Grace is a gift offered
Faith is a gift offered
Salvation is a gift offered
My Response completes covenant decision (both parties)
Trust is my response
Or
Reject is my response
These gifts can only be received if you put your Trust in Him. If you reject, you don’t get the gifts. Gifts cannot be earned. But they are to be used (cooperated with). God means for you to use the gifts to be transformed into the likeness of His son.
Grace to know and understand God is a person who wants relationship
Faith is to believe He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do
Born Again is when God gives me Spiritual Life, Jesus’s Blood Sacrifice justifies me and the Holy Spirit Indwells me.
He gives Spiritual life to those who receive His Son and believe in His Name. (We must respond then right to be reborn-not reborn first) [God gives grace, but our response is necessary to complete covenant] see John 1:12
Salvation is Turning from the world to God the Father, being Born Again in Spirit, on the road to Heaven, being healed from my sin, fighting it surrendered to God’s Holy Power.
The point of Salvation is to be made Christlike. If you are not cooperating with Grace, Faith, and Surrendered to the Holy Spirit to heal from your sin, you are not truly RECEIVING the gifts. You must check your Trust…. It takes both parties for the covenant. God is faithful, are you?
Human response: trust or rejection
• The Fathers stress that receiving Christ is an active choice; without it the gifts remain ungrasped.
• The Catechism teaches that grace must be cooperated with; otherwise it does not bear fruit8.
Therefore, if one trusts and cooperates, the promise of sonship is fulfilled; if one rejects, the gifts remain unreceived.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.
• The covenant requires both parties: God’s faithful promise and our trust‑filled response(faith, obedience, cooperation with grace).
• John Chrysostom explains that the wording “gave them power to become sons of God” shows that the divine gift must be received and then cooperated with; it is not earned but must be accepted and lived out2.
• He also warns that the gift can be lost if one abandons it through sloth or sin1.
• Augustine likewise says that God “gave power to become sons of God” to those who receive Him and believe3, emphasizing the adoptive relationship that follows faith.
These Fathers read John 1:12 as a covenantal grant: God offers adoption; the human response—faith and perseverance—completes it.
• Grace is defined as “the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons”4.
• It “introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life” and makes us partakers of the divine nature5.
• The grace of baptism is the “sanctifying or deifying grace” that makes us “a new creation” and adopted children of God6.
Thus the Church teaches that grace (the gift) and faith (the human response) together effect adoption, exactly as John 1:12 describes.
John 3:36
He who believes in the Son has eternal life;
but he who does not obey the Son
will not see life,
but the wrath of God abides on him.
If you do not believe you will not obey. If you truly believe you will obey. Obedience brings life. Disobedience brings death. It’s a choice. BELIEVE AND RECEIVE!
Yes. Catholic doctrine teaches that the very ability to trust — to say “yes” to God — is itself a gift of divine grace. Because of original sin our natural will is weakened, so the Holy Spirit must first move and assist us; only then can we freely cooperate with that grace and respond in trust.
1. Faith and trust are gifts of God
• The Catechism calls faith “a supernatural gift from God” and stresses that “to believe, man needs the interior helps of the Holy Spirit”6.
• It further explains that “believing is possible only by grace and the interior help of the Holy Spirit… yet it is also an authentically human act”10.
These passages make clear that the initial movement toward trust comes from God, while the human response remains a real act of freedom.
2. The divine initiative precedes the human response
• CCC 2022 states that “the divine initiative in the work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man”9.
• CCC 2001 adds that “the preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace”8.
Thus, before we are able to say “yes,” God’s grace has already prepared us.
3. The Church Fathers and the Second Council of Orange
• St. Thomas Aquinas (quoting the Council of Orange) records Canon V: “The beginning of faith is not of ourselves, but of the grace of God”1.
• St. John Chrysostom teaches that “faith… is not of ourselves… unless He calls us, how could we believe?”3.
Both affirm that our first step of trust is rooted in God’s grace, not in our unaided strength.
4. The magisterial teaching of Pope Benedict XVI
In his 2012 General Audience, Benedict XVI says: “Faith is first of all a supernatural gift, a gift of God… believing is possible only by the grace of the Holy Spirit”2.
This reinforces the same truth: our trust is a grace‑enabled response.
5. The document Dominus Iesus
It declares that “faith is a gift of grace: in order to have faith, the grace of God must come first and give assistance”5.
Again, the initial movement toward trust belongs to God.
6. How human freedom fits
While grace initiates and sustains trust, the Catechism stresses that believing remains an authentic human act10. We are called to co‑operate with the grace already given (cf. CCC 2001). This cooperation does not diminish the divine source of our trust; rather, it fulfills the covenantal partnership that God intends.
Conclusion
Because of sin, our natural capacity to trust is insufficient. God, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, moves our hearts, prepares us, and gives us the grace to believe. Our “yes” is therefore rooted in God’s initiative, while our continued assent and cooperation complete the covenant. In short: your response of trust originates from God’s grace, and you are invited to cooperate with that grace to become a child of God.
[1] CCC 179
[2] CCC 154
[3] CCC 2022
[4] CCC 2001
[5] St. Thomas on Grace and Free Will in the 'Initium Fidei': The Surpassing Augustinian Synthesis page16
[6] Homily 4 on Ephesians Chapter II. Ver. 8
[7] General Audience of 24 October 2012
[8] Declaration "Dominus Iesus": On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church 7
Indeed, the Church teaches that any genuine cooperation with God’s grace presupposes the prior gift of that grace.
1. Operative grace precedes human effort
• St. Thomas Aquinas explains that before a person can even move the will toward a good act, God’s operativegrace “gives the good will itself” (gratia operans) — the very source of the ability to cooperate1.
• Augustine (as presented by Aquinas) distinguishes this operative grace from “cooperative” grace, stressing that the latter “follows” the former and is itself a gift that enables the human will to cooperate2.
2. Cooperative grace is itself a gift
• In the same Thomistic synthesis, cooperative grace (gratia cooperans) is defined as “the grace of conversion … moving the will to will the means leading to the end”3. It is not earned by human effort; it is a gift of God that makes the act of cooperation possible.
• St. Thomas further notes that operative and cooperative grace are “the same grace … differentiated by their different effects,” showing that the capacity to cooperate is already contained in the gift of grace itself5.
3. The Catechism’s explicit teaching
• CCC 2001: “The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace; the Holy Spirit prepares the heart so that it can respond.”8
• CCC 2022: “The divine initiative in the work of grace precedes, prepares, and elicits the free response of man.”9
These paragraphs make clear that without the prior movement of grace, the human response—trust, assent, or cooperation—cannot arise.
4. The covenantal picture
• The covenant between God and humanity is two‑sided: God offers the gift of grace, and the person freely cooperates. Because the initial movement (the ability to say “yes”) is a gift, the human side of the covenant is always exercised in the light of that grace.
• As the Church teaches, “faith, hope and charity are gifts of the Holy Spirit; we are called to receive them and then to cooperate with them” (cf. CCC 181).
5. Practical implication
Because our capacity to cooperate is itself a grace‑gift, we are called to:
1 Receive God’s operative grace (through prayer, the sacraments, especially Baptism and the Eucharist).
2 Remain open to the Holy Spirit’s continual assistance, recognizing that every act of love, obedience, or transformation is graced.
3 Cooperate with that grace, knowing that the very possibility of cooperation flows from God’s prior gift.
In short: Human cooperation with God’s will is impossible apart from the prior gift of grace. Grace first moves the heart, then enables us to respond freely; our “yes” is always a response made possible by God’s gratuitous gift.
[1] St. Thomas on Grace and Free Will in the 'Initium Fidei': The Surpassing Augustinian Synthesis page15
[2] The Universal Mediation of Christ and Non-Christian Religions page15
[3] St. Thomas on Grace and Free Will in the 'Initium Fidei': The Surpassing Augustinian Synthesis page31
[4] St. Thomas on Grace and Free Will in the 'Initium Fidei': The Surpassing Augustinian Synthesis page28
[5] Popular Devotional Practices Appendix. ii
[6] CCC 1475
Yes. Catholic theology teaches that operative (pre‑conversion) grace is offered to every person, but the cooperative grace that enables a person to actively respond to God can be withheld or resisted. Consequently, some individuals are “not enabled” with cooperative grace at a given moment.
1. Operative grace is universal
• Thomas White explains that the distinction between operative and cooperative grace “originates in Augustine” and that operative grace is prevenient – it precedes any human effort and is offered to all1.
• Aquinas, cited by White, uses this distinction “to suggest the universality of operative grace, since all human beings may be offered a participation in the mystery of redemption”1.
2. Cooperative grace is a gift that can be refused
• White (quoting Journet) calls cooperative grace “the movement of the will … that will lead a creature to justification, sanctification and eternal life.” He stresses that this grace becomes cooperative only if the will does not withdraw; otherwise it may be “resisted, as well as refused”2 2.
• The same passage notes that Aquinas teaches that grace is “resistible”—the human will can reject the grace offered2.
3. Why some are not enabled with cooperative grace
Reason (theological source)
Explanation
Mortal sin or serious disobedience
White points out that “operative grace can be refused, and indeed may be much of the time… it does not follow that many or all are justified or glorified”1. Mortal sin blocks the flow of cooperative grace.
Closed or resistant will
Journet (via White) says the “instinct of the human heart must be embraced freely; otherwise it may be resisted”2. A will that withdraws cannot receive cooperative grace.
Spiritual dryness or early stage of conversion
The universal offer of operative grace “does not guarantee that the grace will lead necessarily into justification, sanctification, and salvation of all”1; those still at a pre‑conversion stage lack the cooperative movement.
Lack of openness to the Holy Spirit
Since cooperative grace “requires the will not to withdraw”2, a person who remains spiritually closed remains without the enabling grace.
4. The Church’s overall picture
• Grace is always offered (CCC 1700, not quoted here but reflected in the sources).
• Cooperative grace is a gratuitous gift that enables the will to act toward God, but it is not inevitable; the human will can refuse it (as Aquinas and Journet affirm).
• Therefore, some people are presently “not enabled” with cooperative grace because of sin, resistance, or an unprepared interior state, even though operative grace continues to be present.
5. Pastoral implication
1 Pray for the Holy Spirit’s movement in those whose will is closed; the Church teaches that God can still work through the sacraments, prayer, and the intercession of the saints.
2 Invite the sacramental life (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist) which are the ordinary means by which cooperative grace is bestowed.
3 Offer gentle correction and spiritual direction to help the person recognize and remove the obstacles that keep cooperative grace from taking effect.
Bottom line: Catholic teaching affirms that operative grace is universally offered, but cooperative grace— the grace that actually enables a person to respond in faith, love, and good works—may be absent or blocked when the human will is in serious sin, closed, or otherwise resistant. The gift is always there, yet its effective reception depends on the person’s openness to cooperate.
[1] The Universal Mediation of Christ and Non-Christian Religions page15
[2] Von Balthasar and Journet on the Universal Possibility of Salvation and the Twofold Will of God page30
No comments:
Post a Comment