life through grace just as parents give children natural life. Because grace enables man to gain the Beatific Vision, it makes him an heir of Heaven. The seed of the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision is grace. The accident of grace making man God’s child gives him a title to God’s happiness, just as the accident of natural birth gives a child a title to its parents’ wealth. Grace really is superior to creation, for a changeable crea- ture comes into being through creation while grace finally ends in the Eternal Beatific Vision. This gift of the eternal vision of God is called the gift of glory and goes to those who die in the state of grace. Surely grace is a mystery of God’s love. While there is no strict justice between God and man, God can make the meriting of the Beatific Vision a matter of justice relatively. In the order of grace God has done this for He has made grace the meritorious source of everlasting life. For God wills that acts performed with and through habitual grace will merit the Beatific Vision. Grace is a ^^fountain of water spring- ing up to life eternal” (John iv, 14). It is God’s power moving man to the Beatific Vision. Human Acts Are Meritorious Human acts are meritorious because God guides them to a supernatural objective, the Beatific Vision. They are meritor- ious, too, because voluntary. They stem from man’s will as it supernaturally loves God in charity. Merit depends on charity. All acts are meritorious in as far as charity propels them to the love of God. The Beatific Vision is a free gift of God to man. No one but Christ can merit this in justice. He is the New Adam, the spiritual Head of the children of men. He merits the grace men need for happiness. If men however are in God’s grace they are God’s friends and as such their good works can aid in the sav- ing of other men’s souls. -22— What Is Necessary for Merit The state of grace is necessary for merit. So the man want- ing habitual grace, or who deprived himself of it by sin, cannot merit it. Only God’s generosity can give it. Good works increase grace and charity in the soul. Man must progress from grace to greater grace. He needs to con- stantly develop the grace-life within him. Because he is free man can always lose grace through sin. His duty is to pray, and do good works, that he may merit the grace of final perseverance which will lead him to the enjoyment of the Beatific Vision. Grace is of course a mystery of God’s love for us. All love belongs to the realm of the mysterious. Even human love can- not be fully understood. Because men find good in other men they love them. God however does not love men for that reason. He loves in order to communicate goodness to mortals. As the effect of God’s love grace gives us a share in His Na- ture. We truly become His children for by grace He adopts us. And finally by dying in grace we enter into His Kingdom to share in His perfection and happiness. The love of God speak- ing to us through grace, asks us for our love. He who has all, wants the little that we can give. Indeed God’s love is a mys- tery. Note—If we adhered to the strict form that St. Thomas follows in the Summa, the above treatise on The Power of Grace would be written in the following manner: On The Exterior Principle of Human Acts, Namely the Grace of God. We must now consider the exterior principle of human acts, that is God in as far as we are helped by Him to do right through grace. First we must consider the grace of God, secondly its cause, thirdly its effects. , The first point of consideration will be threefold for we shall con- sider (1) the necessity of grace, (2) the essence of grace, (3) its division. Under the first head there are ten points of inquiry: (1) Whether Without grace man can know any truth? (2) Whether without grace man can do or will any good? (3) Whether without grace man can love God above all things? (4) Whether without grace man can keep the Commandments through his natural powers? (5) Whether without grace he can merit eternal life? (6) Whether without grace man can prepare himself for grace? (7) Whether without grace he can rise — 23 from sin? (8) Whether without grace man can avoid sin? (9) Whether man having received grace, can do good and avoid sin without any further divine help? (10) Whether of himself he can persevere in good? First Article Whether Without Grace Man Can Know Any Truth? We proceed then to the First Article — Objection 1. It would seem that without grace man can know no truth for St. Paul says: No man can say Lord Jesus, but by the Holy Spirit.’’ (ICor. xii, 3). Again The Gloss of Ambrose says: “Every truth by whomsoever spoken, is from the Holy Spirit.” Now the Holy Spirit dwells in us by grace. Therefore we cannot know truth without grace. Objection 2. Further, Augustine says: “The most certain sciences are like things lit up by the sun so as to be seen. Now God Himself is He Who illumines, while reason is in the mind as sight is in the eye, and the eyes of the mind are the senses of the soul.” Now the bodily senses however pure cannot see any visible thing without the sun’s light. Therefore the human mind however perfect cannot by reasoning, know any truth without divine light; and this pertains to the aid of grace. Objection 3. Further, the human mind can understand truth, only by thinking as is clear from Augustine. But the Apostle says: “Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” (2 Cor. iii, 5) Therefore man cannot of himself know truth without the help of grace. On the contrary, Augustine says: “I do not approve having said in the prayer: “O God Who dost wish the sinless alone to know the truth. ” For it may be answered that many who are not sinless know many truths. Now man is cleansed from sin by grace: “Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. i, 12) Therefore without grace man can of himself know truth. I answer that to know truth is a certain act or use of in- — 24 --- tellectual light, according to the Apostle, “all that is made manifest is light.’’ (Ephes. v, 13) Now every use implies some movement, taking movement broadly, so as to call thinking and willing movements, as is clear from the Philosopher. But in corporeal things we see that for movement there is required not merely the form which is the principle of the movement, but also the motion of the first mover. Now the first mover in the order of corporeal things is the body of the heavens. Hence no matter how perfectly fire has heat, it would not bring about alteration except by the motion of the body of the heavens. But it is clear that just as all corporeal movements are re- duced to the motion of the body of the heavens as to the first corporeal mover, so all movements both corporeal and spiritual are reduced to the absolutely First Mover Who is God. And hence no matter how perfect a corporeal or spiritual nature is supposed to be, it cannot proceed to its act unless it is moved by God. Now this motion is according to the plan of His Provi- dence and not by a necessity of nature, as the motion of the body of the heavens. But not only is every motion from God as from the First Mover, but all formal perfection is from Him as from the First Act. Hence the action of the intellect or of any created being whatsoever, depends upon God in two ways: first, inasmuch as it is from Him that it has the form whereby it acts; secondly inasmuch as it is moved by Him to act. Now every form bestowed on created things by God has power for a determined act, which it can effect in proportion to its own proper endowment. Beyond this act it is powerless except by a superadded form, as water can heat only when heated by fire. And thus the human understanding has a form, that is in- telligible light itself. This is of itself sufficient for knowing certain intelligible truths, that is those we can come to know through sensible things. Higher intelligible truths the human intellect cannot know unless it be perfected by a stronger light. This is the light of faith or prophecy called the light of grace since it is added to nature. So we must say that for the knowing of any truth whatso- —25 — ever man needs divine help in order that the intellect may be moved by God to its act. But he does not need a new illumina- tion added to his natural light in order to know the truth in all things, but only in those that surpass his natural knowledge. And yet at times God miraculously instructs some by His grace in things that can be known by natural reason, even as He sometimes brings about miraculously what nature can do. Introduction to Saint Thomas Aquinas Edited by Anton C. Pegis The Modern Library. New York Random House is the publisher of The Modern Library # — 26 — QUESTIONS LESSON I (Pages 3-4) How does God guide man through the supernatural world? What are the gifts of the Holy Spirit? What is the purpose of these gifts? Where are these gifts found? How do these gifts complete the virtue of faith? How long will these gifts remain in the soul? Are they in the souls of the blessed in Heaven? Why does man receive these gifts? Name the fruits of the Holy Spirit. LESSON II (Pages 4-5) How do these gifts set man’s mind in order? How do they affect man’s relations with his neighbor? Why are the Beatitudes the most perfect fruits of the Holy Spirit? The Beatitudes portray true happiness. Explain. How is happiness found in action and contemplation? How are cleanness of heart and peace the effects of the active life? What does Christ promise to those who live the Beatitudes? How do the Beatitudes make for human happiness? LESSON III (Pages 6-7) What are the consequences of sin in terms of happiness? Define sin. What are the two elements in sin? Why does St. Augustine stress the Eternal Law? When charity is lost are faith and hope lost? How is an acquired natural virtue lost? How are sins differentiated? What is the action of the sinner regarding himself, his neighbor and God? Explain the meaning of sins of the spirit and of the flesh. -27 -. LESSON IV (Pages 7-8) Explain the difference between mortal and venial sin. How does sin bring about disorder? Are all sins equally evil? What makes sins vary? How evil are sins o£ the spirit? How evil are sins of the flesh? How does lack of freedom affect sin? What has personal dignity to do with sin? Is sin only in the act of the will? What is the effect of sin as a disease? LESSON V (Pages 9-10) What are the causes of sin? Is sin in the intellect, will or sense appetite? How is the reason a cause of sin? How is sin affected by ignorance? What effect have the passions on sin? What are the contributory causes of sin? What is the sin of malice? Name the outside causes of sin. Where does the disorder in sin come from? Can the evil spirits sway the intellect or will? LESSON VI (Pages 10-11) Are men direct causes of sin in other men? Why is Adam’s sin called Original Sin? How and why did Adam’s sin affect all humanity? Original Sin means the lack of what gifts? What was Adam’s position in regard to the human race? How does Original Justice affect man’s powers? If Adam has been faithful to God how would the human race have fared? How does Original Sin affect man’s powers? What is concupiscence? Why is personal sin easy to commit? — 28 — LESSON VII (Pages 11-12) Did God have to give the gift of Original Justice? Why are some sins called Capital Sins? How many Capital Sins are there? Define a Capital Sin. Explain each one of the Capital Sins. Where does sin reside? How can man avoid sin? What is the secret of happiness? LESSON VIII (Pages 12-13) What is the first effect of sin? What was the effect of original justice? Are the effects produced by Original Sin the same as those produced by personal sin? How are man’s powers injured by sin? Does sin destroy human nature? How does man recover from sin? What is the result of continuing in sin? What brought death into the world? When will we receive the gift of immortality? What is the worst effect of sin? LESSON IX (Pages 13-14) Sin stains the soul. Explain. Does sin end when the act of sinning ceases? If man dies in mortal sin what will his eternal life be? Why does sin call for punishment? What orders does sin violate? What is it that punishes the individual sinner? When is God’s punishment meted out? How is sin’s punishment measured? What two elements enter into sin? Why do mortal and venial sins deserve different punishments? — 29 — LESSON X (Page 14) Explain the difference between mortal and venial sin? How does venial sin lead to mortal sin? Name the effects of all sins. What is the first thing for the sinner to do? What does grace do for the soul? What forms should penance take in reparation for sin? Why cannot happiness be found in sin? What is the difference between sickness of the body and dis- ease of the soul? What effect has sin on the soul in this life? LESSON XI (Pages 15-16) Define Law. What does happiness mean in this life and in eternity? What is society’s duty to men in their search for happiness? What is society’s concern? How is law related to the common good? Who possess the law-making right? What is the meaning of promulgation? Enumerate the various laws. Define the Eternal Law. LESSON XII (Pages 16rl7) How is the Eternal Law known by God, the saints in Heaven and by men on earth? On what are all laws based? What is the Natural Law? What is the first command of the Natural Law? What is the objective of all laws? How are the Commandments related to the Natural Law? Do all men accept the secondary principles of the Natural Law? What is the need for human positive laws? What does human positive law always look to? Name the source of human positive law. —30— LESSON XI II (Pages 17-18) What sins does positive law strike against? What virtues does it promote? State the conditions for a just law. What laws are subject to change and why? What laws are not subject to change and why? How can man reach a supernatural objective? What was the Old Law? How was the Old Law to be fulfilled? What three types of directives are contained in the Old Law? How extensive is the obligation of observing the Ten Com- mandments? LESSON XIV (Pages 18-19) Why should man give God external worship? What was the function of the ceremonial precepts? What was the function of the judicial precepts? What precepts of the Old Law were to last and why? What precepts were to disappear and why? Explain the meaning of the New Law and its objective. Where does the power of the New Law come from? What is the effect of grace? What is the function of the seven sacraments in the New Law? Why is the New Law called the Law of Grace? What does grace do for man? How is man helped by the Natural Law and positive law? How does law set men free? LESSON XV (Pages 19-20) In what does man’s true happiness consist? What must man receive to enable him to see God? How do reason and will procure man’s happiness? What truths can reason discover? What is necessary for reason and free will to lead man to the vision of God? What does man need to help him keep the Commandments? What is the effect of habitual grace? What does disorder in man’s soul lead to? All human acts need God’s assistance. Explain. -31 — LESSON XVI (Pages 20-21 ) How does God move man to supernatural acts? What does happiness result from? Is it due only to man’s free acts? Explain the difference between actual and habitual grace. Why must grace be in the soul not the body? Grace is a quality. Explain. What endows man with the supernatural powers of knowl- edge and love? Only God can give grace. Explain. How is grace the gift of God from beginning to end? Grace is equal yet admits of degrees. Explain. LESSON XVII (Pages 21-22) Do the different degrees of grace come from man’s action? How can man know that he has received grace? What is the marvelous effect of grace? What remits sin? How does man become a friend of God? Grace makes man an adopted child of God. Explain. How does grace make man an heir of Heaven? Grace is superior to creation. Explain. How does the gift of glory compare with grace? How is the vision of God related to grace? What is merit? Is meriting the vision of God a matter of strict justice? LESSON XVIII (Pages 22-23 ) Grace is the source of eternal life. Explain. Why are human acts performed in grace meritorious? How does merit depend on charity? The vision of God is a free gift. Explain. Why does Christ alone merit for men? How is grace increased? Why is God’s action on men through grace progressive? How is grace preserved? If we gain Heaven what do we share in? Why is grace in the realm of the mysterious? — 32 9 ' V. , 4 / c -c I i » :