On the Necessity of Grace by Lagrange (banezian)

Fr. Lagrange covers the topic on the necessity of Grace by writing a short but detailed chapter on this subject. To make it even shorter for anyone starting to get into soteriology, I will provide a slightly paraphrased version of His [Lagrange]’s work in light of Domingo de Soto’s work “on nature and grace”.

Man even in his fallen nature can without grace, by God’s concurrence in the natural order, know certain natural truths, though this concurrence of God is gratuitous in this sense, that it is accorded to men in varying degree. To reach supernatural truths man must have long years of study, an ardent love of truth, a persevering will, and subservient passions. Even then man can’t have these qualities without having grace added to his nature. Man cannot without interior grace give a supernatural assent to divine revelation and this doctrine is held heavily by the Thomists against Pelagians and semi-pelagians. The act of faith that we adhere to supernatural truths as revealed is supernatural essentially by reason of its specific object and motive and the mysteries of faith are more supernatural than miracles. Miracles are supernatural by mode of production. The miraculous fact is naturally knowable but on the contrary the life of grace, mysteries of the trinity, incarnation, redemption are supernatural by their essence meaning that they're not accessible via natural knowledge making them unknowable unless supernaturally. Scotists, Molinists and Nominalists hold to assent of faith to revelation being natural in substance and supernatural by superadded modality.

This deception is contrary to the principle:

“Acts and habits are specifically proportioned to their formal object, that is, a supernatural object can be attained as supernatural only by an act which is itself essentially supernatural.”

If someone holds that the act of faith is substantially natural then they consequently must say the same of the acts of hope and charity and further on say that charity below isn't identified with charity above because charity is essentially supernatural.

Thomists will concede to this:

“After revelation has been preached, fallen man can, without supernatural grace, by God’s natural concurrence, know and admit the supernatural truths materially, by an imperfect consent given for a human motive.”

Heretics by their own judgement retain dogmas that please them and reject dogmas that don’t. This type of faith isn't infused; rather its a human faith (similar to the faith of demons). This faith founded on the evidence of miraculous signs is possible without grace, true faith is impossible without grace. This necessary grace can be lacking in an adult only by his own fault because if he doesn’t resist the voice of conscience and prevenient grace then he’ll be led to the grace of faith. A man in a state of mortal sin (meaning he’s deprived of grace and charity) can still perform some acts that are morally good within the natural order alone. If he preserves infused faith and hope then he can ,with the help of actual grace, elicit supernatural acts in those virtues. Now fallen men without the grace of faith can also perform naturally good acts (morally good). The acts of infidels (unbelievers) aren’t all sins. They [infidels] retain the natural inclination to moral good even though they’re enfeebled. The natural concurrence of God in these acts are gratuitous only. Without medicinal grace, fallen men, cant love God more than himself.

St. Thomas says:

“To love God naturally above all things, fallen man needs the aid of medicinal grace.

He says this because unless fallen men is healed by medicinal grace then he will always prefer his own personal good over that of God.

Thomists also say:

“Man in his fallen state, is less able to keep the natural law than he would have been in the state of pure nature.”

Now this doesn't mean that man in his fallen state absolutely cannot keep the natural law, rather that it is extremely hard yet still possible. In a purely natural state his will wouldn’t be turned away even indirectly from his natural end, but rather would be able to choose this end or turn away from it.

Even further Lagrange says that:

“Fallen man, in the state of mortal sin, cannot without special grace, avoid all grievous sin against the natural law or conquer all temptations thereto.”

This obviously doesn’t apply to the just man that can avoid all grievous sins, venial sins, due to the ordinary concurrence of grace. But in the long run he can’t avoid venial sins since reason cant always be vigilant enough to suppress the first movements of disorder. Semi-Pelagians hold that Fallen men without the concurrence of actual grace can prepare themselves for sanctifying grace. They’ll substantiate by saying that the beginning of salvation comes from our nature and that grace comes with the initial natural movement of the will. Orange II condemned this view and affirmed the necessity of actual, prevenient grace in the preparation for our conversion.

St. Thomas points towards the words of Christ in john 6:44 and then to the words of Jeremiah in lamentations 5:21, Disposition to grace must be supernatural, as is grace itself. Meaning that the disposition to grace must come from the Author of grace.

Q: to him who does what lies in his power God doesn't refuse grace?A: He who, under the concurrence of actual grace, does what lies in himself, God doesn't refuse sanctifying grace.

What we can’t say is that God confers actual grace to man because he makes a good use of his natural will.

Even the Justified man needs actual grace for every meritorious act that he does no matter of the degree of his habitual grace.

The grace of final perseverance is the union of the state of grace death. This union of grace and death is manifestly a special effect of providence and of predestination since its only given to he who is predestined.

In adults the grace of perseverance includes sufficient grace (gives the power to preserve) and efficacious grace (perseverance despite of great temptations by a last meritorious act). This grace is efficacious of itself. Grace is necessary for knowing supernatural truth, doing good, avoiding sin, disposing man unto justification, performing each meritorious act and for persevering until the end.