The Catholic Doctrine of Grace and the Priest

TH504 Theological Anthropology

Rev. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P.

Br. Paul M. Nguyen, OMV

Congregationis Oblatorum Beat Mari Virginis
November 24, 2015

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Grace is the participation in divine life. This very simple declaration distills a wealth of
Catholic Tradition, upon which we will now elaborate. We will explore what it is in itself and
why it is necessary, what it accomplishes in the souls of men (justification and sanctification),
and in what ways men come to receive it (merit). As with nearly every doctrine, the Church has
found opportunity to articulate its teachings with increasing clarity over time; accordingly, as
topics previously disputed arise, we will acknowledge the errors and the correctives applied to
them, especially via the Tridentine decree and canons of the sixth session. Finally, we will reflect
upon how the priest engages and appropriates this doctrine in his identity and in his ministry.
We discover the necessity of grace by reflecting upon the natural powers of the soul of
man and considering how they attain their proper objects, especially in light of living the
Christian life and ultimately beholding God. In his treatise on grace (Summa Theologiae IaIIae,
QQ109114), St. Thomas Aquinas begins with these considerations. He teaches that although the
human intellect is ordered to the true and the human will to the good, he is not able to engage
ultimate Truth and Goodness except by a gift of God elevating those natural powers to behold the
primary analogue of their proper objects (Q109, AA1, 2). This St. Thomas qualifies by saying
that prior to the fall, in the state of perfect nature, he could have known God in all things, and
loved Him above himself and all things, though he would still have had to be moved by God to
this knowledge and love. And likewise, in the state of corrupted nature, we require Gods grace
all the more to come to know and love Him well (ibid. and Trent, Session 6, Decretum de
Justificatione, [hereafter, Decretum] Cap. I). To keep the commandments, grace is also
necessary, and St. Thomas treats this in the following article. He acknowledges that while it is
possible in the state of perfect nature to do acts of justice and of other virtues that would
materially correspond with the Law, it is nonetheless impossible to accomplish them formally,

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that is, in charity, without divine assistance, and even less in the state of corrupted nature (ST
IaIIae, Q109, A3). The Council of Trent echoes this teaching, holding that God does not
command the impossible, and that He even supplies the helps required for men to do more easily
that which He has commanded (Decretum, Cap. XI). This same section upholds Gods
benevolence, insisting that those justified by grace are indeed helped by God to live according to
the commandments, and that they do not, in doing good works, incur an admixture of sin in them
(though, indeed, they may still fall).
More significantly, grace is necessary for one to merit eternal life: the reward for having
retained Gods favor and having persevered in that participation in His life, called grace. In the
remainder of this question, St. Thomas shows that grace itself is required in preparing to receive
grace (so that it be thoroughly convincing that it is all Gods work), to first rise from sin, and
then to remain free of sin, to do good (simultaneously avoiding sin), and to persevere in good.
The bottom line is that for men outside the state of perfect nature, the natural powers are so
weighed down by the Fall that they require Gods grace to first motivate and then sustain every
good act of knowledge and love (ST IaIIae, Q109, A3). Trent echoes: final perseverance that
merits eternal life is unattainable without grace, and cites Phil. 1:6 the one who began a good
work in you will continue to complete it (NABRE; Decretum, Cap. XIII). All of this is the
dynamic of grace for justification and growing in charity, as we will later treat.
Grace itself either acts or exists in some way upon the souls of men. Men are first passive
with regard to God acting upon them by grace (operating grace), and subsequently act in
accord with what that grace inspired (cooperating grace; ST IaIIae, Q110, A2; Q111, A2). As to
its existence, if grace existed in the category of substance, men who received it would be
substantially changed into something other, something specifically or generically diverse. Rather,

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the axiom that grace builds on nature holds: grace exists as a quality of the soul (that is, in a
category of accident), namely, as a stable habit healing human nature and then enabling the soul
to more naturally and more easily acquire even supernatural goods (ST IaIIae, Q110, A2;
Catechism of the Catholic Church [hereafter, CCC] 1998, 2000). Although it is a habit disposing
for good, however, grace is not itself a virtue for men, because it is not merely a refinement of
our natural powers, but an addition of analogous supernatural powers: this new principle of the
activity of apprehending the truth of God and being drawn to His goodness transcends our
natural powers (ST IaIIae, Q110, A3; CCC 1998; Garrigou-Lagrange, Three Conversions, p. 11).
This leads to St. Thomass final point of this question: by the souls participation in Divine life,
we mean a likeness of essence to what it means to be God, namely by sharing in the knowing and
loving of the Blessed Trinity. And this means that grace is applied to the soul at the level of
essence prior to the powers of the soul, by what is diversely called regeneration or
re-creation (ST IaIIae, Q110, A4).
St. Thomas gives several categories of grace in Question 111, which we will define here
and then witness their operation in the remainder of this essay. We have already seen the
categories of operating (attributed to Gods work alone) and cooperating (mans action
following on Gods initiative; CCC 2000). St. Thomas speaks of gratuitous grace as a free gift
to promote the justification or sanctification of another (CCC 2003), and of sanctifying as
habitual (actually increasing a souls participation in Trinitarian divine life, initially from
nothing; CCC 1997, 2000). The Catechism also speaks of actual grace, which is a specific
intervention of God simply, which does not have the character of an added habit on the soul
(CCC 2000). Grace is also distinguished as prevenient (that is coming before, as a preparation;
CCC 2001), and subsequent (graces given to one already in the state of grace). The Catechism

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adds distinctions for sacramental grace (received in the 7 Sacraments in accord with how each
sacrament disposes the soul to better live Gods life and effects a conformity of the Image of God
in the soul) and special graces including charisms (extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit
given for the good of the Church; CCC 2003) and graces of state (for the exercise of the
Christian life and of responsibilities within the Church; CCC 2004). Despite all of these
distinctions and labels, grace is always the work of God that increases His supernatural life in
men.
Justification is the (new) beginning of right-relationship with God. The grace of the
Holy Spirit has the power to justify us (CCC 1987). This means two things: the remission of
sins, and the sanctification and renewal of the interior man (Decretum, Cap. VII; CCC
1989). There are four things required for justification. Though simultaneous in time, they do
have a kind of ordering by their nature: grace comes into the soul first; then the will is moved by
and toward God, because He does not work against mans nature but with it, and this is faith;
then the will is moved to turn away from sin; and hence the guilt of sin is remitted (ST IaIIae,
Q113, AA36, 8). The Council teaches that the causes of justification are: finalthe glory of
God and of Jesus Christ and of life everlasting to which justification is ordered; efficientGod,
by the merits of Jesus Christs passion, effects justification through the instrumentality of
Baptism; formalby His gift of justice, men are recreated (Decretum, Cap. VII; CCC 1992).
Further, by the Sacrament of Baptism, not only is the guilt of sin removed, but the temporal
punishment owed for sins is also remitted (Decretum, Cap. XIV; CCC 1987). The essential
doctrine is that the grace required for justification is freely given and must be freely received by
mans cooperation with it, and that it achieves both the remission of sins and sanctification.

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It is important to note that this infused grace (first in nature for justification) is itself
already prepared by grace: by the time that Baptism is administered, prevenient grace has been at
work in the adult, drawing him closer to God and to the Church (and for the child, in his parents
and indeed the whole Church, who together supply the faith into which the child is baptized [ST
IIIa, Q69, A6; CCC 1253, 1282]). This is reflected in the passage from Romans 8: those He
called, He also justified (as quoted by St. Thomas, IaIIae, Q113, A1 and CCC 2015). This
preparation very often takes the form of learning: excited and assisted by divine grace,
conceiving faith by hearing, they are freely moved towards God, believing those things to be true
which God has revealed and promised, and they turn from sin and toward that newlyapprehended and salutary truth (Decretum, Cap. VI).
In justification, not only are sins remitted, but the sanctification and interior renewal of
the just entail incorporation into the Mystical Body of Christ, adoption as sons of God (cf. John
1), grafting onto the life-giving Vine (cf. John 15), and, most efficaciously, a participation in
Christs death and resurrection (CCC 1988; Decretum, Cap. IV). Trent concludes that the
Christian must therefore and thereby maintain that gift unto everlasting life (Cap. VII); indeed,
the life of grace is already a beginning of eternal life (Three Conversions, p. 13). This sonship is
by grace and adoption, because it could not be by nature (as we have seen, grace is a quality on
the soul, not a substantial change). In fact, grace renders us lovable to God by producing His own
Trinitarian life within us (Three Conversions, pp. 9-10).
Another formulation of justification is that it establishes a cooperation between Gods
grace and mans freedom (CCC 1993). What God has freely offered, man may freely accept. This
assent of faith to what God has proposed to man (in the stage of prevenient grace and
preparation) entails conversion, a turning to God (even a turning with God, entering into a

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harmonious way of life). The cooperation of charity with what the Holy Spirit has prompted by
illumination also expresses this cooperation of mans freedom with Gods grace as he manifests
Gods justice in his actions (CCC 1993; ST IaIIae, Q113, A3).
In fact, the dilution of this truth in Luthers theology is directly responsible for his
repudiation of the Sacraments as instruments of grace for living out the Christian life after the
moment of first justification. Absent the gifts that justification gives (the theological virtues and
infused moral virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in charity), Luther thought that a single act
of faith could cover sins, and together with a claim to have put on the justice of Christ, that a
man was thereby just before God, even absent good works or living charity (Three Conversions,
p. 19).
There is a question concerning the excellence or preeminence of justification with respect
to Divine works: is the justification of the ungodly Gods greatest work? St. Thomas argues
that the creation of the world from nothing is a greater work absolutely, because to move from
non-being to being is an infinite distance. However, he also argues that the elevation from natural
to supernatural life is still higher because it terminates in God himself, infinite being, which is
manifestly higher than finite beings (as in the rest of the created order). He offers a second
distinction between the gift of grace that glorifies the just, and the gift of grace that justifies the
ungodly; the grace of glorification is nobler by virtue of its term, but less in quantity than the
grace of justification, which is greater in quantity while being lowlier in its term (in the order of
the wayfarer; ST IaIIae, Q113, A9). St. Augustine adds that the justification of sinners
surpasses the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater mercy (CCC
1994).

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Now in the discussion of grace, we come to the subject of merit, having learned what
grace is in itself and how it effects a mans justification with his cooperation. St. Thomas clearly
defines merit as the wages due for work completed (ST IaIIae, Q114, A1; cf. Jer. 31:16; CCC
2006). He teaches that it is possible for men to merit Divine gifts on the basis of having
cooperated with previous Divine gifts (Q114, A1; CCC 20072008). This, St. Thomas calls
condign merit, and it works because man is receiving a supernatural reward not for a natural
act, but for a supernatural act, itself inspired by God (ST IaIIae, Q114, A8; Decretum, Cap.
XVI). However, it is clear that this is limited to subsequent grace; no man can merit that first
grace that justifies him (ST IaIIae, Q114, A5; CCC 2010). While first grace cannot be merited,
man may merit an increase of grace and charity, and even merit for others, and temporal goods
may even come to him on account of and in support of his good works, but he may not merit
final perseverance. St. Thomas counsels that men rightly beseech God for this gift, but that of
themselves, even with His grace and promptings, they cannot merit the gift of perseverance from
the life of the wayfarer into glory (ST IaIIae, Q114, A9; Decretum, Cap. XIII). Regarding the
possibility to merit grace for others, it is not possible strictly speaking, that a man could oblige
God to bestow His gifts upon others. However, from his own state of friendship with God, the
holy man may congruously merit the grace of conversion for others insofar as he desires the
justification, sanctification, and glorification of his friends, but only insofar as they are not
impeded from receiving such a gift because of their sins (ST IaIIae, Q114, A9).
As may be expected, charityas the chief theological virtue, the form of the moral good,
and the only relevant virtue in heavenis the principal virtue through which grace is the
principle for merit (CCC 2011, ST IaIIae, Q114, A4). And the ultimate fulfillment of this
supernatural activity in charity, in joy for the love of God, is the final gift of eternal life in

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heaven (CCC 2010). The paradigmatic illustration of this is the earthly life of Jesus Christ. He
suffered on the Cross, giving His life freely to redeem our corrupted nature, even when His
humanity was perfected, united by the hypostatic union to the Second Person of the Blessed
Trinity. He gave this not only as a moral example, but simultaneously instituted the order of
grace and the sacraments that efficaciously bestow it upon the well-disposed (although all are
called; CCC 2013; Decretum, Cap. III). This is the order of love, that those who receive this
grace can cooperate with it in living out of love, seeking to be perfect, uniting their sufferings to
Christs sufferings, and serving one another out of love (CCC 2015). This is the second
conversion, the path of the just toward ever greater conformity to God himself, which is holiness
(Three Conversions, p. 46). This conversion, however, in the schema of St. John of the Cross,
entails the passive purgation of the senses (Three Conversions, p. 32) and embracing the cross,
on the way to Calvary and unto death. In fact, it is characterized by a beginning of
contemplation by a progressive understanding of the great mystery of the Cross and the
Redemption, a living appreciation of the infinite value of the Blood which Christ shed for us
(Three Conversions, p. 46). This path of conversion, which at this stage entails remaining
converted, often contains setbacks and aberrations, by which souls even fall out of grace. The
restoration to grace is akin to that first grace of justification. This time, it comes by the
Sacrament of Penance (which forgives the sin but does not remit its temporal punishment;
Decretum, Cap. XIV). Thankfully, Gods mercy has provided that men may pick up where
they left off so to speak, resuming the life of grace from which they fell (Three Conversions, p.
34 citing ST IIIa, Q89, A2), and indeed, the gift of faith was never lost, lest these just who fell
would be again deprived of the way back to justice (Decretum, Cap. XV). Now it is important
to recognize also that this restoration of grace may not be merited; the gift of faith enables one to

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desire it and even to seek it, which is just, but it lacks the quality of merit and falls only on Gods
mercy to grant this grace (ST IaIIae, Q114, A7).
Having treated this whole doctrine on grace, justification, and merit, together with the
stages of conversion, we now arrive at the application to the identity and ministry of the priest.
These happen in two ways: for himself, and for others. The priest is, himself, subject to the
whole dynamic of grace. In fact, the priest requires another priest to restore him to the state of
grace by Penance. Everything pertaining to his cooperation with the Divine initiative is required
of the priest. The life of grace and charity that merits its increase is required of the priest both on
account of the dignity of his sacramental configuration to Christ, and on account of that same
office directed toward the people of God. The priest must be the moral example insofar as he can
model charity for his flock, but he must also serve the people from his own holiness, for none
gives what he lacks, and the priest serves to dispose the people to receive grace and also
dispenses Gods grace in the sacraments.
The dispensation of grace is, in a sense, an easy thing. The sacrament itself is efficacious,
and the priest can only thwart its efficacy in rare cases by malicious interference with it. The
greater risk lies in everything that accompanies the administration of a sacrament that can
obscure for the people their full, due participation in it. Sources of distraction may include
music; flowers and visible decorations; the place itself, by its arrangement or by its external
circumstances; the attire of the minister, leaders, or the people who attend; and the conduct of
others who attend. It falls on the priests dispositional function to instruct the people (before or
even during the rites) and to order all these elements to facilitate the reception of grace by a
fuller participation.

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Even with other distracting elements present, the weight of the sacramental dynamic rests
on everything for the sacrament being positively present, and less on accidental forces that
challenge it. In this view, the proper preparation of the people (and of the priest) demands more
attention. While preparation for the first reception of the various sacraments is standard,
sacramental catechesis should also be a regular component of preaching. This is primarily
because the essential and actionable saving truth ought to be ubiquitous. Mention ought to be
made of the Eucharist, of Penance, of the necessity of grace to rise from sin, of the impossibility
of working out ones own salvation apart from God or the Church, and of the reality of sharing in
Gods life and accomplishing supernatural acts together with Him. This should be done in ways
that reiterate these saving truths in memorable phrases that simultaneously explain the nature of
each mystery and the ways in which people ought to engage them in their daily lives. This is a
skill built over time and adapted to particular places and times, but every priest with his flock in
mind should take care to reinforce these fundamental truths for beginning and living out the
Christian life in light of its goal: eternal beatitude.
The path of conversion is rough. Assurance that God does work to dispose souls to
receive His grace, especially that of justification, can be a consolation. Deeper still is the
realization that any aspiration toward God that a person has is in fact a divine work already
begun; that longing is itself inspired, created within the soul by God. Our hope always rests in
the God for Whom nothing is impossible (cf. Luke 1:37). Preaching must reinforce the timeless
truth of the dignity of human life at its natural ends, and it should adequately instruct the people
concerning the four last things and what happens after death. Families should know to call the
priest when someone falls seriously ill, especially the elderly; for nobody receives the grace of
final perseverance automatically; they should know to pray for their loved ones in death, to make

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up for their outstanding temporal punishment by prayer and penance and gain for them a more
hasty entrance into glory.
The priest must ultimately answer for his people, for the holiness they attained upon his
diligent dispositive work. And he will also answer for himself before the throne of God.
Therefore, the priest must appropriate these saving truths pre-eminently, and subsequently share
them with those entrusted to him. The priests job is to learn how to remain in the state of grace,
to do it, and to teach others to do it, all the while dispensingby Christs power and ordination
that participation in the life of the Blessed Trinity which justifies and glorifies those entrusted
to his care.

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References
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologiae, IaIIae QQ109-114. Benziger Brothers, 1947.
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nn. 1987-2029. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997.
Garrigou-Lagrange, Reginald, O.P. The Three Conversions in the Spiritual Life. Charlotte: TAN,
2002.
Session 6, Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent.