DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

This divine treasure of grace makes us
truly happy and contented.
We see so
many people who possess all they can
reasonably desire, and still are not happy.

Not so he who possesses the grace of God.
He has internal peace, — the peace of the
heart; nothing can disturb him because he
knows that God loves him, and he desires
no more. This peace and happiness is a
foretaste of the happiness of heaven which
consists in seeing and possessing God.
It
is true the saints in heaven are still happier
because their union with God is more inti-
mate and they are in no danger of losing
God for all eternity. We, on the contrary,
are always in danger of losing sanctifying
grace, for " We have this treasure in earthen
vessels."
1 We are on the way to our eternal
home, and, as long as we have not yet arrived
there, "The evil spirits beset our way like
robbers "
2 and try to deprive us of the valu-
able treasure which we have. We must,
therefore, take the advice of the Apostle,
" See, therefore, brethren, how you walk cir-
cumspectly ; not as unwise, but as wise."
3

No one can take the treasure of sanctifying
grace from us against our will ; we can lose
it only if we give it up of our own accord.
" Who then shall separate us from the love
of Christ ? shall tribulation ? or distress ? or
famine ? or nakedness ? or danger ? or perse-
cution ? or the sword ? . . . for I am sure
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor might, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be
able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
4 If
there is nothing that can separate us from
the love of God, then there is nothing that
can take away from us sanctifying grace, be-
cause it is impossible to have the grace of
God without loving Him.



To be continued...


1. 2 Cor. 4. 7.
2. St. Greg. Hom. II.
3. Eph. 5. 15.
4. Rom. 8. 35-39.
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

Through grace we are united with God
as long as we do not lose this precious gift
through sin. We are, however, not preserved
from temptation on account of grace.
There still remains in us the effect of
original sin ; evil inclinations, which are
not sinful in themselves, but which entice
us to sin. Of these not even the holiest
persons are free. St. Paul tells us that even
when he had been rapt to the third
heaven, where he heard words which no man
could repeat, he relates of himself, " Lest the
greatness of the revelations should exalt me,
there was given me a sting of my flesh,
an angel of Satan to buffet me, for which
thing thrice I besought the Lord, that it
might depart from me ; and He said to me :
My grace is sufficient for thee, for power is
made perfect in infirmity."
1 Even St. Paul,
who was a great saint and certainly had the
grace of God, was not free from temptations.
So long as we resist temptations, they cannot
rob us of sanctifying grace; on the contrary
they will increase our merits and will make
the state of grace more firm in us on
account of our fidelity to it.
Even if
through human infirmity we should fall
into venial sins, we will not lose the state
of sanctifying grace. Venial sin does not
rob us of sanctifying grace ; mortal sin alone
can do this.



1. 2 Cor. 12. 7-9.


To be continued...
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

Can we know whether we are in the state
of grace?



It is certain that we receive sanctifying grace
in Baptism, and grace remains in the soul as
long as it is not expelled by mortal sin. If any
one knows that he has committed no mortal sin
after Baptism, then he has reason to hope that
he is in the state of grace. Likewise one who has sinned after
Baptism, but has repented and made a good
confession, can hope that he is in the state
of grace. The sacraments of Baptism and
Penance give sanctifying grace infallibly,
provided we receive them worthily and do
all that is required on our part.
Still, no one
can be absolutely certain that he has had the
right contrition for his sins, and that he has
confessed them as he should. We cannot
always be certain whether the sins we have
committed were mortal or only venial sins.
On this account, namely because we cannot be
absolutely certain that we have done all that
was required, and not on account of any defect
on the part of the sacraments, we can never be
certain of possessing sanctifying grace.

" Man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love, or
hatred."
1 And the Apostle says, " For I am
not conscious to myself of anything, yet am
I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth
me, is the Lord."
2 It was on this account
that St. Paul found it necessary to practise
mortification in order to overcome the
temptations to sin and persevere in grace.
" I chastise my body and bring it into
subjection, lest, perhaps, when I have preached
to others, I myself should become a cast
away."
3 Although we can have no absolute
certainty that we are in the state of grace,
still we must have confidence in the mercy
and love of God and hope in the merits of
Jesus Christ. This hope which we have,
that we are in the state of grace, and that
we shall finally through the mercy of God be
brought to life everlasting, must not be without
distrust in ourselves and fear of sin.



To be continued...


1. Eccl. 9. 1.
2. 1 Cor. 4. 4.
3. 1 Cor. 9. 27.
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

The Church in the Council of Trent teaches
that no one without a special revelation, can
know with the certainty of faith, that he is in
the state of grace and much less that he
shall persevere in it until death.
1

There are some signs by which we may
form some judgment whether we are in the
state of grace or not ;
these are the fruits of
grace, namely good works.
Just as we can
know the nature of a tree from its fruits, so
we can also know the presence of grace from
its fruits. Our Lord said, " Every good tree
bringeth forth good fruit."
2 Through sanc-
tifying grace man becomes a child of God ; he
is freed from sin ; he becomes just and holy
before God ; he will therefore also do what is
just and holy ; he will show himself a child
of God in his works. His works will be such
as are pleasing to God, and meritorious of
heaven.


According to false teaching of the so-called
Reformers of the sixteenth century,
man can do nothing worthy of heaven, even
when he is justified, because according to
them, justification is not a renewal and an
inner sanctification but only a covering over
of sin by the merits of Jesus Christ.
The
Catholic Church teaches, however, that by
the reception of sanctifying grace the sins are
entirely blotted out, they are washed away
by Baptism, and the soul receives a new life.
It is interiorly sanctified. Man is born
again; he becomes a child of God.



To be continued...


1. Con. Trid. Sess. 6, c. 9.
2. Matt. 7. 17.
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

One who is justified by grace has a new
supernatural life, and he who lives by this
life, lives in God ; all that lives tends to
action ; hence grace, too, will show itself by
acts, that is, by good works. " The charity
of God is poured forth in our hearts by the
Holy Ghost, who is given to us."
1 If we
have grace, then we have the love of God,
because by grace our souls are united to
God. Love will manifest itself : " Charity is
patient, is kind ; charity envieth not, dealeth
not perversely, is not puffed up, is not am-
bitious, seeketh not her own, is not provoked
to anger, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth with the truth ; beareth
all things, believeth all things, hopeth all
things, endureth all things. Charity never
falleth away whether prophecies shall be
made void, or tongues shall cease, or know-
ledge shall be destroyed."
2
Charity or the
love of God which is always joined to sancti-
fying grace shows itself by good works.



The fruits of good works of the early
Christians at Jerusalem we find recorded in
Holy Scripture. They persevered in the
teaching of the apostles and the breaking of
bread and in prayer. They remained in the
faith, were obedient to the commands of the
apostles, received frequently the Holy Eu-
charist, and were constant in prayer ; this
was the effect of sanctifying grace. Further,
we read of the early Christians that they sold
their goods and gave them to the poor,
they
were filled with the love of their neighbor;
and true love of one's neighbor is a sign of
the love of God.
As it was in those days,
so is it today ; they that have in their hearts
the love of God, and hence are in the state
of grace, obey the commandments of God
and of the Church ; they are charitable and
kind ; they lead good lives, are pure, honest,
and pious. The works of such persons are
meritorious.



1. Rom. 5. 5.
2. I Cor. 13. 4-8.


To be continued...
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

We call those works meritorious or salu-
tary which deserve a reward from God, and
that, a supernatural reward. This reward
consists in the increase of sanctifying grace
and eternal salvation.
It is true, sanctifying
grace is a free gift of God, and so are the
faculties of mind and body gifts of God;
still, because we have free will, and hence
can accept or reject the grace offered us,
God rewards us most generously when we
accept it and cooperate with it.
St. Gregory
the Great says, " Because the will follows the
preventing grace of God, that which was a
gift becomes meritorious."
1 And the
Council of Trent teaches, " They who do good and
persevere to the end, receive eternal life, not
only as a grace promised to the sons of God
through Jesus Christ, but as a reward to be
faithfully given on account of the promise
of God and the merits of their works."
2
The reward we receive for our good works
is at the same time an act of justice and an
act of mercy on the part of God. It is an
act of justice because God has promised
this reward, and we, by fulfilling the condi-
tions of His promise, have deserved it ; it
is an act of mercy because we could fulfil
the conditions of that promise only through
the help of the grace which Jesus merited
for us by His suffering and death.
God's
mercy toward us has been so great that
He rewards His own gifts in us as our
merits.



1. Hom. 9 in Ezech.
2. Sess. 6. c. 16.



To be continued...
Image
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

Will the grace of God remain always in
us?


There is nothing that can deprive
us of sanctifying grace except mortal sin.
Mortal sin is a grievous offence against
the law of God. To sin mortally, it is necessary
that there should be question of
some grievous matter; that we act with
sufficient reflection and with full consent
of the will.
One who commits a sin of
that kind drives from his soul sanctifying
grace. Supernatural life is lost, and that
soul becomes dead in the eyes of God.
With the loss of sanctifying grace is lost
also the love and friendship of God; God
is driven from the soul. God will not live
in a heart which is subject to sin; sin
builds up a wall of separation between the
soul and God. By sin, not only the friend
ship of God is lost, but the sinner becomes
an enemy of God.
How terrible to have
for an enemy, God who is all-powerful, who
can cast us body and soul into the fire of
hell !
The sinner casts aside that treasure
which Jesus obtained for him at the expense
of countless sufferings and death, — a treasure
which cannot be compared with all the
goods of the world because it insures us
of the possession of God Himself. With
the loss of sanctifying grace, are lost all
merits of the good works performed, no
matter how great they may have been. Those
merits were founded in grace, and with
the foundation, the whole structure is destroyed.

With the loss of sanctifying grace
is lost also the happiness and peace of the
children of God. No one can be really
happy who has separated himself from
God, the source of all true happiness.
He
is separated from Christ who gives a peace,
such as the world cannot give. With grace
is lost the sonship of God and the right
to heaven. The sinner makes himself
worthy of eternal hell-fire ; he has no longer
any right to the inheritance of the children
of God; by an act of his own free will,
he throws away all that God in His mercy
gave him. By sin he has said to God that
he wants nothing in common with Him,
that he prefers to please himself in this
life rather than to obey God. From this
we see that
there is no evil so great as
the evil of mortal sin.



To be continued...
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

THE STATE OF PRIVATION OF SANCTIFYING GRACE.


When a man is in the state of sin all
his good works are without merit for heaven.

The Holy Scriptures in various places compare
man to a tree; the good tree brings
forth good fruit, and the bad tree brings
forth evil fruit. The works of the good
are effects of sanctifying grace ; their works
are meritorious for heaven.
This does
not mean, however, that everything one
does whilst in the state of grace is good
and merits heaven ; even a man in the
state of grace can commit sin, and hence
do evil. Such a man can commit mortal
sin, and thereby lose the grace which is in
him; yes, he can do evil, even without losing
the state of grace when he commits
venial sins.
There are trees growing wild,
and there are some that have been improved.
These latter have had a branch of a better
quality grafted upon them ; they bring forth
better fruit. When he receives sanctifying
grace, man resembles one of these grafted
trees; he can bring forth better fruit than
he could have done naturally.
This is not
the case with the man in sin; he cannot
bring forth any fruit worthy of heaven; he
remains, so to speak, a wild tree. A man
who is not baptized, or who has fallen into
mortal sin, may perform works which are
naturally good,
but he can do nothing to
merit a supernatural reward.
From this
we can see that not all that such a one
does is sinful, as the heretics of the six
teenth century taught. Their idea was that
through the sin of our first parents human
nature had been entirely corrupted, so that
it was unable to do anything but what is
sinful.
According to the teaching of our
Holy Church, man has lost sanctifying grace
through the fall of Adam, and so has become
incapable of working his salvation.
In consequence of the loss of grace, through
original sin, man can do nothing to gain
heaven,
but his natural faculties of intellect
and free will have not been destroyed ; he
can still will and do the good which he
understands; he can do that which is in
conformity with the law of nature, and
therefore not sinful.



There are works which are bad and sinful
of themselves, such as blasphemy, murder,
adultery, etc. Every one that does
these things, whether he be baptized or
not, is guilty of sin ; the one who is baptized
loses by these sins the state of sanctifying
grace, and makes himself worthy of
eternal punishment ; the unbaptized also commits
grievous sin, and makes himself punishable
with eternal death.
Other works
are in themselves indifferent, that is, they
are neither good nor bad, as eating, drinking,
walking, etc. These can become good
or bad, according to the circumstances and
the intention with which we perform them.

If we take a walk in order to get new
strength and so be better able to do our
work, then such a walk is good;
but if we
take a walk in order to avoid going to Mass
on Sunday, then the walk is bad and sinful.



To be continued...
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

Finally, there are works which are good
in themselves; these works are good, provided
they are performed in the proper
circumstances and with the right intention.

Such works are prayer, honoring one's parents.
It is clear that even one who is not
baptized can honor his father and mother,
as can also one who is in the state of mortal
sin ; yet such acts are not sinful.
They are,
however, worthless for heaven because the
source of eternal life is not in such a one.

Such works are naturally good; they are
the fruit of his natural faculties of under-
standing and free will. These works are
not above nature ; they belong to this world,
and not to heaven.
Had he who performed
these works been in the state of grace, his
natural powers would have been raised to
the supernatural order, he would have had
in him the principle of eternal life, and
his works would have been of that higher
kind which leads to heaven.



St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, " If I speak
with the tongues of men, and of angels,
and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal; and
if I should have prophecy and should know
all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
should have all faith so that I could remove
mountains and have not charity, I am noth
ing ; and if I should distribute all my goods
to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my
body up to be burned and have not charity,
it profiteth me nothing."
1 No words could
be more clear or stronger than these of
St. Paul.
Without charity, that is, without
sanctifying grace, all works are useless
for eternal salvation, even such as giving
all we possess to feed the poor, giving our
body to be burned, — faith itself, no matter
if it be strong enough to work miracles,
cannot save us if we are in a state
of sin.
We must then be united by grace
to God if we wish to earn the eternal
reward of heaven.
For this reason Our
Lord tells us that He is the vine and we
are the branches, because no branch can
bring forth fruit when it is separated from
the vine. A branch which is cut off from
the vine soon withers and dies ; it cannot
bear good fruit. If we wish to bear good
fruit, we must be united by grace to Christ ;
without Him we can do nothing. We
must receive from Him the life of grace,
just as the branch receives life and sap
from the vine
. One who is not baptized
or who has lost the state of grace by mortal
sin is spiritually dead ; he is dead to heaven,
and can do nothing to gain it. Of him
the words of the Apocalypse are true,
" I
know thy works, that thou hast the name
of being alive, and thou art dead."
2 A man
who is not baptized, therefore not justified,
or one who has committed a mortal
sin, is deprived of sanctifying grace, and
consequently is not a child of God, has
no right to heaven, and can do nothing
to merit it.
The condition of such a one
is, indeed, deplorable.



1. I Cor. 13. 1-3.
2. Apoc. 3. 1.



To be continued...
Avatar de l’utilisateur
InHocSignoVinces
Messages : 2999
Inscription : dim. 26 août 2018 11:43
Localisation : Tharsis, Hispania

Re: DIVINE GRACE (in English)

Message par InHocSignoVinces »

Although the good works of one in the
state of sin are not meritorious for heaven,
yet we must not think that they are entirely
useless, so that it would be of no benefit
whatever for him to do good.
These good
works performed in the state of sin, though
they do not give one a right to heaven,
may
still lead him there by disposing him for
the grace of repentance.
" Redeem thou
thy sins with alms, and thy iniquities with
works of mercy to the poor; perhaps He
will forgive thy offences."
1 This was the
advice of Daniel to the king Nabuchodonosor.
Such good works, although they do
not merit grace, are still apt to move God
to take pity on the sinner and give him the
grace of conversion.
These naturally good
works may also ward off the temporal punishments
due to the sins we have committed.
Of this we have an example in the Ninevites,
who, when they heard the prediction that
their city was soon to be destroyed, fasted
and clothed themselves in sackcloth and
ashes. This averted the punishment, and
their city was spared.
Good works, performed
when not in the state of grace, are
useless for our salvation, inasmuch as we
cannot merit heaven without being friends
and children of God, which we are only by
sanctifying grace ;
but they are not entirely
useless, because they may be for us the reason
of conversion, or may avert punishment
due to sin.
We read in the Acts of the
Apostles of a certain centurion, Cornelius,
"A religious man, and fearing God with all
his house, giving much alms to the people
and always praying to God."
2 He was still
a heathen and therefore not in the state
of sanctifying grace, for this comes only
through Baptism.
Although not baptized,
and hence not able to merit heaven, he
received the grace of conversion on account
of the good work which he performed.



To be continued...


1. Dan. 4. 24.
2. Acts 10. 2.
Répondre

Revenir à « Texts in English »

Qui est en ligne ?

Utilisateurs parcourant ce forum : Aucun utilisateur inscrit et 2 invités