Grace, Actual and Habitual Part 19

b) In trying to explain in what manner grace enables us to partake of the divine nature, it is well to keep in view the absolutely supernatural character of sanctifying grace and the impossibility of any deification of the creature in the strict sense of the term. The truth lies between these two extremes.

A few medieval mystics(1030) and modern Quietists(1031) were guilty of exaggeration when they taught that grace transforms the human soul into the substance of the G.o.dhead, thus completely merging the creature in its Creator. This contention(1032) leads to Pantheism. How can the soul be merged in the Creator, since it continues to be subject to concupiscence?

"We have therefore," says St. Augustine, "even now begun to be like Him, as we have the first-fruits of the Spirit; but yet even now we are unlike Him, by reason of the old nature which leaves its remains in us. In as far, then, as we are like Him, in so far are we, by the regenerating Spirit, sons of G.o.d; but in as far as we are unlike Him, in so far are we the children of the flesh and of this world."(1033)

On the other hand it would be underestimating the power of grace to say that it effects a merely external and moral partic.i.p.ation of the soul in the divine nature, similar to that by which those who embraced the faith of Abraham were called "children of Abraham," and those who commit heinous crimes are called "sons of the devil." According to the Fathers(1034) and theologians, to "partake of the divine nature" means to become internally and physically like G.o.d and to receive from Him truly divine gifts, _i.e._ such as are proper to G.o.d alone and absolutely transcend the order of nature.(1035) Being self-existing, absolutely independent, and infinite, G.o.d cannot, of course, be regarded as the formal cause of created sanct.i.ty; yet the strictly supernatural gifts which He confers on His creatures, especially the beatific vision and sanctifying grace, can be conceived only _per modum causae formalis_ (not _informantis_), because through them G.o.d gives Himself to the creature in such an intimate way that the creature is raised up to and transfigured by Him.(1036) Consequently, the so-called _deificatio_ of the soul by grace is not a real deification, but an a.s.similation of the creature to G.o.d.(1037)

c) Which one of G.o.d's numerous attributes forms the basis of the supernatural communication made to the soul in the bestowal of grace, is a question on which theologians differ widely. The so-called incommunicable attributes, (self-existence, immensity, eternity, etc.), of course, cannot be imparted to the creature except by way of a hypostatic union.(1038)

Gonet(1039) misses the point at issue, therefore, when He declares the essential characteristic of deification to be the communication to the creature of the divine attributes of self-existence and infinity.

Self-existence is absolutely incommunicable.(1040) Somewhat more plausible, though hardly acceptable, is Ripalda's opinion that deification formally consists in the partic.i.p.ation of the creature in the holiness of the Creator, particularly in the supernatural vital communion of the soul with G.o.d in faith, hope, and charity, thus making sanctifying grace the _radix totius honestatis moralis_.(1041) While it is perfectly true that the supernatural life of the soul is a life in and through G.o.d, and that the very concept of sanctifying grace involves a peculiar and special relation of the soul to G.o.d, the Biblical term ???????a ?e?a? f?se??

points to a still deeper principle of the sanctifying _vita deiformis_.

This principle, as some of the Fathers intimate, and St. Thomas expressly teaches,(1042) is the absolute intellectuality of G.o.d. Hence the object of sanctifying grace is to impart to the soul in a supernatural manner such a degree of intellectuality as is necessary to perceive the absolute Spirit-here on earth in the obscurity of faith, and in the life beyond by the _lumen gloriae_.(1043) This view is to a certain extent confirmed by Sacred Scripture, which describes the regeneration of the sinner as a birth of spirit from spirit.(1044) It is also held by some of the Fathers, who attribute to sanctifying grace both a deifying and a spiritualizing power. Thus St. Basil(1045) says: "The spirit-bearing souls, illuminated by the Holy Ghost, themselves become spiritual(1046) and radiate grace to others. Hence ... to become like unto G.o.d,(1047) is the highest of all goals: to become G.o.d."(1048) Finally, since the Holy Ghost, as the highest exponent of the spirituality of the divine nature, by His personal indwelling crowns and consummates both the regeneration of the soul and its a.s.similation to G.o.d, there is a strong theological probability in favor of Suarez's view. Of course the process does not attain its climax until the creature is finally admitted to the beatific vision in Heaven.

Cfr. 1 John III, 2: "We are now the sons of G.o.d, and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is."(1049)

Article 2. The Effects Of Sanctifying Grace

We shall better understand the nature of sanctifying grace by studying what are known as its "formal effects." As the _causa efficiens_ of a thing is commonly farther removed from our mental grasp than its effects, we are ordinarily more familiar with the latter than with the former. For this reason the glories of divine grace can be best explained to children and to the faithful in general by describing the effects it produces in the soul.(1050)

1. SANCt.i.tY.-The first among the formal effects of sanctifying grace (an effect connoted by its very name) is sanct.i.ty. Eph. IV, 24: "Put on the new man, who according to G.o.d is created in justice and holiness of truth."(1051) The Tridentine Council explicitly mentions sanct.i.ty as an effect of sanctifying grace: "Justification ... is not remission of sins merely, but also the sanctification and renewal of the inward man through the voluntary reception of the grace and of the gifts whereby man from unjust becomes just."(1052) It follows that the two elements of active justification, _viz._: remission of sin and sanctification, are also const.i.tutive elements of habitual or sanctifying grace. For it is precisely by the infusion of sanctifying grace that sin is wiped out and sanct.i.ty established in its place.(1053)

a) By sanctifying grace the justified man becomes a living member (_membrum vivum_) of the mystical body of Christ. His sins, it is true, did not forfeit membership in the Church, so long as he preserved the faith, but by sinning he became a dead member who can regain life only by returning to the state of grace. Grace is the life of the soul, sin its death. Hence the evil of mortal sin can be most effectively ill.u.s.trated by contrast with the glory of divine grace, and _vice versa_. Cfr. Gal. II, 20: "And I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me."(1054)

b) He who hates mortal sin and faithfully obeys the will of G.o.d, enjoys peace of heart,(1055) whereas the sinner is incessantly hara.s.sed by qualms of conscience. The faithful Christian rejoices in serving His Master and combats the flesh, the world, and the devil with a fort.i.tude that not infrequently rises to heroic proportions, as the example of many holy men and women proves.

c) Sanctifying grace entails a particular providence, inasmuch as, by means of it, G.o.d grants man His special a.s.sistance towards preserving the state of grace, without, of course, interfering with free-will. Cfr. Is.

XLIX, 16: "Behold, I have graven thee in my hands."(1056) Rom. VIII, 28: "... to them that love G.o.d, all things work together unto good."(1057) Mediately, G.o.d also proves his special love for the just man by shielding him from bodily and spiritual danger.

2. SUPERNATURAL BEAUTY.-Though we can quote no formal ecclesiastical definition to prove that sanctifying grace beautifies the soul, the fact is sufficiently certain from Revelation. If, as is quite generally held by Catholic exegetes, the Spouse of the Canticle typifies the human soul endowed with sanctifying grace, all the pa.s.sages describing the beauty of that Spouse must be applicable to the souls of those whom Christ embraces with His tender love. The Fathers of the Church frequently extol the supernatural beauty of the soul in the state of grace. Ambrose calls it "a splendid painting made by G.o.d Himself;" Chrysostom compares it to "a statue of gold;" Cyril, to "a divine seal;" Basil, to "a shining light,"

and so forth. St. Thomas says: "Divine grace beautifies [the soul] like light,"(1058) and the Roman Catechism declares: "Grace ... is a certain splendor and light that effaces all the stains of our souls and renders the souls themselves brighter and more beautiful."(1059)

In defining beauty as "the representation of an idea in a sensual form,"

modern aesthetics has eliminated the spiritual element and in consequence is unable to appreciate the spiritual beauty of G.o.d and of the soul. Being composed of body and soul, man is naturally most impressed by beauty when it appears in a material guise. But this does not prove that there is no spiritual beauty, or that true beauty abides solely in matter. Some present-day writers strongly emphasize the need of realism as against an idealism which, they claim, is not truly human because it exalts the spiritual at the expense of the material. In its last conclusions this perverted realism harks back to the sophistry of Protagoras who held that "man is the measure of all things."(1060) Idealism, on the other hand, is based on the true Platonic doctrine that G.o.d is the measure of all things.(1061) St. Augustine defines beauty as "unity in variety," which is a correct definition, because it is adaptable to both the spiritual and the material order.(1062) Applying this definition we find that the soul is not only naturally beautiful by the substantial unity and simplicity which shines forth in the variety of its faculties and powers, but also supernaturally by virtue of sanctifying grace, which transfuses nature into a new unity with the supernatural,-at the same time producing a variety of theological and moral virtues and the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, and thus creating a true work of art. Moreover, by enabling man to partic.i.p.ate in the Divine Nature,(1063) grace produces in the soul a physical reflection of the uncreated beauty of G.o.d, a likeness of the creature with its Creator, which far transcends the natural likeness imprinted by creation. True, only G.o.d and the Elect in Heaven perceive and enjoy this celestial beauty; but we terrestrial pilgrims can, as it were, sense it from afar and indulge the hope that we may one day be privileged to contemplate and enjoy the divine beauty that envelops the souls endowed with grace.

The beauty produced by sanctifying grace must be conceived not merely as a reflection of the absolute nature of G.o.d, who is the pattern-exemplar of all beauty, but more specifically as an image of the Trinity impressed upon the soul. St. Paul teaches that the soul is transformed into an image of the Divine Logos, to whom, as the holy Fathers tell us, beauty is appropriated in an especial manner.(1064) Cfr. Rom. VIII, 29: "Whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son."(1065) Gal. IV, 19: "My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you."(1066) In virtue of the adoptive sonship effected by grace,(1067) the soul becomes a true "temple of the Holy Ghost."(1068)

3. THE FRIENDSHIP OF G.o.d.-Closely connected with the beauty which sanctifying grace confers, is the supernatural friendship it establishes between G.o.d and the soul. True beauty elicits love and benevolence. By nature man is merely a servant of G.o.d; in fact, since the fall, he is His enemy. Sanctifying grace transforms this hostile relation into genuine friendship. By grace, says the Council of Trent, "man of unjust becomes just, and of an enemy a friend."(1069) And again: "Having been thus justified and made the friends and domestics of G.o.d."(1070) G.o.d loves the just man as His intimate friend and enables and impels him, by means of habitual grace and habitual charity, to reciprocate that love with all his heart. Here we have the two const.i.tuent elements of friendship. The Bible frequently speaks of friendship existing between G.o.d and the just. Cfr.

Wisd. VII, 14: "They [the just] become the friends of G.o.d."(1071) John XV, 14 sq.: "I will not now call you servants, ... but I have called you friends."(1072) This friendship is sometimes compared to a mystic marriage. Cfr. Matth. IX, 15: "And Jesus said to them: Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them?"(1073) Apoc.

XIX, 7: "The marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath prepared herself."(1074)

a) Friendship (f???a), according to Aristotle,(1075) is "the conscious love of benevolence of two persons for each other." Hence, to const.i.tute friendship, there must be (1) two or more distinct persons; (2) pure love of benevolence _(amor benevolentiae_, not _concupiscentiae_), because only unselfish love can truly unite hearts; (3) mutual consciousness of affection, because without a consciousness of the existing relation on both sides there would be merely one-sided benevolence, not friendship. It follows that true friendship is based on virtue and that a relation not based on virtue can be called friendship in a qualified or metaphorical sense only (_amicitia utilis, delectabilis_).

From what we have said it is easy to deduce the essential characteristics of true friendship. They are: (1) benevolence; (2) love consciously entertained by both parties; (3) a mutual exchange of goods or community of life; (4) equality of rank or station. The first condition is based on the fact that a true friend will not seek his own interest, but that of his friend. It is to be noted, however, that one's joy at the presence or prosperity of a friend must not be inspired by selfishness or sensual desire, for in that case there would be no true friendship.(1076) The second condition is based on the necessity of friendship being mutual love, for friendship is not a one-sided affection, nor does it spend itself in mutual admiration. The third condition is necessary for the reason that love, if it is to be more than "Platonic," must result in acts of benevolence and good will.(1077) Of the fourth condition St. Jerome says: "Friendship finds men equal or makes them equal."(1078)

b) All these conditions are found in the friendship with which Almighty G.o.d deigns to honor those who are in the state of sanctifying grace.

(1) That G.o.d loves the just man with a love of pure benevolence and eagerly seeks his companionship, is proved by the mysteries of the Incarnation and the Holy Eucharist. Cfr. Prov. VIII, 31: "And my delight [is] to be with the children of men."(1079)

(2) The just man is enabled to return G.o.d's love by the habit of theological charity, which is inseparably bound up with and spontaneously flows from sanctifying grace.(1080) G.o.d's consciousness of this mutual love is, of course, based on certain knowledge, whereas man can have merely a probable conjecture. This, however, suffices to establish a true friendship, as the example of human friends shows.(1081)

(3) There is also community of life and property between G.o.d and man when the latter is in the state of sanctifying grace; for not only is he indebted to G.o.d for his very nature and all natural favors which he enjoys, but likewise and especially for the supernatural blessings bestowed upon him.(1082) On his own part, it is true, he cannot give his Benefactor anything in return which that Benefactor does not already possess; but the just man is ever eager to further G.o.d's external glorification, agreeable to the first pet.i.tion of the Our Father: "Hallowed by Thy name."(1083) G.o.d has furthermore given him a kind of subst.i.tute for operative charity in the love of his neighbor, which has precisely the same formal object as the love of G.o.d. Cfr. 1 John III, 17: "He that hath the substance of this world, and shall see his brother in need, and shall shut up his bowels from him: how doth the charity of G.o.d abide in him?"(1084)

(4) There can be no real equality between G.o.d and the human soul, but G.o.d in His infinite goodness, elevating the soul to a higher plane and allowing it to partic.i.p.ate in His own nature,(1085) makes possible an _amicitia excellentiae s. eminentiae_, which is sufficient to const.i.tute a true relation of friendship. Without this elevation of the soul by grace there could be no friendship between G.o.d and man.(1086)

4. ADOPTIVE SONSHIP.-The formal effects of sanctifying grace culminate in the elevation of man to the rank of an adopted child of G.o.d (_filius Dei adoptivus_), with a claim to the paternal inheritance, _i.e._ the beatific vision in Heaven. This truth is so clearly stated in Scripture and Tradition that its denial would be heretical. The Tridentine Council summarily describes justification as "the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of G.o.d,"(1087) The teaching of Holy Scripture can be gathered from such texts as the following. Rom. VIII, 15 sqq.: "... You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father). For the spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of G.o.d. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of G.o.d, and joint heirs with Christ."(1088) 1 John III, 1 sq.: "Behold what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of G.o.d.... Dearly beloved, we are now the sons of G.o.d."(1089) Gal. IV, 5: "... that we might receive the adoption of sons."(1090) That the just become the adopted sons of G.o.d follows likewise as a corollary from the doctrine of regeneration so frequently taught by Scripture. This regeneration is not a procession of the soul from the divine essence, but a kind of accidental and a.n.a.logical procreation substantially identical with adoption (_filiatio adoptiva_, ????es?a).

Cfr. John I, 12 sq.: "... He gave them power to be made the sons of G.o.d, ... who are born ... of G.o.d."(1091)

a) St. Thomas defines adoption as "the gratuitous acceptance of a child of other parents to be the same as one's own child and heir."(1092) Adoption implies (1) that the adopted child be a stranger to the adopting father; (2) that it have no legal claim to adoption; (3) that it give its consent to being adopted; (4) that it be received by the adopting father with parental love and affection. All these elements are present, in a far higher and more perfect form, in the adoption of a soul by G.o.d.

(1) The rational creature, as such, is not a "son" but merely a "servant of G.o.d,"(1093) and, if he be in the state of mortal sin, His enemy.

(2) That adoption is a gratuitous favor on the part of the Almighty, follows from the fact that the adopted creature is His enemy and that grace is a free supernatural gift, to which no creature has a natural claim. Adoption furthermore implies the right of inheritance.(1094) The heritage of the children of G.o.d is a purely spiritual possession which can be enjoyed simultaneously by many, and consequently excels every natural heritage. Men, as a rule, do not distribute their property during life, while, after their death, it is usually divided up among several heirs.(1095)

(3) Whereas adoption among men owes its existence to the desire of offspring on the part of childless parents, the adoption of the soul by G.o.d springs from pure benevolence and unselfish love, and for this reason presupposes (in the case of adults) the free consent of the adopted. No one can become an adopted son of G.o.d against his will.(1096)

(4) Whereas human adoption supposes substantial equality between father and child, and therefore at best amounts to no more than a legal acceptance, adoption by G.o.d elevates the soul to a higher level by allowing it to partic.i.p.ate in the Divine Nature, and consequently is a true (even though merely an accidental and a.n.a.logical) regeneration in G.o.d.

b) From what we have said it follows-and this is a truth of considerable speculative importance-that there are essential points of difference as well as of resemblance between Jesus Christ, the true Son of G.o.d, and the justified sinner adopted by the Heavenly Father.

a) The difference between the "natural Son of G.o.d" and an "adopted son" is exactly like that between G.o.d and creature. The Logos-Son, engendered by eternal generation from the divine substance, is the true natural Son of the Father, the Second Person of the Divine Trinity, and Himself G.o.d.(1097) The just man, on the other hand, is a child of G.o.d merely by the possession of sanctifying grace,(1098) which can be lost by mortal sin and consequently is founded upon a free relation that may be terminated by man as freely as it was entered into between himself and G.o.d.

Intimately related to this distinction is another:-Christ is the Son of the Father alone, the just man is an adopted child of the whole Trinity.(1099) This fact does not, however, prevent us from "appropriating" adoptive sonship to each of the three Divine Persons according to His peculiar hypostatic character:-the Father as its author, the Son as its pattern, and the Holy Ghost as its conveyor.(1100) Now, if Christ, as the true Son of G.o.d, is the efficient cause (_causa efficiens_) of that adoptive sonship of which, as G.o.d, He is also the pattern-exemplar (_causa exemplaris_), it follows that He cannot be an adopted son of G.o.d.

"_Christus est incapax adoptionis_," as Suarez puts it.(1101) To say that He is both the natural and an adopted Son of G.o.d would be heretical.(1102) Consequently, sanctifying grace, in Him, did not exercise one of the functions it invariably exercises in the souls of men, _i.e._ it did not make Him an adopted son of G.o.d.

) It is to be noted, however, that the unique position enjoyed by our Lord gives rise, not only to essential distinctions but also to an equal number of a.n.a.logies between the Only-begotten Son of G.o.d and His adopted sons. The first and most fundamental of these a.n.a.logies is the attribution of the common appellation "son of G.o.d" both to Christ and to the just.

Though Christ is the only true Son of G.o.d, the Heavenly Father has nevertheless charitably "bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be, the sons of G.o.d."(1103) According to John I, 13, Christ "gave power to be made the sons of G.o.d" to them "who are born ... of G.o.d." Hence divine sonship formally consists in an impression of the hypostatic likeness of the Only-begotten Son of G.o.d, by which the soul in a mysterious manner becomes an image of the Trinity, and especially of the Only-begotten Son of G.o.d, who is the archetype and pattern-exemplar of adoptive sonship. This hypostatic propriety and exemplariness was the reason why the Second Person of the Trinity became man.(1104) That the soul of the justified is transformed into "an image of the Son of G.o.d" is expressly taught by the Greek Fathers. Thus St. Cyril of Alexandria says: "Christ is truly formed in us, inasmuch as the Holy Ghost impresses on us a certain divine likeness by means of sanct.i.ty and justice.... But if any one is formed in Christ, he is formed into a child of G.o.d."(1105)

These considerations also explain the points of resemblance between the adoptive sonship of G.o.d and the Holy Eucharist. Being our Father by adoption, G.o.d is bound to provide us with food worthy of a divine progenitor. The food He gives us (the Holy Eucharist) corresponds to our dignity as His children, sustains us in this sublime relation, and at the same time const.i.tutes the pledge of a glorious resurrection and an eternal beat.i.tude.

c) Is the adoptive sonship of the children of G.o.d const.i.tuted entirely by sanctifying grace, or does it require for its full development the personal indwelling in the soul of the Holy Ghost?(1106) This subtle question formed the subject of an interesting controversy between Joseph Scheeben and Theodore Granderath, S. J. Father Granderath claimed on the authority of the Tridentine Council that divine sonship is an inseparable function of sanctifying grace, and through that grace alone, without the _inhabitatio Spiritus Sancti_, const.i.tutes the _unica causa formalis_ of justification. Against this theory Dr. Scheeben maintained with great ac.u.men and, we think, successfully, that sanctifying grace of itself alone, without the aid of any other factor, not only completely justifies the sinner but raises him to the rank of an adopted son of G.o.d, though there is nothing to prevent us from holding that the indwelling of the Holy Ghost forms the climax of the process, and develops and perfects the already existing _filiatio adoptiva_.(1107)

Petavius had contended(1108) that the just men of the Old Testament, though in the state of sanctifying grace, were not adopted children of G.o.d, because the _filiatio adoptiva_ is an exclusive privilege of those living under the Christian Dispensation. This theory became untenable when the Tridentine Council defined sanct.i.ty and adoptive sonship as inseparable formal effects of sanctifying grace. There can no longer be any doubt, therefore, that the patriarchs, together with sanctifying grace also enjoyed the privilege of adoptive sonship, though, as Suarez observes,(1109) adoptive sonship under the Old Covenant depended both as to origin and value upon the adoptive sonship of the New Testament, and therefore was inferior to it in both respects.(1110)

READINGS:-Scheeben, _Lehrbuch der Dogmatik_, Vol. II, -- 168 sqq., Freiburg 1878.-J. Kirschkamp, _Gnade und Glorie in ihrem inneren Zusammenhang_, Wurzburg 1878.-P. Hagg, _Die Reichtumer der gottlichen Gnade und die Schwere ihres Verl.u.s.tes_, Ratisbon 1889.-Card. Katschthaler, _De Gratia Sanctificante_, 3rd ed., Salzburg 1886.-P. Einig, _De Gratia Divina_, Part II, Treves 1896.-Heinrich-Gutberlet, _Dogmatische Theologie_, Vol. VIII, pp.

575 sqq., Mainz 1897.-Scheeben, _Die Herrlichkeiten der gottlichen Gnade_, 8th ed., by A. M. Weiss, O. P., Freiburg 1908 (English translation, _The Glories of Divine Grace_, 3rd ed., New York _s.

a._).-Th. Bourges, O. P., _L'Ordre Surnaturel et le Devoir Chretien_, Paris 1901.-*B. Terrien, _La Grace et la Gloire ou la Filiation Adoptive des Enfants de Dieu Etudiee dans sa Realite, ses Principes, son Perfectionnement et son Couronnement Final_, 2 vols., Paris 1897.-*P. Villada, _De Effectibus Formalibus Gratiae Habitualis_, Valladolid 1899.-L. Hubert, _De Gratia Sanctificante_, Paris 1902.

Article 3. The Supernatural Concomitants Of Sanctifying Grace

Besides producing the effects described in the preceding Article, sanctifying grace also confers certain supernatural privileges, which, though not of the essence of grace, are, in the present economy at least, inseparably connected with it and may therefore be regarded as its regular concomitants.

The existence of these privileges is established by the fact that certain councils (_e.g._ those of Vienne and Trent), couple "grace and gifts" in their official definitions.(1111) The doctrine is clearly stated by the Roman Catechism as follows: "To this [sanctifying grace] is added a most n.o.ble accompaniment of all virtues, which are divinely infused into the soul together with grace."(1112)

We will treat of the supernatural concomitants of sanctifying grace in four theses.