Chapter 30 – The Life of Grace | Theology and Sanity

Chapter 30: The Life of Grace

Introduction
- Divine Presence: Natural and Supernatural
  - Recall: “A spaceless being is where it operates; it is in the things which receive the effects of its power” (65-1). In other words, a spirit is present where it acts.
  - There is a presence of God in our lives that is natural, and a presence of God that is supernatural. An important difference between the two is that we have no choice in the former. We cannot escape the “existence-giving” natural presence of God (401-2).
    - Because all creatures are made of nothing, they must be held in existence at every moment by God’s omnipotence. Hence, He is necessarily present in every being in its natural state (401-2).
    - This is true even for the angels and human beings who are in hell, but it is an unpleasant truth for them, because they have a desperate need for the gifts that come with the indwelling presence. They suffer because they do not have access to these gifts (402-1).
  - In addition to God being naturally presence in us, He can also be supernaturally present in us, by means of sanctifying grace (402-2).
    - “Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’” (John 14:23).
  - This supernatural presence is called the “indwelling presence,” which is the “double in-living” Sheed speaks of in chapter 22.
    - “He has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may . . . become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pt 1:4).
    - Note that sanctifying grace is not the indwelling presence itself.
      - “[It] is a capacity in us for attaining the triune life; it needs the indwelling persons as its fullness” (Dubay, “God Dwells Within,” p. 113).
      - “[It] is created grace [i.e., sanctifying grace] that renders us capable of receiving this communication [of God to the soul, the indwelling presence], but it is the communication that causes the created grace” (Dubay, “God Dwells Within,” p. 115).
  - As we have already said, our natural life is entirely contingent on the “existence-giving” presence of God, which is His natural presence. In order for us to “be” naturally, we need do nothing (401-2).
  - Our supernatural life is entirely contingent on the indwelling presence of God, which is His supernatural presence. In order for us to “be” supernaturally, we must do something. We must invite Him (401-2).
    - His indwelling comes about only by our extending an invitation to Him; and we can withdraw the invitation at any time (401-2).
  - In this life, the difference between the natural and supernatural presence of God is not easily seen. It is abundantly clear in the next life by observing the state of those in heaven versus the state of those in hell.
    - The only difference between the two states is that those in the former state possess both the supernatural indwelling presence along with the existence-giving natural presence, whereas those in the latter state possess only the existence-giving natural presence.
Meaning and Indwelling; Grace and the Virtues
- Transformation of the Soul
  - In contrast to the natural presence, the supernatural presence comes about as the result of the soul’s reaction to God’s action (402-3).
  - “God is present, says St. Thomas, much as something known is present in the knower” (402-3).
    - I have not been able to find where St. Thomas says this, but there is a potential problem with the analogy. In the case of a physical object, its being known does not result in its being actually present in the mind of the knower. The concept that is in the mind is clearly distinct from the object itself. Hence, one could argue from the analogy that the supernatural presence of God is no more than a concept of God’s presence, and not God Himself. This is an erroneous conclusion, as the content of this chapter and Scripture itself make clear.
  - The indwelling presence of God “produces a vast energizing . . . in our soul, or, if you will, a vast development of the soul as a result of its willing response to God’s energizing” (402-3).
  - Sanctifying grace is a real transformation of the soul, contrary to what Martin Luther taught about it being no more than a cover for the soul, a wearing of the garments of Christ’s merits (402-4).
    - The soul’s “wounds,” produced by sin, are actually healed, to various degrees, by the presence of sanctifying grace and our use of that grace.
      - “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Is 1:18).
        
        Notice that this verse indicates a transformation rather than a covering up. The sins will not be covered, they will be changed.
      - “The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (Jn 1:29).
        
        Sin cannot be taken away and, at the same time, remain with us and need to be covered up.
      - “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:12).
      - “Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19).
- A New Creation
  - The Church teaches that the soul is so deeply affected by sanctifying grace “that it can well be called a new creation: it has a new life in it, a life with its own vital ‘organs’ and operations” (403-1).
  - Sanctifying grace, the supernatural life-principle of the soul, enables the soul to produce actions that are supernatural (e.g., acts of faith, hope and charity). And because they are supernatural, they can merit a supernatural reward (403-1).
    - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).
    - Note that “grace does not destroy nature, but is built into it, and from within elevates it” (403-2).
      - “Grace perfects nature according to the manner of the nature; as every perfection is received in the subject capable of perfection, according to its mode” (Summa I-II, q. 62, a. 5).
    - Sanctifying grace perfects man’s soul in its very being (417-2).
      - “Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love” (CCC 2000)
      - This perfection consists in providing the soul with all of the virtues and gifts needed to life a life of moral perfection; this does not mean that the person is living a life of moral perfection.
  - “The intellect has the new power of [supernatural] faith; the will, the new powers of [supernatural] hope and [supernatural] charity” (403-2).
    - Thus, we should not misunderstand the “new creation” to mean that we receive a new soul. Rather, it means that the soul has been elevated to a new level of being, a new level of life that possesses new powers of operation (403-2).
    - This new level of being is brought about by the effects of an infusion of sanctifying grace. Because sanctifying grace is supernatural, the “vital ‘organs’ and operations” that it produces in the soul are also supernatural.
      - Having been raised from a purely natural level of being to a supernatural level of being causes the soul to be, in effect, a new creation (403-2).
    - This is the beginning of the moral transformation that is intended to reach its perfection (completion) in the transforming union.
      - “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
    - These supernatural actions are acts of the theological and moral virtues, which will be discussed below. The actions are supernatural because the virtues from which they proceed are supernatural. They are infused via sanctifying grace, which is something above man’s nature.
      - Note that there are natural virtues that correspond to the supernatural virtues. For example, if we eat in moderation to preserve our health, we exercise the natural virtue of temperance. If we eat in moderation to be more pleasing to God, we exercise the supernatural virtue of temperance. The difference between the two cases is the supernatural motive, which is possible in the latter case because of the presence of the supernatural habit (virtue) (My Catholic Faith, 90).
    - Sheed’s light bulb analogy: When a light is off, the bulb’s filament looks like the wire that it is. However, when the light is on, the filament becomes luminous and looks as though it is pure light and not a wire at all (403-2).
      - Similarly, the soul energized by sanctifying grace is luminous, but it is still the same soul.
      - Note that this effect is seen in the lives of saintly people because they are making active use of the powers that come with sanctifying grace.
      - One can be in the state of sanctifying grace and not be at all luminous if the inherent powers of sanctifying grace are not being used.
The New Powers of the Soul (Part I of II)
- Sanctifying Grace: Source of the Soul’s Luminosity
  - The particular gifts that come with Sanctifying Grace, listed below, were first introduced in chapter 13 (see p. 186). When these gifts are used as intended by God, the end result is a radiant soul.
    - “Look to him, and be radiant; so your faces shall never be ashamed” (Ps 34:5).
  - The theological virtues: Faith (in the intellect), Hope and Charity (both in the will)
    - “So faith, hope, charity abide, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor 13:13).
  - The principle (cardinal) moral virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude
    - “And if anyone loves righteousness, her labors are virtues; for she teaches self-control (temperance) and prudence, justice and courage (fortitude); nothing in life is more profitable for men than these” (Wis 8:7).
  - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Fear of the Lord.
    - “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might (fortitude), the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD (piety). And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Is 11:2-3).
- Moral (Human) Acts
  - Having listed the theological and cardinal moral virtues, Sheed goes on to note the difference between the two: “The reason why Faith, Hope and Charity are called theological virtues is that God, or some attribute of God, is not only their end, but their object too” (404-1).
    - His statement is correct, but it may be confusing to anyone who does not have an understanding of the terminology of moral theology. There is an excursus at the end of this section that clearly explains that terminology. A brief statement of that terminology follows immediately below:
    - A moral act (also called a “human act” because it involves the human conscience) consists of three parts:
      - First, the object (i.e., an action), which is the means to an end and the object of the moral act. This is one of the two primary elements of a moral act.
        
        This action is not the moral act itself; rather, it is one of the three elements of the moral act.
        
        That which is acted upon is the object of the action (which is not the same thing as the object of the moral act).
      - Second, an intention for a particular outcome (i.e., the end) resulting from the action, which is also one of the two primary elements of a moral act.
        
        The intended outcome is the object of the will.
      - Third, the circumstances affecting the action (object) and the intention, which is a secondary element of a moral act.
        
        Circumstances increase or diminish the moral quality of a moral act, but they cannot change a moral act that is intrinsically evil into a morally good act.
    - A moral act’s end and means to the end:
      - The outcome of the moral act is its end.
        
        The end is the goal of the moral act, the purpose for which the act is intended and the object of the will.
      - The action (object of the moral act) is the means to the end.
    - A moral act takes its name from the end, the object of the will, the purpose for which the act is intended.
      - For example, if the end of an evil act is sexual pleasure, the name of the moral act is adultery, fornication, rape or sodomy, depending on the object of action and the intent of the parties involved.
  - Returning to what Sheed said, “God, or some attribute of God, is not only . . . [the end of the theological virtues] but their object too,” he is using the word object to mean the object of action. He infers as much in the example of the altar boy and the censer when he writes “the object of his action is the censer” (404-1).
    - The censer is clearly not the object of the moral act, for the object of a moral act is an action, as noted above. The censer is the object or subject of action that is used to carry out the act of worship, which is the object of the moral act.
  - We also need to clarify what Sheed means by saying that God is the end of all virtues (404-1).
    - As was shown above, the end of a moral act is its purpose. Clearly, God is not the purpose of a moral act. The end of a moral act is the first goal of the intention and one cannot “intend God.” Similarly, one would not say: “I will do this so that God.” The statement makes no sense. However, the statement becomes meaningful if we say something such as “I will do this so that God will be glorified.”
    - Consequently, we can say that God is the end of all morally good acts, but what is actually meant is that the end of these moral acts is something related to God.
  - Generally speaking, the end of these acts must be the glorification of God, as St. Paul tells us:
    - “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).
Excursus: An Outline of the Moral Act
- Terminology of Moral Acts
  - There is a need to introduce a handful of terms that must be understood in their proper sense in order to fully grasp what is meant by a moral act. Of particular note are the words object and act. Because these words have multiple meanings, their usage results in ambiguity with respect to the concepts they are being used to convey, if their meanings are not explicit from their context.
  - This problem is commonly found in texts on morality in which the moral act is being discussed. Ironically, while doing research on the terminology of the moral act, I happened upon the following quote. Though it is referring to words other than what are being defined below, it nevertheless expresses the problem:
    - “In doing the research preliminary to that article, I faced a major problem of interpreting the various terms with different meanings that were used by various authors. Sometimes, too, I noticed that within the same author’s writings the same term would have different meanings in different contexts” (William E. May, “Principles of Catholic Moral Life,” p. 343).
- The Moral Act
  - A moral act (also called “human” act) is made up of the three “sources” of morality, object, intent, and circumstances.
    - Human acts, which are also called moral acts, are “acts that are freely chosen in consequence of a judgment of conscience” in order to bring about a particular end (i.e., the object of the intent) (CCC 1749, 1752).
    - “The object, the intention, and the circumstances make up the ‘sources,’ or constitutive elements, of the morality of human acts” (CCC 1750).
    - “To evaluate the goodness or malice of an act [i.e., a moral act], it is necessary to consider the act[tion] being done [i.e., object], the intention in mind [movement of the will toward the end], and the different conditions surrounding the act[tion] [circumstances]” (Fernandez, Socias, “Our Moral Life in Christ,” p. 106).
  - A moral act is either an act of virtue or an act of vice; it is either good or bad.
- The End of a Moral Act
  - The “end” of a moral act is the purpose of action, the goal of the moral act, the reason for which a moral act is undertaken and the intended outcome of the moral act.
  - The end of every morally good act is the glorification of God:
    - “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31).
    - “The principle of . . . human acts is the end. In like manner it is their terminus: for the human act terminates at that which the will intends as the end; thus in natural agents the form of the things generated [i.e., the end] is conformed to the form of the generator [i.e., the intention]” (Summa I-II, q.1, a. 3).
    - “[Morals] receive their species [i.e., type] from the end, which is the object of the will, the source of all morality” (Summa I, q. 48, a. 1, ad. 2).
    - “The end is the object of the will, which is the first mover in moral acts” (Summa II-II, q. 110, a. 1)
  - Note that in a moral act there are three distinct ways in which the word “object” is used, and each use intends something different from the other two. The other two will be discussed in the following section.
- The Object of the Moral Act
  - The object of a moral act is the action taken in order to bring about a particular end.
    - “The object [of a moral act] is the act or action done” (Fernandez, Socias, “Our Moral Life in Christ,” p. 107).
  - Fr. Joseph Mangan, in an article discussing the four conditions required for the principle of double effect, equates the object of a moral act with the action performed (the text in parentheses is in the original):
    - “The action performed (i.e., the object of the moral act) is either morally good or at least indifferent in itself” (William E. May, ed., “Principles of Catholic Moral Life,” p. 347).
  - Note that this action is not the moral act itself. Rather, this action is one of the three constitutive elements of the moral act. Hence, there are two distinct uses of the word “act” when speaking of morality:
    - First, there is “act” in the sense of the overall moral act that refers to the object, intention and circumstances, as stated above.
    - Second, there is “act” in the sense of a particular activity that, in and of itself, may or may not contribute good or evil to the overall moral act. This “particular activity” occurs within a moral act but it is something less than the totality of the moral act; hence, it is not synonymous with the moral act.
  - The distinction between these two uses of the word “act” can be seen in the case where a man kills another man. Note that the act of killing is the particular activity within the moral act. Killing a man is not, in and of itself, objectively good or evil.
    - If a man has no choice but to kill another man in order to eliminate a present grave danger, then the act of killing takes place within a moral act that is good. The moral act itself is self-defense.
    - On the other hand, if a man kills another man out of hatred for that man, the act of killing takes place within a moral act that is evil. The moral act itself is an act of murder.
  - The word “object,” in addition to referring to one of the three sources of morality (i.e., the action) as well as referring to the end (i.e., the object of the will), is also used to refer to the subject of that action. In other words, the action performed (i.e., the object of the moral act) is performed on some “subject” that is also referred to as an “object” but in a different sense; that subject is the “object of action.” All three uses are shown in the following example:
    - The use of “object” in the case of stealing money:
      - The object of the moral act is an action, the act of taking money.
      - The object (or subject) of the action is the money.
        
        “The object of the external action is that on which the action is brought to bear” (Summa I-II, q. 18, a. 6).
      - The object of the will (the end of the moral act) is the possession of money that belongs to someone else.
- The Means to the End
  - The object of a moral act is the means to the end of the moral act. The means to the end is the action taken to bring about a particular result. Hence, the object of a moral act, the action taken within the moral act, and the means to the end are all synonymous.
    - “Of its very nature [the object] is always directly intended as a means to the accomplishing of the final purpose [i.e., the end] (William E. May, ed., “An Introduction to Moral Theology,” p. 341).
    - “If one wishes to help the poor (a good end), one cannot choose evil means (an object) to do so” (William E. May, “An Introduction to Moral Theology,” p. 141; the text in parentheses is the author’s).
    - “And why not do evil [the object, means to an end] that good [the end, first goal of the intention] may come? — as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just” (Rom 3:8).
- The Intention of a Moral Act
  - The intention of a moral act is the desire that resides in the will to bring about a particular end.
    - “The intention is a movement of the will toward the end [i.e., the goal of the moral act]; it is concerned with the goal of the activity” (CCC 1752).
    - “Intention is a movement of the will to something already ordained by the reason” (Summa I-II, q. 12, a. 3).
    - “In the order of intention, the end of the moral act is what is primarily intended” (William E. May, “An Introduction to Moral Theology,” p. 141).
  - Note that the CCC speaks of the sources of morality as being the object, the intention and the circumstances in 1750. In 1755 and 1760 it refers to the sources of morality as being the object, the end and the circumstances. Hence, the Catechism effectively equates the intention to the end in those paragraphs. However, 1752 explicitly draws a distinction between the two:
    - “The end is the first goal of the intention . . . The intention is a movement of the will toward the end” (CCC 1752).
    - It would make no sense to say “the end is the first goal of the end” or that “the intention is the first goal of the intention,” consequently, intention and end are related, but they are not identical.
    - “The morality of the human act depends primarily and fundamentally on the ‘object’ rationally chosen by the deliberate will” (John Paul II, “Veritatis Splendor,” n. 78).
  - The Summa states the relationship between the intention and the end in an unambiguous manner:
    - “The end is properly the object of the interior act of the will [i.e.,. the intention]” (Summa I-II, q. 18, a. 6).
    - “Now good in general, which has the nature of an end, is the object of the will” (Summa I-II, q. 9, a. 2).
    - “[Morals] receive their species [i.e., type] from the end, which is the object of the will, the source of all morality” (Summa I, q. 48, a. 1, ad. 2).
- The Circumstances and Species of a Moral Act
  - “The circumstances, including the consequences, are secondary elements of a moral act. They contribute to increasing or diminishing the moral goodness or evil of human acts . . . [but] cannot change the moral quality of acts themselves; they can make neither good nor right an action that is in itself evil” (CCC 1754).
  - “Just as the external action [i.e., the object of the moral act] takes its species [i.e., its type; the “kind” of action it is, for example, killing, sexual intercourse] from the object on which it bears [i.e., the object of action]: so the interior act of the will takes its species [i.e., its type; the kind of moral act it is, for example, murder, self-defense; fornication, adultery, rape, marital union of spouses] from the end, as from its own proper object” (Summa I-II, q. 18, a. 6).
The New Powers of the Soul (Part II of II)
- Distinction between the Theological and Moral Virtues
  - With the clarifications we made by considering virtues as moral acts, we can say with Sheed that both the theological virtues and the moral virtues have God as their end.
  - The primary distinction between the two is that the theological virtues have God, or some attribute of God, as their object of action whereas the moral virtues have the created universe as their object of action (404-1).
- The Theological Virtues (Overview)
  - “By Faith we believe God; by Hope we desire to come to God; by Charity we love God” (404-1).
    - “The measure and rule of theological virtue is God Himself: because our faith is ruled according to Divine truth; charity, according to His goodness; hope, according to the immensity of His omnipotence and loving kindness” (Summa I-II, q. 64, a. 4; 404-1).
  - Faith as a moral act where the object of action is God’s self-revelation.
    - The moral act expressed: “My God, I believe in You.”
    - The sources of morality:
      - The object (an act; the means to the end) is the consideration of God’s self-revelation.
        
        The object of the act is anything that brings to mind God’s self-revelation (e.g., prayer, reading Scripture, a good homily, a spiritual conference).
      - The intent is one’s expression of certitude in God’s revelation.
        
        The end (object of the will) is a deepening of one’s faith in God.
      - The circumstances are everything related to the context of this act of faith.
    - This moral action is termed an act of faith, for the end that is sought is a formal acknowledgement of the truth of God’s self-revelation (by which God is glorified).
      - “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1).
      - “I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe” (Augustine, Sermo 43:9)
  - Hope as a moral act where the object of action is the salvific mission of the Son of God.
    - The moral act expressed: “My God, I hope in You.”
    - The sources of morality:
      - The object (an act; the means to the end) is the consideration of the salvation won for us by the Son of God.
      - The intent is one’s expression of complete trust in being able to obtain salvation by the means He has offered to mankind.
      - The circumstances are everything related to the context of this act of hope.
    - This moral action is termed an act of hope, for the end that is sought is a formal acknowledgement of one’s complete trust in God’s promises (by which God is glorified).
      - “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10).
      - “In hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24 NAB).
  - Charity as a moral act where the object of action is a response to the needs of a neighbor, or a positive response to one of the Ten Commandments.
    - The moral act is expressed primarily in the deed itself.
    - The sources of morality:
      - The object (an act; the means to the end) is one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy done selflessly, or an act that is a positive response to one of the Ten Commandments.
      - The intent is one’s expression of desire to selflessly serve God or one’s neighbor.
      - The circumstances are everything related to the context of this act of charity.
    - This moral action is termed an act of charity, for the end that is sought is a deepened union with God (by which God is glorified).
      - “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).
      - “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God” (1 Jn 4:7).
- The Moral Virtues (Overview)
  - The moral virtues have some aspect of the created universe as their object of action, and they have conduct that is necessary to come to God as the object of their moral act (415-3). They have some contribution to creation and the glorification of God as their end.
    - Prudence
      - The object of the virtue of prudence is an act of judgment in a matter that calls for the discernment of God’s will.
      - The end of the virtue of prudence is a judgment consistent with God’s will, and in this is the glorification of God.
    - Justice
      - The object of the virtue of justice is an act by which one provides another person with that which rightfully belongs to him.
      - The end of the virtue of justice is the equitable treatment of one’s neighbor, and in this is the glorification of God.
    - Temperance
      - The object of the virtue of temperance is an act by which one moderately uses some element of creation to serve his needs.
      - The end of the virtue of temperance is an increase in moral strength against the inordinate pleasures that attract us, and in this is the glorification of God.
    - Fortitude
      - The object of the virtue of fortitude is an act in which one suffers personal loss rather than disobeying God’s law.
      - The end of the virtue of fortitude is an increase in moral strength so as to be able to endure whatever is necessary for the kingdom of heaven, and in this is the glorification of God.
- Our Regeneration and Actual Grace
  - When we first receive the supernatural life (i.e., sanctifying grace), we receive at one time the whole of it, that is, the theological virtues, the moral virtues, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (404-2).
  - Notice three things about our reception of the supernatural life:
    - First, it is received in an incipient state rather than a developed state. It is capable of dramatic development, but that development is dependent on our cooperation (404-2).
    - Second, just as it is received as a whole, it also grows as a whole (404-2).
      - “By refining one of [the virtues] all are made more excellent and better polished. . . . [so that] by perfect practice of a single virtue a person can reach the heights in all virtue” (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, III, 1).
    - Third, it cannot be merited, for “no natural action could merit a supernatural reward” (404-3).
  - Because “no natural action could merit a supernatural reward,” an individual must receive “actual” grace, which disposes him to a particular salvific action prior to the reception of the supernatural life (404-3, 405-1).
  - The two graces can be thought of in terms of what they do for us (405-1).
    - Actual grace produces in us a supernatural impulsion that gently urges us to do that which is conducive to our salvation (405-1).
    - Sanctifying grace produces in us the supernatural life (405-1).
  - Actual grace enables us to carry out virtuous actions, all of which would be impossible without the assistance of this grace (405-1).
    - “He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
  - If we cooperate with this supernatural impulsion, we receive the beginning of the supernatural life, if we lack it, or an increase in the supernatural life, if we already possess it (405-1).
    - However, note that our souls are void of the supernatural life until we receive the supernatural impulsion of actual grace and respond to the disposition it creates within us (405-1).
The Theological Virtue of Faith
- Reception of the Theological Virtue of Faith
  - Faith is the root of the supernatural life (405-2).
    - “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have obtained access [by faith] to this grace [i.e., the gift of having been justified] in which we stand” (Rom 5:1-2).
  - Faith is an act of the intellect, moved by the will, which is in turn moved by grace, to assent to whatever God has revealed because He who revealed it “can neither deceive nor be deceived” (406-2, 405-3).
  - This process of coming to possess the theological virtue of faith actually has two major steps. Sheed only describes the second, which assumes the individual already recognizes that God exists and that He has revealed something of Himself to man. At this point:
    - God gives the soul actual grace (the supernatural impulsion), which moves the will to desire an intellectual assent to all that God has revealed (406-2)
    - The will, in turn, moves the intellect to make its act of assent (an act of faith in its unformed state) to all that God has revealed (406-2).
    - God then gives the individual the actual grace that is intended to lead him to seek Baptism, by which the individual’s supernatural virtue of faith becomes “formed (see excursus below).”
    - Sheed’s description of this process is necessarily a simplification of the role actual grace plays. The reality is that the impulsion of actual grace occurs at multiple points throughout the process, and both the intellect and the will are recipients of this grace, as we see in Scripture (see Ott, 226).
    - In regard to actual grace and the intellect, St. Paul writes:
      - “Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God,” (2 Cor 3:5).
    - In regard to actual grace and the will, he writes:
      - “God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).
  - Excursus: Faith: Formed and Unformed
    - In addition to actual grace, “many theologians (for example, Suarez) hold that [faith and hope] are infused as ‘virtutes informes’ [unformed virtues] before justification” (Ott, 260). The reasoning for this follows below:
      - Faith is received in baptism: “Baptism . . . effects . . . inner sanctification by the infusion of sanctifying grace, with which the infused theological [i.e., faith, hope and charity] and moral virtues and the gifts of the Holy Ghost are always joined” (Ott, 354).
      - But faith is also a necessary disposition for baptism: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mk 16:16; also see Acts 16:31-33; CCC 1226).
      - Because the theological virtue of faith cannot be present before baptism if it is first received in baptism, we have a paradox in need of a solution.
      - The solution hinges on the fact that “the habits of faith and of hope are separable from grace. They are not lost by every serious sin . . . but only by those sins directed against their nature [e.g., apostasy, despair]” (Ott 260).
      - Thus, the infusion of faith in some measure is possible prior to baptism. Hence, the Catechism states: “The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop” (CCC 1253).
    - It must be concluded that the theological virtue of faith is infused prior to baptism in its unformed (non-mature) state and is brought to its formed (mature) state by baptism.
- Faith and Man’s Freedom
  - Notice that the process of coming to faith is wholly attributed to God, but is accomplished without God doing violence to human nature (406-2, 3).
  - Evidence, argument, prayer, humility do have a role to play, but their role is only preparatory; they have no direct role in the production of faith (406-2).
    - Prayer and humility prepare the will for the supernatural impulsion of actual grace (406-3).
    - Evidence and argument prepare the intellect so that when the will is moved the intellect is prepared to respond accordingly (406-3).
    - When intellectual inquiry has moved the intellect to go along with the impulsion of grace given by God, intellectual inquiry has served its purpose; there is nothing further it can do to bring about faith, for the virtue of faith itself in no way depends upon intellectual inquiry (407-1).
    - Note that it would be outside of God’s ordinary way of dealing with man to move his intellect to an assent for which man had not been prepared (406-3).
      - We can see this principle in our lives and in Scripture. For example, consider the two thousand years God used to prepare the Jews for the Messiah (i.e., from Abraham to the Incarnation), or the several years of Jesus’ public ministry to prepare His disciples for the revelation of His divinity, which they only came to grasp after the Resurrection.
- Faith vs. Intellectual Reasoning
  - It may be possible for a man to arrive at a compelling argument that God exists, that He became man, and that He has revealed certain truths to man, and, based on that argument, assent to these truths (407-1).
  - However, if this were to happen, the man’s assent would not be the theological virtue of faith because his assent would be sustained by arguments rather than by God (407-1).
  - The most perfect arguments for the existence of God and His revelation, even if understood perfectly by someone, are not a substitute for the grace of faith; the grace of faith comes from God, not arguments (407-1).
    - For this reason, a man’s faith is not invalidated if the arguments for God and His revelation are defective or if someone has a defective understanding of the arguments (407-1).
    - The arguments do not produce faith. They merely prepare the intellect to respond to the will’s desire for assent to God and all He has revealed so that He can produce faith in the soul (407-1).
    - Sheed’s analogy of the shutter (the arguments) and light (revealed truth): If we open the shutter on a window we allow sunlight to come into the room. The shutter does not produce the light; it merely allows the sun to produce the light in the room (407-1).
  - “Given the rarity of powerful intellects, it is fortunate that sure faith can be had by imperfect intellects (407-2).
  - The believer cannot always prove, that is, state a flawless logical case for his faith, very much as a man in a lighted room might have no clear notion [about] how electricity works. But he is in no doubt about the light. He is living in it” (408-1).
  - The fact that faith is produced in our souls by God and not by arguments explains why faith carries with it a kind of certainty that argument cannot produce (408-1).
  - Logic shows us that something must be so; by faith we see that it is so, even though the argument may be defective in some way (408-1).
    - We see it so when faith is perfected by the gift of Understanding. This is not a seeing with the eyes, but a seeing with the intellect (408-1).
      - “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen [with the eyes]” (Heb 11:1).
    - Note that one who has faith cannot convey it to one who does not have faith anymore that a man with the gift of sight can convey to a blind man what seeing is (408-1).
    - Nevertheless, arguments retain their value as a preparation for faith.
      - “Should anyone ask you the reason for this hope of yours be ever ready to reply, but gently and respectfully” (1 Pt 3:15).
- The Will and the First Movement of Faith
  - It was previously stated that faith is in the intellect whereas hope and charity are in the will.
  - Hence, it may seem that any involvement by the will, in the matter of faith, is out of place, a usurpation of the intellect’s proper domain (408-2).
    - “Now it happens that the intellect is moved by the will, just as are the other powers: for a man considers something actually, because he wills to do so” (Summa I-II, q. 56, a. 3).
  - In the natural order, it is generally true that the ascent of the intellect results from the evidence presented to it. However, the assent of faith, which is a matter of the supernatural order, depends on the grace of God rather than evidence (408-2).
    - We do not have direct evidence of matters of faith. For example, what direct evidence do we have that God is three persons? What evidence could we have?
    - Lacking such evidence, the intellect cannot reason to matters of faith. The intellect’s primary role, here, is the removal of objections to what God has revealed so as to see that even though the revelation is beyond reason, it is not contrary to reason. Recognizing this, it can give the assent of faith when moved by the will.
  - “A direct impulsion producing the utter certitude of faith in the intellect might do very great violence to [our] nature” (408-3).
  - Hence, the will is concerned with the intellect’s decision for two reasons:
    - The obvious reason: The will is profoundly affected by what may follow from the intellect’s assent of faith (409-1).
      - For example, there is the interference with pride and the necessity of union with the will of God (409-1).
      - “Left to itself [the will] would be quite capable of preventing the intellect from giving the assent” (409-1).
    - The less obvious reason: “All men find certitude, complete and utter certitude, difficult; and some men find it impossibly difficult” (409-1).
      - The absolute yes or no of certitude puts us face to face with finalities. That is, there is no further decision to make once we attain certitude. It closes off all other options, and we like to leave our options open just in case something more attractive comes along (409-1).
      - This is analogous to the situation of a person who would like to marry a particular person, but can’t be quite sure if that is the right person. Such a person “lives in the fine balance of conflicting possibilities” (409-1).
      - “This fear of certitude is a disease of the will. The intellect is not really in doubt. It is the will that persuades it that it is” (409-2).
  - Sheed does not explicitly state that faith produces certitude, though he states it implicitly in multiple places, as shown above. Fr. Dubay, in speaking of faith as assent to truth, speaks explicitly of the certitude that is inherent in the supernatural virtue of faith:
    - “We may define [certitude] as the firm assent of the mind to some truth, which assent is based on reasons so solid that they exclude any reasonable fear of error” (Thomas Dubay, “Faith and Certitude,” p. 81).
    - “Belief is certain or it is not belief” (Thomas Dubay, “Faith and Certitude,” p. 84).
    - “If an assent is not sure, it is not belief, but a mere private calculation based on what one deems likely or unlikely” (Thomas Dubay, “Faith and Certitude,” p. 85).
- Excursus: Knowing via Natural Faith and Supernatural Faith
  - The assent of natural faith in the natural order:
    - The senses present natural knowledge to the intellect
    - The intellect exercises its reasoning power upon the natural knowledge.
    - The intellect reasons to a conclusion and makes a judgment on the natural knowledge.
    - The will commands the intellect’s assent to the judgment.
    - The end of this process is the acquisition of natural knowledge.
      - This is not a surprising conclusion, once we take a moment to think about it. All that we know naturally comes to us in this manner through the senses.
  - The assent of supernatural faith in the supernatural order:
    - Supernatural knowledge, to which the senses have no access, is presented to the intellect by another person, directly or indirectly.
    - The intellect exercises its reasoning power upon the supernatural knowledge.
    - The intellect eliminates objections to the supernatural knowledge and judges it as not being contrary to reason, though it is beyond reason.
    - The will, assisted by grace, commands the intellect’s assent to the judgment.
    - The end of this process is the acquisition of supernatural knowledge.
      - This may be a surprising conclusion but the fact of the matter is that the supernatural virtue of faith is given to us so that we can both believe and know the supernatural realities that have been revealed to us.
      - “We have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (Jn 6:69).
  - The will is the power of rational desire (as opposed to sense desire, the passions/emotions) (Sullivan, 102).
    - The will is the faculty of desiring: “The will desires something of necessity” (Summa I-II, q. 82, a. 1).
    - If the will has been conditioned by prayer and humility it will desire the genuine good that is placed before it by the intellect. If it has been conditioned by a lack of prayer and pride it will desire what is evil.
    - It commands the assent of the intellect to that which it desires: “The will moves the intellect” (Summa I-II, q. 82, a. 4).
    - The will naturally desires that which is good: “Synderesis is said to incite to good, and to murmur at evil, inasmuch as through first principles we proceed to discover and judge of what we have discovered” (Summa I-II, q. 79, a. 13).
- Faith and Evidence
  - The truths of faith presented to the intellect are not presented with their own evidence so that we can verify them (409-2).
  - Rather, they are presented only with the evidence that God has revealed them, and they are stated, not “in their own reality but only so far as human language can utter them” (409-2).
    - The evidence that could be presented would be incomprehensible to us because the very nature of a supernatural mystery is that it is beyond our ability to fully comprehend (see p. 37ff).
    - The intellect could not take the evidence for these mysteries and reason to the fact of the mystery itself.
    - Hence, the intellect is incapable of assenting to the individual truths on its own. It must be aided by the “God-moved will” (409-2).
  - Recognizing that the truths of faith are not presented with verifiable evidence but only with evidence that God has revealed them, it follows that the virtue of faith is only operative in a person when he adheres “to the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth manifested in Holy Writ” (Summa II-II, q. 5, a. 3).
    - “The formal object of faith is the First Truth as manifested in Holy Writ and the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth. . . . [One who] does not adhere, as to an infallible and Divine rule, to the teaching of the Church, which proceeds from the First Truth manifested in Holy Writ, has not the habit [i.e., virtue] of faith, but holds that which is of faith otherwise than by faith” (Summa II-II, q. 5, a. 3).
    - “[He who] holds what he chooses to hold, and rejects what he chooses to reject . . . no longer adheres to the teaching of the Church as to an infallible rule, but to his own will. Hence it is evident that [one] who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith . . . has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will” (Summa II-II, q. 5, a. 3).
      - “First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation” (2 Pt 1:20).
  - Recall that faith is the root of the supernatural life and that the first movement of faith is in the will, the faculty by which we love. It follows that the will’s command to the intellect to assent to the truths of the faith is an act of love (410-1).
  - It follows that love (i.e., charity) is the root of the supernatural life as well as the fruit of the supernatural life (410-1).
    - Faith can exist without charity, but only in a rudimentary state in which it has not developed sufficiently to be a virtue. In order for faith to be a virtue, charity is also required.
      - “Faith and hope can exist indeed in a fashion without charity: but they have not the perfect character of virtue without charity” (Summa I-II, q. 65, a. 4)
      - “Charity is the root of faith and hope, in so far as it gives them the perfection of virtue” (Summa I-II, q. 65, a. 5).
    - “In order of generation, faith precedes hope and charity. . . . But in the order of perfection, charity precedes faith and hope” (Summa I-II, q. 62, a. 4).
      - To the extent that faith precedes charity, it is not yet a virtue: “Faith and hope . . . can be without charity, although they are not virtues without charity” (Summa I-II, q. 65, a. 4).
The Theological Virtue of Faith (cont.)
- The Operation of Faith
  - By faith, we believe God, that is, we believe all that He has said because He said it (410-2).
  - However, this does not mean that we, as individuals, know all that He has said. Rather, it means that we accept all that He has revealed in advance of knowing the fullness of revelation (410-2).
  - “Faith puts our mind in the attitude of unquestioning [i.e., undoubting] acceptance” (410-2).
    - “Ten thousand difficulties [i.e., questions] do not make one doubt” (St. John Henry Newman, “Apologia pro Vita Sua,” 214)
  - Possession of the virtue of faith does not exclude the possibility of an individual’s erroneous understanding of what God has said (410-2).
  - In order to know what God has revealed:
    - We must use our intellects to find out what He has revealed (410-2).
    - We must find a teacher who can teach us infallibly the truths God has revealed (410-2).
    - If our search is totally successful, “then we discover that the Church is their repository and their custodian and their teacher” (410-3).
      - “The church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15).
    - “The teaching of the Church is the rule of faith: one who has not found it [i.e., the Church] will not have access to all the truths God has revealed” (411-1).
- Faith and the Deposit of Faith
  - We must distinguish three elements related to faith (410-2):
    - First, the preliminary preparation of the intellect and will for the cooperation with God’s grace (410-2).
    - Second, the virtue of faith (410-2).
    - Third, the truths we (i.e., the Church) possess by faith, all of which make up the Deposit of Faith (410-2).
      - “The faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
      - Note that the possession of these truths is not the virtue of faith. Rather, the virtue of faith is that which enables us to know (i.e., possess, be certain of) these truths (410-2).
    - Defects in either the first or the third of these elements does not equate to a defect in faith, but only to a defect in those elements themselves (410-3).
    - One who has found some elements of the deposit of faith (Jude 1:3), and has accepted those elements by God’s grace, is exercising the supernatural virtue of faith. But his faith is not doing for him all that it could do if he possessed the fullness of faith (411-1).
- Excursus: Our Certitude in Divine Revelation
  - Why do we believe God has revealed truths to us? We believe because Jesus proved that He was a “Messenger from God”; He is the only legitimate claimant to the title.
  - He was pre-announced as the Messiah.
    - It is generally accepted that there are hundreds of Messianic prophesies in the Old Testament, though there are varying degrees of clarity in these prophesies. Nevertheless, there are dozens, at least, that are remarkable in the way they point to Jesus as the long-promised Messiah. So remarkable are they, in fact, that it would seem to be impossible for these prophecies to be mere coincidences. For example, when the Wise Men coming from the East sought out the newborn King, the Jewish scholars knew where He would be found:
      - “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel”’” (Mt 2:3-5).
  - He demonstrated that He was the Son of God by His words and deeds (i.e., miracles):
    - “Then he said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard it, they marveled” (Mt 22:21-22).
    - “About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. The Jews marveled at it, saying, ‘How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?’” (Jn 7:14-15).
    - “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father’” Jn (10:37-38)
    - “Coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?’” (Mt 13:54).
    - “And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he thus breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” (Mk 15:39).
  - He taught supernatural truths that were beyond our powers of human reason but not contrary to human reason.
Faith and the Supernatural Life
- Supernatural Life Received with the Assent of Faith
  - With the assent of faith (and the reception of Baptism), the whole of the supernatural life enters our souls and we become supernaturally alive (411-2).
  - The supernatural life consists of the:
    - Theological Virtues: faith, hope and charity
    - Moral Virtues: chief among them are the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude), but all the others as well
    - Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.
  - “This entire supernatural organism, all the virtues, moral and theological, spring from sanctifying grace . . . and this supernatural organism has its complement in the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost” (Garrigou-Lagrange, “Reality,” p. 288).
  - With the infusion of the supernatural life, sanctifying grace, “the soul is made new in its essence and operations” (411-2).
    - It is at a higher level, it has its be-ing at a higher level, and does its be-ing at a higher level, and it has the power to act at a higher level (411-2).
The Virtues as Habits
- Habits: Developments of Nature
  - Theologians refer to the virtues as “habits” (411-2).
  - A habit is a modification to our nature whereby we become more inclined to act in a particular way (411-2).
    - Before one learns to ride a bicycle, the habit (skill) seems very difficult to acquire. Once learned, one rides a bicycle with little effort.
    - A habit (skill) is a development of one’s nature, that is, a development of one’s natural abilities; hence, a modification to our nature (411-2).
- Four Elements of Habits
  - First, being a modification to our nature, it follows that a habit is in our nature and not external to it (411-2).
    - After learning to ride a bicycle, the skill is not easily lost, even after not practicing the skill for a long time. Thus, the skill remains with our nature.
  - Second, a habit is real and objective (411-2).
    - There is no question about whether one can or cannot ride a bicycle.
  - Third, a habit enables us to do things we could not do otherwise (412-1).
  - Fourth (not mentioned by Sheed), a habit must be regularly exercised in order for it to be maintained, for it can be degraded or even lost over time in the same way that a strong muscle can grow weak from lack of use.
- Virtues and the Elements of Natural Habits:
  - “The virtues . . . have in themselves all [four] elements of habit” (411-3):
    - They are a modification of our nature whereby we gain the ability to do things that we could not otherwise do (412-1).
      - For example, the theological virtues enable us to believe supernaturally, hope supernaturally and love supernaturally (412-1).
    - They are something in our nature rather than something external to it (411-3).
    - They are real and objective (411-3).
    - They need to be exercised or they will grow weak.
  - A significant difference between natural habits and the supernatural habits is the mode of acquisition (412-1).
    - Natural habits are obtained through repetition over some period of time (412-1).
    - Supernatural habits (virtues) are given to us by God in a single act (412-1).
    - Despite the difference in the mode of acquisition, “the supernatural virtues are habits as truly as those we acquire for ourselves” (412-1).
- Excursus: The Virtues: Infused and Acquired
  - The virtues we have been speaking of give us the power to act with a supernatural motive, but they do not cause us to carry out that act.
    - Similarly, the muscles in our legs give us the power to walk, but they do not cause us to walk.
  - Applying this difference between the power to act and the act itself, we can speak of infused virtue and acquired virtue.
    - Infused virtue comes to us with sanctifying grace; it gives us the power to act with a supernatural motive, but it doesn’t cause the act to be exercised.
    - When an act motivated by a particular supernatural virtue is carried out repeatedly, it eventually becomes “second nature” to us, and we refer to this as acquired virtue.
  - Infused virtues are destroyed by mortal sin, for “every mortal sin is contrary to charity,” but they are not destroyed by venial sin because “venial sin is [not] contrary to charity” (Summa I of II, q. 71, a. 4).
  - Acquired virtues are “not destroyed by one act of any kind of sin,” because a “habit is not engendered by one act, so neither is it destroyed by one act” (Summa I of II, q. 71, a. 4).
The Theological Virtue of Hope
- Hope and Faith
  - “’Hope’ . . . is a key word in Biblical faith – so much so that in several passages the words ‘faith’ and ‘hope’ seem interchangeable [” (Benedict XVI, “Spe Salvi,” 2):
    - “We are saved by hope” (Rom 8:24 DR).
- A Complex of Three Things
  - Hope is a complex of three things; it is with all three in operation that we hope (412-1):
  - First, we desire our final union with God, for He has promised this reward if we are faithful to Him (412-2).
  - Second, we see the fruition of our desire as being difficult, for we recognize that our powers, by themselves, are insufficient for attaining our desire (412-2).
  - Third, we see the fruition of our desire as being possible, for God has promised to give His assistance (412-2).
  - His graces provide us with the means of salvation and enable us to obey His laws. Our cooperation with His graces is essential:
    - “He who has created you without yourself [i.e., your consent], does not justify you without yourself. Thus He created you without your knowledge, but only with your agreement and your will does He justify you” (Augustine, Sermo 169, II, 13; Summa I-II, q.3, a. 3, as quoted in Ott, 252)
- Sins Against Hope: Presumption and Despair
  - Presumption is a failure to acknowledge the second or the third of the three elements of the virtue of hope mentioned above.
    - Regarding the third element, if we think that we will attain the Beatific Vision without obeying God’s laws and without making use of the means He has given us to attain the Beatific Vision, we are guilty of presumption (412-2).
    - Regarding the second element, it is even more presumptuous to think that we can save ourselves without God’s assistance (412-2).
  - Despair is an absence of the virtue of hope, which results from one of two failures (412-3).
    - First, “We may cease to hope by no longer particularly wanting to achieve union with God and therefore setting our aim upon created things” (412-3).
    - Second, we may have reached a point that we feel is so low that God can no longer save us (412-3).
    - The second is seems almost noble compared to the first, but it is, nevertheless, a lack of trust in God (412-3).
    - St. Paul speaks of the “magnificence of hope” in Rom 8:35-39: “Who [or what] will separate us from the love of Christ? . . . Neither death nor life, no angels or principalities or powers . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God.”
The Theological Virtue of Charity
- Love of God and Neighbor
  - “Charity, like faith, is simple.” It is the love of God and the love of neighbor for the sake of God (413-2).
    - Note that God is the end of this moral act even with respect to love of neighbor. The reason being that love of God and love of neighbor are inextricably intertwined:
      - “He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn 4:20).
- Defective Meanings of Charity and Love
  - The true meaning of the word “charity” has become overshadowed by a secondary meaning that is actually detached from the virtue of charity.
    - The secondary meaning is that of giving assistance to the poor without concern for their situation and, in some cases, with the condescending attitude that their situation is their own fault (413-2).
  - Similarly, the true meaning of the word “love” has become overshadowed with sentimental meanings having all sorts of emotional overtones having nothing to do with the virtue of charity, even though charity means love (413-3).
    - In addition, the word has taken on such a wide range of meanings that it can refer to the greatest possible act of virtue on the one hand, and to some of the greatest sins on the other hand:
      - For example, fornication, adultery and sodomy are all grave sins, the latter of which is one of the four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance (see Gen 19:5-13). All of these things are commonly referred to as acts of love.
  - My use of the word “love” in this class always means the theological virtue of charity unless explicitly stated otherwise.
- The Authentic Meaning of Charity and Love
  - “Love is the highest and strongest act of the will” (413-3).
  - As it relates to God, love means that the will has chosen God as the supreme good, and the standard measure of all other goods (414-1).
    - “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment” (Mt 22:37-38).
  - As it relates to our neighbor, it means willing his good. But how much good must we will our neighbor? “As much as we will ourselves” (414-1).
    - “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37-39)
  - Excursus: Love of Neighbor (see Thomas Aquinas, “Meditations for Lent,” p. 121)
    - The strongest natural human love is love of self:
      - We deny ourselves almost nothing that we desire and have ready access to.
      - We overlook our own faults and weaknesses (though we may delight in speaking of the faults of others).
      - We think highly of ourselves (as is easily seen based on the way we react when someone criticizes us).
    - Hence, St. Thomas writes that the natural love of self must be the rule by which we determine the degree of our love for our neighbor.
    - We can speak of three degrees of love for our neighbor:
      - We show some degree of love of neighbor to the extent that we are willing to suffer the loss of external things for our neighbor’s sake.
        
        For example, in giving alms
      - We show a higher degree of love of neighbor to the extent that we are willing to suffer in the body or soul for our neighbor’s sake.
        
        For example, doing penance for him, doing some work for him
      - We show the highest degree of love of neighbor by giving up our life for our neighbor’s sake:
        
        “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).
- The Emotional Component of Love
  - “Emotions belong neither wholly to the soul, nor wholly to the body.” Rather, they belong to both because of the union of our body and soul and the necessary interaction of the two (414-1).
    - An angel, on the other hand, having no body, has no emotions, though it is capable of love (414-1).
    - It follows that love is not an emotion. However, love can, but doesn’t necessarily, produce an emotional response in the body (414-1).
  - Note, however, that charity has no direct access to the emotions. Hence, any emotional response to an act of charity is due to the degree that our supernatural love of God brings into play our natural loving power, because the natural loving power is an emotion (414-2).
    - Because emotions, when they arise, are unwilled, they have no moral aspect. “They are morally qualified only to the extent that they effectively engage reason and will” (CCC 1767).
  - It follows that neither the “feeling” of love nor the emotion that produces that feeling is of importance. What matters is that we choose God as the supreme good (414-2).
  - The absence of a “feeling that one loves God” should be of no concern to us, because the supernatural virtue of charity, taken by itself, has no emotional component.
- Excursus: Volitional Love and Emotional Love
  - As a convenient way of expressing the difference between the love that is the theological virtue of charity and the love that is nothing more than an unwilled reaction to a pleasing sensual stimulation, we can refer to the former as volitional love and the latter as emotional love.
  - Volitional love is the theological virtue of charity. It is an act of the will (Latin, “voluntas”), as stated above, and, as such, it is entirely unfelt, for there is no sensory aspect to an act of the will.
    - Volitional love is self-giving; hence, the “flow” of volitional love is always outward from the person who loves.
    - As such, there is always some loss on the part of the one who loves. Consequently, love is always accompanied with suffering. To love is to suffer; to love much is to suffer much.
      - “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13).
    - There is no emotional component to volitional love (or any virtue), though it is possible for a virtuous act to cause some overflow into the emotions.
    - One can freely choose to make an expression of volitional love or to withhold an expression of volitional love.
  - Emotional love is one of the eleven passions or emotions. The passions, in general, are unwilled reactions to some sensory stimulus. Hence, the concept of emotional love is better represented by the word “like.”
    - We can get an understanding of the concept of emotional love by considering our reaction to food. Generally speaking, we don’t choose to like the foods we like. Rather, we like them because of the pleasing sensory stimulation experienced by the brain when we taste them.
    - It follows that emotional love is always self-directed. That is, emotional love is the result of an external object causing a pleasing physiological stimulation that is experienced internally.
    - As such, the “flow” of emotional love is always inward to the person who experiences the pleasing physiological stimulation, as opposed to the flow of volitional love which is always outward.
    - The will is not involved in the early movements of emotional love, though it can be brought into play so as to increase the delight of the physiological stimulation.
    - Such action of the will does not change the direction of the flow of emotional love. Rather, it maintains the inward direction and enhances the pleasure received.
    - Contrary to the case for volitional live, one cannot choose to dislike that which he likes, for it is not possible to control the physiological reaction to the pleasing stimulation that produces emotional love.
    - Clearly, emotional love has nothing to do with the theological virtue of charity.
- Charity and external acts
  - St. Paul teaches that the moral goodness of external acts is entirely dependent on the virtue of charity:
    - “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-3).
  - “Charity is the life-giving virtue, and makes the others to be alive” (415-2).
    - “So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13).
    - Recall that faith is the root of the supernatural life (405-2). However, charity is the mother and the root of all the virtues” (Summa I-II, q. 62, a. 4; also see Summa II-II, q. 23. a. 7, 8). Consequently, charity is the root of faith (410-1).
  - Charity is lost through mortal sin but faith and hope remain despite the loss of charity, unless the mortal sin is against those virtues (e.g., via apostasy, heresy, presumption, despair).
    - Nevertheless, they are dead virtues without charity (415-2).
  - Charity is the life-giving virtue because it is the source of union between God and man; it is the union of man’s will with God’s will (415-2).
    - The loss of charity necessarily breaks the union. As a result, “the life which flows from His indwelling ceases in us,” for the flow is cut off when charity is lost (415-2).
  - Charity is the conduit by which the supernatural life flows from God to man.
The Cardinal Moral Virtues
- Prudence and the Intellect
  - Prudence enables our intellect to see rightly, so as to make good judgments and present genuine goods to the will for its choice of action (416-1).
  - The direct work of prudence is on the intellect, but “thereby it provides a rule according to which the activities of the will may be regulated too” (416-1).
    - The will operates properly when it follows the right path. The right path is that which the intellect sees when it is operating properly (416-1).
- Defective Meaning of Prudence
  - Like charity and love, prudence has “suffered from a degradation of its name in common speech” where it is erroneously associated with timidity (416-1). In reality, prudence is a bold virtue.
    - For example, prudence is the virtue by which a “martyr clearly sees his way to martyrdom,” that is, he clearly sees that subjecting himself to martyrdom is the right thing to do (416-1).
- Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and the Will
  - The other three cardinal virtues, justice, temperance and fortitude, give the will what it needs to act prudently (416-2).
    - Thus, prudence enables us to judge rightly, whereas justice, temperance and fortitude enable us to act out that right judgment.
  - Justice is concerned with our relations with others. By justice the will restricts its desires to genuine needs and it desires that all men should have their needs met (416-2).
    - This desire is not merely an agreeableness “that others should be as fortunate” as we are. Rather, it is an interior hunger and thirst for the rights of one’s neighbor that prompts us into action (416-2).
  - “Temperance and Fortitude are for the perfecting of our conduct in relation to ourselves” (416-3).
    - “By temperance we restrain our natural impulse toward the things we should shun,” so as to strengthen us against the pleasures that attract us (416-3).
    - “By fortitude we overcome our natural impulse to avoid the things we should face,” so as to strengthen us against the dangers and difficulties that frighten us (417-1).
    - “Temperance moderates; fortitude stimulates” (417-1).
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in General
- The Relative Insufficiency of the Theological and Moral Virtues
  - In addition to the theological and moral virtues, the souls of men need the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Salvation could be attained without these Gifts, but only in a “halting” manner (417-2).
  - For example, by the theological virtue of faith, “the root of the supernatural life” (405-2), one believes all that God has revealed.
  - However, the virtue of faith does not tell the individual what God has revealed nor does it tell the individual what the revelation means. Something else is needed to bring this about (417-2).
    - The result of this is that a man would have to use his natural powers of understanding and judgment to the best of his ability to discern what God has revealed and what the revelation means (417-2).
    - Such an individual would have to stumble his way through a maze of philosophical and theological ideas in order to determine what God has revealed and what the revelation means. This process would be fraught with error, as history has shown us (417-2).
    - Even if the intellectual stumbling of such a person led him to the Catholic Church, he still might not understand the truths the Church could give him.
    - In addition, there are “all sorts of special situations to which no teaching of the Church seems specifically to apply, and he might or might not succeed in making the right application of some more general principle” (417-2).
  - Consequently, Faith needs Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge so as to know and be certain of what God has revealed.
  - What has been said above regarding faith “applies in principle to prudence also” (418-2). It forms our intellects so as to “judge concrete situations in the light of God’s revelation as to the reality of things” (418-2).
    - However, this can only be done to the extent that God’s revelation is known. Because faith, without the gifts of understanding, wisdom, counsel and knowledge leaves the intellect to its natural powers in knowing what has been revealed and what that revelation means, the same is true of prudence to the extent that revelation is unknown (418-2).
  - Consequently, Prudence also needs the gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel and Knowledge, so the intellect will be able to see things as they really are and will be able to judge them accordingly.
- The Gifts, the Intellect and the Will
  - Our considerations regarding faith and prudence show that the intellect, apart from the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, “would not be equipped for action with speed or certainty” (418-3), and the will, which depends on the intellect for light, would be similarly ill-equipped.
  - However, the Gifts of the Holy Spirit provide us with two things in general:
    - First, “more and more certain light for the intellect” (418-3)
    - Second, “special aid for the will when special difficulties call for it” (418-3)
  - God continually gives the soul actual graces to “move the intellect and the will in the way they should go” (418-3).
    - “The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are habits residing in the soul in a state of grace, by which the soul is capable of responding readily and fruitfully to these actual graces when God gives them” (418-3).
  - Consider Sheed’s analogy comparing sails to the gifts of the Holy Spirit (418-4):
    - A boat will be moved by the wind even if it has no sails. However, the boat will be moved much more effectively by the wind if it has sails (418-4).
    - Similarly, we can be moved by the grace of supernatural impulsion (actual grace) without being in possession of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but the motion will be “incomparably less swift and certain” (418-4).
- A Ranking of the Gifts and Virtues
  - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit can only be considered virtues in a broad sense of the word.
    - “Sometimes these gifts are called virtues, in the broad sense of the word. Nevertheless, they have something over and above the virtues understood in this broad way, in so far as they are Divine virtues, perfecting man as moved by God” (Summa I of II, q. 68, a. 1, ad. 1).
  - The gifts are habits, as noted above; they are given to perfect the intellectual and moral virtues.
    - [The Gifts of the Holy Spirit] complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations” (CCC 1831).
  - We rank these virtues and gifts as follows:
    - “Wherefore as the intellectual virtues [i.e., the natural virtues that concern knowing (speculative virtues) or direction of the will (practical virtues) are more excellent than the moral virtues and control them, so the theological virtues are more excellent than the gifts of the Holy Ghost and regulate them. . . . But if we compare the gifts to the other virtues, intellectual and moral, then the gifts have the precedence of [i.e., over] the virtues” (Summa I-II, q. 68, a. 8).
    - In summary, these various gifts rank as indicated below (the explanations are from the Summa I-II, q. 68, a. 8).
      - Theological virtues (“The theological virtues are those whereby man’s mind is united to God.”)
      - Gifts of the Holy Spirit (“The Gifts of the Holy Spirit dispose all the p0wers of the soul to be amenable to the Divine motion.”)
      - Intellectual virtues (these belong to human nature) (“The intellectual virtues are those whereby reason itself is perfected”)
      - Moral virtues (“The moral virtues are those which perfect the powers of appetite [i.e., the will] in obedience to reason”)
      - See the excursus below for additional information on the distinction between the intellectual and moral virtues).
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit in Detail
- Enumerated by Isaiah
  - The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are listed by the prophet Isaiah:
    - “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might [fortitude], the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD [piety]. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD” (Is 11:2-3).
    - “Fear of the Lord” is listed twice in English translations because Hebrew has the same word, “yirah,” for both reverence (piety) and fear.
  - The gifts of the Holy Spirit are described in different ways by different authorities. In addition to what Sheed writes of the Gifts, four additional sources are used in what follows below. They are designated as follows:
    - (H) – Fr. John Hardon, “Modern Catholic Dictionary” (http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/)
    - (T) – Fr. Adolphe Tanquerey, “The Spiritual Life,” p. 65
    - (CE) – Catholic Encyclopedia http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07409a.htm
    - (S) – Summa I-II, q.68, a.4
- Gifts for the Intellect
  - Four of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, wisdom, understanding, counsel and knowledge are for the perfection of the intellect (419-3).
  - Wisdom – Makes the “soul responsive to the true, the spiritual, value of things” in relation to God Himself (419-3)
    - (S) Perfects the speculative reason for right judgment
    - (H) Makes us responsive to God in the contemplation of divine things
    - (T) Makes us relish divine things thus increasing our love of God.
    - (CE) Detaches us from the world, [and] makes us relish and love only the things of heaven.
  - Knowledge – Makes the “soul responsive to the true, the spiritual, value of things” in relation to created things (419-3)
    - (S) Perfects the practical reason for right judgment
    - (H) Gives us the ability to judge created things, insofar as they lead one to God, from a supernatural viewpoint
    - (T) Makes us look upon creatures from the point of view of their relation to their Maker.
    - (CE) Points out to us the path to follow and the dangers to avoid in order to reach heaven.
  - Understanding – Gives “new eyes” to the virtue of faith; enables us “to see the difficulties of faith and not be troubled by them” (419-3)
    - (S) Perfects the speculative reason for the apprehension of truth
    - (H) Enables us to grasp revealed truths easily and profoundly
    - (T) Enables us to penetrate further into the truths of faith to discover the hidden treasures and discern the mysterious harmony therein contained.
    - (CE) Helps us to grasp the truths of religion as far as is necessary.
  - Counsel – Makes the mind responsive to God’s guidance in relation to the individual here-and-now problems that face us” (419-3)
    - (S) Perfects the practical reason for the apprehension of truth
    - (H) Enables us to judge promptly and rightly, as by a sort of supernatural intuition, what should be done, especially in difficult situations
    - (T) Crowns the virtue of prudence by showing us in exceptional or difficult cases what it behooves us to do or not to do.
    - (CE) Springs from supernatural prudence, and enables us to see and choose correctly what will help most to the glory of God and our own salvation.
- Gifts for the Will
  - Three of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, fortitude, piety, fear of the Lord, are for the perfection of the will.
  - Fortitude – “Corresponds to the moral virtue of Fortitude” (419-4)
    - (S) Perfects the appetitive power in a man’s matters pertaining to himself
    - (H) Confers an extraordinary readiness upon the will to undergo trials for love of God and fulfillment of the divine will
    - (T) Completes the virtue which bears the same name by urging us on to what is more heroic in endurance and in daring.
    - (CE) Gives us the courage to overcome the obstacles and difficulties that arise in the practice of our religious duties.
  - Piety – “Primarily the love of the instructed heart for God. Piety is in itself the love between two who are already bound by the bond of authority” (420-1).
    - (S) Perfects the appetitive power in matters pertaining to a man’s relations to others
    - (H) Produces an instinctive filial affection for God and devotion toward those who are specially consecrated to God
    - (T) Perfects the virtue of religion, making us recognize in God a Father whom we delight in glorifying by love.
    - (CE) Inspires us with a tender and filial confidence in God and makes us joyfully embrace all that pertains to His service.
  - Fear of the Lord – Corresponds to the moral virtue of Temperance, “especially in controlling the turbulence of the flesh” (419-4)
    - (S) Perfects the appetitive power against inordinate lust for pleasure
    - (H) Inspires a person with profound respect for the majesty of God
    - (T) Weans us from the false goods of earth that might allure us into sin, fortifies the virtue of hope and intensifies the desire for the happiness of heaven; perfects temperance by begetting in us a dread of the penalty and of the ills issuing from the illicit love of pleasure.
    - (CE) Fills us with a sovereign respect for God and makes us dread, above all things, to offend Him.
Excursus: The Intellectual Virtues
- Difference between the Moral and Intellectual Virtues
  - The intellectual virtues are natural habits of the mind that enable it to operate efficiently in the use of that which the mind knows. They are distinguished from the moral virtues in that their activity, per se, is not concerned with moral conduct.
    - However, they contribute to the practice of moral virtue by making efficient use of what a person knows.
  - The intellectual virtues are of two types, those which perfect the intellect in its speculative activity (the activity of knowing) and those which perfect the intellect in its practical activity (the activity of guiding the will) (Sullivan, “An Introduction to Philosophy,” 159).
  - The moral virtues have as their object the conduct that is necessary to come to God, whereas the theological virtues have as their object acts that are directly related to God Himself (415-3).
- The Intellectual Virtues: Speculative
  - Understanding: The habit of first principles of being. Those principles being identity (or non-contradiction – a thing cannot be and not be at the same time), excluded middle (a thing either is or isn’t), sufficient reason (a thing must have a reason for its existence), causality (that which comes into being must have part of its reason for being outside of itself) (Sullivan, 86-87; 160).
  - Science: The habit “whereby the intellect possesses in a habitual way the knowledge which expresses the necessary, intelligible connections of things in the worlds around us” (Sullivan, 161).
  - Wisdom: The habit “whereby the intellect has habitual knowledge of the deeper, ultimate intelligible structures of things. This is the habit of philosophy” (Sullivan, 161).
- The Intellectual Virtues: Practical
  - Art: “Habitual right reasoning about things to be made” (Sullivan, 161).
  - Prudence: “Habitual right thinking about things that have to be done in the moral order” (Sullivan, 161).

Chapter 30 – The Life of Grace

About Dick Landkamer

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Recent Posts

Archives

Frank Sheed

Dick Landkamer

The Universal Call to Mystical Prayer

Resources

Bibles online

Meta

Categories

Chapter 30 – The Life of Grace

Share this:

Related

About Dick Landkamer

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Recent Posts

Archives

Frank Sheed

Dick Landkamer

The Universal Call to Mystical Prayer

Resources

Bibles online

Meta

Categories