does this match with Catholic according to Aquinas and Augustine about predestined for the elect? How We Are Saved
God willed, with a genuine will that even after the sin of Adam all should be saved, Therefore, there is no reprobation on account of original sin.
But in a way and with means suited to the condition of our nature; that is,
He willed the salvation of all who would give consent to the graces and favors which He would prepare, offer, and distribute for this purpose. Now among those favors, He willed that the call be first, and that it be so tempered to our freedom that we at our good pleasure could accept or reject it. And to those whom He foresaw would accept, He willed to give the sacred movements of repentance. and to those who would follow those movements, He decreed to give holy love. and to those who would have love He planned to give the means needed to persevere. and to those who would use these divine helps, He decreed to give final perseverance and the glorious happiness of His eternal love.
God Prepared Heaven for those he Foresaw:
Without doubt, God prepared heaven only for those whom He foresaw would be His...
But it is in our power to be His:
for although the gift of being God's belongs to God, yet this is a gift which God denies to no one, but offers to all, and gives to those who freely consent to receive it. But the very consent or acceptance of grace is the effect of grace:
Consent does not give efficacy, God Does, but we can hinder it: It is insane impiety to think that you gave effective and holy activity to the divine inspiration because you did not take it away by resisting? We can hinder the efficacy of the inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it.
You have consented, I know it well: the movement of your will freely followed the movement of heavenly grace.
But all that-what else is it but to receive the divine working and not to resist? And what do you have in this that you have not received? Yes, even, poor man, you have even received the acceptance of which you boast, and the consent, which you brag about. Is it not the part of most insane impiety to think that you gave effective and holy activity to the divine inspiration because you did not take it away by resisting? We can hinder the efficacy of inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it the sole cause of the lack of love is in us: "Just as it would be the part of impious boldness to attribute to the powers of our will the works of holy love that the Holy Spirit does in us and with us, so also it would be the part of impious boldness to wish to attribute the lack of love in an ungrateful man to the lack of heavenly help and grace. For the Holy Spirit cries out everywhere, on the contrary, that our destruction comes from us... that divine Goodness wills that no one perish, but wills that all come to the knowledge of the truth: He wills that all men be saved.
The provided text aligns with some aspects of Catholic teaching on salvation, particularly as articulated by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, but it also presents certain nuances that require careful consideration to fully match their perspectives. The core Catholic understanding emphasizes God's universal salvific will, the necessity of grace, and the role of human free will, while maintaining that predestination is not based on foreseen merits.
God's Universal Salvific Will and Reprobation
The text states, "God willed, with a genuine will that even after the sin of Adam all should be saved, Therefore, there is no reprobation on account of original sin." This aligns with Catholic teaching that God desires the salvation of all people 22. St. Thomas Aquinas affirms that God "wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:4) 22. He also explains that those who are deprived of grace are those who "in themselves raise an obstacle to grace" 22.
However, the statement "there is no reprobation on account of original sin" needs clarification. While original sin itself does not lead to an active reprobation in the sense of God willing someone's damnation, it does place humanity in a state where grace is necessary for salvation. Infants who die without baptism, for instance, are traditionally understood to be deprived of the beatific vision due to original sin, though not subjected to the pains of hell. St. Augustine, in discussing infants, notes that they "will be condemned on account of original sin alone, when they have not been delivered by the Saviour's grace in the layer of regeneration" 15.
The Role of Grace and Free Will
The text emphasizes that God "willed the salvation of all who would give consent to the graces and favors which He would prepare, offer, and distribute for this purpose." It further states that God "willed that the call be first, and that it be so tempered to our freedom that we at our good pleasure could accept or reject it." This highlights the interplay between divine grace and human free will.
St. Augustine consistently teaches that human free will, after the Fall, is "not free in good things, for the reason that it has not been made free" and "cannot will any good thing unless it is aided by Him... by the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord" 14. He asserts that "without me you can do nothing" 19. He also clarifies that while free will did not perish, it is enslaved to sin and "does not avail to the doing of righteousness, unless when it shall have been made free by grace" 20. Therefore, the ability to "accept or reject" the call is itself dependent on grace.
The text's assertion that "the very consent or acceptance of grace is the effect of grace" is a crucial point that aligns with both Augustine and Aquinas. St. Augustine states that the "good will which withdraws itself from sin is faithful, because the just lives by faith" and "no man can have a righteous will, unless, with no foregoing merits, he has received the true, that is, the gratuitous grace from above" 14. He also notes that the "full consent of his will can never be in him unless he is healed and assisted by the grace of the Spirit" 22.
St. Thomas Aquinas similarly teaches that God "works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure" 2. He explains that "the fact that some attain the end that is eternal glory is not due primarily to their own power but to the help of grace given by God" 16.
Predestination and Foreknowledge of Merits
The text states, "God Prepared Heaven for those he Foresaw: Without doubt, God prepared heaven only for those whom He foresaw would be His." This statement, particularly the phrase "whom He foresaw would be His," touches upon the complex relationship between divine foreknowledge and predestination.
Catholic teaching, as articulated by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, holds that predestination is not based on God's foreknowledge of human merits. St. Augustine explicitly defines predestination as God's foreknowledge of His own kindnesses, "wherewith He condescends to deliver us" 5. He argues that grace, which "both begins a man's faith and which enables it to persevere unto the end, is not given according to our merits, but is given according to His own most secret and at the same time most righteous, wise, and beneficent will" 2. He further states that "the gifts and calling of God may be without repentance" in the predestined, and that the idea of grace being given according to our merits is the opinion of the Pelagians 3.
St. Thomas Aquinas is even more explicit. He states that "predestination and election have no cause in any human merits" 14. He explains that "the grace of God, an effect of predestination, is not preceded by any merits, but precedes all merit" 14. He clarifies that while a subsequent effect of predestination (like glory) can be the reason for a previous effect (like merit), the "whole of the effect of predestination in general should [not] have any cause as coming from us" 17. The ultimate cause of predestination is God's goodness 18.
Therefore, while God certainly foresees who will be saved, this foreknowledge is not the cause of His predestination. Rather, God foreknows those whom He has chosen to give the grace necessary for salvation. The text's phrasing "whom He foresaw would be His" could be interpreted in a way that suggests foreseen consent or merit as the basis for predestination, which would not fully align with the Augustinian and Thomistic understanding that predestination is gratuitous and not based on foreseen human actions.
Hindering Grace vs. Giving Efficacy
The text states, "We can hinder the efficacy of the inspiration, but we cannot give efficacy to it." This distinction is consistent with Catholic teaching. St. Thomas Aquinas explains that while one cannot merit divine grace beforehand or acquire it by free will, "still he can hinder himself from receiving it" 22. He uses the analogy of the sun: "when the sun lights up the world, any evil that comes to a man who shuts his eyes is counted his own fault, although he could not see unless the sunlight first came in upon him" 22.
The "lack of love" being solely "in us" is also consistent, as it refers to the human will's resistance to grace, not a deficiency in God's offer of grace. St. Augustine notes that men are unwilling to do what is right "either because what is right is unknown to them, or because it is unpleasant to them," and that their not being helped by grace "has its cause likewise in themselves, not in God" 21.
Certainty of Predestination
The text describes a sequence of divine actions: God wills salvation for those who consent, gives movements of repentance to those who accept the call, holy love to those who follow, means to persevere to those with love, and final perseverance and glory to those who use these helps. This implies a certain order and certainty in God's plan for the elect.
St. Thomas Aquinas affirms that "Predestination most certainly and infallibly takes effect; yet it does not impose any necessity, so that, namely, its effect should take place from necessity" 20. He explains that while the order of predestination is certain, "free-will is not destroyed; whence the effect of predestination has its contingency" 20. He further notes that God prepares "so many other helps for one who is predestined that he either does not fall at all or, if he does fall, he rises again" 21.
Conclusion
The provided text largely aligns with Catholic teaching on salvation, particularly in its emphasis on God's universal salvific will, the necessity of grace, and the role of human free will in either accepting or hindering grace. The crucial point of divergence or necessary clarification lies in the relationship between God's foreknowledge and predestination. While God foresees who will be saved, this foreknowledge is not the cause of predestination. Instead, predestination is rooted in God's gratuitous will and goodness, which then provides the grace necessary for salvation, and God foreknows the outcome of His own gracious plan. Both St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas firmly assert that predestination is not based on foreseen human merits, but rather on God's free and loving choice.
[1] Letter 145 From Augustine to Anastasius 8
[2] Letter 215 From Augustine to Valentius 1
[3] Against Two Letters of the Pelagians Book I. Chapter 7
[4] Letter 214 From Augustine to Valentius 2
[5] Against Two Letters of the Pelagians Book IV. Preface
[7] Letter 214 From Augustine to Valentius 1
[8] On the Predestination of the Saints Book II, Chapter 35.— What Predestination is.
[10] Against Two Letters of the Pelagians Book II. Chapter 9 [V.]
[12] On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, and the Baptism of Infants Chapter 26 [XVII.]
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