Baptism of St. Augustine – the grace of justification.
A. By sanctifying grace internal justification and regeneration, together with the divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity, and the Holy Ghost Himself, the Author of grace, are communicated to the soul.
By sanctifying grace we are justified, i.e., from being unjust, or sinners, we are made just, children of God, and heirs of Heaven.
Sanctifying grace, being a gift inwardly communicated to the soul, renews or regenerates us. Justification is not merely, as Protestants would have it,
forgiveness of sins or the mere imputation of Christs merits as ours. By the merits of Jesus Christ, it is true, we are justified, and the forgiveness
of sins is an essential part of justification; but justification itself is the gift of sanctifying grace, imparting spiritual life to the soul,
adorning it with supernatural beauty, and thus destroying death and sin, which disfigured the soul. It is, as the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, can. 7) teaches,
not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and regeneration of the inward man by the voluntary acceptance of God’s grace and gifts.
I. Justification conferred by sanctifying grace is an internal, inherent gift. For (a) it is contrasted with the sin inherited from our first parents.
As by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also by the obedience of one many shall be made just
(Rom. 5: 19).
But the sin inherited from our first parents, which is the spiritual death of the soul, is something internal and inherent in each.
Consequently, the justification obtained by Christ, by which we are born anew to a supernatural life, is an internal quality inherent in the soul of each individual.
(b) By justification we are born again (John 3: 5-6). Now, as natural generation bestows natural gifts, so supernatural regeneration confers supernatural gifts,
and is, therefore, not a mere outward imputation of the merits of Christ. This regeneration and internal renewal by sanctifying grace is described by the Apostle in the words:
He saved us by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom He hath poured forth upon us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;
that being justified by His grace we may be heirs, according to hope, of life everlasting
(Tit. 3: 5-7; cf. Rom. 5). (c) The Council of Trent
(Sess. 6, can. 11; cf. can. 7) defended the notion of justification, based on Scripture and tradition, declaring that justification did not consist,
as the innovators pretended, simply in the imputation of the justice of Jesus Christ to us, or merely in the remission of sins, without that grace or charity
which is diffused in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and that the grace by which we are justified is not merely the favor of God.
As justification is a spiritual renewal and regeneration, it follows that sin is really destroyed by it, and not, as the heretics maintained,
merely covered, or no longer imputed, according to the words, The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin
(1 John 1: 7), and again:
You are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified
(1 Cor. 6: 11; cf. Council of Trent Sess. 5, can. 5).
Baptism of St. Augustine – the grace of justification.
II. In justification through sanctifying grace we receive, not only forgiveness of sins, but also the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, i.e., the supernatural habit or fitness of eliciting the acts of these divine virtues. As by generation according to the flesh we receive, not only life itself, but also our faculties, so also in supernatural regeneration we receive, besides the spiritual life itself, also supernatural faculties for the more perfect exercise of the supernatural functions. Thus only can sanctifying grace, or the principle of supernatural life, act in a congenial manner, when it has certain permanent faculties. Before these virtues are infused into his soul man can and must elicit certain supernatural acts – for instance, of faith; but such acts are elicited by aid of actual grace.
III. The Holy Ghost is the immediate Author of sanctifying grace, and as such He Himself is communicated to the soul in justification.
The charity of God is poured forth into our hearts by the Holy Ghost, Who is given to us
(Rom. 5: 5). Know you not that you are the temples of God
and that the Holy Ghost dwelleth in you?
(1 Cor. 2: 4). In virtue of justification God dwells within us in a special way so that if He were not already
in us by His omnipresence, He would in virtue of justification be present in us as the Dispenser of grace. The numerous passages of Scripture in which a
real union of the Holy Ghost with the souls of the just and the participation of the divine nature are spoken of are interpreted by the fathers not in a figurative,
but in a literal sense.
The union of the Holy Ghost with the soul is different from the substantial union of the body and soul in man, since the Holy Ghost and the soul of the just do not form one substance, as do body and soul in man. It differs also from the hypostatic union of the Eternal Word with the human nature in Christ; for the Holy Ghost does not receive the sanctified soul into one person with Himself, but man sanctified by the presence of the Holy Ghost remains as before an independent person; nor does the Holy Ghost become man. The relation of the Holy Ghost to the soul of the just is rather that of an indweller to his dwelling-place. Hence the fathers objected against Nestorius that the union he heretically maintained between the Eternal Word and the humanity of Christ was the same as that existing between the Holy Ghost and the souls of the just. Therefore, while Christ as man is the true Son of God, because He is one and the same divine person as the Son, the just man is only the adopted son of God.
B. Man, obedient to the inspirations of preventing grace, must by diverse acts dispose himself for sanctifying grace.
I. Like every other supernatural work, the justification of the sinner in particular proceeds from preventing grace; but the sinner must prepare himself
for sanctifying grace by cooperating with actual grace. (a) If our own cooperation is necessary in order to have any part in the fruits of the Redemption
in general, this is most especially the case in regard to justification, which is the communication of the merits of Christ. (b) It was to this preparation that St. Peter
exhorted his hearers when, on the day of Pentecost, after first leading them to the faith he further called upon them to do penance and to be baptized for the remission
of their sins, that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2: 38). (c) The Council of Trent (Sess. 6, can. 4), against the innovators of the 16th century,
who denied to man all activity in the work of his salvation, declared in reference to this point: If anyone assert that man's free will, moved and aroused by God,
by its obedience to the divine inspiration and vocation does nothing towards preparing itself for the grace of justification, but that, like an inanimate thing,
it remains entirely inactive; let him be anathema.
Those works which with the help of grace are performed before justification are, it is true, not meritorious for eternal life, as we shall show; but they are supernaturally good and salutary, and not, as the Protestants asserted, sinful. As soon as faith proposes to the sinner his supernatural end, he can with the help of grace act from supernatural motives; and hence his actions are supernaturally good. They are at the same time salutary, since they prepare him for justification, and thus actually conduce to salvation, to supernatural happiness.
II. The sinner prepares himself for justification by various acts.
(a) Faith is the first essential, being the beginning of salvation the foundation and root of justification
(Council of Trent Sess. 6, can. 6).
For he that cometh to God must believe that He exists, and is a rewarder to them that seek Him
(Heb. 11: 6). We must gain our end by our own free action;
but we cannot do so unless we know our end; and this knowledge we obtain by faith. We must, therefore, first of all believe what God has revealed and promised,
in particular that the sinner is justified by God through His grace, and by the redemption which is in Christ Jesus
(Council of Trent Sess. 6, can. 6).
As soon as we know that God has spoken, the obligation arises to believe in general all that God has revealed in particular, and the divine promises,
and the possibility of salvation through Jesus Christ. Thus we must dispose ourselves for further progress on the way of salvation.
The Council of Trent
The Council of Trent, in accordance with the teaching of St. Paul, condemned the assertion that the faith necessary for justification consists
only in confidence in God's mercy. And how is it possible to hope in God without the pre-existence of faith? In like manner, the Council condemned the
following assertions: that to obtain forgiveness it is necessary for the sinner to believe firmly that his sins are forgiven him (Sess. 6, can. 12, 13);
that the sinner is justified because he firmly believes that he is justified (ibid. can. 14). And, in fact, since faith must precede justification,
it is impossible before justification to believe that one is actually justified. Moreover, though Scripture generally exhorts us to trust in God,
it does not therefore require that everyone firmly believe, even before having done penance, that he is individually justified. Such faith
would rather
hinder than help the sinner to seek the pardon of God.
(b) Faith alone is not a sufficient preparation. Holy Scripture requires other acts. Be penitent, therefore, and be converted that your sins
may be blotted out
(Acts 3: 19). A man despite his faith my be a sinner, but sinners will not possess the kingdom of God
(1 Cor. 6: 10).
The doctrine that man is justified by faith only has therefore been justly condemned by the Council of Trent (ibid. can. 9).
Faith in God as the all-just judge with the help of grace gives rise to a salutary fear of His just punishments, and a horror of sin; thence results the hope of obtaining salvation, which draws the sinner to God, his last end. It was the constant effort of the prophets and of Our Savior Himself (Matt. 11: 28; 23: 27) to arouse in the sinner sentiments of fear and hope. Hope inspires love; for, how could the consideration of eternal happiness, the greatest of all benefits, fail to elicit from the sinner a love for its bountiful Author and Source? Then follows repentance, or sorrow and detestation of sin – that evil which is the source of eternal ruin, deprives man of his last end, and offends God. All this arouses in the sinner the desire of reconciliation with God by Baptism, or the other means of grace, and the purpose to begin a new life and to keep God's commandments (Council of Trent, ibid. can. 6).
Although revelation teaches, and we are bound to believe, that in the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance God forgives the sins of those who have duly
prepared themselves, yet no one without a special divine revelation can know for certain that he has thus duly prepared himself; and therefore no one can know
with the certainty of faith that he has received the grace of justification, though in many cases one may presume it with confident hope. I am not conscious
to myself of anything; yet am I not hereby justified; for He that judgeth me is the Lord
(1 Cor. 4: 4). The assurance given us by Scripture that we are
the sons of God (Rom. 8: 17) is only conditional; and therefore the Council of Trent (ibid. can. 15; cf. can. 9) condemned the assertion that the regenerate can,
or must, believe with the certitude of faith that they are justified.
Everyone receives in justification sanctifying grace in that measure which the Holy Ghost wishes to bestow on him and in proportion to his
disposition and cooperation
(Council of Trent ibid. can. 7). The measure of the essential effects of the Sacraments – e.g. the grace and love conferred in Baptism
– is determined by the disposition and cooperation of the recipient; for although the Sacraments produce their effects of their own intrinsic power (ex opere operato),
yet these effects are proportioned to the disposition of the recipient; as the effect of fire, for instance, is proportioned to the state of the combustible matter.
The accidental effects which were sometimes attached to the Sacraments – e.g., the gift of tongues, which was sometimes received in Baptism – are altogether
dependent on the liberality of the Holy Ghost.
St. Francis Xavier baptizing Asian catechemuns.
C. Sanctifying grace can be lost, and is actually lost by every grievous sin.
I. That sanctifying grace may be lost is evident from those passages of Scripture which exhort the just to fear the eternal death of the soul (Matt. 10: 28), or to take heed lest they fall (1 Cor. 10: 12). In like manner, those passages which put before us the example of those who from being friends of God became His enemies by grievous sin. The doctrine of Calvin – that he who has been once justified can never lose the grace of God – is, therefore, contrary to Holy Scripture, and was justly condemned by the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, can. 23).
II. Sanctifying grace is actually lost, not by heresy alone, as Luther taught, but by every grievous sin (Council of Trent, Sess. 6, can. 26).
For the Apostle excludes from the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Cor. 6: 9) not only unbelievers, but also adulterers, thieves, extortioners,
etc.
And why should heresy alone deprive man of the friendship of God, since every grievous transgression of the commandments is equally opposed to the
infinite sanctity of God as unbelief is against His infinite truthfulness.
The loss of sanctifying grace does not always entail loss of faith; and the faith that remains after grace is lost is still true faith, although it is not enlivened by charity (Council of Trent, ibid., can. 28). For although every grievous sin is contrary to charity, yet not every grievous sin is contrary to faith; but only unbelief. We have, therefore, no reason to assume that with charity faith likewise perishes. In fact, St. Paul speaks of a faith strong enough to remove mountains, yet without charity (1 Cor. 13, 2).
For the same reason, theologians teach that sanctifying grace is not diminished or weakened in any degree by venial sins. For, sanctifying grace, or any degree of it gives us the pledge of eternal salvation. Now, venial sins, though they bring upon us temporal punishment, do not deprive us of eternal salvation, nor of any portion of sanctifying grace, since every degree of salvation is salvation itself, as every portion of sanctifying grace is sanctifying grace itself. Therefore venial sin, not depriving us of salvation itself, does not deprive us of that grace which is the pledge of salvation. Venial sins, however, mar the effects of sanctifying grace. For they make us less capable of avoiding mortal sin, of obeying God's inspirations, and of doing good – for they deprive us of the more abundant actual graces which secure us against grievous sin; and they beget evil habits, which by degrees lead to mortal sin.
D. Sanctifying grace is preserved and increased by good works.
Against the heretics of the 16th century, who represented good works as only the fruits and signs of righteousness without any intrinsic value,
the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, can. 24) declared: If anyone assert that justice once received is not preserved and increased in the sight of God by good works,
but that good works are only the fruits and signs of justification already obtained, and not the cause of its increase; let him be anathema.
The Council acknowledges that good works are also the fruits and signs of sanctifying grace. And justly so, for every good tree bringeth forth good fruit
(Matt. 7: 17). But good works, according to the Council, at the same time preserve and increase inward sanctity.
I. By good works sanctifying grace is preserved. By good works we mean both the internal and external exercise of the virtues of faith, hope, and charity, or the proper fulfilment of God’s commandments and counsels. Now, it is certain that the just man while practicing these works endeavors to avoid sin and its occasions; and, since he acts accordingly to the will of God, he receives abundant actual graces, which protect him from mortal sin; and thus he preserves sanctifying grace, which can be destroyed only by mortal sin.
II. By good works sanctifying grace is increased. Whether this increase is only a pure gift of God's goodness, or may be regarded
at the same time as a recompense, will be discussed at the end of this article. If sanctifying grace is given in greater abundance to those who with the
help of actual grace dispose themselves to receive it, why should not the measure of grace be increased in the just who seek to progress in virtue?
Why should not the talent he has received, and of which he makes good use, be multiplied, since Christ Himself teaches that to everyone who has shall be given,
and he shall have abundance
(Matt. 25: 29) ? If good works did not increase sanctifying grace, there would be no meaning in the words,
He that is just let him be justified still; and he that is holy let him be sanctified still
(Apoc. 22: 11).
E. Good works are under certain conditions truly meritorious.
Meritorious is that work which, being performed in the service or in behalf of another, owing to its intrinsic value, is worthy of a reward. Merit differs from satisfaction. The latter implies atonement for an offence; it differs from impetration; for in impetration it is not the intrinsic value of the work, but the humble disposition of the petitioner, that comes into consideration. Prayer, however, considered as a good work is also meritorious.
We distinguish two kinds of merit with God – merit strictly so-called (de condigno), which rests upon the worth of the action, and merit in a wider sense (de congruo), which is not grounded on justice, but on a certain fitness. Merit in the strict sense exists when the value of the action is in some way equal to the reward due to it, at least in virtue of God's promise; if such equality does not exist there can be merit only in the wider sense. Merit in the strict sense can never go without its reward; while the reward due to merit in the wider sense is infallible only when God has promised it.
I. The good works of the just are strictly meritorious. (a) Scripture promises to the just a reward – proportioned to the work done, a crown.
Be glad and rejoice; for your reward is great in Heaven
(Matt. 5: 11). Every man shall receive his own reward according to his labor
(1 Cor. 3: 8). As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day
(2 Tim. 4: 8).
That which is promised simply as a reward, and which is given in virtue of God’s justice, implies merit properly so-called; for that only demands a reward which is strictly meritorious.
(b) The Church in its Councils proposes the same doctrine. This it says in the Second Council of Orange (can. 18): A reward is due to good works,
when performed; but grace, which is not due, must precede in order that such works may be performed.
Again, the Council of Trent (Sess. 6, can. 32) declares:
If anyone assert that the just man does not truly merit an increase of grace and eternal life, and, if he dies in the state of grace, the possession of eternal life,
by the good works which he has performed through the grace of God and the merits of Jesus Christ, Whose living member he is; let him be anathema.
True merit
is merit strictly so-called, and therefore presupposes some sort of equality between the value of the action and its reward.
Not without reason does the Council call attention to the fact that the just man performs meritorious works through the merits of Jesus Christ,
Whose living member he is.
For it is by this union that our works acquire a value in some way equal to eternal salvation. Good works are our works,
inasmuch as we perform them; but they are at the same time the works of Christ, inasmuch as by grace we are the members of Christ and partake of His infinite merits.
We are the branches, Christ is the Vine; we are enlivened by His divine life, and thus enabled to perform those divine works which are proper to Him.
When St. Paul says that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared to the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us
(Rom. 8: 18),
he regards the intensity and duration of the sufferings, not their supernatural value. The just are to esteem themselves unprofitable servants (Luke 17: 10),
not because their good works are not meritorious, but because it is God's grace alone that enables them to will and to perform good works.
II. In order that a good work may be meritorious certain conditions are required.
(a) On the part of God – the promise of a reward is necessary. For a strictly meritorious work is one which produces the strict right to a reward and a corresponding obligation. But God, the sovereign Lord of all things, cannot have an obligation towards His creatures unless in virtue of a free promise.
(b) On the part of the doer – in order to be capable of merit he must still be a wayfarer, i.e., in the state of probation here on earth.
For after this life the night cometh when no man can work
(John 9: 4). Besides, he must be in the state of sanctifying grace;
for this alone makes him a member of Christ, and adopted son of God, and thus gives his works a value in some way proportioned to an infinite reward.
(c) On the part of the work – it is necessary that it should be free (i.e., exempt from external force or internal necessity).
[The just man] could do evil things, and hath not done them; therefore are his goods established in the Lord.
(Ecclus. 31: 10, 11).
Moreover, it must be, in its object, in its end, and in its circumstances, morally good; for only what is pleasing to God is deserving of a reward.
Finally, it must be supernatural, i.e., proceed from grace and from a supernatural motive; for only the supernatural can claim supernatural reward.
As often as all these conditions exist good works are meritorious in the strict sense (de condigno). If any one of these conditions is wanting merit may yet exist, but only in a wider sense (de congruo). Hence it follows that the good works of the sinner are profitable. For, although they neither simply merit nor increase habitual grace and the right to glory, yet the sinner may hope that in consideration of his good works he may, from the goodness of God, obtain the grace of conversion.
Merit is greater or less according to the perfection of the work in itself, in its end, and in its circumstances, and according to the degree of sanctifying grace possessed by the person who performs the good work, and the actual disposition of the will with which it is performed. The difficulty of the work also increases its merit, inasmuch as it requires greater zeal and fortitude in the performer. Facility, however, arising from the perfection or virtue of the acting subject does not lessen the merit of his actions, but rather increases it, since it perfects the actions themselves.
F. The chief object of merit is eternal salvation and the increase of sanctifying grace.
I. That salvation can be merited we know from Scripture, which describes it as a reward proportioned to our works. Be glad and rejoice,
for your reward is very great in Heaven
(Matt. 5: 12). Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor
(1 Cor. 3: 8).
It is true, however, that salvation is at the same time a free gift of God's goodness, as well as an inheritance. It is a free gift inasmuch as
God of His pure bounty destined us for eternal salvation, and we perform our good works by the help of His grace. It is an inheritance inasmuch as Christ
by His death purchased it for us. For the just, however – we speak only of adults, salvation is also a reward whenever their works possess the conditions
necessary for true merit. We can also merit an increase of glory or salvation; for glory is the proportionate reward of our works (1 Cor. 3: 8),
and is, consequently, commensurate with the value of our good works.
II. The increase of sanctifying grace is also an object of merit. We have already shown that sanctifying grace is increased by our faithful cooperation. This increase is the result of merit, strictly so-called; for the supernaturally good works of the just have all the necessary conditions for merit, and particularly the divine promise given by Our Lord quoted above (Matt. 25: 29). The same truth may be concluded from the possibility of meriting an increase of glory. For the degree of glory corresponds to the degree of sanctifying grace, since the reward of the just man is proportioned to his right as the adopted child of God, and this right is determined by the degree of sanctifying grace.
Together with the increase of sanctifying grace, the just merit also the necessary means of preserving it, which consist in actual graces; for the promise of the end – increase of grace and glory – includes the promise of the necessary means, which embrace also actual graces.
The adult can, by due preparation, merit sanctifying grace itself, or the first grace,
only in the wider sense (de congruo);
for he is not yet the adopted child of God before the first grace.
But if nothing is wanting in his preparation he is certain to obtain sanctifying grace,
since God has promised it on certain conditions. In like manner, it is only in the wider sense that the just man can merit final perseverance,
since this grace was not promised as a reward of supernaturally good works; it may, however, be reasonably presumed that God in His goodness will grant this grace
to the just man in answer to earnest and constant prayer. The just man may, in the stricter sense, merit the grace necessary to avoid sin;
but not that special series of graces which we call final perseverance – this he must obtain by prayer.
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