Prima Secundae
Lecture 298: God as Sole Principal Cause of Grace

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making one acceptable but it causes certain dispositions towards this right and therefore it's not necessary that grace given gratuitously is more excellent right just as neither in fire is heat what yeah through which it acts for inducing heat another is more noble than the what yeah okay it's more like any what disposition right huh okay more of that which is proper is more worthy than that which is common to all just as to reason which is proper to man is more worthy than to sense which is common to all the what animals but the grace gratum fachians has come to all members of the church right but grace given gratuitously is proper gift of the more worthy members of the church right and therefore grace given gratuitously is more worthy than grace making one acceptable now to the third it should be said that to sense is ordered to what reasoning as to an end and therefore to reason is more what noble right but here it is the what reverse because that which is private huh namely the grace gratuitously given right is ordered to that which is common as to an end once is not what he seems to be saying that the graces gratuitously given are ordered to helping others get grace that will make you please separate with god well the end is always better right now i only have saints by grace now this is conscious interesting here but again this is what the apostle says in the first epistle of the corinthians in the 12th chapter having enumerated the graces gratis datis right huh now that was in one corinthians 12 right now simply referred to the text there in that said contra the previous article then he adds right odd hook i will show you right a more excellent way right this is the one that trisa uh saint trezanne sir quotes right when she's talking about she's going to be the heart of the church right and just as is clear from the things following he speaks about charity yeah okay which pertains to grace making one acceptable to god right so that's the text that that trisa is yeah quotes right what can she be what shall be the heart of the church therefore grace gratis gratis gratis is more excellent than grace gratis data the apostle himself was distinguished all those graces gratuitously given is saying there's something more what excellent than that right and that's the grace that makes you pleasing to god now tonight thomas's answer is shorter than all the objections right i answered should be said that each virtue is to that extent more excellent the more it is what ordered to a higher good huh well that makes sense huh and he says some pair huh now separate that's a strong word always the end is more potent right than those things which are towards the end or for the end but grace making one acceptable to god orders man immediately to a union with the last end you know what comes up in this text i was mentioning in jude i didn't talk to you guys about that chapter it's his very short epistle it's got 25 yeah 25 verses i think it's about the 20th of the verse but it's a marvelous thing you know he's talking about faith hope and charity really and then leading to the end which is eternal life right it's beautiful beautiful things you've ever seen in the bible you know just i i say to people you know what is the what is the end of faith hope and charity well i speak said in various ways but he's saying it's eternal life there beautiful he brings in mercy there at the end of christ yeah so unity faith open charity it's still you know mercy that you're getting this eternal life from god kind of hard to fully deserve it right okay that's that's that's the beginning right see thomas is saying that you got to have the understanding of what the beginnings are right always the end is what putzi or or potent in those things which are for the end or towards the end but grace making one what acceptable orders man immediately to a union with the last end but the graces that are gratis huh gratuitously given they order man to certain things that are preparatoria that are preparations right for the last end just as through prophecy and miracles and other things of this sort right men are led right to this that they might be joined to the ultimate end so the other kind of grace that they are joined to the ultimate end and therefore the grace making one acceptable is multo multo yeah that's chilling siora so john siora is is the comparative right multo multo in the grace gratis data okay thomas he's son of that he's a marvelous guy you know i was you know a lot of times if i get uh hensi little cards i use his bookmarks you know and so on there's one which uh this guy's at the house there he and his wife there and uh i think that they're dominicans but anyway they're going on a tour of all dominic's places right now they're going to start with this place in spain where he was born and end up in bologna you know where the because they'll be in in florence too and of course i showed you this little card i had of the church there you know um and this is the triumph of thomas right and he's in the center you know it's got all these other people you can see why he why he got it though it's kind of a marvelous painting i think i'll bring the card in sometime but let's see a little picture that they're break now after that I was glancing ahead at the premium there to the effects of grace, right? And beginning in question 113, huh? I was tied up with those two kinds of graces I was talking about at the beginning of class there, about the operating grace and cooperating grace. And he says, beginning in 113, then we're not to consider about the effects of grace. And first about the justification of the impious, huh? Which is an effect of grace operantis, huh? Secondly, about merit, which is an effect of what? Yeah, it's beautiful, isn't it? Okay, but we're just back at the start now of the causes, right? If you remember, you know, the way back, the first premium, you know, for the whole treatise on grace here. And 109, you have the, just to recall that, just so we know where we are. Consequently, we're not to consider about the exterior beginning, of human acts, to wit about God, insofar as we are, what, aided by him through grace to act rightly, huh? And then is divided into two or three, because it's got to be either two or three, right? And first, when I consider about grace, the grace of God, secondly, about its cause, and third, about its what? Effects. Okay, so where are we, huh? Yeah, so we finished the first part, right? And now we, the first part was divided into three parts, right? First, we consider about the necessity of grace. Secondly, about grace as regards its very essence. And then we're just finishing the third part about its what? Division, right? So now we're going to the second part, to be the son of grace, huh? The cause of grace, huh? Okay? That's not the way theology as a whole is divided, right? And you consider, it's got three parts, right? You consider God in himself, then God is the alpha, the beginning of things, right? And then God is the, what? The end of things, right? So that's the first three books of the Summa Karagentiles, right? That's the way the last three books are divided, the last book is divided to the fourth book, okay? What Thomas does in the Summa Karagentiles is he divides, the four books have to be divided into three or two. They're divided into, what? Two. And the first three books are about these things about God that can be known by natural reason as well as by faith. And the second part, which is book four, is the, what? It's the same thing. It's the thing that can be known only by faith, right? Okay. But then the first part is divided into the first, second, and third book, which are God in himself, God is the beginning of things, and God is the end of things. And then you have the same three things again, and God in himself, like the Trinity, you know? And then God is, what? The beginning of things that we don't, Aristotle didn't know about. And the end, right? That he didn't know about. So it's divided into those same three, right? So you divide the summa kind of gentile, it's really into two parts. Now the editorial division is into, what? Four, yeah. But you've got to, you've got to careful that, right? The New Testament is divided into, what? How many parts? Editorially. See, it's quite a few, right? Yeah, but does Thomas divide the New Testament into three or two? Yeah, yeah. So he divides it into the origin of grace, which is the four Gospels, right? And then the, what, nature of grace, right? Which is the epistles of St. Paul. And then the effect of grace, which is the Acts of the Apostles and the canonical epistles and the, what? Yeah. Because the effect of the grace is, as a whole, is the church, right? So the beginning of the church in the Acts of the Apostles and its growth is seen in the canonical epistles where St. Jude talks about building up the church, right? And it's kind of that. And then the final stage in the, what? About that. So he divides the New Testament into three, right? Now he's divided the Old Testament into three or two. Yeah, usually two, yeah. Because the Old Testament is divided on the basis of law, right? And it's divided into the law of the king, which is in the Pentateuch and the prophets, right? Where I encourage people to follow the law. And then the sapiential books, you might say, right? Which are the law of the father, right? And so the author of those texts will say, you know, my son, my son do this or my son do that, right? And so these will divide the Old Testament into three, you know, to separate the prophets and the Pentateuch. Yeah. That's how the Jews have it. Yeah. And Christ's sentence refers to that, you know? The law of the prophets in the Psalms, they'll say. So he touches upon those three that Thomas has, right? So sometimes Thomas divides it into three, yeah? So I always give the rule, you know, the rule of two or three or both, right? My friend Aristotle, one of my best teachers, in fact, is a teacher by written word and a spoken word, but I divide my teachers into those who taught me by their spoken word, like Siric and Deconic and Dionne and Boulay and so on. I mean, those are taught me by their written word, right? And what's the difference? Well, Aristotle divided what? The plot into both two and three, right? Which is beginning, middle, and end, right? And then he divides it into tying the knot or knots and untying the knots, right? And so you can do that both, right? You know, so you divide the family into the father, the mother, and the children, right? But sometimes into the parents and the children, you know, it makes sense to do this, you know? I actually try to explain the difference between the father and the mother in terms of the child, right? And it seemed to me the difference was this, that the father sees the child more as a continuation of himself, and the mother sees the child as a kind of a fulfillment of himself. That's kind of interesting, right? And that's why sometimes, you know, a man will make the mistake, you know, he's got to have a male child, right? You know, like in the eighth, you know, and so on. And why the woman doesn't see it that way, you know? Because she sees the child as a fulfillment of herself, right? But if the man sees the child more as a continuation of himself, then he wants a son, right? Well, he can get rid of it too far. That's what the eighth did, you know? I was at a funeral this morning, and the priest was giving a kind of eulogy, you know, and talking about it. I guess the woman there, her husband, they had five boys, right? And then five, the sixth one was a girl, you know? That was kind of funny, you know, huh? I guess the priest himself had come from a family of five boys and one girl, right? Oh, really? So he's making a little joke about how the boys were always in trouble, while the one girl was always going, you know? He's kind of kidding, you know, Marcy, who's the one girl, the daughter of the woman who died, and, you know, have you written this, you know? She's giving a better, you know, description of the girl than the way she behaved in the boys, you know? It's kind of funny, the priest has come from the same kind of a family, five boys and one girl. Marvis, marvis, marvis woman. Okay. Then we're not to consider about the cause of grace. Now, this little part here we call this a, what, premium, right, huh? You have to divide the thing. About this, five things are asked, right? First, whether God alone is the efficient cause of what? Grace. Second, whether there is required some disposition for grace on the part of the one, what, receiving it. Some disposition by an act of his, what, free will, right? That's interesting, right? I kind of always wonder about the way they use the word Latin word ad, then we'd say the word for rather than to, right? But how does that sense? Third, whether such a disposition is able to be necessitating, right? Necessity to grace, huh? That's very important, right, huh? So he is going to probably answer in the second article that there is required some disposition on the part. Like Augustine says, that God who created you without you, right, will not save you without you, without your thing. Now, is there a necessitas to grace that you had the disposition, huh? Or is that, what are those guys, what do you call those guys on grace, that aren't too good? What's that? What is it, Augustine? Pelagian? Yeah, yeah. I wonder if this is going to watch out, huh? See if you've got any heretics here, you know, about grace, huh? When the Pope said, huh, that Augustine on grace is a church on grace. That's really strong, you know, huh? Yeah, he's a great guy, that Augustine. Where did he come from? From hippo, what's it? Come from horse or something? Yeah, I think so. I know that's the word for hippopotamus. Hippopotamus is a river horse. Yeah, yeah. That's what the word means. Potamus is the word for river, for horse. River horse. Fourth, whether grace is equal in what? All. Five, whether someone can know whether he has grace, huh? Okay. John of Arc. John of Arc was asking. Can a man know whether he be worthy of love or hate, right? Now, what about a division into five here, huh? What do you think about that? If you divide these five into two or three, what would you do? Would you divide into two or three? Hmm? I divide the first three against the fourth and the fifth one. I divide it into three, probably, because the first three are talking about the cause of grace, right? And the main thing there is whether God is the efficient cause, right? Whether God owns the efficient cause of grace. But then whether this decision is in some way a cause, right? And whether it's a cause that necessitates, right? So the first three are about kind of the cause of grace, right? The fourth one is not really about a cause so much, but whether the grace that you receive is going to be equal, right? You know, with your democratic view, we all have a equal amount of grace, huh? And then the third one, I mean the fifth one, is something entirely different, right? It's talking about whether you can know yourself, whether you have grace, right? What would the Greeks say? Know thyself, right? But can you know yourself in this case, huh? See? Sometimes I think I'm rotten to the core, you know? Sometimes. I think I have a more benign view of myself. I guess I don't really know, see? Maybe I don't really know, huh? So I would put the first three together, right? And then the second part would be the fourth article. And then the third part would be the fifth one, right? And the first three can be divided into two, right? The first one against the other two, you know, which are dealing with this disposition, this character. But Thomas doesn't bother to be so pedantic, right? Like Berkowitz telling me, you know? The first, then, one goes forward thus. It seems that none soulless, not alone, is God the cause of grace, huh? For it said in John, chapter 1, verse 17, grace and truth through Jesus Christ was made, right? See, Thomas takes that text, I guess the whole text says, and the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. And then Thomas takes that as a, what, kind of a hint that the Old Testament is about law. And sometimes Christ refers to the Old Testament as a law, right? Even though it might include the Psalms and so on, right? And then the New Testament is about grace, right? Kind of interesting that he saw that, right? So grace and truth through Jesus Christ was made. But in the name of Jesus Christ is understood, not only the divine nature assuming, but also the created nature assumed. Because Christ means anointed one. Is God anointed? I don't think so. That's the human nature that's assumed that is anointed, huh? Okay? And therefore, some creature can be a cause of grace, huh? The human nature of Christ is not something divine, is it? Moreover, this difference is laid down between the sacraments of the New Law and of the Old. So, that the sacraments of the New Law cause grace, which the sacraments of the Old Law only signify. Notice that, the thing we were talking about before, huh? Now he talks about the, what, Old Law and the New Law, right? How does that fit with Thomas' definition of the Old Testament about law and the New one about grace? Yeah. Now, but also here you can say, you know, that the fact that the new sacraments of the New Law give grace gives them the excellence they have over the sacraments of the Old Law. So, we say the new thing is about grace and will keep the law for the Old Testament, right? A little bit like that. So, if the sacraments of the New Law cause grace, right? But the sacraments of the New Law are certain visible elements, right? Therefore, not only God is the cause of grace. Moreover, according to Dionysius, in the book on the celestial hierarchy, which Albert the Great commented on, like Thomas commented on the divine names by Dionysius, the angels purge, right? And enlighten and perfect both the lower angels and also men. But the rational creature is purged, illuminated, and perfected by grace. Therefore, not only God is the cause of grace, huh? Plans toward the ignorance or... Yeah. Not of his mistakes. Because they're not, you know, they're not rash as fire, right? They're not rash like fire like we are, you know, where we jump to a conclusion, you know? And people are out there, you know, voting, not knowing what they're voting for, you know? And they're actually voting in many cases for what is going to harm them, you know? They don't know. A friend of my brother-in-law's, you know, worked in one of the gubernatorial candidates, you know, a number of years ago. And he's all over the state of Massachusetts, you know? And of course, it's amazing how ignorant people were, he found, you know? They don't even know what the candidates stand for, and the candidate who actually stands for things that's opposed to their interest, they're supporting him without even knowing this. He's just kind of dumbfounded by the ignorance, you know? But the angels aren't jumping like that, you know, to things. Some of the presidential campaigns, the media, the New York Times, specifically made out to the last-minute deciders who could be bothered. to follow the issues up to the point in the election and was lionizing them you know as being just very crude thinkers on the one hand and on the other hand but let's look at the answer to the objections here now to the first therefore it should be said that the humanity of Christ which is something other than God right is like a certain what tool of his divinity as Damascene says in the third book Thomas often thinks about this but a tool does not act by the what but by the power of the principal agent so did Michelangelo or his chisel and hammer like the Pietas but as a tool he had to have that probably couldn't do it with his fingers he'd be figured the house would be gone and therefore the humanity of Christ does not cause grace by its own what power but by the power of the divinity joined to it from which the actions of the humanity of Christ so is the humanity of Christ the cause of grace yeah so there's a distinction though between the principal cause and the instrumental cause right does the teacher's words and structure teach you something or does the teacher teach you did Dick Connick teach me and and and Dion and one of the syrick do these guys teach me or do their words teach me is Thomas yeah you know is Thomas's words or is Thomas teaching me yeah yeah so the words of Thomas are a cause of my learning as a what instrument of of my teacher who's really Thomas right Jesus Christ taught you how to pray that means the word yeah yeah so the humanity of Christ is a cause of grace as a tool right that's a real causality right it's not as if it doesn't have any causality at all right and Thomas is explaining the third kind of cause which I still call the mover or the maker right and he often quotes the text about his son where he distinguishes between the principal cause and the you know and the instrument right but also he'll talk about the one that disposes right well that come up in this other article right so I told you about this guy who studied with the Dominicans and he had some teachers he says never affirm seldom deny always distinguish you see so yeah humanity of Christ is a cause of grace but as a tool of his what divinity yeah yeah okay now the second objection was talking about the fact that the sacraments of the New Testament are causes of grace right okay to the second it should be said that just as in the person of Christ right this is in the person of Christ humanity humanity causes our salvation to grace right which the divine power is chiefly right making or operating so also in the sacraments of the new law which are derived from Christ they cause grace what yeah through the sacraments but chiefly right through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in the sacraments and that's interesting that he he says isn't there huh because sometimes you speak of the sacraments it's doomed by Christ to give grace right but here he speaks of the Holy Spirit huh operating in the what sacraments huh according to that John 3-5 well I've read that book a little bit I was listening to you know Mother Angelica died you know that and so they had you know a lot of her previous little things being replayed there on EWTN which is the spoon that I was at the funeral she was very attached to it right they had gone down to the place and so on and she used to listen to I guess Mother Angelica and her nuns they had to say the rosary at 9 o'clock or 9 or 3 something like that and she turned on she always joined them you know so they had a little bit on Mother Angelica there in the little program for the funeral but Mother Angelica I was seeing her on the TV there a little bit and she was quoting John Thomas's but you know it's my favorite gospel he says I gotta suspect by me Thomas's you know you can speak of having a favorite gospel you know but this is a beautiful example unless one be what reborn right renatus from aqua and that's a what instrument right and the Holy Spirit but that's a principal cause so that's beautiful text it's called instrumentaliter right I don't know how you do that with the word tool in English toolishly or something make an adverb out of it yeah yeah you know when they speak of the human body the living body being an organic body right you know the word organized would be a word for what tool you know the Aristotle's collected works in logic they're called the organon right it means the tool right because logic is the tool of philosophy right it's not the principal part of philosophy right that's looking philosophy and philosophy of action right but logic is necessary tool right so did I learn did I learn philosophy by my reason or by logic yeah principally by my reason huh by my ability for a large discourse looking before and after but I couldn't do without my tool right just like our friend Michelangelo couldn't make the pietas without his chisel and hammer yeah yeah so Tom's making a similar distinction like the one he made with the humanity of Christ right but it's interesting he uses the Holy Spirit here right I think in other places he might talk about you know the sacraments as being tools of Christ right but here he because the text says the Holy Spirit it doesn't say say Christ to the third now Roger question right what does this mean to the third it should be said that the angel purges enlightens and perfects the angel or man right by way of a certain instruction right purges him Thomas says he purges the angels the more angels of ignorance right purges us of error as well as ignorance right okay okay not however by justifying to grace they did not be justified by grace right okay once Dionysius says in the seventh chapter of the divine names that this purgation illumination perfection is nothing other than a what assumption of divine knowledge right a taking on of divine knowledge right yeah okay we gotta pray to those angels one way now the text said contra in psalm 83 which I'm assuming you're familiar with grace and glory the lord gives to those angels to those angels to those angels to those angels to those angels to those angels to those angels to those angels The Lord gives grace and glory. Our word order is somewhat different from these other languages. Yeah. Now, what does Thomas say? He starts off with the beginning, right? The answer should be said that no thing is able to act beyond its own what kind? Its own species. Why? Because always is it necessary that the cause be more potent than the effect. Now, the gift of grace exceeds every faculty of the created, what, nature. Why? Because it's nothing other than a certain partaking of the divine nature. That's what we saw before, right? There was a text there from the epistle of St. Paul, I mean, St. Peter. And this divine nature that you're partaking in excels every other, what, nature. It's interesting that we use even the word nature there in talking about God, right? You know, when you take up the word nature there in the physics there, he doesn't distinguish all the senses of nature. But he does so in the fifth book of wisdom, right? So, when I would teach that, I always refer it to a text in the fifth book of wisdom. Because one of the senses of nature eventually is what a thing is, right? And that's really the sense of nature here, right? But originally nature means birth, huh? Poets made or born, good question. Something natural, right, huh? You read about Mozart's life there, you know. He seems to have picked up the violin just by nature, right? You know, and his father, who wrote a treatise on how to play the violin and so on, and he'd have friends over to, you know, play a quartet or something. And Mozart, do you want him to play? And he said, no, no. And finally, his old assistant, well, the guy said, well, let him play alongside me, you know. And after a little while, the guy just put down his violin. Once I take over his flicks, you know, his father, there was tears going down his flicks, you know. The scripture of it, you know, huh? You know, to see what a genius once it was. It was easy, you know. Although some man wants himself to thank God for his gifts, you know. And he had those gifts. Sometimes, I hope he did a lot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, I agree with Fagni's judgment, huh? That Mozart, he says, is above all the masters, in all the arts, and in all the ages. I said, that's the last one. Rosie says to me after, I had some nice music there, you know. And he says, how did you check the music, she said. And I said, well, he didn't play the Avi Verbum Corpus. And I was in high school, I got friends. He got first introduced me to listening to Mozart, you know. And I got very excited about him. This one guy, he said, you know, he always called me Mozart, Mozart, because of my enthusiasm. I'm listening to Mozart. So notice how he solves the third objection differently than the first two. The first two, he does so by the distinction, you know, of the chief cause, principal cause, and the instrumental cause, right? But the third one, he's saying, well, it's not really giving grace, it's an assumption of what? Now it's right, enlightening them. Somebody teaches, enlightened me, huh? Gave me knowledge, I didn't have. They didn't give me grace. So, let's go back to the body of the article, right? No thing acts beyond its own, what? Species. Because always it's necessary that the cause be more potent than the effect. But now the gift of grace, huh? Exceeds all faculty, all ability of nature, right? A creative nature, as I say. Why? Because it's nothing other than a certain partaking of the divine nature itself. That's extremely profound, right? And the divine nature excels every other, what? Nature. And therefore it's impossible, huh? That some creature cause grace, huh? Thus it is necessary that God alone, Dei Ficetan, makes divine, yeah. By communicating a, what? Consortium of the divine nature through a certain partaking of, what, he'd like us to that. Just as it's impossible that someone, what? Yeah, something, except it'd be, what? The only fire can do that, right? Now there he's giving us a nice example there from simple things, right? Of course, we often use fire as a, what, metaphor for God, right? In the brewing bush, the bush represents the, what, humanity of Christ, and the fire that doesn't consume it, the divinity of Christ, right? And the meaning of it not consuming it is that the divine nature doesn't salt off the human nature and destroy it, right? But the two natures remain distinct, and they both have their properties according to their natures. But with the, what, the fire can be a metaphor for the divine nature, right? The light that it gives for the divine understanding, right, and the heated things for the divine love, and the power of God, you know, the power of fire to transform things. But then the fire is also a metaphor for the trinity, huh? So the fire then is, what, the Father, right? And from the Father proceeds, what, both light and heat, both the sun and the, what? But the heat kind of goes through the fire, through the light, right? And so that's the Holy Spirit, right? So we kind of beautiful, beautiful fire, you know? I mean, a beautiful metaphor for God, right? And you see, it's kind of really a marvelous thing that the Church Fathers explain that, huh? The green bush, right? That's where it comes over, you know? You know, what is this sort of thing, you know? Well, I mean, you see, you know, people are kind of puzzled by this Jesus Christ on earth, you know, because some things he says are kind of indicating that he's more than just a man, right? And that he's, uh, he's God, right? If he had the faith one time, he doesn't have any. It's kind of in his blood from his family. But, uh, when he said, you know, Jesus sometimes, he's sometimes called son of God, and what does that mean? I said, well, that's the perennial question. You know, are you a son of God? And is he a son of God in the same way? I don't know. That's what Ratsinger said years ago, I went, one of the things, that that was a whole early controversy to the Church. And they said it's a council of the Hamlet. So what do we mean? We say that Jesus is the son of God, just like anybody else? Or is it different? And how do you distinguish? Christ says in the resurrection there, I'm going to go to my God and your God, right? And make that kind of distinction there, you know, of ways, his God, and our God. So you're convincing that God is soulless. So, okay, time for the record, stop, yeah, okay.