299. Grace, Disposition, and Divine Causality in Justification

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Preparation and Disposition for Grace (Q. 112, Art. 2) #

• Two types of preparation: Perfect preparation (which receives grace immediately) and imperfect preparation (which precedes grace)
• God’s role in preparation: Whatever preparation man makes comes through God moving the will; preparation does not precede God’s aid
• The paradox resolved: While man appears to prepare himself, this preparation is itself caused by God moving the free will toward good
• Timing distinction: God may move the soul suddenly and perfectly (as with St. Paul) or gradually—but in both cases, the preparation itself comes from God

Grace as Form vs. Grace as Motion (The Key Distinction) #

• Grace as habitual gift (donum): Like a form, it requires disposed matter; this is why there must be some preparation of the soul
• Grace as divine aid: Like motion from an agent, it requires no prior disposition; God moves the soul without needing it to be pre-disposed
• Philosophical grounding: This distinction parallels Aristotle’s distinction between the maker (who gives form and requires disposed matter) and the mover (who causes motion without requiring prior disposition)
• Resolution of apparent contradiction: Both statements are true—preparation is required for habitual grace, but God himself creates this preparation through His motion

Necessity and Grace (Q. 112, Art. 3) #

• From the human side: Preparation by free will does not necessitate grace; the gift exceeds any human preparation
• From God’s side: If God intends to give grace through moving the will, it will infallibly be given because God’s intention cannot fail
• Augustine’s teaching cited: “To the benefits of God, most certainly are liberated, freed, whoever are freed” (Predestination of Saints)
• The real question: Not whether man can obligate God, but whether God’s intention to move and give grace can fail—it cannot

Equality and Inequality of Grace (Q. 112, Art. 4) #

• Two-fold magnitude of grace:
  • On the side of the object/end: Grace cannot be greater or less because it orders all to the same ultimate good (God)
  • On the side of the subject: Grace can be greater or less according to how intensely the soul participates in it
• God’s equal care with unequal effects: God’s eternal act is simple and uniform (equal care), but the effects are unequal because recipients have different capacities
• Why inequality serves the Church: Diversity of grace mirrors diversity in the universe and in the human body; it builds up the body of Christ
• Preparation and intensity: The person who prepares himself more thoroughly receives fuller grace; but this preparation itself comes from God

Key Arguments #

The Problem of Free Will and Preparation (Objection 1) #

Objection: If man prepares himself by free will, how is grace truly gratuitous? According to Romans 4:5, what is owed is not according to grace but according to debt.

Response: The preparation of man together with the pouring in of grace is itself meritorious—but meritorious not of the grace itself but of glory yet to come. Before justification, no merit is possible except from grace itself.

The Problem of the Sinner Receiving Grace (Objection 2) #

Objection: St. Paul received grace while “breathing threats and blows” against disciples (Acts 9:1). He was progressing in sin, not preparing himself. How then is preparation required?

Response: Since man cannot prepare himself except through God’s prior motion, it makes no difference whether the preparation is sudden (subito) or gradual (paulatim). God moved Paul perfectly and suddenly, and he received grace immediately. The disposition and reception occurred simultaneously.

The Problem of Infinite Power (Objection 3) #

Objection: An agent of infinite power needs no disposition of matter (as creation shows). God alone causes grace and has infinite power. Therefore, no preparation from man is required.

Response: While infinite power doesn’t require pre-existing matter or pre-existing disposition, it necessarily creates both the matter and the suitable disposition for the form it intends to give. No preparation is required that God himself doesn’t make.

The Problem of Equal Care Suggesting Equal Grace (Objection, Q. 112, Art. 4) #

Objection: Wisdom 6:8 states that God cares equally for the little and the great. Therefore, all should receive grace equally.

Response: Divine care considered as God’s simple eternal act is equal toward all. But considered according to the effects on creatures, there is inequality because God dispenses diverse gifts according to diverse capacities and His wise ordering of creation.

Important Definitions #

Grace (Gratia) #

• As habitual gift: A form inhering in the soul; requires disposed matter like any form requires proper matter
• As divine aid: God’s motion of the soul to good; requires no prior disposition because motion doesn’t require pre-disposed matter

Preparation for Grace (Praeparatio) #

• Perfect preparation: Complete readiness of the soul to receive grace; grace follows immediately
• Imperfect preparation: Incomplete readiness coming from God moving the will toward good; precedes grace in time but not necessarily in being

The Potter and Clay Analogy #

• Jeremiah 18:6: “As clay in the hand of the potter”
• The clay does not necessarily receive form from the potter no matter how prepared
• Similarly, man does not receive grace necessarily even if prepared
• Yet God is free to give grace infallibly if He intends to move the will

Examples & Illustrations #

St. Paul’s Sudden Conversion #

• While “breathing threats and blows” against disciples (Acts 9:1), Paul was suddenly and perfectly moved by God
• His hearing, learning, and coming to Christ (John 6:45) were simultaneous, not sequential
• Shows that God can dispose the soul and give grace at the same instant without gradual preparation

The Eucharist and Preparation #

• Saints receive more fully from the Eucharist than ordinary believers because they prepare themselves more thoroughly
• Both receive the same gift (the Eucharist), but one receives it with greater intensity due to superior preparation
• Analogous to how grace itself can be the same but received with different intensity

Wine Tasting #

• Someone with sensitive taste can distinguish wines immediately and identify them
• Someone with less sensitive taste cannot distinguish them
• Both taste the same wine, but one experiences and enjoys it more fully
• Applied to grace: all may receive the same grace, but some comprehend and enjoy it more intensely

The Human Body and Diversity of Parts #

• The eye has greater excellence than the ear; the ear is more excellent than some other parts
• If the whole body were all eyes, it would be grotesque and imperfect
• The diversity of excellences makes the body perfect
• The Church, as the body of Christ, requires diversity of graces for its perfection

Notable Quotes #

“To the benefits of God, most certainly are liberated, freed, whoever are freed.” - Augustine, On the Predestination of Saints (cited by Aquinas on the infallibility of God’s intention)

“Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me.” - John 6:45 (cited to show that hearing, learning, and coming are simultaneous acts proceeding from God’s motion)

“It is easy in the eyes of God, subito, to make honest the poor.” - Ecclesiasticus [Sirach] (cited for God’s ability to honor/make graceful suddenly)

“God hates equality.” - Berquist’s characterization of Aquinas’s position on God’s ordering of creation

Questions Addressed #

Article 2: Is Preparation for Grace Required? #

Question: Does the requirement of preparation for grace undermine its gratuity? If grace is unmerited, how can man prepare for it?

Resolution: Preparation is required insofar as grace is a habitual form, but the preparation itself comes from God’s motion. Man prepares himself only insofar as God moves him. This preserves both the necessity of preparation (for receiving a form) and the gratuity of grace (since even the preparation comes from God).

Article 3: Is Preparation Necessary for Grace to Be Given? #

Question: If one prepares oneself for grace, must God necessarily give grace? Or can He withhold it?

Resolution: From man’s side, preparation creates no necessity for grace; the gift exceeds human preparation. From God’s side, if God intends to move the will and give grace, it will infallibly occur because God’s intention cannot fail. The necessity comes from God’s will, not from human preparation.

Article 4: Is Grace Equal in All? #

Question: Since God cares equally for all, does all receive equal grace?

Resolution: God’s care as His simple eternal act is equal. But the effects of grace are unequal because recipients have different capacities and God wisely orders diverse grades of gifts for the perfection of the Church. One person may receive fuller grace due to better preparation, but the preparation itself comes from God moving the soul.

Philosophical Notes #

Aristotelian Causality Applied to Grace #

• The distinction between maker (giving form, requiring disposed matter) and mover (causing motion, not requiring prior disposition) parallels the distinction between habitual grace and grace as divine aid
• This shows how Thomas uses philosophy to clarify theological distinctions rather than imposing arbitrary categories

The Problem of Contingency and Necessity #

• Human preparation does not necessitate grace (contingent from man’s side)
• God’s moving and giving grace, if intended, necessarily occurs (necessary from God’s side)
• This resolves the apparent paradox of “free grace” and “necessary gift”: grace is free in that God is not obligated by human merit, but necessary in that God’s will cannot fail