Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/785

 GRACE

701

GRACE

God also conceded to the heathen? The Divine readi- ness to grant assistance also to the heathen (see Den- zinger, n. 1295, 1379) is a certain truth confirmed by the Church against the Jansenists Arnauld and Quesnel. To question it is to deny the above- demonstrated intention of God to save all men; for the overwhelming majority of mankind would fall outside its range. The Apostle of the Gentiles, Paul (Rom., ii, .siiq.). lays stress on God's impartialit)' towards Jews antl < Irecks, without "respect of persons", on the Da\- of Judgment, when he will reward also the Greek "that workcth good'' with eternal life. The Fathers of the Church, as Clement of Rome (I ep. ad Cor., vii), < 'lenient of Alexandria (Cohort, ad gent., 9), and Chrysostoni (Hom. viii in John, n. 1), do not doubt the disjx^nsation of sufficient graces to the nations "that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death". Orosius (Ue arbitr. libert., n. 19), a disciple of St. Avigustine, proceeds so far in his optimism as to be- lieve in this distribution of grace " quotidie per tem- pora, [wr dies, per momenta, per iro/ia et cunctis et singulis" (daily through the seasons, through the daj's, through the moments, through the smallest possible divisions of time, and to all men and every man). But the clearer the fact, the more obscure the manner. In what way, one instinctively asks, did God provide for the salvation of the heathen'? Theologians to-day generally give the following presentation of the proc- ess: It is presupposed that, according to Hebr.. xi, 6, the two dogmas of the existence of God and of future rctriliution must be, in all instances, believed not only by necessity of means (necessitate ttiedii), but also with explicit faith (Jhle explicita) before the process of justi- fication can be initiated. As a consequence, God will not refrain in extraordinary' cases from miraculous intervention in order to save a noble-minded heathen who conscientiously observes the natural moral law. He may either, in a miraculous manner, depute a mis- sionary to him (Acts, i, 1 sqq.), or teach him the re- vealed truths through an angel (Cardinal Toletus), or he may come to his assistance by an interior private revelation. It is clear, nevertheless, that these dilTer- ent waj's cannot be considered as everyday ordinary means. For the multitude of heathen this assistance must be found in a universal means of salvation equally independent of wonderful events and of the preaching of Christian missionaries. Some modern theologians discover it in the circumstance that the two dogmas mentioned above were already contained in the primitive supernatural revelation made in Para- dise for all mankind. These truths were subsequently spread over the whole world, survive, as a meagre remnant, in the traditions of the pagan nations, and are orally transmitted from generation to generation as supernatural truths of salvation. The knowable- ness of these dogmas by unaided reason does not con- stitute an objection, for they are simultaneously natural and revealed truths. Once the condition of external preaching (ef.Rom.,x, 17: "fides ex auditu") has thus been fulfilled, it only remains for God to hasten to man'.s assistance with his supernatural il- luminating and strengthening grace and to initiate with the faith in God and retribvition (which implic- itly includes all else necessary for salvation) the proc- ess of justification. In this manner the attainment of the state of grace and of eternal glory becomes possible for the heat hen who faithfully co-operates with the grace of vocation. However all this may te, one thing is certain: every heathen who incurs eternal damnation will be forced on the last day to the honest confession: "It is not for want of grace, but through my own fault that I am lost."

(For the relation between grace and liberty, see Grace, Controversie.s on.)

II. Sanctitong Grace. — Since the end and aim of all efficacious grace is directed to the production of sanctifying grace where it does not already exist, or to

retain and increase it where it is already present, its excellence, dignity, and importance become imme- diately apparent; for holiness and the sonship of God depend solely upon the possession of sanctifying grace, wherefore it is frequently called simply grace without any qualifying word to accompany it as, for instance, in the phrases " to live in grace " or " to fall from grace".

All pertinent questions group themselves around three points of view from which the subject may be considered: —

(1) The preparation for sanctifying grace, or the process of justification.

(2) The nature of sanctifying grace.

(3) The characteristics of sanctifying grace.

(1) Preparation for Sanctifjjitig Grace, or the Process of JustifkatioH (for exhaustive treatment of justifica- tion see article on Justification). — The word justifi- cation {justificatio, from justum facere) derives its name from justice {jiislitia), by which is not merely meant the cardinal virtue in the senseof a constant purpose to respect the rights of others (suum cuique), nor is the term taken m the concept of all those virtues which go to make up the moral law, but connotes, especially, the whole inner relation of man to God as to his super- natural end. Every adult soul stained either with original sin or with actual mortal sin (children are of course excepted) must, in order to arrive at the state of justification, pass through a short or long process of justification, which may be likened to the gradual development of the child in its mother's womb. This development attains its fullness in the birth of the child, accompanied by the anguish and suffering with which this birth is invariably attended ; our rebirth in God is likewise preceded by great spiritual sufferings of fear and contrition.

In the process of justification we must distinguish two periods; first, the preparatory acts or dispositions (faith, fear, hope, etc.); then the last, decisive mo- ment of the transformation of the sinner from the state of sin to that of justification or sanctifying grace, which may be called the active justification (actus justificationis) ; with this the real process comes to an end, and the state of habitual holiness and sonship of God begins. Touching both of these periods there has existed, and still exists, in part, a great conflict of opinion between Catholicism and Protestantism. This conflict may be reduced to four differences of teaching. By a justifying faith the Church under- stands qualitatively the theoretical faith in the truths of Revelation, and demands over and above this faith otheractsof preparationfor justification. Protestant- ism, on theother hand, reducesthe process of justifica- tion to merely a fiduciary faith ; and maintains that this faith, exclusive even of good works, is all-sufficient for justification, laying great stress upon the sciptural statement sola fides jiislificat. The Church teaches that justification consists of an actual obliteration of sin and an interior sanctification. Protestantism, on the other hand, makes of the forgiveness of sin merely a concealment of it, so to speak; and of the sanctifica- tion a forensic declaration of justification, or an ex- ternal imputation of the justice of Christ. In the presentation of the process of justification, we will everywhere note this fourfold confessional conflict.

(a) The Fiduciary Faith of the Protestants.— The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, cap. vi, and can. xii) decrees that not the fiduciary faith, but a real mental act of faith, consisting of a firm belief in all revealed truths makes up the faith of justification and the " beginning, foundation, and source" (loc. cit., cap. viii) of justifi- cation. What did the Reformers with Luther under- stand by fiduciary faith? They understood thereby not the first or fundamental deposition or preparation for the (active) justification, but merely the spiritual grasp (instriimentum) with which we seize and lay hold of the external justice of Christ and with it, as with a