On the Essence of Grace by Lagrange (banezian)

Fr. Lagrange gives a decent overview on the essence of Grace. I will provide a shorter paraphrased version of what He says in the light of Domingo de Soto.

Grace is something that is real and which is intrinsic in our soul (2 pet 1:4). Human love is given to what already exists whereas divine love creates something to be loved. Without producing a good in a man, God cannot love him, whether that be in the natural order as when God gives that man existence, life and intelligence or in the supernatural order as when He makes man His adopted son, prepares him to be supernaturally blessed or even when He gives Himself up to man eternally not in a serving manner, but for the sake of his soul.

God’s love creates goodness in creatures and the uncreated love creates our lovableness in His eyes.

Sanctifying grace is a permanent quality of the soul. It’s essentially the “seed of God” implanted into the soul of man. St Thomas says that we cannot hold to God providing less generously in the supernatural order than He does in the natural order. Because in the natural order He gives nature as radical, principle and the faculties as proximate principles of our natural operations. We can expect to receive grace as a radical principle to our supernatural operations. Therefore, sanctifying grace becomes a “second nature” as Fr. Lagrange writes. Furthermore, it enables us to connaturally know God and to love Him in a higher order than that of our natural faculties. The participation in the divine nature is physical and formal but in an analogical sense. The reason for this is that human words can express supernatural truths only by understatements and the divine nature is the principle by which God knows and loves himself. Without any medium or interruption, thus making sanctifying grace the radical principle that disposes us to see God without any medium and furthermore love Him eternally without any interruption. This is what is meant by “participating in the divine nature”. Just as how human adoption gives the child that is adopted the moral right to an inheritance, the divine adoption gives the soul a real and physical realm to inherit. Sanctifying grace is a formal and permanent participation which is analogical because the divine nature is independent and infinite, on the contrast grace is is finite and dependent on God. Grace is an accident and not a substance and it can only give us an intuitive knowledge of God not a comprehensive one. Now even though the participation is an analogical one, its still a participation in the deity regardless since its the source of the light of glory that enables us to see God as He is in Himself perfectly. Sanctifying grace alone is a participation in the deity as deity which is naturally impossible and therefore making it naturally unknowable. Only the light of infused faith below and the light of glory above can let us see God as He is in Himself. Grace by its very nature is absolutely supernatural.

St Thomas:

“The grace even of one man is a greater good then the whole universe of nature. Only those who enjoy the beatific vision can fully know the value of grace, the source and root of their glory.”ST IIa-IIae, q. 24, a. 3, ad. 2

Thus the saying that God loves one soul in grace more than He loves all creatures with merely natural life. An example of this is a father loving his children more than he loves his cars, houses, etc. St. Paul says that God guides the universe in favor of the elect.

The distinction between charity and sanctifying grace is that charity is an infused virtue residing in the will. Acquired virtues presupposes a human nature, the infused virtues presuppose a nature that has been raised to supernatural life and this supernatural life is given via sanctifying grace. God can’t provide in the supernatural order unless He provides in the natural order. Therefore grace is received into the Soul and charity is received into the will. When grace is consummated its called glory.