God’s Calling to Humanity to Himself is Irrevocable.
God's unwavering faithfulness to His divine initiative in calling humanity to Himself.
It emphasizes the enduring nature of God's gift and invitation, which always precedes and enables human freedom to respond.
Catholic dogma: the very sincere will of God to give to all men the power of saving themselves and the power of damning themselves
St. Augustine stated, "All can be saved if they wish," he emphatically confirmed this assertion: "It is true, entirely true, that all men can, if they wish". He also said in his sermons, "It depends on you to be elect" and "Who are the elect? You, if you wish it". These statements highlight the role of human will and cooperation with grace.
Augustine's teaching on grace involves two moments: operative grace (gratia operans), through which God gives the good will itself to perform good acts, and cooperative grace (gratia cooperans), through which God cooperates with the human free will in the actual performance of good 4. This means that while God's grace initiates and enables the good will, human cooperation is still essential 6.
According to Augustine, the lists of the elect and reprobate are closed. When God made His plan, He knew infallibly, before His choice, what would be the response of the wills of men to His graces. If, then, the lists are definitive, if no one will pass from one series to the other, it is not because anyone cannot (on the contrary, all can), it is because God knew with infallible knowledge that no one would wish to.
If I do not save myself it will not be because I am not able, but because I do not wish to.
God's Initiative and Unconditional Love:
God's call is fundamentally a gratuitous and prevenient act of love. Before human beings even exist, God has a plan for them, choosing them in Christ "before the foundation of the world" to be holy and blameless. This divine initiative is absolute and cannot be forced. It is a gift of grace, not a human right. The experience of this love is so profound that it prompts a need to respond with complete dedication.
While God's call is an unchangeable initiative, it requires a free and responsible human response. This response is a dialogue between God's love and human freedom.
Grace does not negate freedom; rather, it enlivens and sustains it, freeing it from sin and enabling it to receive God's gift. The human person, endowed with dignity, is guided by their own judgment and enjoys freedom, which reaches its perfection in serving Christ.
The "irrevocable" nature of the call means that God's invitation remains constant, but it does not force or compel a response. The human response is an act of faith, a conscious, generous, and total offering of oneself. This free oblation is modeled on Christ's own offering to the Father's will.
The divine initiative in grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man. Grace responds to the deepest yearnings of human freedom, calling it to cooperate and perfecting it. Without God's operative and cooperative grace, neither faith, hope, love, nor good works are possible.
Therefore, "his call is irrevocable" means that God's loving invitation and desire for humanity to be His dwelling is constant and unwavering. It is a perpetual offer of grace that enables and perfects human freedom to respond. We can be His if we respond to His grace, because His grace is always present, preceding and empowering our "yes."
While God's call is irrevocable in the sense that His offer of salvation is constant and His grace is always available, human beings must freely respond to this grace. God moves everything according to its nature, and He moves the rational nature with liberty. Therefore, while a person's preparation for grace comes from God, their lack of grace does not have its cause from God but from the person themselves, they can reject. Allen are offered the possibility of salvation through Christ, and their response to God's grace is essential. The fact that some are saved is a gift of God, while the perdition of others is due to their own refusal of grace.
Catholic teaching firmly upholds human free will. God created human beings with the capacity to choose between good and evil, to grow in perfection, or to sin. This freedom is essential to human dignity. The human will can either resist or submit to grace. Grace is not "the working of the omnipotent hand of God which nothing can hinder or retard". Therefore, it is indeed true that all individuals possess the free will to say "no" to God's grace and invitation to salvation. No one is saved against their will.
The reason some are not saved is not due to a lack of mercy or desire on God's part, but due to their free refusal of God's grace. God respects human freedom, and He does not force salvation upon anyone. The "negative line of refusal" arises due to the fact that God permits the creature in its poorly used freedom to reject His initiatives of grace.
How to Have Hope in Mercy
The Church firmly teaches that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). This is a sincere and universal will on God's part. His mercy is infinite and inexhaustible, surpassing any human sin. No human misery can measure up to His mercy. The fact that some perish is due to their own refusal of grace, not a lack of desire or provision from God.
Our hope in mercy is therefore well-founded because:
1 God's desire for our salvation is universal and sincere. He offers grace to all.
2 Mercy is God's very nature. He is "love and mercy personified".
3 Hope is a divine gift. It is not a delusion, but a virtue infused by God, enabling us to trust in His promises and rely on the Holy Spirit.
4 We are called to trust, not to know with certainty who is saved. While we cannot have absolute certitude of our own final perseverance, we are called to trust in God's abundant mercy and to persevere in seeking it. We are encouraged to offer our failings to the Lord, knowing He is always ready to raise us up.
How to Live with Hope, Not Presumption
The Church encourages a life of active faith, hope, and charity, rather than a passive reliance on a presumed salvation.
1 Work Out Your Salvation with Fear and Trembling: As St. Paul exhorts, we are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2:12). This "fear" is not a servile fear of punishment, but a filial fear of offending God and losing His grace, coupled with a profound respect for His justice and holiness. It motivates us to be vigilant, to pray, and to perform good works.
2 Reliance on God's Mercy and Grace: Our hope is placed in God's infinite mercy and power, not in our own merits. We trust that God "desires all men to be saved" and that "for him all things are possible". We rely on the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
3 Active Participation in Sacraments:
◦ Eucharist: Receiving the Eucharist worthily is a participation in eternal life, though sin can deprive us of this fruit.
◦ Confession (Reconciliation): This sacrament is crucial for those who fall into mortal sin after baptism, offering a path to recover grace and hope of salvation. Confession itself gives hope of salvation because it relies on the grace of our Redeemer.
4 Living a Life of Charity and Good Works: Faith working through charity is essential for salvation. We are called to live habitually in friendship with God and to keep the commandments of Christ by the grace of charity. Good works, done with God's grace, are meritorious and contribute to our salvation.
5 Avoiding Despair and Presumption:
◦ Despair: This is a sin against hope, where one ceases to hope for salvation or forgiveness from God. It is contrary to God's goodness, justice, and mercy.
◦ Presumption: This is also a sin against hope, where one hopes for salvation without doing anything to deserve it, or for pardon without repenting. It can involve expecting forgiveness while persevering in sin. The correct path is to avoid both extremes, maintaining a humble and firm hope in God's mercy while diligently striving to live according to His will.
In essence, living without absolute certainty of salvation means living a life of active trust in God's mercy, diligent cooperation with His grace, and faithful participation in the sacraments, always striving to avoid sin and grow in holiness. It is a journey of hope, not a state of guaranteed arrival.
To avoid despair, cultivate this virtue by:
• Focusing on God's faithfulness: "He who promised is faithful". God's promises are trustworthy.
• Relying on the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ so that we might be justified by His grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life
• Remembering God's goodness and wisdom: God's goodness and wisdom are manifested in the universal love of Christ on the Cross, offering salvation to all.
4. Practical Steps to Combat Despair
• Frequent the Sacrament of Penance (Confession): This sacrament is the ordinary way for the faithful to reconcile with God and the Church. It is a personal encounter with the crucified, forgiving Christ, where sins are truly forgiven and blotted out by God's power and mercy. It is the "mercy stronger than sin and offense". The Church is the "trustee and dispenser" of the Savior's mercy, especially through this sacrament.
• Receive the Eucharist: Conscious and mature participation in the Eucharist brings us nearer to the love that is more powerful than death. It is the sacrament of Penance that prepares the way for individuals, even those weighed down with great faults, to receive the Eucharist.
• Prayer: Engage in constant meditation on the Word of God. Pray for the grace of perseverance and for a contrite heart. Psalm 51, for example, expresses profound sorrow for sin and trust in God's mercy: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions".
• Acts of Charity and Penance: While satisfaction for sins is not a price paid for forgiveness, acts of satisfaction (penance) are signs of a personal commitment to begin a new life. These can include acts of worship, charity, mercy, or reparation.
• Trust in God's Providence: God sustains all creatures in being and governs them providentially. Even when we fall, His hand is still at work, offering the possibility of repentance and return.
Despair is a sin against hope because it implies a lack of trust in God's power or mercy. It is crucial to remember that God's readiness to receive prodigal children is infinite and inexhaustible. Only a lack of good will, a lack of readiness to be converted and repent, or persistence in obstinacy can limit God's power of forgiveness.
By focusing on God's boundless mercy, actively participating in the sacraments, and cultivating the virtue of hope, you can live a life of trust and avoid the sin of despair, even in the face of your own sinfulness.
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