St. augustine (5 th CE)

1. St. augustine (5th CE) • Questions being raised: • Universality of the Redemption of Christ • The practice of Infant Baptism • Against PELAGIUS’ – optimistic anthropology (human autonomy) • Sources: • Cyprian: “necessity of infant baptism; no one is without sin” • Ambrose: “Adam’s sin is transmitted to all his descendents” • Jerome: “Infants were born with sin transmitted thru physical procreation, thus in need of divine forgiveness…” • Ambrosiaster: Interprets Latin translation of Rom 5:12 – “original sin” • Augustine’s personal experience and journey of conversion

2. Augustine (5thC) Question: Grace and freedom Approach: Existential, personal “Nature”: concrete, existential, historical No “natural-supernatural” dichotomy Due to “sin”: human nature – wounded; internal harmony between reason and passions lost; “concupiscence” (disharmony) inclines nature to evil; we can’t do anything pleasing to God We retained liberumarbitriumbut lost libertas, “Grace” as “help”, a divine force or influence within us, reordering our nature, enabling us to do good Effects of this divine force – described in terms of “delight” in the good, “attraction of love” GRACE: GOD ACTING IN US and the FORCE OF GOD’S INFLUENCE IN OUR PSYCHOLOGY AND ACTION It is “healing”: straightens out our will, motivation It is “gratuitous” – we need grace because of our godlessness, evil will and behavior

3. Thomas Aquinas (13th CE) • Renaissance of the 12th-13th CE • Rebirth of Greek classics: Aristotle – the philosopher of the hour • Confidence on human reason: can grasp the nature of things, classify them – Philo. of Nature • Sources of Thomas Aquinas • Aristotle – provided Aquinas with conceptual tools • Augustine (neo-platonic) • Anselm (notion of nature) • Question raised: • What is the nature of “grace”?

4. Thomas Aquinas’ teaching… • God is the source of all activity • Humansnever act independently of God • All seek Godunder common notion of good • Our turning toward God results from God having turned toward us (nb: exitus-reditus) • “Grace” = gifts given to persons (created grace) implies the notion of uncreated Grace, i.e., God’s very love and being

5. Grace is primarily an effect of divine love • Common sense of love – God loves all that exist, loves them into being (existence) • Special love – love by which God draws a rational creature above the condition of its nature to a participation in the divine good (gift of “adoption”, “eternal happiness”)

6. “To fulfill the commandments, we need the presence of the divine assistance • We need the Divine assistance (necessity) • Divine assistance does not cancel out human effort • Used the analogy of friend/friendship: “what we can do through our friends, we can do, in some sense by ourselves”

7. Glorified humanity of Christ – source of all grace; the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (temple) – an effect of grace • Spirit gives us gifts of love, wisdom • Spirit moves, protects • Spirit effects the sacramental grace • Spirit acts always with the Father and Son

8. Nature and Grace • NATURE (Aristotelian) – is a stable created reality, with its own internal dynamism (laws, structure) • Each aspect of being ordained to an END; has the means to accomplish that END • HUMAN PERSON: Supernatural END (God) gives consistency of the human nature; our final purpose gives order/orientation to our nature • GRACE – quality in the soul that brings about transformation of human nature needed for human persons to fulfill the totality of their existence, i.e., union with God

9. Shift in emphasis… • Augustine: emphasizes on God acting directly in us • Aquinas: preserves the integrity of human operations (nature) • An action belongs to a person, if that person – as principle of operation – elicits the action

10. GRACE as HABITUS: • CREATED grace (real); INFUSED grace (into human soul) • INTERIOR QUALITY • “accident” or being-in-another; it is a kind of being (adhering) in the human soul • Strictly, it is not a “substance” nor a “being” • But a kind of “HABITUS” (disposition) modifying the human soul [ontological, not moral habit] • It is an IMMANENT PRINCIPLE OF MOVEMENT and ACTION

11. GRACE as HABITUS: RAISES – elevating (rather than healing) human persons, establishing proportionality between their natural reality and their divine end JUSTIFIES – transforms from state of sin to state of righteousness SANCTIFIES – effects participation in God

12. Aquinas: Bottom line The human nature as the principle of action – infused with grace – acts towards its supernatural end. On one hand, it remains as a human action, coming from the human nature. On the other hand, it is able to act toward the supernatural end since this nature has been made “new” on account of the habitual grace given freely by God.

13. God’s GRACE is utterly GRATUITOUS Augustine sees it’s gratuity in relation to our human sinfulness. Aquinas sees it’s gratuity in relation to the disproportion between our “human nature” and our “final end” (supernatural)

14. “Justification” for Aquinas • It is God’s action turning sinners into just • It implies conversion: from “unjust” to becoming “just” or “righteous” • 4 stage process of “justification”: • Infusion of sanctifying grace • Movement of human will towards God • Movement of human will away from sin • Remission of guilt

15. “Divinization” in Aquinas • It is the human participation in God, in the divine goodness, love, and knowledge through faith • It implies the intimate relationship – i.e., “communion” – between God and humans made possible through charity • This relationship is described as “adoption”

16. St. Aquinas (13thC) Question: Grace and Nature Approach: metaphysical, ontological “Nature” – principle that makes a thing what it is; “operari sequitur esse” – every being acts according to its nature and toward its proportioned end By divine revelation: humans – called to a supernatural end (union with God in knowledge & love); Supernatural end – not proportionate to human nature; Grace is necessary to “elevate” nature – to reach end “Grace” as “NEW NATURE” – a higher principle of activity oriented to the supernatural end – freely given to us by God Grace “elevates” not only “restores” nature; Completely “gratuitous” – beyond nature Described as “interior quality”; As “habitus” or disposition

17. Weakness of Aquinas’ vision of grace: • It lacks existential concreteness • Its language is static, abstract, dry • It is too metaphysical, technical • It lacks the poetic, symbolic language

18. Strengths of Aquinas’ vision of grace: • Rational: It employs the God-given reason to understand divine-human relationship • It presupposes a positive, holistic anthropology: • human person is a spiritual-physical unity • “grace” is situated within the context of the human ordination toward the supernatural end, beyond the human natural capacity

19. Martin Luther (16th CE) • Historical Climate: • Decadence in moral life, theology; irresponsible admin., secularization, • Indulgence controversy • Albrecht of Brandenburg (3 dioceses) • Preaching “Peter’s Indulgence” and the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica • 1517: Tetzel preached about indulgence • Oct 31, 1517: Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church of Wittenburg • Martin Luther • Professor of Scripture: Paul’s influence; also Augustine • Personal religious experience; rather scrupulous • Nominalistic-Scholastic influence: God’s absolute transcendence; anti-pelagian

20. Martin Luther’s “Theology of Grace” • Grace as personal relationship initiated by God • On one hand: Grace comes totally from outside the human person as a free, gratuitous and exclusive action of God. • God - utterly transcendent; absolute source of grace • Humans – justus et peccator • On the other: intense personal experience of grace

21. Bottom line… • For Luther, the grace of God in Christ was totally transcendent and yet was to be felt and personally appropriated in every aspect of one’s life

22. Grace: justified by faith alone • Faith =response to God’s gift of justifying grace; • Faith implies forgiveness, friendshipwithGod, desire to serve others, and universalpriesthood • Meditation on God’s goodness and mercy (that Christ suffered for us) allures sinner to repentance. • Faith produces and maintains repentance. • Faith is confidence in God’s goodness. • Faith effects something new in human person. • Allows one to direct one’s life toward God.

23. Grace through the Cross: • The Cross is at the heart of the redemptive mystery. • Luther’s theology is a “Theology of the Cross” • It is a Christology of suffering and humiliation. • The source and meaning of grace (=Love) are found in the Cross of Christ. • Luther’s “Theology of Grace” is characterized by simultaneity of opposites (paradox) • “God hidden yet revealed” • “righteous yet sinful” • “God’s mercy and judgment”

24. Grace and the human person • Negative anthropology: Humans have to realize that truth of their sinfulness and seek God’s grace in Christ. • Forgiveness is our primary experience of grace. • But we never really leave sin behind, even with the power of grace. • Justification, however, results in our passionate desire to love and serve our neighbor. • Righteousness belongs to Christ; it does not belong to us, yet it becomes ours through faith • Grace is curative: it is successful in spite of the utter depravity of human nature.

25. Spirit comes through Word and Sacrament • Faith comes through hearing the Word. • The presence of the Word means the presence of Christ and the Spirit. • The efficacy of the sacraments depends entirely on faith.

26. Strength • Luther’s pessimistic view of the human person does not lead him to deny the presence of the positive effects of grace • He sees grace as gift; as personal, loving will of God which works within the hearts of believers • Grace – real, concrete, practical, everyday • Weakness • Does not reflect the aspect of human life in which we become co-workers with God, called to participate in God’s life…

27. Martin Luther (16hC) Approach: existential, confessional Deep respect for God’s absolute transcendence, but modesty concerning the human power to know God Deep sense of sin– human nature is sinful Sense of fear of the Infinite – Mysteriumtremendum Experience of spiritual peace: perceives the loving God behind the holy, commanding God in moments of torment; Grace is the RELATION OF FRIENDSHIP & COMMUNION established by God in spite of our sinfulness “Grace” is God’s word of forgiveness; “Justified” – recipient of God’s word of mercy; Existentially , we are “simuljustus et peccator”; “Justification” (=forgiveness of sin) “by faith alone” “Faith” = standing before God in self-surrender and pure reception); No such thing as merit Question: Sinfulness of man and Grace

28. Trent (16th CE) Convened to formulate Church’s reply to the reformers. Justification and sin became central in the Church’s doctrine of grace Different schools of theological thought within the Church; outbreak of war… obstacles Council steered a middle course between pelagian overemphasis on human free will and protestant overemphasis on grace. .

29. Doctrine of Grace according to Trent Question: Grace and Justification Human beings can’t be justified by the power of nature; grace is absolutely necessary Justification is a real remission of sins Justification is also sanctification and interior renovation of the person (real, inner change) Process of justification involves free acceptance on the part of a person (active cooperation; stages of preparation)

30. Justice of justified persons is their own: inherent justice of the just is a participation in Christ’s justice There is no absolute certainty concerning the state of grace, of perseverance or salvation It is possible and necessary to obey the law Justification is lost by any mortal sin One truly merits salvation through good works in grace (implies cooperation with grace) Grace: inherent reality in man infused by the Holy Spirit