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T H E A V E M A R I A P R E S S 
N O T R E D A M E , I N D . 

1 9 4 0 



Imprimi potest: 
T . S T E I N E R , C.S.C., Provincial 

Nihil obstat: 
W . ROBINSON, C.S.C., 

Censor deputatus 

Imprimatur: 
8 1 J O H N F . N O L L , D.D. 

Descldftsd 



p r e f a c e 
T ST. EDWARD'S University, 

Austin, Texas, a society was 
organized f o r t h e discussion of 
questions in which interest h a d 

been aroused in the classes of philosophy. 
During my t e r m as moderator of t h e soci-
ety, I observed t h a t most of my students 
did not understand the state of grace on 
its positive side. They knew it m e a n t f r e e -
dom f r o m mortal sin; but t h e y did not 
grasp t h e distinction between the n a t u r a l 
order and the s u p e r n a t u r a l o r d e r ; neither 
did t h e y realize the significance of regen-
eration and divine adoption. And so I re-
quested F a t h e r Drummey, who h a d just 
completed his course of theology at St. 
E d w a r d ' s to write an essay on the positive 
aspect of t h e state of grace. He was al-
r e a d y known to t h e Texas boys as " t h e 
w i z a r d " because of his clairvoyant an-
swers to their questions. This essay, how-
ever, was a more sustained effort t h a n any-
thing he h a d hitherto attempted. He soared 

3 



4 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

like an eagle to dizzy intellectual heights, 
and amazed the members of t h e society 
with his mastery in this region of sublim-
est thought. 

I r e g a r d e d the essay as the best any 
pupil of mine ever wrote. The meaning of 
t h e n a t u r a l order as contradistinguished 
f r o m the supernatural order is admirably 
t r e a t e d . The analogy between divine con-
servation and concurrence in the n a t u r a l 
order and habitual and actual grace in the 
supernatural order is clearly stated, — in 
fact, the whole essay is a p o w e r f u l syn-
thesis of n a t u r a l wisdom with revealed 
doctrine. The plentitude of grace of t h e 
Blessed Virgin is fervently depicted and 
is made to emphasize t h e stupendous t r u t h 
t h a t t h e r e is a g r e a t e r difference between 
t h e least soul in grace and t h e highest intel-
lectual creature in a state of pure nature, 
t h a n t h e r e is between the Blessed Virgin 
herself and t h e least soul in grace. 

F a t h e r Drummey was pleased with his ef-
fort. W h e n I congratulated him, he t h a n k e d 
me f o r having asked him to a t t e m p t 
i t ; and, according to his intimate f r i e n d , 



PREFACE 5 

F a t h e r Peiper, t h e last thing he inquired 
about before departing f o r Deming was 
the whereabouts of his copy of the essay. 
It h a d remained a manuscript in my pos-
session until on a visit to Holy Cross Col-
lege, t h r o u g h t h e courtesy of Mr. Young 
and Mr. Hooyboer, two copies were typed 
and bound. A f t e r F a t h e r Drummey's death 
his copy disappeared, and, f e a r i n g the 
other copy might also be lost I suggested 
to a f r i e n d of F a t h e r Drummey t h a t it 
would be well to have it printed. This he 
enabled me to do. 

P e r h a p s it would be well to w a r n t h e 
r e a d e r t h a t F a t h e r Drummey's essay is a 
substantial piece of work. You will have to 
be wide a w a k e to get w h a t is in it. Grace 
is one of those subjects to which t h e words 
of St. Paul may be applied : " W e have 
much to say, and h a r d to be intelligibly 
uttered, because you are become weak t o 
hear. For w h e r e a s by this time you ought 
to be masters, you have need to be t a u g h t 
again w h a t are t h e first elements of t h e 
words of God : and you are become such 
as have need of milk and not of strong 



6 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

m e a t . " 1 This essay is meat f o r men r a t h e r 
t h a n milk f o r babes. There is no easy way 
to explain the meaning of spiritual and 
s u p e r n a t u r a l . God is a spirit. The first 
act of a saint is to know. F a i t h is an act 
of t h e intellect. Must all sermons be short ? 
Did Christ die f o r the vulgar only.? In spite 
of t h e present antagonism to everything 
aristocratic and t h e desire to abolish all 
classes in society, a class does exist which 
can r e a d w h a t t h e m a j o r i t y of people are 
either unable or unwilling to r e a d . Relig-
ious orders have the duty to enrich with 
works on theology a language whose pover-
ty in this field is pitiful. Until A r t h u r Preuss 
translated Pohle's Dogmatic Theology into 
English and Charles Hebermann and his 
associates gave us t h e Catholic Encyclope-
dia, English r e a d e r s were largely depend-
ent on compendiums. If works on theology 
were translated f r o m t h e French or Ger-
man t h e y were usually abridged. Of late a 
noble effort has been started in England 
to make theology available f o r laymen. 
We are indebted to G. H. Joyce, S.J. f o r 

i Heb. V, 12. 



PREFACE 7 

an excellent book on grace and to F a t h e r 
Arendzen f o r good books on t h e Holy 
Trinity and the Incarnation. But t h e r e is 
still, to use a phrase of F a t h e r Cavanaugh, 
"yawning receptivity" in t h e English lan-
guage. Every serious t r e a t m e n t of a theo-
logical subject in language Americans can 
understand is a service to t h e cause of 
Christ. W e must not f o r g e t t h e r e is an 
a r m y of persons teaching religion in t h e 
United States who can read with facility 
no language except English, and a vast 
multitude of laymen who are studying or 
have studied philosophy in English. 

The time seems ripe f o r a renewal of 
interest in t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l . The second 
world-war has given Naturalism a r u d e 
jolt. Men deified nature. They declared 
science h a d done away with any need of a 
S u p e r n a t u r a l Being. Thinking t h e y h a d 
evolved f r o m animals, men began to be-
have accordingly; dreaming t h e y were 
one with t h e divinity, their egotism passed 
all bounds. Looking now upon t h e tragic 
results of h u m a n pride and sensuality, t h e 
spiritually earnest are turning back to a 



8 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

s u p e r n a t u r a l F a t h e r in whose power and 
love they can joyfully trust. Even in the 
state of n a t u r e man essentially outclasses 
the brute. A brute is not eligible f o r the 
state of grace because he has no intellect 
and will. These spiritual faculties are prop-
erties of men w h e t h e r in t h e state of n a t u r e 
or of grace. Rare, indeed, among Ameri-
cans is a clear understanding of t h e mean-
ing of either spiritual or supernatural. 

The biographical sketch which precedes 
the essay will f u r t h e r introduce F a t h e r 
Drummey to his readers. It indicates, I 
think, t h a t the Holy Ghost has not been 
idle among the priests of Holy Cross. My 
original plan was to make it very brief, but 
a f t e r I became acquainted with the letters 
I saw the advantage of including quotations 
f r o m them. In f a c t they deserve more 
attention t h a n I give them. The letters I 
quote f r o m were loaned to me by his moth-
er and were written f r o m Deming during 
the last t h r e e months of his life. I am sure 
the members of his own Congregation and 
his sisters in Holy Cross will be interested 
in them. They show t h a t alert, intelligent 



PREFACE 9 

holiness has flourished in our midst. The 
question is sometimes a s k e d : Are t h e 
simple or the learned more a p t to attain to 
t h e intimacy of loving union with God? 
And t h e answer is: The simple; because 
t h e learned are seldom humble enough. But 
when the learned are humble t h e y have 
the b e t t e r chance. W h e n I was a boy in 
Holy Cross Seminary, F a t h e r Cavanaugh 
brought over a bishop who t a l k e d to us on 
the t e x t : Lucere vanum est; ardere parvum 
est; sed lucere et ardere perfectum est. The 
letters of F a t h e r Drummey show t h a t he 
was a burning as well as a shining light. 

Cornelius Hagerty, C.S.C., 
Professor of Apologetics, 

University of Notre Dame. 





3 n j W e m o r i a m 

RANCIS EDWARD DRUMMEY 
was born December 26, 1899, 
on a f a r m n e a r Monroe, Wis-
consin. His g r a n d p a r e n t s came 

f r o m Ireland : the Drummeys f r o m Mayo, 
and the Murphys and McCarthys, his 
mother's people, f r o m Cork. His f a t h e r 
was a reverent and conscientious man ; his 
mother h a d the gentleness and tenderness 
of t h e southern Irish. The boy grew up in 
one of those r u r a l communities the gradu-
al disappearance of which is a source of 
deep r e g r e t to all lovers of t h e Irish. A 
school stood on a corner of t h e Drummey 
f a r m presided over by Mary Daugherty, a 
relative of t h e Drummeys. Pupils came 
f r o m a n u m b e r of Irish families living on 
a d j a c e n t f a r m s and one t e a c h e r was 
charged with t h e i r entire elementary edu-
cation. Thus a f a v o r a b l e environment ex-
isted f o r t h e transmission of t h e Catholic 
social inheritance. Innocence of h e a r t , sin-
cerity of mind, reverence f o r all t h a t is 
holy h a d a better chance to flourish u n d e r 

11 



12 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

such circumstances t h a n amidst the indis-
criminate influences of a modern city. 
Mary Daugherty was an intelligent teach-
er, and succeeded in impressing on the 
nimble mind of her relative habits of 
exactness and thoroughness. 

He pursued his high school studies in 
Monroe, living with his g r a n d m o t h e r in 
town or driving back and f o r t h to t h e f a r m 
in a buggy. A f t e r securing his diploma, he 
spent two years at the University of Wis-
consin. He made progress in t h e a r t of 
writing and was g r a t e f u l especially f o r a 
course in Wooley's English Composition. He 
was on the point of returning to Wiscon-
sin f o r his junior y e a r when t h e d e p a r t u r e 
of his younger brother, Harry, f o r Holy 
Cross Seminary, caused him to realize his 
vocation. With characteristic decisiveness 
he followed in a f e w days. At Notre 
Dame he formed lasting friendships with 
his fellow - seminarians, enjoyed rugged 
health and was admitted to t h e Students' 
Army Training Corps t h e n established at 
Notre Dame. So well did he succeed in his 
classes t h a t he was selected as an honor-



DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL 13 

student to m a k e his philosophical and 
theological studies in Rome. At the Gre-
gorian University his brilliant mnd soon 
captured t h e respect of his professors and 
fellow students. Rome itself was a fascina-
tion to him, with its historical monuments 
and treasures of art. During t h e following 
summer he went to Lourdes to make his 
retreat, and t h e r e on August 20th, 1924, 
in the Grotto of the Apparition he pro-
nounced his final vows of religion. 

Shortly a f t e r w a r d s , while on a hike in 
t h e Pyrenees with a group of fellow-stu-
dents, he suffered, to his own amazement 
and t h e shock of all, a h e m o r r h a g e of the 
lungs. Bowing in meek submission to the 
will of God " w h o scourgeth every son 
whom he receiveth" he "looked on Jesus, 
t h e author and finisher of f a i t h , who hav-
ing joy set before him, endured t h e cross, 
despising t h e s h a m e . " 1 A t this point t h e r e 
began to be manifest t h e deep spirituality 
which characterized t h e last ten years of 
his life. These lines f r o m t h e Song of the 
Mystic describe his experience: 

1 Heb. XII, 2. 



14 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

I walk down the valley of silence— 
Down the dim voiceless valley—alone! 

And I hear not the fall of a footstep 
Around me, save God's and my own. * * * * * 

Do you ask what I found in the valley? 
T i s my trysting-place with the Divine; 

And I fell at the feet of the Holy, 
And above me a voice said: "Be mine!" * * * * * 

Do you ask how I live in the valley? 
I weep and I dream and I pray. 

And my prayers, like a perfume from censers, 
Ascendeth to God, night and day. 

At the command of his superiors he re-
turned to the United States, took up his res-
idence at Holy Cross Sanatorium, Deming, 
New Mexico, and set about t h e business of 
getting well with calm determination. Even 
t h e shock of t h e d e a t h of his brother, H a r -
ry, who h a d followed him to t h e sanato-
rium only to succumb a f t e r a y e a r of rav-
aging malady, did not dishearten him. 
Scrupulously obedient to doctor and nurse, 
he yet availed himself of the opportunity 
t h e locality presented of learning Spanish; 
and as his h e a l t h improved he devoted 
w h a t time he could to studying theology. 



LIFE AT ST. EDWARD'S 15 

So well did he succeed in private study 
t h a t , when permitted, a f t e r f o u r years, to 
t a k e up f o r m a l class at St. E d w a r d ' s Uni-
versity, Austin, Texas, his professors jok-
ingly complained of difficulty in keeping 
up with his giant strides. A f t e r two years 
of intense application he was permitted by 
dispensation to be ordained priest on De-
cember 20, 1931. How he cherished this 
honor may be g a t h e r e d f r o m a letter to t h e 
Rev. J a m e s Donahue, C.S.C., his superior 
g e n e r a l : " I wish to t h a n k you, good F a t h -
er, f o r your thoughtfulness and kindness, 
especially f o r the greatest of all f a v o r s : 
making it possible f o r me to be ordained 
in so short a time." 

He remained at St. E d w a r d ' s f o r two 
years as professor of Religion and Spanish. 
The exhilaration of having reached t h e 
goal of t h e priesthood and t h e congenial 
atmosphere of t h e college stimulated him 
to renewed intellectual effort. During this 
time he wrote the essay on Our Life 
of Grace. His career as a teacher, like 
t h a t of F a t h e r J a m e s Trahey, C.S.C., who 
lies buried in t h e little cemetery at St. 



16 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

Edward's, was short in time but lasting in 
influence. Not only did he instruct his 
pupils well, but he inspired his fellow-
teachers with enthusiasm f o r Christianity 
on its intellectual side. 

The following year he was sent by his 
superiors to t a k e care of a little flock 
of Mexicans at Georgetown, Texas. His 
knowledge of Spanish made him available 
f o r the work, and t h e sad plight of his 
parishioners stirred his priestly zeal to 
exertions beyond his physical resources. In 
two years, t h e hardships of missionary life 
and his own ardor brought back f a t a l ac-
tivity to the latent malady. This time nei-
t h e r his own courage nor the devoted care 
of his Sisters in Holy Cross a t Deming 
could avail. On J u n e 17, 1935, God called 
him home. He lies buried at Notre Dame, 
beside t h e brilliant and beloved F a t h e l 
Cavanaugh, C.S.C. 

The j u d g m e n t of a man's intimate asso-
ciates is a good s t a n d a r d by which to esti-
mate his worth. F a t h e r Drummey was re-
spected, admired and loved by those who 
knew him best. He radiated intellectual 



LOVE OF TRUTH 17 

vitality. His deep, quick mind had achieved 
a comprehensive grasp of Christian wis-
dom. He was at home in a philosophical 
or theological discussion. He was f a m i l i a r 
with contemporary t r e n d s of t h o u g h t and 
sensitive to sources of culture. His conver-
sation had the charm of one who lived in 
a high realm of spirituality. He had a sin-
cere love f o r t r u t h . He detested intellectual 
dishonesty and did not like intellectual 
carelessness. Gentle and considerate of the 
feelings of others, he never became excited 
or disagreeable; but he stood his ground 
in an argument and spoke out like a f r e e 
man even when diplomacy suggested t h a t 
he be subservient. T r u t h was life to him 
and he did not compromise it. He did not 
suffer his j u d g m e n t s to be swayed by 
personal feelings. A word of praise or 
criticism f r o m him h a d significance. He 
loved t h e companionship of priests. His 
penetrating intellect, his r a r e honesty, his 
joy in conversation, his whimsical humor, 
his deep humility, endeared him to t h e 
f a c u l t y at St. E d w a r d ' s . 

Considered not only as an intellect, but 



18 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

also as a will, his was a strong spirit. He 
never lost self-control. The last decade of 
his life was a triumph of will over emotion, 
of grace over nature. He had to wage a 
constant battle against discouragement. 
Those who knew him intimately appre-
ciated his dauntless courage and his un-
ruffled serenity. He did not allow ill-health 
to make him selfish. It was sheer heroism 
t h a t made him f a c e the hardships of mis-
sionary work among the Mexicans. He 
might have asked to remain at St. Ed-
w a r d ' s or to retire to Deming, but he did 
not. He went where obedience called him, 
and the zeal of t h e Lord consumed him. 
His love f o r his mother and family was 
t e n d e r and strong. He was loyally devoted 
to the Congregation of Holy Cross and 
ambitious f o r its w e l f a r e and development. 
He was considerate and manifested t r u e 
kindness of heart. One of his last requests 
was t h a t t h e person who k e p t his room 
supplied with flowers be fittingly remem-
bered. 

The essence of sanctity consists in com-
plete conformity of a h u m a n will to the 



HUMILITY 19 

Divine Will. A severe test of such conform-
ity is t h e humble acceptance of t h e sum-
mons of death in t h e midst of one's days. 
In dimidio dierum meorum vadam ad portas 
inferi. The pain, loneliness and separation 
of death are h a r d to b e a r at any time, but 
t h e r e is peculiar humiliation and disap-
pointment in being called while one's plans 
are unfulfilled and one's comrades are still 
vigorous. It is h a r d f o r youth to realize 
" t h e y also serve who only stand and wait." 
The following excerpts f r o m his letters 
show t h a t he departed f r o m this life in 
loving union with G o d : 

" I think I can t r u t h f u l l y say I am h a p p y 
because my constant p r a y e r is t h a t God's 
holy will may be perfectly done in me. 
Make this your p r a y e r f o r me." "Since I 
am the one most concerned about t h e out-
come of my sickness and since I am cheer-
f u l and resigned to God's holy will, every-
one else ought to be of t h e same disposi-
tions. Keep up t h e p r a y e r t h a t God's holy 
will may be perfectly accomplished in 
me." "I h a r d l y expect to get well. Yet, as 
I have said before, t h e r e is no gloominess 
or sadness on my p a r t . I am cheerful and 



20 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

h a p p y in being resigned to go when it may-
please God to t a k e me, and t h e saints tell 
us these are the best possible preparations. 
The only thing t h a t causes me sorrow , is 
t h a t in all your letters you seem to make 
the recovery of my physical h e a l t h t h e 
only end of your prayers. Once again, I 
beg of you, dear mother, to p r a y not t h a t 
I may get well, but t h a t the holy will of 
God may be perfectly accomplished in me. 
Please smile and be cheerful and t h a n k 
God t h a t He gives me this time to p r e p a r e 
to meet Him and to suffer a little in union 
with the Passion and Death of Our Lord. 
I offer all my little aches and pains as acts 
of love to t h e Sacred H e a r t . " "I t r u s t you 
are striving more and more every day to 
accept t h e sweet and holy will of God. 
Cheerfully to offer this sacrifice which He 
seems to be demanding of us is one of t h e 
very greatest things you can do f o r me. Do 
not get t h e impression t h a t I am sad or 
downcast. Though, naturally, I am not 
laughing with a smile f r o m e a r to ear, I 
feel I am truly cheerful and at peace. I 
think I can honestly say t h a t I have never 
felt closer to God t h a n I do now." 



HOLY W I S D O M 21 
"So f a r we have been considering only 

t h e cross and the sad side of life. But it 
would be a g r e a t mistake to let our 
thoughts stop here and not go beyond, 
f o r all sufferings and crosses are m e a n t 
to lead to a glorious and unending f u t u r e 
joy. Remember t h a t a f t e r Good Friday 
t h e r e is always Easter Sunday. Heaven 
awaits them who have died, r e p e n t a n t of 
t h e i r sins. I am sure we ought to dwell 
more often on this aspect of our crosses 
and our sufferings. For all of us life is 
short. Let us p r a y and strive then t h a t we 
may all be happily united in Heaven r a t h -
er t h a n t h a t we may live on e a r t h forever. 
Let us keep cheerful and h a p p y in t h e 
t h o u g h t t h a t w h a t e v e r God wills f o r us 
must always be f o r the best." " W h e n I 
h e a r of so many sudden deaths, I realize 
how good God is to me in w a r n i n g me of 
t h e approach of my own and giving me 
t h e grace to p r e p a r e f o r it and to be 
resigned to it." 

" H o w much longer I have to live I do 
not know, but let us cheerfully leave it in 
t h e h a n d s of God. I offer all my pains and 



22 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

sufferings t h r o u g h t h e sorrows of St. Jo-
seph and t h e dolors of Mary in union with 
the Passion and Death of Our Lord as so 
many acts of love to His Sacred Heart. Let 
us p r a y and suffer together and we shall 
be h a p p y . " "Try to keep cheerful and b e a r 
up, remembering t h a t in resigning yourself 
entirely to God's will you are making t h e 
greatest offering possible, one which is 
very pleasing to Him and is bound to have 
a g r e a t r e w a r d . But if you make t h e offer-
ing and are then very sad and discouraged, 
in a way you t a k e back the offering. Don't 
picture me as sad and mournful. While I 
have as much n a t u r a l f e a r of death as any-
body, I have resigned myself entirely to 
God and am confident He will t a k e care of 
me. Keep up t h e p r a y e r s and good cheer." 

"I know t h a t you have m a d e the g r e a t 
resignation to God and are cheerful and 
completely resigned to whatever His Will 
is r e g a r d i n g me. Let us be f a i t h f u l to this 
offering, you and I together, and we will 
have an eternal r e w a r d where thorns will 
be t u r n e d into crowns. From the first I 
have never attempted to disguise t h e f a c t 



INTIMATE UNION 23 

t h a t I am very sick, and I do not hesitate 
to tell you I am not expected to recover. 
Let us feel cheerful and h a p p y about this 
because St. Paul tells us t h a t we have not 
here a lasting city, but seek one which is 
to come. As I have told you before, I feel 
cheerful and entirely submissive to God's 
most holy Will." "I have been feeling 
pretty sick t h e last week As a precau-
tion I was anointed yesterday. Don't think 
t h a t it m a d e me sad or f e a r f u l . On t h e 
contrary, it gave me renewed confidence 
and cheerfulness in t h e Lord. . . . Don't let 
this discourage or dishearten you, f o r trust-
ing in the infinite Mercy of God I have 
hope of going to a better land where sick-
ness, sorrow, mourning and death are no 
more. The best possible way you can help 
me is to be entirely resigned to God's holy 
Will and to p r a y t h a t I may be equally so. 
I love all of you with all my h e a r t and I 
ask you to f a v o r me by keeping cheerful 
and entirely resigned to God's holy Will." 

"Your telegram came yesterday a f t e r -
noon and I was very h a p p y to receive it. 
I do not mind your shedding a f e w t e a r s ; 



24 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

these will help to relieve the s t r a i n ; but 
t h i s does not mean you should be sad or 
discouraged. P r a y f o r me and leave all 
in t h e hands of God. J u d g i n g merely by 
h u m a n signs, t h e r e is every promise of a 
h a p p y death f o r me." 

On May 19th he wrote to his provincial: 
" D e a r F a t h e r B u r n s : I cannot tell you how 
h a p p y your gentle and f a t h e r l y letter m a d e 
me I am h a p p y t h a t you do not f o r g e t 
me in your prayers. Perhaps, you will be 
pleased to know t h a t I offer up every Fri-
day f o r t h e interior life of our Community, 
and various other days f o r one or other of 
its particular interests. J u s t at present I 
am feeling p r e t t y well. I r e g a r d this gentle 
but certain w a r n i n g with t h e time given 
to p r e p a r e and grace to accept it, as one 
of t h e greatest mercies of God. 

I remain your servant and son in Jesus 
Christ, 

F r a n k E. Drummey, C.S.C." 



SUPERNATURAL VIEWPOINT 25 

A f t e r F a t h e r Drummey's death, F a t h e r 
Burns wrote the following letter to Mrs. 
D r u m m e y : 

"I need not tell you how deeply we all 
sympathize with you in the g r e a t loss t h a t 
has come to you and us. The consolation 
must be t h a t it is your loss and ours, and 
not his. His soul was so pure and holy and 
completely resigned to t h e divine will, t h a t 
we must believe t h a t his going was only a 
swift passage f r o m e a r t h to heaven. He 
had his p u r g a t o r y on earth. The example 
of his saintly life with his p e r f e c t resigna-
tion to God's will is a precious heritage 
f o r our Community which we shall de-
voutly cherish. W h o can tell ?—perhaps, 
t h r o u g h t h e example of his saintliness he 
did more t h a n others are able to do 
t h r o u g h a long life of service in a r d e n t 
zeal. I feel we have him to p r a y f o r us in 
heaven. While he was in Deming these last 
months I f e l t t h a t he was so n e a r to God 
t h a t his p r a y e r s would be precious f o r us, 
and in every letter I asked him f o r t h e 
benefit of t h e m . " 

Evidently F r a n k Drummey aimed at 



26 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

and achieved p e r f e c t submission to the 
will of God. The letters reveal humility 
and love t r i u m p h a n t in t h e life of this 
young priest. " T h e n said I : Behold, I come 
to do Thy will, O God." 1 

I Heb. X, 9. 



<&uv l i f e o f # r a c e 
T FIRST sight it might seem 
strange t h a t your moderator 
should ask me to read a p a p e r 
on a subject quite beyond the 

proper field of philosophical speculation. 
A little thought, however, will show us t h e 
propriety of integrating philosophy and 
theology. The Church has ever maintained 
t h a t revelation and reason are not enemies 
but friends, and a proverb declares t h a t 
philosophy is t h e h a n d m a i d e n of theology. 
The history of the Church attests t h a t t r u e 
philosophy has served her well. In g r e a t 
crises brought about by disputes over the 
teachings of Christ t h e Church was obliged 
to use terms t h a t were exact and intel-
ligible. The h a p p y privilege of supplying 
t h e terms in which she has defined many of 
the articles of f a i t h belongs to Aristotelian 
and scholastic philosophy. If you would 
see how generously the Church appropri-
ates t h e language of philosophy even in 
her liturgy, r e a d t h e p r e f a c e of t h e Mass 

27 



28 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

f o r Trinity Sunday, t h e sequence f o r Cor-
pus Christi, or t h e A t h a n a s i a n Creed. 

Now t h e r e are f e w t r u t h s which a knowl-
edge of philosophy helps us so much to 
understand as t h e doctrine of grace. It is 
t h e dogma of grace t h a t places t h e whole 
structure of our religion on a supernatural 
plane, f a r , f a r above the r e a c h of t h e un-
aided intellect of man. To know where t h e 
n a t u r a l stops and t h e supernatural begins, 
we need a thorough training in t h e noble 
science of reason. I t is my hope t h a t this 
p a p e r will give you yet another proof t h a t 
the best possible n a t u r a l p r e p a r a t i o n f o r 
a clear understanding of our f a i t h is a 
course in scholastic philosophy. F o r those 
of you who are not of our f a i t h a discus-
sion of grace is f a r f r o m being time wasted. 
Even as a mere m a t t e r of culture no man, 
no m a t t e r w h a t his personal belief, can 
afford to be ignorant of a system of t h o u g h t 
which has had such a f a r reaching influ-
ence on civilization. I f e a r t h a t all too 
often men outside of t h e Church pride 
themselves on knowing h e r merely because 
they have learned to associate her in some 



FAITH AND REASON 29 

vague way with the f e u d a l system, t h e 
Crusades, t h e clink of armor, Gothic ar-
chitecture, etc. Really to get acquainted 
with the Catholic Church is to know her 
in her interior life—in h e r mind and h e a r t 
and soul; and no one can know the mind 
and h e a r t and soul of the Catholic Church 
unless he first learns something of her 
teaching about grace. 

I feel t h a t I should w a r n you at the out-
set t h a t grace is strictly a supernatural 
s u b j e c t ; its very existence we learn of not 
f r o m reason but f r o m revelation. In this 
brief p a p e r on one of t h e most profound 
and inscrutable mysteries of the faith—-a 
mystery in t h e consideration of which t h e 
greatest minds have confessed t h e i r limi-
tations, and innumerable other minds less 
g r e a t and less humble have grievously 
erred—it seems almost an unconscious sal-
ly of humor f o r me to say t h a t I present 
nothing original. My aim is to m a k e you 
acquainted with our common Christian 
heritage of t r u t h . 



30 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

T h e N a t u r a l O r d e r 
Since, as I previously mentioned, grace 

in the Catholic sense of the word belongs 
wholly to t h e supernatural order, before 
we can make any progress in our study, 
we must know w h a t the supernatural or-
der is; and before we can know w h a t t h e 
supernatural order is, we must have at 
least an elementary idea of w h a t is m e a n t 
by t h e n a t u r a l order. The key to an under-
standing of t h e n a t u r a l order is to be found 
in an accurate analysis of all t h a t t h e term 
creature connotes. There is one eternal Be-
ing, infinitely p e r f e c t in all His attributes. 
This Being, of course, is God. Now when 
God by an exercise of His incommunicable 
creative power causes another being to 
exist, He endows t h a t being with prin-
ciples or elements which constitute it and 
make it w h a t it is. These principles con-
sidered as constituting and making a thing 
w h a t it is are called its essence; consid-
ered as the subject in which its qualities 
inhere, they are called its substance; con-
sidered as t h e source f r o m which t h e ac-
tivities of a thing proceed, they are called 



W H A T CREATURES ARE 31 

its nature. These t h r e e terms—essence, 
substance, and n a t u r e — a r e synonymous; 
they stand f o r t h e same thing r e g a r d e d 
f r o m different points of view. 

Every being acts. From everything t h a t 
God has made acts proceed as f r o m their 
source. The universal principle of causal-
ity declares t h a t f o r every effect t h e r e must 
be an adequate cause, or, in other words, 
t h a t no effect can be g r e a t e r t h a n its 
cause; since, moreover, the acts of every 
being are effects which flow f r o m t h a t 
being's n a t u r e as f r o m their cause, we 
must conclude t h a t the acts of any being 
are of the same n a t u r e as t h e being f r o m 
which they proceed. F u r t h e r m o r e , every 
being attains its end by its acts, and its 
acts are themselves a cause when consid-
ered in relation to the effect they produce. 
Hence the end of any being must have a 
real proportion to t h e acts of t h a t being, 
and t h e acts of any being must follow the 
n a t u r e of t h a t being itself. To deny this is 
to repudiate in its entirety the principle 
of causality. 

Let me r e p e a t t h a t if we would have a 



32 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

t r u e notion of grace, we must have a clear 
idea of the supernatural, and if we would 
understand t h e supernatural, we must 
firmly grasp the limitations of t h e n a t u r a l 
order. And once again, t h e understanding 
of t h e n a t u r a l order depends on our for-
ever keeping in mind w h a t t h e t e r m crea-
ture means. Now if we consider the lowliest 
atom, the microscopic plant, the invisible 
amoeba, the oak of the forest, t h e 
tiger of the jungle, man himself, the whole 
world of stars, or t h e highest of the angels, 
we shall see t h a t t h e one concept common 
to them all, lying a t t h e very root of t h e i r 
being is t h a t they are created and, there-
fore, finite natures. If we can conceive of 
God creating a being as f a r above t h e 
highest angel as the highest angel is above 
inert matter, t h e same t r u t h comes relent-
lessly back to u s : precisely because this 
magnificent being would be a creature, it 
would resemble all other creatures in be-
ing finite. The creation of an infinite being 
is impossible. 

W h e n we speak of the n a t u r a l existence 
of a creature, we must mean such a mode 



THE NATURAL ORDER 33 

of being as is proper to a finite n a t u r e ; 
when we speak of the n a t u r a l act of a 
creature, we mean an act which flows f r o m 
and has. a causal relation to a finite n a t u r e ; 
when we speak of the n a t u r a l end of a 
creature we mean an end proportionate 
to t h e n a t u r a l mode of being and acting 
of a finite nature. With t h e t r u t h firmly 
established in our minds t h a t the product 
of the omnipotent act of creation must 
ever be a finite n a t u r e and t h a t between 
t h e nature, the act, and the end of a being 
t h e r e must always be a strict proportion, 
let us carry our t h o u g h t a bit f u r t h e r . Be-
cause of God's very perfection He can 
never act without purpose and wisdom and 
justice. W h e n God, t h e r e f o r e , creates a 
being, He always fixes an end f o r t h a t 
being to attain. Since a being attains its 
end by its act, and since its act, as an effect 
f r o m a cause, cannot be g r e a t e r t h a n the 
n a t u r e f r o m which it proceeds, we see 
t h a t t h e n a t u r a l end of every creature must 
be in just proportion to the n a t u r e of every 
creature. If this were not true, and God 
were to establish as t h e n a t u r a l end f o r a 
creature t h a t which was out of proportion 



34 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

to the creature's nature, God would not 
be all-wise. 

When, then, God creates a being and 
sets f o r it an end which it must attain, He 
binds Himself in justice to supply t h a t be-
ing with all t h a t is necessary f o r t h e at-
tainment of its end. Manifestly God would 
not be just if He were to decree t h a t a 
creature attain a certain end and at the 
same time were to deny t h a t creature any-
thing t h a t was indispensable f o r it in order 
to reach its end. W e may r e g a r d , there-
fore, as due in justice to a creature, once 
it is created, whatever it strictly needs to 
attain the end set f o r it by God. Since a 
creature's n a t u r e is necessarily finite and 
its act and end are in conformity with its 
nature, we see the intrinsic limitation of 
t h e n a t u r a l order. Finiteness is its badge 
or t r a d e m a r k . W e may consequently de-
fine t h e n a t u r a l order as t h e sum total of 
all t h a t is necessary f o r the n a t u r a l exist-
ence, t h e n a t u r a l operation, and t h e nat-
ural end of all created beings. 

It would be a monstrous error to con-
clude, as many non-Catholic t h i n k e r s have 



IN HIM W E LIVE 35 

done, t h a t the n a t u r a l order as t h u s con-
ceived is independent of God. So f a r is this 
f r o m being t r u e t h a t the n a t u r a l order 
requires t h e presence and operation of 
God just as imperiously as t h e supernat-
ural order does. Once more, a glance at 
the implications of t h e term creature will 
make this clear. It is of t h e very essence of 
the creature t h a t it has its being f r o m 
another. Hence t h e very existence of t h e 
creature presupposes t h e Creator. Since 
the creature receives its being f r o m an-
other, it has not within itself t h e reason 
or necessity f o r its own existence. It must 
be conserved in existence. Hence t h e con-
tinued existence of the creature requires 
the continuous act of God sustaining t h e 
creature. Moreover, the creature attains 
its end by its act. But since no creature 
is its act but is in potency to its act, and 
since w h a t e v e r is in potency can be re-
duced to act only by some agent extrinsic 
to itself, the activities of all creatures de-
mand t h e presence of God to supply a 
divine assistance to enable t h e m to act. 
Lastly, though each creature has its own 
proper end, yet no creature can be an 



36 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

absolutely ultimate end in itself. Since it is 
of the essence of a creature to have being 
ab alio, it is equally of t h e essence of a 
creature t h a t its absolute and ultimate end 
be ad alium. As God is t h e beginning, so 
God must be the end of all creation. In 
summary we see t h a t the n a t u r a l order is 
t h e total of all t h a t is necessary f o r t h e 
n a t u r a l existence, t h e n a t u r a l operation, 
and the n a t u r a l end of all created beings, 
and secondly, t h a t t h e n a t u r a l order in-
cludes t h e presence and operation of God 
as Creator, Sustainer, Prime Mover, and 
Final End. 

T h e S u p e r n a t u r a l O r d e r 
Once, we clearly perceive w h a t t h e nat-

ural order is, the meaning of the super-
n a t u r a l follows almost as a corollary. J u s t 
as t h e n a t u r a l order embraces all t h a t is 
necessary f o r t h e n a t u r a l existence, opera-
tion, and end of creatures, so t h e super-
n a t u r a l is all t h a t surpasses w h a t is 
necessary f o r the n a t u r a l existence, opera-
tion, and end of creatures. Let us not, 
however, m a k e t h e mistake of confounding 
mere n a t u r a l bountifulness with the super-



THE SUPERNATURAL 37 

natural. The f a c t t h a t God has provided 
man with a g r e a t e r area of living tissue 
and a l a r g e r variety of food t h a n are nec-
essary f o r health, is strictly according to 
n a t u r e and is within t h e n a t u r a l order, f o r 
t h e r e is place f o r divine liberality in t h e 
n a t u r a l as well as in the supernatural or-
der. The supernatural differs f r o m t h e 
n a t u r a l not merely in degree but in kind. 
Since the supernatural embraces t h a t 
which surpasses the n a t u r a l existence, 
operation and end of a creature, it denotes 
t h a t to which a created n a t u r e has no 
right. In a word, t h e supernatural is an 
excellence or perfection of such a kind 
t h a t it can never be due or proper to any 
creature of itself. 

So as not to go astray, we must dis-
tinguish several classes of t h e supernat-
ural. The relatively s u p e r n a t u r a l is a per-
fection which is above t h e n a t u r e of one 
or more divisions of created beings but is 
not above t h e n a t u r e of all created beings. 
F o r example, sentiency is above t h e n a t u r e 
of a plant but it is n a t u r a l to man and 
b r u t e ; immortality is above t h e n a t u r e of 



38 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

man but it is n a t u r a l to an angel. Hence 
sentiency and immortality are only rela-
tively s u p e r n a t u r a l . They are above the 
natures of some but not of all creatures. 
A more proper term f o r t h e relatively 
s u p e r n a t u r a l is t h e p r e t e r n a t u r a l . 

In contrast to the relatively supernatural 
or p r e t e r n a t u r a l we have t h e absolutely 
supernatural, which is above t h e n a t u r e 
not only of some but of all creatures. The 
absolutely supernatural is subdivided into 
two classes: the absolutely s u p e r n a t u r a l as 
to mode and t h e absolutely supernatural 
as to substance. The f o r m e r is an act which 
is n a t u r a l as to the result which it pro-
duces but which is so distinctly supernat-
ural in t h e mode in which it produces its 
result t h a t it can have only God as its 
cause. For example, t h e instant r e t u r n to 
life of a decaying corpse or t h e sudden 
calming by a word of an angry sea are 
cases of the absolutely supernatural as to 
m o d e ; f o r while t h e results p r o d u c e d — a 
living body and a calm s e a — a r e within 
t h e n a t u r a l order, t h e mode by which these 
results are produced is above the powers 



BEATIFIC VISION 39 

of a created nature. Another name f o r the 
absolutely s u p e r n a t u r a l as to mode, if we 
consider it in the concrete, is miracles. 

We come now to the third and last di-
vision of t h e s u p e r n a t u r a l — t h e absolutely 
s u p e r n a t u r a l as to substance. In this kind 
of s u p e r n a t u r a l not only the mode of pro-
duction but also t h e effect produced is 
above the whole n a t u r e and power and 
r a n g e of created beings. This is t h e super-
n a t u r a l in its strictest and most proper 
meaning. It is the supernatural in this 
ultimate and absolute sense t h a t stands in 
highest contrast to t h e n a t u r a l order. Of 
t h e supernatural in this third sense, t h a t 
is, t h e absolutely s u p e r n a t u r a l as to sub-
stance, we have only t h r e e examples. They 
a r e : the hypostatic union of t h e divine na-
t u r e with a h u m a n n a t u r e in Jesus Christ; 
g r a c e ; and the beatific vision. Since, how-
ever, grace and the beatific vision are re-
lated as means and end, neither can be 
studied in complete independence of the 
o t h e r ; and just as it is t h e last book of t h e 
Bible t h a t opens to us a f a c t l e f t unex-
plained in t h e first book, viz., the fall of 



40 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

t h e angels, so it is t h e beatific vision, the 
ultimate purpose and end and raison d'etre 
of grace, t h a t reveals to us t h e n a t u r e and 
a w f u l dignity of grace. But as the beatific 
vision is itself a s u p e r n a t u r a l mode of 
knowing God, in order to grasp its signi-
ficance, we must recall a f e w t r u t h s about 
knowledge and, particularly, about m a n ' s 
n a t u r a l way of knowing God. 

T h e F i r s t A c t o f a S p i r i t 
The end of every being is t h e good, and 

every being attains its end or the good by 
means of its acts. The distinctive acts of 
an intelligent being are the act of knowing 
and t h e act of willing. By the act of know-
ing an intelligent being makes t h e good 
present to i t ; by the act of willing it t a k e s 
hold of t h e good, cleaves to it, and makes 
it its own. Because of this f a c t the act 
of the intellect must always precede t h e 
act of the will. W h a t is not known in 
any m a n n e r whatsoever cannot be loved. 
If you place t h e Bible and a f r e s h bone 
before a dog, he loses no time in choosing 
t h e bone. W h y cannot animals love a r t and 
poetry and d r a m a and science and virtue 



INTELLECTUALISM 41 

and all t h a t makes the civilized m a n ? 
Clearly, because they cannot know these 
things. W h y must all the joys of the mind 
be always shut put in this life f r o m t h e 
experience of the perpetual idiot? Because 
his faculty of knowing is defective, and, 
not being able to know t h e things of the 
mind, he can not love and enjoy them. 

A second vital t r u t h is t h a t f o r an intel-
lectual being knowledge is not only the. 
means but it is also the measure of love 
and joy and happiness. W h e n an object is 
decidedly lovable in itself, t h e measure in 
which different beings know it will be t h e 
measure in which t h e y love it. As between 
the Bible and his nursery book of rhymes 
and pictures, the child will choose t h e lat-
ter. But t h e m a t u r e person who really 
knows the Bible will always cherish it as 
the greatest book in the world. Love of 
itself could not achieve the high spiritual 
life of a St. Theresa. Such love as hers was 
excited by t h e kind of knowledge she re-
ceived. Yes, the measure of knowledge is 
the measure of love. Since knowledge is an 
act or at least t h e result of an act and since 



42 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

the n a t u r e of an act follows t h e n a t u r e of 
the subject of which it is an act, we must 
conclude t h a t t h e knowledge of which any-
being is capable will depend ultimately on 
the n a t u r e of t h a t being. 

T h e D i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n M e d i a t e 
a n d I m m e d i a t e K n o w l e d g e 

Now w h a t has this to do with our prob-
lem? The application is easy and direct. 
The brute having only a sentient nature, 
can know only t h e material and the par-
t i c u l a r ; man, because of t h e spiritual na-
ture of his soul can know t h e immaterial 
and t h e universal. All things t h a t are, 
though not the proper object, are yet t h e 
adequate object of man's knowledge. Con-
sequently, man can know t h e universal 
good and can desire it. Since in God only 
is t h e universal good realized, God must 
be t h e ultimate end of man. If an intel-
lectual being attains its end by its acts of 
knowing and willing, and if knowledge 
is the measure of willing or loving or en-
joying, it follows t h a t the extent to which 
an intellectual creature can attain to God 
as his n a t u r a l end depends in the last an-



INTUITION 43 

alysis on t h e extent to which he can n a t u r -
ally know God. W h a t , then, is man's 
n a t u r a l w a y of knowing God ? To answer 
this let us scan, at least f o r a moment, t h e 
process by which man knows anything. 
W h e n a man is born into this world, his 
mind is a blank, a tablet in which nothing 
is written. N a t u r a l knowledge has its be-
ginning in t h e senses. The noblest of t h e 
senses, the faculty which with least trouble 
gives us t h e greatest and most varied 
knowledge of t h e world about us, is the 
sense of sight. P e r h a p s because of the 
excellence of this sense, t h e terms with 
which we describe its acts have come to 
be applied to every act of knowing, wheth-
er of t h e sensuous or t h e supersensuous 
order. W h e n a man understands a thing 
he is accustomed to say t h a t he sees it. 
This application of the t e r m seeing to an 
intellectual act is not, however, a mere 
metaphor, but is more or less a f t e r the 
m a n n e r of an analogy. J u s t as in t h e sen-
tient order t h e r e is t h e faculty of seeing 
and its proper object, and when t h e fac-
ulty and t h e object come into proper rela-
tion, sight or vision results; so also in t h e 



44 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

supersensuous sphere, in t h e realm of t h e 
spiritual, t h e r e is t h e intellect, which is 
really the faculty of spiritual or intellectual 
sight, and t h e r e is t h e proper object of this 
faculty, and when t h e faculty and the ob-
ject come into p r o p e r relation, the result is 
intellectual sight or vision. And as vision is 
the most noble and highest f o r m of sensu-
ous knowledge, so intuition or intellectual 
vision is t h e noblest and highest f o r m of 
spiritual knowledge. Intuition is superior 
as a way of knowing to either reasoning 
or f a i t h . 

In our present life on e a r t h t h e proper 
object of t h e intellect is t h e essence of ma-
terial things. W h e n f r o m t h e data supplied 
by t h e senses the intellect has abstracted 
the essence of a material thing, t h a t es-
sence is as truly t h e immediate object of 
vision of t h e intellect as t h e material t h i n g 
itself is the immediate object of t h e sense 
of sight. Now if t h e immediate proper ob-
j e c t of t h e intellect in this life is t h e es-
sences of material things, we might be led 
to believe t h a t God, who is wholly spiritual 
and immaterial, cannot be known by us on 



MEDIATE KNOWLEDGE 45 

e a r t h . This conclusion would be inescap-
able if immediate knowledge were the 
only kind of knowledge possible f o r t h e 
h u m a n intellect. But besides immediate 
knowledge our intellect is capable of medi-
ate knowledge. Immediate knowledge re-
sults when the intellect as t h e eye of the 
mind directly sees its o b j e c t ; mediate 
knowledge is acquired when f r o m t h e 
knowledge of things known by direct and 
immediate vision the mind rises to a 
knowledge of things t h a t it does not and 
cannot see. A sense faculty by its very 
n a t u r e can have only immediate knowl-
e d g e ; it is one of the excellences of t h e 
intellect, on the other hand, t h a t it can 
know both mediately and immediately. It 
is because of this double power of t h e 
intellect t h a t we can have n a t u r a l knowl-
edge of God. 

Let us t a k e an example of how f r o m 
immediate knowledge of visible things we 
arrive at mediate knowledge of God. For 
instance, I gaze at a beautiful flower; and 
as I gaze my mind reflects t h a t the flower 
is an effect which must have a cause. Now 



46 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

the cause of the flower must be either an 
effect f r o m another cause or else self-
existent. No m a t t e r how f a r back I push 
the series of effects and causes, I must 
say of any given cause t h a t it, too, began 
to be and owes its existence to another, or 
it is uncaused. My mind sees t h a t an infi-
nite series of causes and effects is a contra-
diction in terms and is forced to conceive 
a self-existent Being W h o is t h e cause of 
the flower and of all other things t h a t 
began to be. An uncaused being must have 
within itself the reason and explanation of 
its own existence. Thus is evolved the no-
tion of necessary, infinite being. By ascrib-
ing to this First Cause in an eminent mode 
all the perfections we see in the world 
about us, and by denying to this Being all 
the imperfections we see in t h e world, we 
come to a t r u e and certain, if limited 
knowledge of the First Cause, who is God. 
W e begin with immediate knowledge of 
sensible created things and by means of 
these we arrive at mediate knowledge of 
God. This is t h e n a t u r a l way of knowing 
God. Though such knowledge is absolutely 
valid and t r u s t w o r t h y and exceedingly 



K N O W I N G BY IMAGES 47 

noble and useful, it is—in view of t h e 
infinite knowableness of God—very, very 
imperfect knowledge of God. 

Theologians teach t h a t our n a t u r a l 
method of knowing God in this life is in 
principle, though of course not in exact 
detail, the n a t u r a l mode by which any 
creature knows G o d ; t h a t is, t h a t t h e 
essence of God unlike a created essence 
can never be naturally the immediate ob-
ject of intellectual vision of created minds. 
The n a t u r a l mode by which all existing 
creatures know God, so the Church teach-
es, is t h r o u g h the medium of finite being. 
The two reasons St. Thomas advances to 
explain why this must be so are f o u n d e d 
on t h e simple t r u t h t h a t t h e creature is 
always finite w h e r e a s God is infinite. The 
first of these reasons runs as follows: 
knowledge can exist only when t h e knowft 
thing is in some m a n n e r in the knowing 
subject. But f o r all creatures the n a t u r a l 
way f o r t h e known t h i n g to be in the know-
ing subject is by means of an image or 
likeness or species. Since God is an infinite 
Being, no image of Him—which would 



48 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

have to be created and t h e r e f o r e finite 
reality—can ever adequately represent 
Him as He is. Hence any vision we should 
have by means of an image of God would 
fall short of vision of God Himself.* You 
may ask why it is t h a t f o r all creatures t h e 
known thing (in n a t u r a l knowledge) must 
be in the knowing subject a f t e r the man-
ner of an image. The answer is not h a r d 
to discover. Since God is the First Cause of 
all things, all things can be said to be in 

* In regard to the question whether in the act of seeing God face to face an image of any kind is formed in the mind of the creature, it may be well to call the attention of students of philosophy to a difference of opinion between St. Thomas and Suar-ez. Accarding to St. Thomas no image is impressed on the human mind or generated within it, i.e., there is neither a species impressa, nor a species expressa. Suarez agrees there is no species impressa; but dis-agrees as to a species expressa. Even in knowing God by intuition the human mind does not have an infinite knowledge of God; the mind of God and the mind of the creature do not coalesce into one; the human mind must act with a finite, personal act, if there is to be human consciousness distinct from di-vine consciousness. This act of knowing God, consid-ered on its subjective side, is a verbum mentale or species expressa. Even God, in the act of seeing his own nature, generates a Verbum or Species Expres-sa. The perfection of the act of knowing is in no way diminished by saying it takes place by means of a species expressa, for this species is nothing else than the spiritual act by which the intellect is aware it is seeing God.—EDITOR. 



FINITE RECEPTIVITY 49 

Him as in their First Cause. In His own 
essence God sees and knows all things. 
This mode of knowledge necessarily be-
longs to God alone, f o r He and He only is 
t h e First Cause of all things. This mode of 
knowing is closed to all creatures. There 
remain then only two ways by which the 
known thing can be in the knowing sub-
j e c t when the subject is a creature, viz., 
by actual physical inherence and by an 
image or species. Since the first of these 
two methods would lead to absurdity (as 
if the ocean could be in the mind of a 
child who looks upon i t ) , the presence of 
t h e known thing in the knowing subject 
must be by way of image or species. 

A second reason proposed by St. Thomas 
to show t h a t no creature can by n a t u r e 
have immediate knowledge of God is 
founded on the principle: quidquid recipitur 
ad modum recipientis recipitur. In plain 
English this means t h a t w h a t e v e r is re-
ceived is received according to the n a t u r e 
of the recipient. W e need not t a k e time to 
show t h a t this principle is itself a resolu-
tion of the principle of causality. Since 



50 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

God by His essence is subsistent, necessary 
being and since all creatures are contin-
gent, in any kind of n a t u r a l immediate 
knowledge God would be received into the 
knowing creature t h r o u g h a contingent 
m o d e ; and God received t h r o u g h a con-
tingent mode is not really God at all. 
Hence St. Thomas concludes no created 
mind naturally has an immediate knowl-
edge of God. 

It is of f a i t h t h a t all the intellectual 
creatures we know of, i.e., men and angels, 
do not have naturally, immediate vision of 
God. The question arises, however, wheth-
er God could create a being so exalted t h a t 
by its n a t u r a l cognitive faculty it would be 
able to know God directly. To this question 
Ripalda and a very f e w others give an 
affirmative answer. Against this opinion 
is arrayed the g r e a t m a j o r i t y of Catholic 
theologians. St. Thomas, indeed, argues 
only t h a t neither men nor angels can have 
immediate knowledge of God, but his ar-
guments are founded on t h e very n a t u r e of 
creatures and are applicable to every con-
ceivable creature. Pohle states t h a t t h e 



DAZZLING SPLENDOR 51 

proposition t h a t no creatable intellect can 
naturally have direct vision of God, enjoys 
the certainty of a theological conclusion. 

C h a s m b e t w e e n N a t u r a l a n d S u p e r n a t u r a l 
Here is where the supernatural bursts 

upon us in all its dazzling splendor. God 
has destined man not to a n a t u r a l but to 
a supernatural end. The immediate object 
of the n a t u r a l intellectual vision of any 
creature must be finite. And yet, in ele-
vating man to a supernatural end, God has 
destined him f o r the beatific vision, i.e., 
immediate intellectual knowledge of the 
divine essence itself. This t r u t h , however 
staggering to our minds, is clearly and 
vividly t a u g h t us by God Himself in His 
revealed word. St. John says, " W e shall be 
like Him, f o r we shall see Him as He is." 1 
St. Paul, contrasting the knowledge we 
have of God in this life with w h a t we 
shall have in t h e next, says, " W e see 
(God) now t h r o u g h a glass, in a dark 
m a n n e r ; but then f a c e to f a c e . " 2 This stu-

1 I St. John III, 2. 2 I Cor. XIII, 12. 



52 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

pendous t r u t h , clearly revealed in Scrip-
ture, has ever been firmly g u a r d e d and up-
held by t h e Church t h r o u g h o u t the ages. 
Yes, not any image or shadow or likeness 
of God, but t h e infinite, eternal, subsistent 
essence of God is the direct and immediate 
object of vision of all men who successfully 
attain t h e i r last end. 

It must be evident to even t h e dullest of 
us t h a t the difference between the knowl-
edge of God t h a t a created intellect ac-
quires by its n a t u r a l mode of knowing Him 
— t h r o u g h the medium of a finite reality— 
and the knowledge of God it acquires by 
immediate vision of His infinite m a j e s t y is 
so vast, so utterly incomprehensible t h a t it 
almost paralyzes the mind to t r y to realize 
it. Moreover, since knowledge is t h e meas-
ure of love, supernatural love of God and 
t h e joy and happiness of possessing Him 
must b e a r a worthy proportion to beatific 
knowledge. St. Paul r e f e r s to the impo-
tence of t h e human mind to appreciate t h e 
excellence of our supernatural end when 
he says: "Eye h a t h not seen, ear h a t h not 
heard, neither h a t h it entered into the 



COMPARISONS 53 

mind of man to conceive w h a t God h a t h 
p r e p a r e d f o r those who love H i m " ?3 How 
shall we compare by any definite ratio 
man's n a t u r a l with his supernatural e n d ? 
Shall we say t h a t t h e n a t u r a l knowledge 
of God of which the most p e r f e c t creature 
is capable when compared to the beatific 
vision of God is as t h e light of a candle 
to t h e overwhelming light of t h e s u n ? 
Shall we say t h a t man's supernatural end 
is ten or a hundred or a thousand or a 
million or a billion times as g r e a t as his 
n a t u r a l end ? Provided we hold f a s t to t h e 
t r u t h t h a t the creature remains always a 
creature, always distinct f r o m God, it 
seems impossible to exaggerate t h e incal-
culable difference between the n a t u r a l and 
t h e supernatural end of man. 

In our almost futile a t t e m p t to picture 
in a f a i n t way t h e vastness of our super-
n a t u r a l end we may find help in another 
illustration. The sun is some ninety million 
miles a w a y f r o m us. Yet astronomers tell 
us t h a t our distance f r o m t h e sun bears t h e 
same ratio to our distance f r o m t h e nearest 

3 I Cor. I I , 9. 



54 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

star as f o u r inches b e a r to a mile. If this 
is our distance f r o m t h e nearest star, how 
shall we count the miles to the f a r t h e s t 
one ? Again, in making its orbit about the 
sun, our earth travels something less t h a n 
six h u n d r e d million miles. To travel this 
distance the e a r t h t a k e s one y e a r ; light 
travels t h e same distance in less t h a n an 
hour. If the speed of light is such t h a t it 
travels this immense distance in less t h a n 
an hour, think of how f a r light travels in 
a year. Yet when we get outside our solar 
system and begin to deal with inter-stellar 
measurements, t h e distances are so tre-
mendously g r e a t e r t h a n anything we have 
experience of t h a t astronomers are forced 
to use as their unit of measurement t h e 
light year, i.e., t h e distance light travels 
in t h r e e h u n d r e d and sixty-five days. And 
as if this were not enough, trustworthy 
astronomers tell us t h a t t h e r e may be stars 
so f a r away f r o m us t h a t , notwithstanding 
t h e age of our planet, t h e light of these 
stars has not yet h a d time to reach us. In 
comparison with such space as this, our 
huge earth shrinks to the size of a little 
grain of sand. Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei. 



FUNCTION OF GRACE 55 

May it not be t h a t one of t h e lessons God 
would teach us with His stars is the lesson 
of the difference between our n a t u r a l and 
our supernatural end? 

T h e F u n c t i o n of G r a c e 
Now w h a t is it t h a t so t r a n s f o r m s and 

elevates human n a t u r e t h a t it attains in-
stead of a n a t u r a l , a supernatural e n d ? 
The answer is, grace. Our Lord Himself 
gives us a rule by which to j u d g e of the 
worth of men and t h i n g s : "By their f r u i t s 
you shall know t h e m . " In other words, we 
can know the excellence of a cause f r o m 
the excellence of its effects. If, then, we 
would perceive t h e n a t u r e and dignity of 
grace, we must see it in relation to t h e 
result it produces. Since grace brings it 
about t h a t t h e direct object of the human 
intellect becomes, in t h e next life, the In-
finite Being, we ought to realize t h a t grace 
must have about it something of the di-
vine and t h e infinite. Grace is t h a t myster-
ious divine power which t a k e s hold of a 
rational creature and elevates it so f a r 
above its own n a t u r e t h a t it acquires a new 
mode of being and a new mode of acting 



56 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

t h a t b e a r an a d e q u a t e proportion to the 
surpassing excellence of its supernatural 
end. Grace is t h e means by which God in 
His infinite wisdom and power bridges in 
a way t h e void between the finite and t h e 
infinite; f o r though a soul in grace still 
remains a finite being, it participates, 
nevertheless, in t h e n a t u r e of infinite being. 

T h e N a t u r e of G r a c e 
With all this as a preparation, let us 

come now to consider grace itself. The 
word grace in its broadest sense means 
simply a favor. In its strict, orthodox, 
Catholic sense, grace is a supernatural g i f t 
bestowed by God on a rational creature 
as t h e means to a supernatural end. There 
are two points of this definition t h a t need 
to be emphasized. First, grace is supernat-
ural ; it is above t h e essence, power, need, 
and end of the whole creation. Second, 
it is a gift—something to which t h e crea-
t u r e can have no right or claim whatsoever. 
It is an absolutely gratuitous bestowal by 
God. The two qualities we should associate 
t h e r e f o r e , with all kinds of grace are su-
pernaturalness and gratuity. 



THE STATE OF GRACE 57 

T h a t there are several kinds of grace is 
a fact, I trust, t h a t all of you know. At 
this point the recollection of a principle 
we have already established will give us a 
cue to two kinds of grace. W e have seen 
t h a t a being attains its end by its acts and 
t h a t t h e acts of a being follow the n a t u r e 
of a being so t h a t between the n a t u r e of a 
being, the acts of a being, and the end of 
a being t h e r e must be a real proportion. 
Hence a creature in its n a t u r a l state by its 
n a t u r a l acts attains a n a t u r a l end. Now in 
elevating t h e end of man to a s u p e r n a t u r a l 
plane, God has w r o u g h t a corresponding 
elevation of t h e n a t u r e and t h e acts of 
man, so t h a t they b e a r a real proportion 
to man's glorious end. T h a t grace which 
elevates the n a t u r e of man is called habit-
ual g r a c e ; t h a t grace which elevates t h e 
acts of man is called actual grace. Let us 
first consider t h e former. 

T h e S t a t e of G r a c e 
From the pronouncements of t h e Coun-

cil of Trent and f r o m t h e common teaching 
of theologians we may define habitual 
grace as a supernatural quality intrinsical-



58 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

ly and permanently inhering in t h e es-
sence of the soul t h r o u g h which we are 
made sharers of the divine nature. An 
analysis of this definition will bring us 
much light. First, habitual grace is a qual-
ity and not a substance, as all qualities 
in creatures are accidents, not substances. 
Since grace is an accident, its whole n a t u r e 
is to be in alio and not in se, i.e. it is in a 
creature as in a subject and does not anni-
hilate the created nature. This reveals a 
very important t r u t h . Grace is not a sub-
stantial reality existing in itself, entirely 
a p a r t f r o m and independent of t h e n a t u r a l 
order. N o ; t h e t r u t h is f a r otherwise. Grace 
posits and presumes beings previously ex-
isting (by a priority at least of order if 
not of time) in the n a t u r a l order in which 
it inheres. The whole purpose of grace is 
to elevate the created nature. Hence t h e 
supernatural and t h e n a t u r a l are not two 
distinct substances united by some loose 
juxtaposition. Rather, t h e n a t u r a l is t h e 
substance or subject in which t h e super-
n a t u r a l or grace as an accident or quality 
inheres. The fact, then, t h a t grace inheres 
in t h e soul a f t e r t h e m a n n e r of a quality 



TRANSFIGURATION 59 

reveals another very important t r u t h . 
Though grace elevates t h e soul f a r above 
its n a t u r a l state and produces a g r e a t 
change in it, t h a t change is not a substan-
tial one. Grace is a supernatural perfection 
which elevates without substantially alter-
ing the n a t u r e in which it inheres. In other 
words, t h e created nature, under the influ-
ence of grace, does not become a portion 
of the eternal substance of God, but re-
mains a distinct substance, existing of its 
own right as a subject of its own acts. 

Secondly, it is the distinguishing m a r k 
of habitual grace t h a t it inheres in t h e 
very essence of t h e soul, w h e r e a s actual 
grace inheres in t h e faculties of the soul. 
Yes, habitual grace inheres in the essence 
of the soul and perfects t h e soul in the 
order of being. Habitual grace t h e r e f o r e 
perfects t h e entity of t h e soul and not its 
operations. Because habitual grace per-
fects t h e entity of the soul and because t h e 
entity of the soul is enduring, it follows 
t h a t it is of t h e n a t u r e of habitual grace to 
abide permanently in t h e soul. Once habit-
ual grace is infused into the soul, its na-



60 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

t u r e is to abide t h e r e forever unless driven 
out by mortal sin. By saying t h a t grace 
intrinsically inheres in the soul, t h e Coun-
cil of Trent makes it clear t h a t habitual 
grace is a reality t h a t transfigures the soul 
interiorly and t h a t it is not some exterior 
thing t h a t is outwardly imputed to the 
soul. 

Finally, the definition is completed by 
the statement of the first and essential ef-
f e c t of grace. The function of habitual 
grace is to make us, in the words of St. 
Peter, " p a r t a k e r s of t h e divine n a t u r e . " 4 
I wonder if we ever stop to realize when 
we h e a r these r a t h e r familiar words just 
w h a t t h e i r tremendous import is. By grace 
we are made p a r t a k e r s of the divine na-
ture. We, mere finite beings, by t h e mys-
terious liberality of God, participate in His 
infinite n a t u r e . According to Catholic t r a -
dition, this participation is not only moral 
but physical, t h a t is, it consists not only 
in a certain imitation of divine perfections, 
but also in a perfection real in itself by 

4 II St. Peter I, 4. 



SHARERS OF DIVINE NATURE 61 

which as to essence and faculties we are 
rendered like unto God Himself. This p a r -
ticipation is f o r m a l and not merely virtual. 
A f o r m a l participation is t h a t by which 
the participated is f o u n d in t h e partici-
p a n t in the same m a n n e r as in t h e origi-
nal, though in a different grade. T h a t 
participation is called virtual by which t h e 
participated t h i n g is f o u n d in t h e partici-
p a n t in a mode diverse f r o m t h a t in which 
it is found in t h e original. Now grace 
makes man radically fit to know God im-
mediately and intuitively as God knows 
Himself, although of course, since the cre-
ature forever remains a creature, not in 
t h e same g r a d e as t h a t in which God 
knows Himself. In order to avoid all dan-
ger of pantheism we must emphasize t h e 
f a c t t h a t this participation is accidental 
and not substantial. The divine n a t u r e is 
not communicated to us substantially as it 
is to the Word in His eternal generation 
f r o m t h e F a t h e r , nor yet personally as it is 
to t h e human n a t u r e of Christ by means 
of t h e hypostatic union; but accidentally, 
in t h e sense t h a t our souls are transfigured 
by divine influence—not, indeed, t h a t t h e y 



62 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

become one substance with God. The soul is 
made deiform or deific somewhat as iron 
heated white hot, though still remaining 
iron, is m a d e like unto fire and has some of 
the properties of fire. Briefly we may say 
t h a t we participate in the divine n a t u r e 
physically and not merely morally, form-
ally and not only virtually, but accidental-
ly and not substantially. The divine n a t u r e 
which is in God substantially and neces-
sarily, is in us accidentally and by His 
f r e e gift. 

Logically following f r o m the t r u t h t h a t 
by grace we are participators in t h e divine 
n a t u r e is another t r u t h of equal g r a n d e u r . 
For t h e reason t h a t we are participators in 
the divine n a t u r e we are able to be called 
and are t h e sons of God. Because the di-
vine n a t u r e is in us gratuitously and acci-
dentally we are t h e adoptive and not t h e 
n a t u r a l sons of God. The Word alone is 
n a t u r a l l y the Son of God because of His 
eternal generation in which the whole sub-
stance of the F a t h e r is communicated to 
Him. By n a t u r e no creature has the rela-
tion of son to his Creator. The essential 



SONS OF GOD 63 

n a t u r a l relation of every creature to God 
is t h a t of servant. Do but recall t h e differ-
ence here on e a r t h between t h e servant 
and t h e son in a household and then try 
to conceive t h e difference between being 
t h e servant and t h e son of t h e Infinite 
King of Kings. It is the p a r t of the one to 
serve at t a b l e ; it is the p a r t of the other 
to sit at t a b l e with t h e f a t h e r and be 
served. 

Though we are only adoptive sons of 
God, this adoption is of a more, excellent 
kind t h a n adoption by an earthly f a t h e r . 
Only he is t h e true son of his f a t h e r who 
receives his n a t u r e f r o m his f a t h e r . W h e n 
a man wishes to adopt a child as his own, 
he fulfills the conditions required by law. 
The result is t h a t in all things t h e adopted 
son is considered as if he were the n a t u r a l 
son of t h e adopting f a t h e r and has all t h e 
rights t h a t the n a t u r a l son would have. 
Yet n a t u r a l son he is not and can never 
be, f o r t h e f a c t remains always t h a t he 
received his life and n a t u r e f r o m a person 
other t h a n his adopting f a t h e r . Between 
such earthly adoption as this and our adop-



64 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

tion by God t h e r e is no t r u e parallel, f o r 
in adopting us God not only gives us the 
dignity and the rights of sons insofar as 
these can be given to a creature, but He 
confers His own divine n a t u r e on us by 
grace in such a way t h a t we enter into a 
union with God incalculably above the 
right and n a t u r a l power of any creature. 

I wonder if we Catholics ever seriously 
a t t e m p t to understand t h e m a j e s t y of a 
soul in grace. Do we not all too often by 
slovenly habits of thought, come to r e g a r d 
t h e state of grace as mere f r e e d o m f r o m 
mortal sin? If we do, t h e vicious flaw in 
this attitude of mind is t h a t we see as a 
mere absence or negation t h a t which is a 
r a p t u r o u s and abounding life. We should 
conceive of t h e state of grace not so much 
as the absence of sin as the presence of a 
divine reality. Nor is it correct, even in a 
negative way, to define the state of grace 
as f r e e d o m f r o m mortal sin. A new-born 
babe, being incapable of a human act, is 
incapable of actual sin. Hence such a child 
is f r e e f r o m mortal sin, but it most cer-
tainly is not in the state of grace until it 



GOD'S MASTERPIECE 65 

has been baptized. Let us learn t h a t the 
t r u e antithesis is not between sin and 
grace, but between n a t u r e and grace. Pic-
t u r e the most p e r f e c t n a t u r a l being you 
can, a being fulfilling to t h e letter the 
n a t u r a l law, tending without any deviation 
to the n a t u r a l end set f o r it by God. Now 
in comparison with such a n a t u r a l creature 
place a soul in g r a c e ; the incomparable 
difference between the two successfully 
challenges any adequate expression in 
human language. 

P e r h a p s an illustration will help a bit. 
The greatest of all creatures is Mary t h e 
Mother of God. She is God's masterpiece, 
the supreme achievement of His grace. 
Recall t h a t she is above the seraphim and 
cherubim; she is nearest the eternal throne; 
she is the Mother of our Creator, the Mir-
ror of Justice, the Seat of Wisdom, the 
Gate of Heaven, t h e Queen of Angels and 
of Saints. Eminent theologians, sane and 
conservative in their opinions, teach us 
t h a t God most probably conferred on Mary 
in the first moment of h e r existence a 
g r e a t e r g r a d e of grace t h a n on all the 



66 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

myriads of the nine choirs of angels, t h a n 
on all t h e apostles and m a r t y r s and con-
fessors and virgins, t h a n on all the other 
members of t h e h u m a n r a c e ; in short, t h a t 
Mary is richer in grace t h a n all other 
creatures combined. Think, if you can, of 
how f a r Mary is above t h e least soul in 
the state of grace. Try to measure t h e 
distance between t h e Mother of God and 
t h e last and least of t h e children of God. 
Clearly this distance is so imposing, so 
nearly immeasurable as to be well-nigh 
beyond t h e grasp of the h u m a n mind. Yet 
the sobering t r u t h remains t h a t the dis-
tance between Mary and t h e least soul in 
grace—immense and awe-inspiring as it 
truly is—is almost nothing when compared 
to t h e distance between t h e least soul in 
grace and t h e highest angel in t h e state 
of nature. To say this, is not to dishonor 
Mary but to honor her most perfectly by 
estimating at its t r u e value t h a t which 
makes h e r w h a t she is, viz., the grace of 
God. The reason this comparison is correct 
is t h a t Mary and t h e least soul in grace 
have one essential t h i n g in common: they 
participate in t h e divine nature. On t h e 



LEAST SOUL IN GRACE 67 

other hand, t h e difference between t h e 
least soul in grace and the highest creature 
in its n a t u r a l state is t h a t t h e l a t t e r lives 
strictly within t h e n a t u r a l boundaries of 
finite being, while the f o r m e r is quick with 
an infinite life. A creature by n a t u r e is 
finite; a creature in grace, though always 
a creature distinct f r o m God, has about it 
something of the infinite. 

W e have seen t h a t it is peculiar to ha-
bitual grace t h a t it inheres in t h e essence 
of t h e soul and perfects t h e soul in being. 
Now every living being acts t h r o u g h its 
faculties. Since in the n a t u r a l order the 
faculties flow f r o m the essence or n a t u r e 
of t h e soul and are the immediate prin-
ciples of its actions, we might expect t h a t 
in the supernatural order t h e r e would be 
something like supernatural faculties flow-
ing f r o m t h e supernatural being of the 
soul. Such is the case. W h e n e v e r habitual 
grace is infused into t h e soul, not only 
does it elevate t h e soul to a s u p e r n a t u r a l 
state of being, but it also endows the soul 
with supernatural habits f r o m which t h e 
soul can elicit supernatural acts, just as in 



68 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

t h e n a t u r a l order it elicits n a t u r a l acts 
f r o m its n a t u r a l habits. These super-
n a t u r a l habits are of two k i n d s : those 
t h a t have God as t h e i r o b j e c t ; those t h a t 
have the morality of our acts as t h e i r ob-
ject. The former, t h r e e in number, are t h e 
theological virtues of f a i t h , hope, and 
and charity. As to t h e latter, since all the 
moral virtues may ultimately be reduced 
to the f o u r cardinal virtues, it is common-
ly believed t h a t with t h e infusion of ha-
bitual grace not only the t h r e e theological 
virtues but also the f o u r cardinal virtues 
of justice, temperance, fortitude, and pru-
dence are also divinely and supernaturally 
infused. These infused virtues, then, the 
theological and t h e moral, are so many 
s u p e r n a t u r a l habits of t h e soul by which 
it is proximately disposed to act. 

A c t u a l G r a c e 
Let us recall a f e w simple truths. A 

being attains its end by its acts. No crea-
t u r e is its acts but is really distinct f r o m 
them, and before they are elicited must 
be in potency to them. A thing in potency 
cannot reduce itself to act but must be 



ACTUAL GRACE 69 

reduced to act by an agent extrinsic to it-
self. Hence in t h e n a t u r a l order, the coop-
eration or assistance of t h a t Being W h o is 
pure act is necessary f o r any creature to 
be able to act. This t r u t h has an analagous 
application in t h e supernatural order. 
Habitual grace infused into t h e essence of 
the soul constitutes the soul a supernatural 
remote principle of supernatural action. 
The infused virtues, which always accom-
pany habitual grace, are so many super-
n a t u r a l powers of a supernatural principle 
(the soul in grace) and are the proximate 
principles of t h e soul's supernatural activ-
ities. But j u s t as in t h e n a t u r a l order so 
also in t h e supernatural, before a power 
can act, it must be reduced to act by a 
concursus of t h a t Being W h o is pure act. 
Since we are dealing, however, with t h e 
supernatural order, the n a t u r a l assistance 
by which God moves all creatures to act 
is not sufficient. W e must have a concursus 
t h a t is proportionate to t h e supernatural 
state of t h e soul; we must have a super-
n a t u r a l assistance. This supernatural con-
cursus of God is actual grace. Actual grace 
differs f r o m habitual grace in several im-



70 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

p o r t a n t points. Both are equally super-
n a t u r a l as wholly undue to any creature. 
Habitual grace, however, resides in the 
essence of the soul and perfects t h e soul 
in being. Actual grace resides in t h e f a c -
ulties of t h e soul and perfects t h e soul in 
act. Habitual grace is by its n a t u r e per-
m a n e n t and persists as an entitative habit. 
Actual grace is transient, and perishes 
with t h e act it helps to perform. 

I should be teaching heresy if I were to 
leave you under the impression t h a t actual 
grace is merely a s u p e r n a t u r a l divine con-
cursus. To say actual grace concurs with 
every s u p e r n a t u r a l act is to understate t h e 
t r u t h . Its action is not only concursive but 
precursive as well. It goes before the act 
of t h e creature and by enlightening the 
mind and strengthening and alluring t h e 
will it first makes t h e act of the creature 
morally possible; and then, by its con-
cursive influence, it makes t h e act of t h e 
creature physically possible. Thus grace is 
said to prevent as well as to concur. If 
now we t a k e a comprehensive glace at t h e 
relation of grace to the soul, we see t h a t 



THE LIGHT OF GLORY 71 

habitual grace inheres in the essence of 
the soul and perfects it in t h e order of 
being by elevating it to a p e r m a n e n t mode 
of existence f a r above its merely n a t u r a l 
s t a t e . Concomitant with the coming of 
habitual grace into the soul is the infusion 
of the t h r e e theological virtues as super-
n a t u r a l habits of the soul. Finally, actual 
grace supplies t h a t which is morally and 
physically necessary f o r a creature in a 
s u p e r n a t u r a l state t h r o u g h its supernat-
ural habits to elicit truly supernatural acts. 

By living worthily this life of grace on 
e a r t h we can merit, when our time of trial 
is over, t h e ravishing joy and p e r f e c t h a p -
piness t h a t come f r o m beholding God as 
He is. Yet even a soul equipped with all 
t h e powers of grace t h a t it has in this life 
is still incapable of t h a t act so f a r above 
t h e n a t u r e of any c r e a t u r e — t h e immediate 
vision of God. It is of f a i t h t h a t when t h e 
time comes f o r the soul to behold the f a c e 
of God, a new habit must be infused into 
t h e intellect, strengthening it and p e r f e c t -
ing it so as to enable it to see an infinite 
o b j e c t . This new habit is called lumen 



72 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

gloriae, the light of glory. It is defined as 
a supernatural habit inhering in t h e intel-
lect, elevating it and strengthening it f o r 
the intuitive vision of God. The F a t h e r s of 
the Church commonly understand verse 
10 of Psalm 8 5 : "In Thy light we shall see 
light," as a reference to the light of glory. 
Moreover, even though, with the aid of t h e 
light of glory, we see God f a c e to f a c e and, 
therefore, know Him in the same p e r f e c t 
m a n n e r in which He knows Himself, we 
cannot know Him in t h e same degree or 
g r a d e as t h a t in which He knows Himself. 
We do not comprehend God; t h a t is, we 
do not understand Him to an absolutely 
p e r f e c t extent. This is where we reach 
the limit beyond which no finite being 
can pass. No creature—not even Mary— 
can comprehend God. The Three Divine 
Persons alone perfectly comprehend t h e 
divine n a t u r e in all its limitless perfection. 

O r i g i n a l S i n 
This discussion of grace would not be 

complete without at least a f e w words 
about t h e historical place of grace in our 
Catholic religion. It is of f a i t h t h a t all 



THE SIN OF A D A M 73 

the members of the human race are de-
scendants of Adam, t h e common f a t h e r of 
us all; It is also of f a i t h t h a t before Adam 
sinned, he had been elevated to a super-
n a t u r a l state. W h e t h e r Adam was first 
created in a n a t u r a l state and t h e n l a t e r 
elevated to t h e state of grace or w h e t h e r 
t h e acts of creation and elevation were 
simultaneous so t h a t Adam did not exist 
until he existed as a being in grace is a 
disputed question. Since the time of St. 
Thomas, however, the l a t t e r opinion, viz., 
t h a t A d a m was elevated as soon as he was 
created, has been t h e common teaching 
of theologians. W h e n we say Adam was 
the f a t h e r of us all, we must get clearly 
in mind t h a t he was not merely t h e first 
of our race in time, but was also by the 
plan of God the head of the race as well. 
Somewhat as all the members of a modern 
business corporation are to a certain ex-
t e n t answerable and responsible f o r t h e 
official acts of the head of t h e corporation, 
so similarly but to a much g r e a t e r extent 
we as members of the race of which A d a m 
is head and f a t h e r feel f o r better or f o r 
worse, f o r weal or woe, t h e consequences 



74 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

of his acts. Unfortunately, it is the woe we 
feel. Remember t h a t when A d a m was 
elevated to t h e state of grace, it was not 
he merely personally and individually t h a t 
was so elevated—the whole human race 
in the person of its head was elevated to 
t h e supernatural state and destined to a 
supernatural end. Likewise, when God 
made a test of A d a m ' s obedience and fidel-
ity, it was not merely A d a m personally, 
but the entire race in t h e person of its 
head t h a t was on trial. Furthermore, when 
Adam fell, it was t h e whole of t h e human 
race t h a t fell in him, its head, and t h e 
consequence of A d a m ' s sin has been passed 
on to all his children. 

Now w h a t was t h e consequence of 
A d a m ' s sin? It was t h a t he lost f o r him-
self and all his children the heritage of 
s u p e r n a t u r a l life. The sin of Adam, which 
was personal in him, became original sin 
in his descendants. If A d a m had remained 
f a i t h f u l to God, his children would have 
been born in t h e state of grace, though of 
course each one could have lost grace by 
personal sin in his own life. Do we see now 



LAW OF SOLIDARITY 75 

w h a t h a p p e n e d as the result of the sin of 
our first p a r e n t s ? In A d a m ' s fall f r o m 
grace the whole human race fell f r o m 
grace. Though we still remained by t h e 
unchanged decree of God directed and 
ordered to a supernatural end, we h a d 
lost t h r o u g h t h e crime of our head the 
only means in the providence of God t h a t 
could lead us to a supernatural end—the 
state of grace. Consequently, when each 
human being comes into the world, he is 
born, not in the state of grace, but in the 
state of nature, devoid of grace. Now this 
absence of grace in every soul as it comes 
into the world is not a negation but a 
privation ; it is the absence of perfection 
where perfection strictly ought to be ; it 
is evil ; and since it is in t h e moral order, 
it is moral evil ; it is sin. In this lies t h e 
essence of original sin; it is the lack of 
t h e wedding g a r m e n t of grace t h a t should 
adorn our soul and would adorn it were it 
not f o r the sin of Adam, our head. This, 
as you see, was t h e plight of t h e h u m a n 
race, destined to a s u p e r n a t u r a l end, held 
accountable f o r reaching t h a t end, yet 
hopelessly unable to do so because in 



76 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

A d a m ' s fall it had lost g r a c e — t h e means 
to t h e end. 

J e s u s C h r i s t , t h e N e w A d a m 
God, if he had so willed, could have par-

doned outright the sin of Adam and could 
have resored t h e human race to t h e super-
n a t u r a l state f r o m which it had fallen. 
Infinite wisdom, however, chose to do oth-
erwise. In an unsearchable mystery of 
of justice and love God decreed t h a t His 
only begotten Son, His E t e r n a l Word, 
should enter into personal union with 
human nature, should be born of a virgin, 
should live a human life, and should die 
the terrible death of t h e Cross to r e p a i r 
t h e consequences of A d a m ' s sin. The Gos-
pels are t h e account of t h e minute fidelity 
with which the Incarnate Son carried out 
t h e decree of His F a t h e r . They are t h e 
story of how t h a t which was lost by Adam 
was regained by Jesus Christ. But though 
Christ our Savior restored to us t h e super-
n a t u r a l heritage which Adam had de-
stroyed, He did so according to his own 
plan. W e have seen t h a t as a result of 
A d a m ' s sin all men are born deprived of 



THE NEW A D A M 77 

grace. This condition Christ allowed to 
remain. Though the race fell as a whole 
and though Christ redeemed the race as a 
whole, yet He willed t h a t the Redemption 
should be communicated and made effec-
tive to each member of the race individu-
ally. To do this—to provide t h a t the whole 
a g g r e g a t e of grace t h a t He had merited 
might be conveyed to each individual 
member of t h e race—Christ instituted the 
Sacraments, which, in the words of t h e 
Council of Trent, are so many channels 
t h r o u g h which grace flows into t h e soul. 

Each Sacrament has its own proper 
function. Baptism is the Sacrament of re-
generation, in which having been born 
once to nature, we are born a second time 
to grace. In this Sacrament the whole di-
vine life of grace is planted in our soul. 
By Confirmation supernatural life is ele-
vated to maturity ; w h e r e a s we were chil-
dren, we become men and soldiers. The 
Holy Eucharist is t h e divine food which 
nourishes and sustains supernatural life 
somewhat as material food sustains t h e 
body. Extreme Unction is the Sacrament 



78 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

which fits t h e Christian f o r bon voyage in 
his going f r o m this world to t h e next. 
Marriage and Orders are the social Sac-
raments. The f o r m e r is God's way of secur-
ing in a holy and noble m a n n e r t h e con-
tinuance of the life of the h u m a n race on 
earth. By means of the l a t t e r God perpetu-
ates the very life of t h e Church by provid-
ing an undying priesthood to rule, to teach, 
and to sanctify t h e f a i t h f u l . 

There is one other Sacrament, t h a t of 
Penance, which is conspicuously t h e Sac-
r a m e n t of mercy. W e have seen t h a t in 
Baptism an entirely new principle of life 
is infused into the soul whereby it is ele-
vated to a s u p e r n a t u r a l state of being and 
acting f a r above its n a t u r a l state. Once 
this glorious new life of grace has been 
given to us, is it possible to lose it a g a i n ? 
Alas, in His agony in the g a r d e n Christ 
saw all too clearly w h a t was to h a p p e n . 
One single mortal sin kills t h e supernatural 
life of t h e soul just as surely as t h e guillo-
tine kills t h e life of t h e body. It is no so-
called pious exaggeration but, solemn, 
d r e a d f u l t r u t h t h a t a soul in mortal sin is 



DEATH AND LIFE 79 

a dead soul—living and functioning, it is 
t r u e , in its n a t u r a l life, but dead to t h e 
s u p e r n a t u r a l life of grace. A soul in mortal 
sin is in a much worse state t h a n a soul 
merely in original sin; f o r while a soul in 
original sin lacks proportion f o r its super-
n a t u r a l end, it does not deserve, and, there-
fore, God in His justice could not, accord-
ing to t h e common opinion, inflict positive 
pain and t o r t u r e upon it merely because of 
original sin. The case against the soul in 
mortal sin is much different. Not by t h e 
sin of origin f r o m a fallen race, but by its 
own deliberate, perfectly-willed act of 
malice t h e soul in mortal sin has spurned 
and t h r o w n away its supernatural life and 
has merited and deserved everlasting pun-
ishment in hell. Yet even for this extreme 
of h a t r e d and rebellion Jesus Christ has 
provided a remedy. The Sacrament of 
Penance is a second plank a f t e r shipwreck, 
as it was called by the early Christians. 
This Sacrament is the ordinary means of 
regaining the state of grace f o r those who 
have lost it a f t e r Baptism. 



80 OUR LIFE OF GRACE 

T h e M y s t e r y o f D i v i n e L o v e 
This, then, is at least a glimpse at the 

dogma of grace as t a u g h t in t h e Catholic 
Church. As we ponder this amazing t r u t h , 
the question n a t u r a l l y arises in our h e a r t : 
Why has God done t h u s ? W h y has He not 
l e f t us in the p e a s a n t hovel of our natural' 
life instead of lifting us up to live as His 
own children in the mansions of His in-
finite glory? W h y has He so ennobled us 
t h a t instead of addressing us as servants 
He calls us f r i e n d s and gods? To answer 
this is to a t t e m p t to explain t h e mystery of 
Infinite Love.