308. Merit, Grace, and Perseverance in Thomistic Theology

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Growth of Grace and Merit (Article 8) #

• Central Question: Does the growth of grace or charity fall under merit?
• Thomas’s Answer: Yes, growth of grace falls under merit ex condigno
• Key Distinction: The increase of grace exceeds the quantity of pre-existing grace but NOT its power
• Principle of Motion: The mover’s motion extends not only to the last term (end) but to the whole progress of motion
• Two-fold Limit of Motion:
  • Last limit: The final end (eternal life)
  • Middle limit: Progress and growth—both a beginning and a limit for what comes later
• Growth as Intermediate Term: The reward of growth (increase of grace) is a middle term between the starting point and ultimate beatitude
• Timing of Increase: Each meritorious act merits an increase of grace, but the increase occurs in its proper time (suo tempore) when the soul is sufficiently disposed
• Example of Disposition: Like reading a text twice—the first reading disposes one to see what was missed; similarly, continued prayer (even when dry) disposes the soul for grace’s increase

Perseverance and Two Distinct Types (Article 9) #

• Central Question: Can someone merit perseverance?
• Thomas’s Critical Distinction: Perseverance has two radically different meanings
  • Perseverance in via (on the way): Does NOT come under merit; depends entirely on divine motion
  • Perseverance in patria (in glory): DOES come under merit as the term of grace’s motion
• Why Perseverance in Glory is Merited: At the end, the will is completely determined to good by consummate grace; this impeccability (impossibility of sinning) is merited
• Why Perseverance in Via is Not Merited: It depends on the continuing divine motion, which is the beginning of all merit; it cannot be merited by those who already possess grace
• Man’s Free Will: Man naturally possesses liberum arbitrium flexibile ad bonum et ad malum (free choice flexible to good and to evil)
• Two Ways to Obtain Perseverance:
  1. Through the determination of free will to good by consummate grace (which happens only in glory)
  2. Through divine motion on the way, which inclines man to good usque infinitum (continuously)
• Gratuitous Nature: The gift of perseverance on the way is gratuitously given by God to whom He wills

Temporal Goods and Merit (Article 10) #

• Central Question: Do temporal goods fall under merit?
• Thomas’s Answer: NOT simpliciter (simply), but secundum quid (in a qualified way)
• The Two Senses of Human Good:
  • Simpliciter (simply): Man’s ultimate end—adherence to God; this falls under merit
  • Secundum quid (in a qualified way): What is good for man in the present or in some particular respect; this does not fall under merit simpliciter
• Temporal Goods and Spiritual Progress: Insofar as temporal goods are useful for works by which man is led to eternal life, they come under merit
• God’s Distribution of Temporal Goods and Evils: God gives the just temporal goods and even temporal evils as expedient (expediens) for their arrival at beatitude
• The Distinction in Effect: Temporal goods come equally to the just and unjust in substance, but differ in their end and use
• Example: Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a temporal evil given to keep him from pride despite revelations—a medicine, not a punishment

Key Arguments #

Objection to Growth of Grace (Article 8, Objection 2) #

• Argument: Nothing acts beyond its own form or species. Grace/charity is the source of merit. Therefore, no one can merit greater grace than he has; this would be acting beyond its power.
• Thomas’s Resolution: The increase is above the quantity but not above the power of pre-existing grace
• Analogy of the Tree: A mature tree exceeds the seed in quantity but never exceeds the seed’s power (species/formal principle)
• Analogy of Geometric Principles: The premises at the beginning of geometry are far less in quantity than the conclusions of the first book, yet in power they extend to all those conclusions

Objection to Growth of Grace (Article 8, Objection 3) #

• Argument: If each meritorious act merits increase of grace, then any act informed by charity should merit grace’s increase. But whatever man merits, he obtains infallibly from God unless impeded by sin. Yet not every meritorious act produces fervent increase—this seems unfitting.
• Thomas’s Resolution: Just as eternal life is not rendered all at once but in its time, neither is grace increased all at once but in its time, when someone is sufficiently disposed for the growth of grace

Objection to Merit of Perseverance (Article 9, Objection 1) #

• Argument: That which man obtains by asking can come under merit. Men obtain perseverance by asking (in the Lord’s Prayer). Therefore, perseverance can come under merit.
• Thomas’s Resolution: We ask God for things we do not merit (e.g., “Forgive us our trespasses”). God hears such petitions anyway. Similarly, perseverance is asked for but does not come under merit.

Objection to Merit of Perseverance (Article 9, Objection 2) #

• Argument: Not to be able to sin is greater than merely not sinning. Yet not being able to sin (impeccability) comes under merit in eternal life. Therefore, perseverance on the way (not sinning) should also come under merit.
• Thomas’s Resolution: The perseverance in glory (impeccability) is compared to meritorious motion as its term (end). But perseverance on the way is not compared in this way; it depends on the divine motion which is the beginning of merit.
• Key Premise: What comes under merit is compared to the motion of free will as directed by God moving, but not what is compared to that prior motion as its very beginning.

Objection to Merit of Temporal Goods (Article 10, Objection 3) #

• Argument: Good has merit as its correlate; evil has demerit. God punishes evil with temporal punishment. Therefore, temporal goods should come under merit by parity of reasoning.
• Thomas’s Resolution: Temporal evils are inflicted as punishment for sin, but to the just (who are helped through them), they are not punishments but medicines—not contrary to merit.

Objection to Merit of Temporal Goods (Article 10, Objection 4) #

• Argument: That which comes under merit should not come equally to all. Yet temporal goods come equally to just and unjust (Ecclesiastes 9:2). Therefore, temporal goods do not come under merit.
• Thomas’s Resolution: All things come equally to just and unjust in substance, but not in end. The good uses temporal goods to arrive at beatitude; the bad does not. Merit concerns the ordered journey to the end.

Important Definitions #

Κίνησις (Motion/Process of Grace) #

• The dynamic movement of grace toward its ends, having both intermediate stages and a final term
• Two elements:
  • Last limit (ὕστερον ἔσχατον): The final end toward which motion tends (eternal life/beatitude)
  • Middle limit (μέσον ὅρον): Progress and growth; both a beginning for what comes next and a limit to what comes before

Suo tempore (In Its Own Time) #

• The principle that grace’s effects (particularly growth) are realized not instantaneously but according to proper timing and the soul’s disposition

Liberum arbitrium (Free Judgment) #

• Man’s natural capacity for choice: flexible to good and to evil
• Essential for merit; distinguishes human acts from mere natural causation

Simpiciter vs. Secundum quid (Simply vs. In a Qualified Way) #

• Simpliciter: Absolutely, with respect to man’s ultimate end (eternal life/beatitude)
• Secundum quid: In a qualified or partial way; with respect to particular goods ordered to the end but not constituting the end itself
• Application: Temporal goods merit secundum quid (in the qualified sense that they serve beatitude) but not simpliciter

Expediens (Expedient/Fitting) #

• That which serves or is useful for achieving an end
• God distributes temporal goods and evils to the just as expedient for their arrival at beatitude

Examples & Illustrations #

The Tree and the Seed (Article 8) #

• A mature tree exceeds a seed in quantity (bulk) but not in power (formal principle/species)
• Similarly, increased grace exceeds lesser grace in quantity but not in power
• The seed’s power is sufficient to produce the whole tree; lesser grace has power sufficient to produce greater grace

Geometric Principles (Article 8) #

• The initial premises of geometry are far fewer and smaller in quantity than the many propositions derived from them
• Yet the premises contain in power (virtually) all the conclusions
• Application: Lesser grace in power extends to and produces greater grace

The Sun Rising (Proverbs 4:18) #

• “The paths of the just are like a light shining, increasing unto the perfect day”
• The sun rises and grows in brightness progressively until perfect day (beatitude)
• Not passive earth-turning but active sun-rising; the soul actively cooperates with grace’s growth
• Metaphor for gradual spiritual progress toward the day of glory

Reading a Text Twice (Article 8) #

• First reading disposes one to see what was missed
• Second reading reveals what was hidden, not because of the second reading alone but because the first disposed the reader
• Application: Fervent and less fervent meritorious acts both merit grace; the less fervent disposes for the increase realized in its proper time

Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh (Article 10) #

• Paul merited eternal life through his meritorious works
• Yet God gave him a temporal evil (thorns in the flesh) to keep him from pride despite great revelations
• This temporal evil is not a punishment but a medicine—ordered to his spiritual progress
• Example of how temporal evils to the just serve their journey to beatitude

Questions Addressed #

Q: Does the growth of grace fall under merit? #

A: Yes, under merit ex condigno. Each meritorious act merits an increase of grace, though the increase comes in its proper time when the soul is sufficiently disposed for it.

Q: How can increased grace be merited if grace is the source of merit? #

A: The increase is above the quantity but not above the power of pre-existing grace. Just as a mature tree exceeds the seed in quantity but not in formal principle, increased grace exceeds lesser grace in quantity but not in power. The lesser grace has sufficient power to produce the greater.

Q: Does every meritorious act immediately produce an increase of grace? #

A: No. Each act merits the increase, but the increase is realized in its proper time when the soul is sufficiently disposed—just as eternal life is merited by each act but not rendered all at once. Continued prayer, even when “dry,” disposes the soul for the increase.

Q: Does perseverance fall under merit? #

A: It depends on which perseverance:

• Perseverance in via (on the way): NO. It depends solely on divine motion and is a gratuitous gift.
• Perseverance in patria (in glory): YES. It comes under merit as the term of grace’s motion, as the final determination of the will to good (impeccability).

Q: Why does the distinction between perseverance on the way and in glory matter? #

A: Because on the way, the will remains naturally flexible to good and evil, so perseverance depends continuously on divine motion (which is the beginning of merit, not its product). In glory, the will is completely determined to good by consummate grace, so the impeccability (inability to sin) is merited as the fruit of that motion.

Q: Do temporal goods fall under merit? #

A: Not simpliciter. They fall under merit secundum quid insofar as they serve the journey to eternal life. God gives temporal goods (and even temporal evils) to the just as expedient for their arrival at beatitude. The same temporal goods come equally to just and unjust in substance but differ in end and use.

Q: Why do temporal goods come equally to just and unjust if merit distinguishes? #

A: Merit concerns the ordered use of things toward beatitude. In substance, the goods are identical; in their end and use, they differ. The just uses them to arrive at God; the unjust does not. Merit secundum quid means the good temporal thing serves merit to the extent it orders one toward the ultimate end.

Theological Context & Citations #

Augustine on Charity’s Merit #

• “Charity merits to be increased, and increased, it merits to be perfected”
• Used to support that growth of grace comes under merit (Article 8, Against)

Council of Arles (Concilium Arelatense) - On Perseverance #

• “The aid of God should be implored for those reborn that they might arrive at the good end or that in good they work, they be able to persevere”
• The gift of perseverance is not able to be had except by one who is potent to make him who stands, to stand—and the one who falls to be restored
• Authority: Tenziger references (older editions with varying numbering)

Council of Trent - On Justification #

• Relevant anathema: “If someone says that someone justified, without the special aid of God in his receive justice, perseveres, or can persevere, or with it he’s not able, anathema sit”
• Supports the necessity of divine aid for perseverance on the way

Gregory the Great - Moralia #

• Referenced regarding God’s bedenity (seemliness/fittingness) in rewarding service
• Example: Midwives in Exodus 1 feared God; God built houses for them (temporal recompense)
• Shows God sometimes gives temporal recompense for service, but this is according to divine motion, not according to malice of will

Scripture References #

Matthew 6 (On Receiving Reward) #

• “They have received their reward”
• Objection: Those who receive the reward merited do not have another merit owed to them

John 17 (Christ’s Prayer) #

• Reference to Christ bringing disciples to eternal life through grace
• Supports that grace’s motion extends to bringing souls to beatitude

Proverbs 4:18 (Paths of the Just) #

• “The paths of the just are like a light shining, increasing unto the perfect day”
• Metaphor for growth of grace toward glorification

Ecclesiastes 9:2 #

• “All things equally come to the just and the impious, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean”
• Objection to temporal goods falling under merit: they come to all alike

2 Timothy 1 (Paul’s Confidence) #

• “I know the one to whom I have believed, and I am certain that he is powerful to give thee [the depositum]”
• Used to support that what man merits, he obtains infallibly unless impeded by subsequent sin

Luke 18 (Publican’s Prayer) #

• “God be propitious to me, a sinner”
• Example of prayer for what is not merited; heard by God

Psalm 72 (God as True Good) #

• “For me to adhere to God is good”
• Definition of man’s ultimate end simpliciter

Psalm 33 & 36 (Protection of the Just) #

• “Those fearing God are not in want of any good”
• “The just man does not see a beggar”
• Suggest God provides for the just toward their beatitude

Job’s Experience (Referenced but not specified) #

• Someone asking Job why he suffered—suggests temporal evils to the just serve their good

Ezekiel 18:24 (Impeded Merit) #

• “All the justices which he had done shall not be remembered”
• Example: Man sins after meritorious works; the merit’s effect is impeded by subsequent sin

Tyre and the King of Babylon (Ezekiel 29) #

• King of Babylon served God unknowingly in serving his own dominion
• Rewarded with land of Egypt
• Example: God sometimes recompenses according to divine motion, not according to the will’s intention

Augustine’s Works #

• Against Faustus (Book 4): “In those temporal promises [of Old Law] were figured the future spiritual things fulfilled in us”
• Temporal goods promised in Old Law are figures of spiritual goods in the New
• What is figured is not truly good in the sense of temporal; it points to spiritual reality

Thomas’s Summa Contra Gentiles #

• Mentioned as text Berquist repeatedly studies
• Contains similar material on merit, grace, and human acts
• Berquist notes repeated readings reveal new insights with deeper preparation

Aristotle - Logic & Equivocity of Terms #

• Referenced for the rule: a term with multiple meanings has multiple opposites
• Example: “Liberal” has three meanings and thus three opposites (conservative, servile, stingy)
• Applied to understanding “true” in Scripture: true vs. false, true vs. figure, true (essential) vs. true (participatory)

John’s Gospel (Commentary by Thomas) #

• Commentary on God discusses multiple meanings of “true” in Scripture
• Supports Thomistic approach to theological language
• Thomas “never fully unfolds the words of Christ”—infinite depths

Scholastic Method & Philosophical Approach #

The Principle of Distinction #

• “Never affirm, seldom deny, always distinguish”
• Applied throughout: perseverance in via vs. in patria; merit simpliciter vs. secundum quid
• Resolves apparent contradictions through careful semantic and conceptual analysis

Analogy in Theological Understanding #

• Use of natural examples (tree/seed, sun rising, geometric premises) to illuminate supernatural truths
• Does not prove but disposes understanding to receive the distinction

Role of Disposition (Dispositio) #

• Central principle: Effects require proper disposition in the recipient
• Grace’s increase comes when soul is disposed
• Understanding develops through repeated study as mind is disposed
• Berquist’s personal witness: After many readings of Summa Contra Gentiles, suddenly new insights appear—first readings disposed for later insight