Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/793

 GRACE

709

ORACE

(c) Amissibility. — In consonance with his doctrine of justification by faith alone, Luther made the loss or forfeiture of justification depend solely upon infidel- ity, while Calvin maintained that the predestined could not possibly lose their justification; as to those not predestined, he said, God merely aroused in them a deceitful show of faith and j ust ificat ion. On account of the grave moral dangers which lurked in the assertion that outside of unbelief there can be no serious sin destructive of Divine grace in the soul, the Council of Trent was obliged to condemn (Sess. VI, can. xxiii, xxvii) both these views. The lax principles of "evangelical liberty", the favourite catchword of the budding Reformation, were simply repudiated (Trent, Sess. VI, can. xix-xxi). But the sT,-nod (Sess. VI, cap. xi) added that not venial but only mortal sin involved the loss of grace. In this declaration there was a perfect accord with Scripture and Ttadi- tion. Even in the Old Testament the prophet Ezeehiel (Ezech., xviii, 2-1) says of the godless: "All his justices which he hath done, shall not be remem- bered: in the prevarication, by which he hath prevar- icated, and in his sin, which he hath committed, in them he .shall die." Not in vain does St. Paul ( I Cor., X, 12) warn the just: "Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall"; and state uncompromisingly: " The unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God . . . neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers . . . nor covetous, nor drunkards . . . shall possess the kingdom of God" (I Cor., \'i, 9 sq.). Hence it is not by infidelity alone that the Kingdom of Heaven will be lost. Tradition shows that the discipline of confessors in the early Church proclaims the belief that grace and justifica- tion are lost by mortal sin. The principle of justifica- tion by faith alone is unknown to the Fathers. The fact that mortal sin takes the soul out of the state of grace is due to the very nature of mortal sin. jMortal sin is an absolute turning away from God, the super- natural end of the soul, and is an absolute turning to creatures ; therefore, habitual mortal sin cannot exist with habitual grace any more than fire and water can co-exist in the same subject. But as venial sin does not constitute svich an open rupture with God, and does not destroy the friendship of God, therefore ve- nial sin does not expel sanctifying grace from the soul. Hence, St. Augustine says (De spir. et lit., xxviii, 48): "Non impediimt a vita aetema justum quaedam pec- cata venialia, sine quibus haec vita non ducitur."

But does venial sin, without extinguishing grace, nevertheless diminish it, just as good works give an increa.se of grace? Denys the Carthusian (d. 1471) was of the opinion that it does, though St. Thomas re- jects it (II-II, Q. xxiv, a. 10). A gradual decrease of grace would only be possible on the supposition that either a definite number of venial sins amounted to a mortal sin, or that the supply of grace might be diminished, grade by grade, down to ultimate ex- tinction. The first hj'pothesis is contrary to the na- ture of venial sin; the second leads to the heretical view that grace may be lost without the commission of mortal sin. Nevertheless, venial sins have an in- direct influence on the state of grace, for they make a relapse into mortal sin easy (cf. Ecclus., xix, 1). Does the loss of sanctifying grace bring with it the forfeit- ure of the supernatural retinue of infused virtues? Since the theological virtue of charity, though not identical, nevertheless is inseparably connected with grace, it is clear that both must stand or fall together, hence the expressions "to fall from grace" and "to lose charity" are equivalent. It is an article of faith (Trent, Sess. VI, can. xxviii, cap. xv) that theological faith may survive the commission of mortal sin, and can be extinguished only by its diametrical opposite, nameh', infidelity. It may be regarded as a matter of Church teaching that theological hope also survives mortal sin, unless this hope should be utterly killed by

its extreme opposite, namely despair, though proba- bly it is not destro\-ed bj- its second opposite, pre- sumption. With regard to the moral virtues, the seven gifts and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, which invariably accompany grace and charity, it is clear that when mortal sin enters into the soul they cease to exist (cf. Suarez, "De gratia", IX, 3 sqq.). As to the fruits of sanctifying grace, see Merit.

_ General Literature: — St. Thomas, Summa Theoh, I-II, Q. cix-cxiv, and his commentators: Billuart. De gratia, ed. Le- QUETTE (Paris, s. d.). Ill; Salmanticenses, De gratia Dei in Curs, theol., IX sqq. (Paris, 1870); De Lemos, Panoplia divince gratite (Li^ge. 1676); Soto, De naturd et gratia (^Venice, 1560); alsoBELLARMlNE.SuAREZ, Vasqdez, and particularly Ripalda, De ente supemalurali (3 vols., Cologne, 1648). Among later authors cf. Cercia. De gratia Christi (3 vols., Paris, 1879); Mazzella, De gratia Christi, 3rd ed. (Rome, 1882); Satolli, De gratia (Rome, 1.S.S6); Schiffini, Degratid divind (Freiburg, 1901); Labousse, De gratid divind (Louvain, 1902); Herr- mann, Tractatus de divind gratid (Rome, 1904); Lepicier, De gratia (Paris, 1907); van Noort, Degratid Christi (Amsterdam, 1908); Billot, De gratid Christi et libera arbitrio, I (Rome, 198); Terrien, La (TTocec/ (a fffoire (2 vols., Paris, 1897); von Schazler, Natur und Uebematur: Das Dogma von der Gnade (Mainz, 186.5); Idem, Neuc Untersuchungen iiber das Dogma von der Gnade; Kuhn, Die christliche Lekre von der gottlichen Gnade (Tubingen, 1868); Kleutgen. Theclogieder Vorzeit. 2nd ed.. II (Miinster. 1877), 152 sqq.; Oswald. Die Lehre von der Heiligung. 3rd ed. (Paderborn, 1885); Heinrich-Gutberlet, Dugmat. Theologie. VIII: Von der Gnade (Mainz, 1897). See also the manuals on dogmatic theology, especially those by

JUNGMANN, HURTER, ScHEEBEN, EiNIG, SiMAR, ChR. PesCH.

Tepe, etc. For complete treatment see Pohle, Lehrbuch der Dogmalik, 4th ed., II (Paderborn, 1909). 329-578; for the teaching of the Fathers of Isaac Habert, Theol. grcecor. Fatrum circa univer&am materiam gratis (Paris, 1646); E. Scholz, Die Lehre des hi. Basilius von der Gnade (Freiburg, 1881); Hummer. Des hi. Gregor v. Xazianz Lehre von der Gnade (Kempten, 1880) ; Weigl, Die Heilslehre des hi. Cyrill v. Alex, (^lainz, 1905).

ACTU.4L Grace: — P.^lmieri, De gratid divind actuali (Gul- pen, 1883); Scheeben. Natur nnd Gnade (Mainz, 1861); Gloss- NER. Lehre des hi. Thomas vom Wesen der Gnade (Mainz, 1871); G. Byonius, De gratis auxiliis in Becanus, Theol. scholastica (Rouen. 1658); BoucvT. Theol. Patrum dogmatico-scholasticO' positiva (Paris, 1718); Zaccaria, Dissert, de adjutorio sine quo non in Thesaur. theol. V (Venice. 1762); Ernst, Werke und Tugenden der Ungldubigen nach Augustinus (Freiburg, 1871); WoRTER. Die Geistesentwicklung des hi. Augus,mus (Pader- born, 1892); RoTTMANNER, Der Augnstini^mus (Munich, 1892); WoLFSGRCBER, Augustimis (Paderborn, 1898). Con- cerning Jansenism cf. Dech.\mps, De hceresi janseniand (Paris, 1654); FoNTANA, Bulla " Unigenitus" dogmattcc propugnata (Rome, 1717); Duchesne, Histoire du baianisme (Douai, 1731); Linsenmann, Michael Bajus und die Grundlegung des Jansenismus (Tubingen, 1867); Schill, Die Konstilution " Unigenitus^\ ihre Veranlassung und ihre Folgen (Freiburg. 1876); Ingold, Rome el France: La seconde phase du Jansen- isme (Paris, 1901 ). Concerning Pelagianism and Semipelagian- ism cf. WonTER, Der Pelagianismus nach seinem Ursprung und seiner Lehre (FmhuTg. 1874); Kl.xsEJS, Die innere Entwicklung des Pelagianismus (Freiburg, 1882); Schwane, Dogmenge- schithte. 2nd ed., II (Freiburg, 1895), §§60 sqq.; H. Zimmer, Pelagius in Irland (Berlin, 1901); Wiggers, Geschichte des Semipelagianismus (Hamburg, 1835); A. HoCH, Lehre des Joh. Cassian von A'atur und Gnade (Freiburg, 1895); A. KocH, Der hi. Faustus, Bischof ron Riez (Stuttgart, 1895); Worter. Zur Dogmengeschichte dr.^ ^fmipelagixinismus (Miinster, 1900); MiNGES, DieGno'L r^}, ,/, liuus Scotus auf ihren angeblichen Pdagianismus u>< ^ ''< i^mus crepnV/i (Miinster, 1906);

P.\ssaglia, Dc p't falis divinm in primam et secun-

dam (Rome. 1S31 ; M\:.i.'^^^, De voluntate salvijicd et prades- tinatione (Louvain, ISSij); .\. Fischer, De salute infidelium (Essen, 1886); Bucceroni, De auxilio snificienti infidfUbus dato (Rome, 1890); F. Schmid, Die ausserordentiichen Heils- we^e fiir die gefallene Menschheit (Brixen, 1899).

Sanctifying Grace: — A. Vega, />/* justificatione doctrina unii'T.^a (Venice, 1548); Bellarmine, De justificatione impii, ed. FicvRE. VI (Paris, 1S731, 149 sqq.; Becanus, De gratid habituali (Rouen. 1658); Katschthaler, Degratid sanctificante (Salzburg, 1886); Villada, De effectibus formalibus gratia habitualis (Valladolid, 1899); L. Hubert. De gratid sanctifi- cante (Paris, 1902); Nussbaum, Die Lehre der katholischen Kirche iiber die Rechtfertigung (Munich, 1837); Bartmann. .S(. Paulus und St. Jacobus iiber die Rechtfertigung (Freiburg, 1897); W. LlESE, Der heilsnotwendige Glaube, sein Begriff und Inhalt (Freiburg, 1902); J. Wieser, 5. Pauli doctrina de justificatione (Trent. 1874); Simar, Theologie des hi. Paulus. 2nd ed. (Frei- burg, 1883); Mohler. Symbolik (Mainz, 1890); Ad. Har- nack, Dogmengeschichte. 3rd ed., Ill (Freiburg, 1S96); L. Galet. La foi el les ceuvres (Montauban, 1902); Denifle, Die abendldndischen Schriftausleger iiber justitia Dei u. justificatio (Mainz, 1905) ; Krogh-Tonning, Die Gnadenlehre und die stille Reformation ((^ristiania, 1894); A. Radem.\cher, Die iiber- natiirliche Lebensordnung nach der paulinischen und j'ohan- neischen Theologie (Freiburg, 1903); Terrien, La grace et la gloire ou la filiation adoptive (2 vols., Paris, 1897); Kirsch- kamp, Gnade und Glorie in ihrem inneren Zusammenhang (Wurzburg. 1877); Hagg. Die Reichlumer der gottlichen Gnade und die Schwere ihres Verlustes (Ratisbon, 1889); Scheeben, Die H errlichkeiten der gottlichen Gnade, Sth ed. (Freiburg, 1908);