Grace

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION PART ONE: GRACE CONSIDERED EXTENSIVELY   I.  Why Grace? II.  What Is Grace? III.  Grace to the Angels IV.  Grace to Adam V.  Grace in the Old Testament VI.  Grace to Christ VII.  Justification in the New Testament PART TWO – A: GRACE CONSIDERED INTENSIVELY   VIII. […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Chapter I. Why Grace? Why do we have sacraments? To give us grace. But is grace the ultimate, the “end of the line?” Is it an end in itself, a gift of God which we are simply to have, a treasure just to be hoarded? No, grace is not […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Chapter VIII. Sanctifying Grace St. Thomas, following St. Augustine, declares that “the justification of the ungodly … is greater than the creation of heaven and earth” (l-2qll3a9). Since the former is a supernatural work of the highest order and the other only natural, more glory is given to God […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Chapter XIII. Sanctifying Grace and the Indwelling Trinity In considering sanctifying grace we have been considering created grace. But there is another grace, greater than sanctifying grace: Gods gift of Himself to us. In heaven God will give Himself to us in the Beatific Vision, but even here below […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Introduction The following pages are a composite of all the principal declarations of the Church on the subject of divine grace. Arranged in chronological order, these documents give us not only a purview of Catholic theology on the subject but place into our hands a synopsis of the Church’s […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. We might begin by observing that there are so many elements in the pursuit of sanctity that we are liable to overlook the most important one on our side. The most important element on God’s side is obviously His grace. The most important on our side is our liberty. […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. INTRODUCTION I. MEANING OF DIVINE GRACE     Scripture and Theology     Communication of Divine Love II. NECESSITY FOR SALVATION     Pelagius to Rationalism         Semi-Pelagianism         Luther and Calvin         Rationalism     Scripture and Tradition         Anti-Pelagianism         Beginning of Faith         Reformation to Jansenism         Modern Times     Spiritual Implications         Universal Need         Humility and Prayer         From Christ the Head to […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Not the least obstacle to the study of grace is the psychological one of meaning. The English word “grace” is simply a transliteration from the Latin gratia, first used by the Roman translators of the New Testament for the Greek charis, imbedded in the stream of ecclesiastical Latin by […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Most Catholics would be surprised if anyone questioned or denied that we need the grace of God to be saved. Built into the Catholic mind is a correlation between grace and heaven so close that the one is unthinkable without the other. The relationship is correct, and the instinct […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. Man is a bundle of contradictions. Newman called him the strange composite of heaven and earth, cloaking corruption yet weakness mastering power. “What sort of freak then is man,” wrote Pascal, “How novel, how monstrous, how chaotic, how paradoxical, how prodigious! Judge of all things, feeble earthworm, repository of […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. The nature of grace cuts so deeply into the Christian religion that a proper understanding of what revelation means by this gift of divine love practically identifies the Catholic faith as distinct from all other forms of Christianity, whether as historical phenomena or still existing church institutions. Since the […]

By Father John A. Hardon, S.J. All religion is somehow based on the recognition of a superhuman Reality of which man is at least vaguely conscious and towards which he strives to orientate his life. This orientation may take on extreme forms, or it may be so simple as almost to elude inquiry, but its […]