Justification: Divided over Charity

Council of Trent
Paolo Farinatis (c. 1524 - c. 1606)
(click on the painting for a larger image)

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on Protestantism, there are three primary theological principles separating Catholics and Protestants. These principles have to do with justification, Church tradition, and Church authority. Here I want to focus on justification, briefly laying out the fundamental difference between the Catholic and Protestant positions on this doctrine only with respect to the role of charity.

Protestants and Catholics have somewhat different definitions of the term 'justification'. For Protestants, 'justification' refers not only to an initial justification at the moment of faith, but also to a final justification at the Final Judgment (see, for example, here and here). The Catholic understanding of the term 'justification' includes a third aspect: ongoing justification (see here). That is partly because the Catholic Church defines 'justification' such that sanctification is intrinsically included within it (see here), while Protestants define 'justification' such that sanctification is not included within it per se, but is supposed to attend or follow it.

These disagreements between Protestants and Catholics are partly semantic differences. Mere semantic differences are not substantive differences. But the disagreements are not entirely semantic. In this post, however, I will focus only on one aspect of [initial] justification, namely, its relation to charity.

Recently, Pope Benedict spoke about justification as the topic of one of his weekly general audiences. That address is something I hope all Protestants will carefully and prayerfully read. In that address he said the following:

"For this reason Luther's phrase: "faith alone" is true, if it is not opposed to faith in charity, in love.

Responding to Pope Benedict's statement quoted above, R. Scott Clark, professor of Church History & Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary [a Protestant seminary] wrote [UPDATE: his post has been moved to his new blog here] the following:

That conditional, that "if," makes all the difference in the world. That one little conditional is the difference between Rome and Wittenberg. Why? After all, Protestants affirm that faith alone is not opposed to charity (love) or sanctification. That's certainly true, but the question here is whether [...] Benedict means by "faith" what we mean by it and whether we're talking about the same justification and the same role of faith? For us Protestants, charity is the fruit and evidence of justification. Is it so for Benedict? If so, he's abandoned his own catechism and magisterial Roman dogma since 1547. That would be remarkable indeed! (emphasis mine)

Clark suggests that the fundamental point of disagreement between Catholics and Protestants regarding justification is whether charity is or is not necessarily present with justifying faith as its form. In other words, Is the faith by which we are justified necessarily formed by charity [fides formata caritate ] or not?

Catholics understand charity to be that theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God - see CCC 1822 and ST II-II Q.23 a.3. And Catholics do believe that charity is evidence of justification, and that charitable actions are the fruit of justification. But the fundamental point of disagreement between Protestants and Catholics with respect to the role of charity in [initial] justification seems to be whether charity is necessarily present within the person having justifying faith, or whether charity only necessarily follows justifying faith as its fruit. We can see the Catholic position on the relation of justifying faith and charity in Chapter VII of Session VI of the Council of Trent in 1547:

For though no one can be just except he to whom the merits of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ are communicated, yet this takes place in that justification of the sinner, when by the merit of the most holy passion, the charity of God is poured forth by the Holy Ghost in the hearts of those who are justified and inheres in them; whence man through Jesus Christ, in whom he is ingrafted, receives in that justification, together with the remission of sins, all these infused at the same time, namely, faith, hope and charity. For faith, unless hope and charity be added to it, neither unites man perfectly with Christ nor makes him a living member of His body. For which reason it is most truly said that faith without works is dead and of no profit, and in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh by charity. This faith, conformably to Apostolic tradition, catechumens ask of the Church before the sacrament of baptism, when they ask for the faith that gives eternal life, which without hope and charity faith cannot give.

(To avoid the technical part of this post, skip over the following section between the dashed lines.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why does the Council of Trent teach that charity must be present in us in order for our faith to be justifying? St. Thomas Aquinas addresses the relation of charity and justifying faith in Summa Theologiae II-II Q.4 a.3, where he argues that charity is the form of faith. First, consider some background philosophical anthropology.

Rational beings each possess two rational powers: intellect and will. The intellect is by its nature directed toward the true; the will is by its nature directed to the good. These two powers (i.e. intellect and will) have habits, i.e. dispositions. Good habits are called virtues; bad habits are called vices. The virtues can be divided into the natural virtues and the supernatural virtues. The natural virtues can be acquired (though not perfectly) through the use of our own powers, without supernatural infusion. There are three supernatural virtues, called 'supernatural' because they can be acquired only by supernatural infusion. Hence they are also called the "theological virtues". They are faith, hope, and charity. Faith is a virtue of the intellect; charity is a virtue of the will. The theological virtue of hope also is a virtue of the will.

Why then, according to Aquinas, is charity the form of faith? In ST II-II Q.4 a.3 he writes:

As appears from what has been said above (I-II, 1, 3; I-II, 18, 6), voluntary acts take their species from their end which is the will's object. Now that which gives a thing its species, is after the manner of a form in natural things. Wherefore the form of any voluntary act is, in a manner, the end to which that act is ordered, both because it takes its species therefrom, and because the mode of an action should correspond proportionately to the end. Now it is evident from what has been said (art. 1), that the act of faith is directed to the object of the will, i.e. the good, as to its end: and this good which is the end of faith, viz. the Divine Good, is the proper object of charity. Therefore charity is called the form of faith in as much as through charity the act of faith is perfected and is formed.

What is Aquinas saying here? His argument can be analyzed in this way:

(1) Voluntary acts take their species from their end, which is the will's object. [From ST I-II Q.1 a.3 and ST I-II Q.18 a.6]

(2) That which gives a thing its species is its form, in the manner of a form in natural things.

Hence

(3) The form of any voluntary act is, in a manner, the end to which that act is directed. [From (1) and (2)]

(4) An act of faith is related both to the object of the will, i.e. to the good and the end, and to the object of the intellect, i.e. the true. [ST II-II Q.4 a.1]

(5) The act of faith is directed to the object of the will, i.e. the good, as to its end. [From (4)]

(6) This good which is the end of faith, viz. the Divine Good, is the proper object of charity. [From ST II-II Q.24 a.1]

Therefore,

(7) Charity is the form of faith inasmuch as through charity the act of faith is perfected and is formed. [From (3), (5),(6)]

Premises (1)-(3) are quite straightforward. To understand the basis for premise (4), we have to look back at ST II-II Q.4 a.1. Recall that faith is "the substance of things hoped for". (Hebrews 11:1) Because hope is a virtue of the will, faith is a virtue of the intellect, and because faith is defined as "the substance of things hoped for" (ST II-II Q.4 a.1), therefore the act of faith on the part of the intellect is directed to the same object and end that the act of charity on the part of the will is directed to (i.e. the Divine Good). Premise (5) follows directly from (4). Premise (6) is drawn from ST II-II Q.24 a.1, where Aquinas argues that the subject of charity is not the sensitive, but the intellective appetite, i.e. the will, which is ordered to the good. (To understand why charity is a virtue of the [rational] appetite, see also my post titled "Love and Unity: Part 2".) Charity is thus the form of faith [forma fidei], in that it is only through charity that the act of faith attains the end by which it is given its species.

Aquinas makes this even clearer in the following article (ST II-II Q.4 a.4), where he argues that unformed faith [fides informis] is the same habit as formed faith. He writes:

We must therefore hold differently that formed faith and unformed faith [fidei formatae et informis] are one and the same habit. The reason is that a habit is differentiated by that which directly pertains to that habit. Now since faith is a perfection of the intellect, that pertains directly to faith, which pertains to the intellect. Again, what pertains to the will, does not pertain directly to faith, so as to be able to differentiate the habit of faith. But the distinction between formed faith and unformed faith [fidei formatae et informis] is in respect of something pertaining to the will, i.e. charity, and not in respect of something pertaining to the intellect. Therefore formed faith and unformed faith [fides formata et informis] are not distinct habits.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

What is this unformed faith [fides informis]? Aquinas identifies it with the faith referred to in James 2:20, where St. James writes that "faith without works is dead'. Thus according to Aquinas, fides informis is "dead faith". What makes it dead is the absence of the virtue of charity in the will, for as St. Paul says in Galatians 5:6, "faith worketh through charity". [cf. ST II-II Q.4 a.2 arg.3] In other words, what distinguishes formed faith [i.e. living faith] from unformed faith [i.e. dead faith] is nothing in the faith itself, that is, nothing in the habit in the intellect. Rather, what distinguishes formed faith (i.e. living faith) from unformed faith (i.e. dead faith) is that the former is accompanied by the supernatural virtue of charity in the will, while the latter is not accompanied by the supernatural virtue of charity in the will.

The interesting thing here is that Protestants do not believe that anyone is justified by dead faith. Protestants believe, with Catholics, that a justifying faith must be a living faith. So the difference between Catholics and Protestants with respect to this point is that Protestants do not believe that charity is what makes faith living (though they do believe that charity necessarily follows living faith), while Catholics believe that charity is precisely what makes faith living.

This raises the following questions for Protestants: What is the difference between dead faith and living faith? More specifically, what does living faith have per se that dead faith does not? Are they two species of faith? If so, are they both gifts of God? If so, when a man moves from dead faith to living faith, does God take away His previous gift of dead faith? If God does not do so, then does the gift of dead faith remain in the man, but inactive for the rest of his life as a believer? On the other hand, if dead faith is *not* a supernatural gift of God, then how is it different from any belief about God we might come to merely through our natural power of reason? And if dead faith is no different from any belief about God we might come to merely through our natural power of reason, why is it rightly called 'faith'? Moreover, how can charity be the fruit of living faith if living faith does not contain charity? In other words, how can charity come from non-charity?

In his Institutes, John Calvin briefly treats the relation of charity to faith. There he writes, "For the teaching of the Schoolmen, that love is prior to faith and hope, is mere madness; for it is faith alone that first engenders love in us." (Institutes, III.2.41) Aquinas discusses this question in ST II-II Q.4 a.7 and ST II-II Q.17 a.8. Aquinas makes a distinction between the order of generation and the order of perfection. In the order of generation, faith precedes hope and charity, because we cannot hope in or love what we do not know. This is because the movement of the will toward its end depends upon the intellect presenting this end to it. But, according to Aquinas, in the order of perfection, charity precedes hope and faith. This can be shown from what St. Paul himself says in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

When Calvin claims that "faith alone first engenders love in us", there is a certain *qualified* sense in which a Catholic can agree, because faith precedes charity in the order of generation. But the question is whether faith without charity simultaneously co-present, is living, and thus justifying, faith. In his article, Clark cites Calvin's commentary on Galatians, where Calvin writes: "When you are engaged in discussing the question of justification, beware of allowing any mention to be made of love or of works, but resolutely adhere to the exclusive particle." (Commentary on Galatians 5.6, 1548). By "the exclusive particle" Calvin means the term 'alone', as in "faith alone". So we see here Calvin at least implicitly denying that charity is necessarily simultaneously co-present with justifying faith.

The Catholic Church teaches that the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, and charity are infused into us when we receive the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of baptism. St. Paul writes that "the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5). Only when faith is living (i.e. accompanied by the virtue of charity as its form), is faith justifying. Notice that this does not mean that the deathbed convert must do charitable works in order to be justified. It does mean, however, that unless there is charity in his will, whatever virtue of faith is present in his intellect is not a justifying faith.

Professor Clark seems not recognize that justification being progressive is fully compatible with an initial justification. For example, Pope Benedict claims that "Faith is looking at Christ, entrusting oneself to Christ, being united to Christ, conformed to Christ, to his life. And the form, the life of Christ, is love; hence to believe is to conform to Christ and to enter into his love." Clark responds by saying, This is code for "to be gradually sanctified and gradually justified." Of course Catholics do believe that being conformed to Christ and entering His love is something that does continue over the course of a believer's life, insofar as the believer makes use of the means of grace. But, Catholics also believe that in our [initial] justification in the sacrament of baptism, we are at that moment "conformed to Christ and enter into His love", for at that moment we receive His life and love and Holy Spirit into our hearts. The death-bed convert who converts in his dying breath, is at that very moment truly "conformed to Christ", even though at that moment he might not yet be as conformed to Christ as he possibly could be, and will be in heaven.

If Clark is right that this disagreement between Protestants and Catholics regarding the role of charity in [initial] justification is "the difference between Rome and Wittenberg", then I'm left wondering how Protestants can be so sure that charity is not what makes faith living, that they are willing to make (or perpetuate) this 488 year-old schism on account of it. I invite my Protestant brothers and sisters, in this week of prayer for Christian unity, to consider prayerfully this fundamental point of disagreement. It is tragic and ironic that we should be divided over the role of charity. May charity break down this division between us, by the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit.

"That They May Become One in Your Hand"

Chair of St. Peter

Today is the first day of the 101st Church Unity Octave, or "Week of prayer for Christian unity". January 18th was chosen as the first day of the Octave because it was one of the two feast days of the Chair of St. Peter, the other being February 22. (For an explanation of the three-fold relation of the chair, ecclesial unity and the name of this blog, see my post from this day last year.) This year's theme is "That They May Become One In Your Hand", drawn from Ezekiel 37:17, where the prophet shows God's power to reunite Israel and Judah. The first meditation for this week can be found here.

There we recall that while division, quarreling, strife and separation characterize the city of man (i.e. fallen man separated from Christ) on account of his self-worship and narcissism, it is not to be so among those within the city of God (i.e. those united to Christ). The divine life of the Most Holy Trinity is a life of perfect unity and peace. This divine life is the new life we receive at baptism, for we are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. A name, as Plato points out in his Cratylus, is a sign of the essence. And this is why unity is one of the four enduring marks of the "one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church" we speak of in the Nicene Creed, for her members are baptized into this divine life of perfect unity. Disunity among Christians always therefore in some respect involves movement away from the Church, and thus away from Christ.

Before us now, if we look with the eyes of men, stands a bleak ecumenical landscape. Seemingly only a small percentage of Christians are consciously aware of our disunity as disunity. Many Christians now seem to think that the present state of denominational divisions is natural, or unavoidable until Christ returns, a kind of necessary evil that we must simply put up with until then. Some even think these divisions are "healthy". Someone recently said to me, "I'm very glad for all these divisions. It means that no one has a monopoly on truth. Competition is good for the Church." To this person, the alternative account, namely, that these various sects and divisions are schisms from the Church, and thus separated in some sense from the life and truth of Christ, was literally inconceivable.

When evil is redescribed so that it appears good, you can bet that the "angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14) is involved, because manipulating light is his specialty. He makes evil appear good by selectively redirecting and obscuring the light of truth upon it, hiding its ugliness and destructiveness in the shadows and highlighting only its desirable aspects. In this way he works to justify evil in our eyes. Those who have adopted some form of utilitarianism attempt to justify evil actions by pointing to the good effects of those actions. "See, look at the good that comes from all these divisions among Christians." But St. Paul condemns such reasoning in Romans 3:8. We may not do evil or perpetuate evil so that good may result. No matter what good God has brought or will bring out of the evil of our disunity, that does not justify making or perpetuating schisms between Christians.

Of those Christians who recognize our disunity as contrary to Christ's heart as revealed in His prayer in St. John 17, relatively few are actively engaged in ecumenical efforts. Some conceive of ecumenicism as a misguided idealism that intrinsically involves compromise of the truth. Others simply lower the bar of unity, seeking merely some sort of bare unity on 'essentials'.

But, we are not without firmly grounded hope, because our hope is in Christ, with whom all things are possible. I am continually reminded of 1 Kings 7:1-2, where the condition Elisha promises for the following day seems impossible from the human point of view. And the same is true of Ezekiel 37:17. The reunion of all Christians can happen, more suddenly than we imagine, by the power of God. This does not mean that we should bury our ecumenical 'talent', leaving this task to God. Rather, we should be assured that God delights to receive our gifts of loaves and fishes, and multiply them beyond anything we can imagine, as He multiplied Abraham's descendants beyond the number of the stars. We should take courage, therefore, and stand firm and determined in our pursuit of the reconciliation and reunion of all Christians, as Pope Benedict today urged that we do.

Consider how long William Wilberforce labored to abolish the slave trade in England before finally seeing the results of his efforts. Consider the endurance and determination manifested by Martin Luther King Jr. If he had concluded from the pessimism of those who said "Racism you will always have with you this side of heaven", that we should not strive to eliminate racial injustice, we might still be drinking out of separate drinking fountains, and we would not now have a black president. Likewise, we too should not allow the fact that sin and disorder will never be eliminated from this present age to lead us to turn a blind eye to the present schisms and disunity among Christians. We can make a difference as peace-makers, with God’s help, but not as long as we believe that fate or sin makes such efforts futile.

Where is the hue and cry for our denominational leaders to take seriously our present state of division? Are the leaders of all the various denominations vowing to remain in constant dialogue until unity is achieved? Do you see or hear anyone calling out repeatedly in print or other media, for every effort to be made by denominational leaders to reconcile divided Christians? Or has the implicit denial of the visibility of the Church become the widespread yet unreflective assumption?

When I was younger I tended to think that whatever important things needed to be done in the world would be done by people older and more competent than myself. Only in recent years have I come to realize that what I am now is just what those "older and more competent" persons were then. And that is true for all of us. If we all simply waited for someone older and more competent to come along, the challenging ecumenical task that lies before us would never get done. If we want to hear a hue and cry, we have to raise it.

I'm not one who thinks that the younger generation is better than the previous generations, but I do believe that the younger generation is much more open than previous generations. The loss of 'denominational loyalty' might reflect a loss of loyalty as a virtue. But perhaps it suggests that this generation is open and willing to dialogue, confronted with its fragmentation and longing for the unity and security of the Church as our new covenant family, and for the rest that comes from finding our true ecclesial home. In this generation, with God's help we can undo the schisms of the past, by suffering with Him for His sake, in the patient labor of love in the spiritual works of mercy. This was the vision of Fr. Neuhaus. May he rest in peace, and may hundreds rise up to take his place.

"On the two pieces of wood, which form the cross of Christ, the Lord of history takes upon himself the wounds and divisions of humanity. In the totality of Jesus' gift of himself on the cross, he holds together human sin and God's redemptive steadfast love. To be a Christian is to be baptized into this death, through which the Lord, in his boundless mercy, etches the names of wounded humanity onto the wood of the cross, holding us to himself and restoring our relationship with God and with each other."

"Let us also go, that we may die with Him." (St. John 11:16)

Heal, Lord, our many divisions. May we be your instruments to bring your perfect unity to all your people. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

Dr. Lawrence Feingold

Dr. Lawrence Feingold, a professor of theology in the Institute for Pastoral Theology of Ave Maria University, converted to Catholicism in 1989. This Fall he has been giving weekly lectures for the Association of Hebrew Catholics, and these lectures are outstanding. You can download the mp3 files of his talks on the four marks of the Church here. I highly recommend them. In my opinion, Professor Feingold is one of the greatest living theologians in the world. He is a living exemplar of what St. Paul says in Romans 11:12,15 concerning the Jews,

Now if their transgression be riches for the world and their failure be riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! ... For if their rejection [of Christ] be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance [of Christ] be but life from the dead?

Listen to his lectures, and it will be clear that I am not exaggerating.

Today is a memorable day for my family. Today would be the sixteenth birthday of our son, Joshua. Reflecting on his death makes us more eager for heaven. As of this post, I'll be taking a lengthy break from blogging, to focus on my other responsibilities. The comments are all closed. I will not, however, cease to pray daily for the full and visible unity of all Christians, that we would share all three bonds of unity. This is the heart of Jesus, as revealed in His prayer in St. John 17. I hope that you too will include this in your daily prayers.

Lord Jesus, please draw all those who love you into the fullness of the unity Your Sacred Heart desires that we have with one another, and with you. May we be truly one, in Love and Truth, as you and the Father are one, that the world may see in us the Love and Truth of the Holy Trinity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Resurrection of the Body

"Resurrection of the Flesh"
Luca Signorelli (1450-1523)
(click on the painting to view it in a larger size)

In the Apostles' Creed, we say that we believe in the "resurrection of the body" [in the Latin: carnis resurrectionem, in the Greek: σαρκος ανάστασιν]. In the Nicene Creed we say that we "look for the resurrection of the dead" [προσδοκωμεν ανάστασιν νεκρων]. What does that mean?

Death and the Human Person
In order to answer that question, we have to consider the nature of the human person. A human being is a composite of body and soul. These are not two substances; that is why we are not "substance dualists". The body and soul are ontological principles, incomplete in themselves, but when substantially united form one being, i.e. one substance. It is mistaken to think that we are mere spirits (i.e. immaterial beings) using material bodies. And it is likewise mistaken to think that we are mere heaps of molecules, that is, mere biological machines. We each have a soul, which animates our body. The soul is by its very nature the form of a body. That is why we are not angels, and can never become angels, because angels by their very nature are complete and whole as immaterial beings. A human soul, however, is not a proper substance or whole by itself. The human person is a substance. The human person is not a soul. For this reason, when the body and soul are separated at death, the human being no longer exists, even though the souls subsists.

The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the "form" of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature." (CCC 365)

Though incomplete by itself, the human soul is immortal, because it has an operation that does not directly depend upon matter.

"The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection." (CCC 366)

According to God's original design, Adam and Even would not have died. They were designed to be free from suffering and death, having been given the gift of immortality. The Council of Trent called this the donum immortalititatis (the gift of immortality). They had posse non mori (the possibility of not dying), which is not to be confused with non posse mori (the impossibility of dying). They would not have died, had they remained obedient to God. But they were capable of dying, if they disobeyed God, for God had told them, "in the day that you eat of it you will surely die" (Gen 2:17).

This is the sense in which death is unnatural; death is contrary to God's original design of human beings. All other things being equal, it is an evil for the body and soul to be separated. And that is why we experience death with such grief and pain. That is why death seems to us to be wrong, to be something that shouldn't occur. It shouldn't occur! Death came into the world through sin, i.e. human disobedience.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (Romans 5:12) ... "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23)

By sin man lost the grace through which the various harmonies were maintained, including the ordered harmony between man's soul and body. By disrupting that harmony, i.e. that perfect ordered unity between body and soul, sin set in motion the eventual rupture or separation of the body and soul, and that separation is just what death is.

"By the radiance of this grace all dimensions of man's life were confirmed. As long as he remained in the divine intimacy, man would not have to suffer or die. The inner harmony of the human person, the harmony between man and woman, and finally the harmony between the first couple and all creation, comprised the state called "original justice" (CCC 376)

"Death is a consequence of sin. The Church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death entered the world on account of man's sin. Even though man's nature is mortal God had destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator and entered the world as a consequence of sin. "Bodily death, from which man would have been immune had he not sinned" is thus "the last enemy" of man left to be conquered." (CCC 1008)

"Explusion from Paradise"
Michelangelo (1508-1512)

After the fall, God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, lest they stretch out their hand and eat of the Tree of Life, and not die. (Gen 3:22-23) This shows us that given our fallen condition, death is a gift, because God uses it redemptively for our sakes. Nothing brings to our attention the importance of our lives and the state of our soul as does an awareness of our impending death. The fact of our impending death brings an urgency to our lives and a greater meaningfulness to our actions. "[R]emembering our mortality helps us realize that we have only a limited time in which to bring our lives to fulfillment" (CCC 1007). The Psalmist prays, "Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom" (Ps 90:12) Keeping our death in view changes the way we live now. "In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin." (Ecclus. 7:40)

Because death is the consequence of original sin (Rom 5:12), all men must die. And in that sense death is 'natural', and the virtuous person must come to terms with the inevitability of his death. But we usually do not know when we are going to die. And so we must always be ready to die. Jesus teaches, "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." (St. Matthew 24:44) And that applies no less to the hour of our death than it does to the Second Coming.

Our time is short. There is much work to be done for the Kingdom, and many of us fritter so much of our lives away with trivial, meaningless things. This life, these years, these days, and these hours, are our opportunity to serve God and His Church. St. Paul says, "If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." (1 Cor 3:17) If that is what He will do to those who destroy His temple, how much more, do you think, God will honor and reward and bless those who build up His temple, i.e. His Church? We can do this in the simplest ways, even in our daily and ordinary activities. If we love Christ, building up His Kingdom, His Temple, His Church, is what our hearts will want to do.

Most men die as they live. If they live a life of vanity and dissipation, they die in their vanity and dissipation. Death-bed conversions are not the norm. So we must live as though we are dying. Thomas à Kempis wrote:

Every action of yours, every thought, should be those of one who expects to die before the day is out. Death would have no great terrors for you if you had a quiet conscience. . . . Then why not keep clear of sin instead of running away from death? If you aren't fit to face death today, it's very unlikely you will be tomorrow" - The Imitation of Christ

And yet we also pray for a good death, one in which have some time to prepare ourselves. In the Litany of the Saints of the Roman Missal, we pray, "From a sudden and unforeseen death, deliver us, O Lord." And in the Hail Mary, we say, "Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death." As Peter Kreeft points out, to be prepared for death, the question is this: Do we love God? Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful" (Luke 10:41) That one thing is to love God.

For Christians, Christ has transformed death. Christ has taken the evil that death is, and turned it into an instrumental good, the means by which we enter into eternal life. St. Paul says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil 1:21) In our death, we are granted the privilege of participating in Christ's death. "What is essentially new about Christian death is this: through Baptism, the Christian has already "died with Christ" sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ's grace, physical death completes this "dying with Christ" and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act" (CCC 1010)

In death, God calls man to himself. Therefore the Christian can experience a desire for death like that of St. Paul's: "My desire is to depart and be with Christ." He can transform his own death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father, after the example of Christ: (CCC 1011) In the saints, we see this same attitude toward death:

"My earthly desire has been crucified; . . . there is living water in me, water that murmurs and says within me: Come to the Father." - St. Ignatius of Antioch

"I want to see God and, in order to see him, I must die." - St Teresa of Avila

"I am not dying; I am entering life." - St. Thérèse of Lisieux

That is because as Christians, we are joined to Christ, who is the Resurrection. Jesus said, "I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies." (John 11:25) Peter Kreeft writes, "Christ is not just the giver of the Resurrection, He is the Resurrection. Our resurrection is not just caused by Him, it is found in him. We rise because we are incorporated into Christ's Body." (Catholic Christianity, 135)

The Apostles were not just witnesses of Christ's teaching; they were also witnesses of His resurrection.

"To be a witness to Christ is to be a "witness to his Resurrection," to "[have eaten and drunk] with him after he rose from the dead." Encounters with the risen Christ characterize the Christian hope of resurrection. We shall rise like Christ, with him, and through him." (CCC 995)

Therefore all Christians likewise, are witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, and the forthcoming resurrection of the dead. We testify by our lives that we live for the "life of the world to come". (Nicene Creed)

We witnesses to the resurrection not just by our words, but through our deeds, our way of living, as pilgrims on our way to our fatherland. The early Christian martyrs were known by the pagans for being unafraid of death. They faced death as the finish line of a race (2 Tim 4:7-8), after which they would receive their eternal reward. St. Augustine writes:

"O how sweet it is to die, if one's life has been a good one! For such as he, to die is gain. To the just man death is only a passing into a better life. it is a journey to his everlasting home, where his heavenly Father dwells. Death is to be feared only by the sinner, for it is the end of his earthly pleasures, and the beginning of his eternal punishment."

As Christians, we recognize that death is inevitable, and we accept that. We also recognize that death is not the way God originally intended things to be, and so we mourn, feeling the pain of death's unnaturalness. And yet, ultimately, we also recognize the glory that awaits us. So in the face of death, we can rejoice in hope and eager expectation.

That is because we know something about what happens to us at death. At death, the soul is separated from the body, not extinguished. The soul does not become an angel. We then face what is called the particular judgment. God determines whether we go to hell, purgatory, or heaven. If we love God, and thus are not in a state of mortal sin, then, if we still have some stain of sin (even though our sins are forgiven), we go to purgatory to be purified so that we can enter heaven. If at death we love God, and our souls are purified of all the stain of sin, we go straight to heaven and see God, for Jesus tell us that the pure in heart shall see God. (St. Matthew 5:8) (Very few people are so holy at death that they need no additional purification.) If we die in a state of mortal sin, not loving God but having turned away from God in pride and disobedience, then at the moment of our death, God sends us to hell, eternally.

These two possible destinies presently lie before us. Christianity is entirely opposed to fatalism, for fatalism belittles what God has done in making rational creatures who, by their rationality, have the power of free choice and self-determination. Fatalism, through its deception robs such creatures of the awareness and understanding of the significance and meaning of our own free choices. As Kreeft points out, "God gave us the incredible and fearful dignity of deciding our own eternal destiny." (p. 136) This is precisely why Moses could tell the Israelites to "choose life" (Deut 30:19). And this is why when St. Paul was explaining the gospel to Felix the governor, Felix became frightened.

"But as he was discussing righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for the present, and when I find time I will summon you." (Acts 24:25)

With fatalism there is no reason for fear; you can do nothing about what is going to happen to you. Fear comes when we grasp the relation between our will and eternity, through the eternal consequence of our free choices. Grace builds on nature, it does not destroy nature. Likewise, the gospel does not destroy the judgment or sidestep it, or somehow sneak us through the judgment, as I discussed here. The gospel brings Christ to us, through Whom and by Whom and with Whom we are enabled to live righteous lives so that we can be unafraid on the Day of Judgment, not because we are trusting in Christ to cover over or hide our sinful life, but because through Christ we have not only been forgiven, but also by His grace we have put off our old sinful life and actually lived a life of charity and holiness.

The great lie is that we cannot actually be holy and righteous and pleasing in His sight, so we have to hide behind Christ. "We're only human, you know" is the line I hear so often. Christ calls us to be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. (St. Matthew 5:48) He calls us to pick up our cross, and be saints, I mean truly be saints, not snow-covered dung heaps, not white-washed sepulchers full of sin but believing that that is fine so long as we're covered by Christ's blood. God is always about the really real thing; He never fakes it. He never solves problems by merely hiding them or covering them. That's precisely the mode of the deceiver. God brings what is hidden into the open. Jesus says, "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light." (St. Mark 4:22; cf. St. Luke 8:17) The Christian does not hide his sins behind the blood of Jesus; he brings his sins out into the open, before the priest in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Resurrection
The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to life again. (CCC 990)

This happens by the reuniting of our soul with our bodily remains. In death, which is the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God" in the particular judgment. Then it awaits reunion with its glorified body at the time of the general judgment. "God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection." (CCC 997)

The doctrine of the resurrection affirms that we are material beings, and that we are incomplete apart from our bodies. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, because death is the consequence of sin, and Christ has defeated both sin and death. So the resurrection is the culmination, the climactic manifestation of the extent of Christ's gift to us in his redemptive work. Part of our salvation is to be restored to fellowship with God, so that we can see Him and love Him forever. But another part of our salvation is having that harmony between our body and soul restored. Being resurrected is part of what means to be saved. God loves us, and wants to restore our bodies to us, so that we may be in our fully perfected state as human persons. How does Christ apply His work to us? Through the Eucharist. Jesus says:

"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:54)

The doctrine of the resurrection can be found in the Old Testament, especially in 2 Maccabees 7:9,11,14,23, 29; 12:43-46. Here we see heroes dying martyrs deaths with the full expectation that these very parts of their bodies that are being removed by their torturers will be given back to them at the resurrection on the last day.

The Scripture teaches that everyone will rise, not just the righteous, but the unrighteous as well. All the dead will rise again on the last day with their bodies. The Athanasian Creed says, "On His coming all men with their bodies must arise." And Jesus Himself teaches this. He says:

"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29)

And St. Paul teaches, "that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked." (Acts 24:15)

The resurrection will take place on the last day. Jesus said, "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:39; cf. John 6:44) And St. Paul likewise says, "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." (1 Thess 4:16)

At that time (i.e. the last day), after our resurrection, we will be judged (and rewarded or punished in hell) at the general judgment. Jesus says, "But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Luke 14:13-14)

Many people have a difficult time believing in the resurrection. This was also true in the time of the New Testament. When St. Paul was preaching to the Athenians, the sermon was going well until he mentioned the resurrection. "Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer." (Acts 17:32) The Catechism confirms this. "From the beginning, Christian faith in the resurrection has met with incomprehension and opposition. (CCC 996) St. Augustine wrote, "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body."

But the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is an essential dogma of the faith. To tamper with it is to reject Christianity altogether. St. Polycarp didn't mince words when he said, "whoever perverts the sayings of the Lord to his own evil desires and says there is neither resurrection nor judgment, that one is the first-born of Satan." That's because the whole of the Christian message hangs on the resurrection. If Christ is resurrected, then surely we will be as well. But if Christ was not resurrected, then Christianity is a sham, an empty deception. St. Paul makes this very point when he says, "For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." (1 Cor 15:16-18)

We do not understand how God is able to do this, but we do know that with God, all things are possible. (St. Matthew 19:26) If God is able to make the human body out of nothing, then surely He is capable of reuniting our soul with our body.

This very body? Yes. What if it has been scattered all over the world, and over time incorporated into the bodies of many other living things, even other humans? With God nothing is impossible. The dead will rise again with the same bodies they had on earth; those same bodies that were placed in the graves will come out of the graves. Christ is our example here. He was raised with the very same body, the body that had been in Mary's womb for nine months. The Catechism says, "Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself" (CCC 999). The hands and feet He was showing His disciples were the same hands and feet that had been pierced at his crucifixion. When the third brother of the seven Jewish brothers was suffering at the hands of the pagans, he said this, "I hope to receive these (tongue and hands) again from Him (God)." (2 Mach. 7:11) And St. Paul tells us, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption: and this mortal must put on immortality." (1 Cor 15:53)

The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) stated definitively: "They will arise with their bodies which they have now." And St. Justin Martyr, in the middle of the second century, said this: "We expect to have again our dead and the bodies interred in the earth, by maintaining that with God nothing is impossible" (Apol. 1:18)

Even though we will rise with the very same bodies we presently have, at the resurrection our bodies will be changed; they will be glorified. "Christ will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, into a spiritual body" (CCC 999) Our resurrected body will be like Christ's : Christ "will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory" (Phil 3:21) His resurrected body showed continuity (consider the wounds in his hands, feet, and side). Yet it was also different, so different that at first His disciples did not recognize Him. We can note four ways in which the glorified resurrected body is transformed.

First, it is impassable (impassibilitas), that is, it will be incapable of pain, suffering, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep, heat, cold, sorrow, sickness, death. Consider the following Scriptures.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and death shall be no more. Nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more: for the former things are passed away." (Rev 21:4)

"They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat." (Rev 7:16)

"Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory". (1 Cor 15:50-54)

Jesus says, "for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." (St. Luke 20:36)

"If the earthly house in which we dwell be destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by human hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Cor 5:1)

Second, the resurrected body will have what is called subtility (subtilitas), that is, a spiritualized nature. We can see this especially in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. St. Paul writes:

"So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." (1 Cor 15:42-44)

Jesus was able to pass through closed doors. (cf. John 20:19, 26) This quality (i.e. subtility) shows us that the human body will be elevated, in a way, by partaking in the divine nature. Either that, or our conception of human nature has been formed within the context of the fallen state of human nature. Either way, this sheds some light on the way in which Christ be present in the Eucharist (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity), and yet remain fully and truly human.

We have to be careful not to think that Jesus's body was transformed into a spirit, or that at the resurrection we will be transformed into spirits. After His resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." (St. Luke 24:39) And then a few verses later, St. Luke writes, "While they still could not believe it because of their joy and amazement, He said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; and He took it and ate it before them." (St. Luke 24:41-43)

Similarly, St. Paul tells us that the Apostles ate and drank with Jesus after His resurrection.

"God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead." (Acts 10:40-41)

The third quality of the resurrected body is referred to as agility (agilitas), which is the capability of the body to obey the soul with the greatest ease and speed of movement, as Jesus appeared in the midst of His disciples (John 20:19, 26). On account of the perfect obedience of the body to the soul, the risen body can then pass with the quickness of thought to any place the person desires to go.

The fourth quality of the resurrected body is brightness or clarity (claritas), which means being free from everything deformed, and being filled with beauty and radiance. "The body will rise again free from distortions, malformations, and defects, in the greatest possible natural perfection." The radiance of the resurrected body will be like that of Christ's body at the Transfiguration. (St. Matthew 17:2) Jesus Himself tells us, "The just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43) And the prophet Daniel wrote, "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (Daniel 12:3)

What about the unrighteous? What kind of bodies will they have at the resurrection? The unrighteous will also be resurrected, and their bodies will also be immortal, but their bodies will not be impassable or transfigured (i.e. glorified). Their bodies will be capable of suffering. They will be eternally punished in their bodies in hell, though bodily pain will be their least pain in hell.

Jesus said, "for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell" (St. Matthew 5:29; cf. St. Matt 18:8) Elsewhere Jesus says, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell". (St. Matthew 10:28) Because the risen bodies of the unrighteous will not be glorified, they will be hideous and repulsive, ever dying yet incapable of dying.

The Importance of the Body in Christianity
What does the resurrection of the body say about who we are? What does it say about the dignity of our bodies? It says that we are material beings. We are animals, not mere animals, but animals nonetheless. The resurrection of the body also tells us that matter is good. It also tells us that our bodies are sacred, for these very same bodies (I'm pointing to my chest) will, if we are found in Him on that day, be with God in heaven forever.

"The believer's body and soul already participate in the dignity of belonging to Christ. This dignity entails the demand that he should treat with respect his own body, but also the body of every other person, especially the suffering" (CCC 1004)

St. Paul tells us something similar.

"The body [is meant] for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? . . . . You are not your own; . . . . So glorify God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6)

[Because of the sacredness and dignity of the human body, Catholics should be buried in a Catholic cemetery, if there is one available, or at least the grave should be blessed, in consecrated ground. Cremation is permissible for Catholics, but not the scattering of ashes. That is so that relatives and friends may visit the burial site in order to pray for the departed. Cemeteries should be properly kept, and never desecrated. We should go there to pray for our loved ones who have died, that they may enter into the peace and joy of heaven. We can go there knowing with the certainty of faith that the bodies there will one day come out, and be eternal.]

We can know that Christ's human body, and Mary's body, are in heaven already, eternally, giving us assurance that ours will be there too, if we are found in Him on the last day. If Christ's body is in heaven, then if we remain in Christ, our body will be there too, with Him. St. Paul writes, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:11). Later he says, "knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus." (2 Cor 4:14)

The resurrection of the body also shows us the importance of the sacraments for salvation. Tertullian says,

"The flesh is the hinge of salvation. And since the soul is, in consequence of its salvation, chosen to the service of God, it is the flesh which actually renders it capable of such service. The flesh, indeed, is washed, in order that the soul may be cleansed; the flesh is anointed, that the soul may be consecrated; the flesh is signed (with the cross), that the soul too may be fortified; the flesh is shadowed with the imposition of hands, that the soul also maybe illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh feeds on the body and blood of Christ, that the soul likewise may fatten on its God. They cannot then be separated in their recompense, when they are united in their service. (Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh 8)

The Catechism adds:

"We believe in God who is creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh." (CCC 1015)

In this way, and for this reason, God now uses matter to save ours souls through the sacraments. It is because we are material beings that we need material sacraments to save us, and gnosticism is the fundamental heresy. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body is a key piece of evidence in defeating gnosticism and its anti-sacramental implications.

"The Last Judgment"
Michelangelo (1534-1541)

Finally, what we do in and to our bodies matters, for we must all stand before Christ, in our bodies, to answer for everything we have done in our bodies, whether good or evil.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." (2 Cor 5:10)

Let us live our lives, knowing that we will stand before our Maker, with all that we have done in this life there before Him. Let us strive to live so as to hear these words on that day: "Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your Master." (St. Matthew 25:21)

I'm dedicating this post to Tom Brownell, a family friend since childhood. May the grace and peace of God be with him in these last days of his earthly life, that he may stand firm in faith to the end. May the merits and prayers of all the saints be with him, to strengthen and encourage him. May the light of Christ shine on him, and receive him into his eternal home. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

He Made Them Wander in the Wilderness Forty Years

Moses and the Brazen Serpent
Sebastian Bourdon (1653-1654)

What Fr. Williams says here fits with what St. Thomas Aquinas says here about the relation between faith and ecclesial authority.

This is not unity among Christians

Here and here.

"that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou dist love Me." (St. John 17:21-23)

Lord Jesus, have mercy. Forgive us.

Feast of St. John Lateran

Today is the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran Cathedral Basilica in Rome. This cathedral was dedicated on November 9, 324 by Pope Sylvester I (314-335 AD). It was a gift from Constantine to the Christians. Because it is the cathedral, it is the seat of the bishop of Rome. And because the bishop of Rome is also the bishop of the Catholic Church, this cathedral is uniquely the parish of all Christians, and hence the tangible locus of communion for all Christians. This basilica is superior in rank even to St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The popes resided here from the fourth century until St. Peter's was constructed in the 16th century. In the baldacchino are the skulls of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. Shawn Tribe has some beautiful photos of this basilica here. Read more about it here.

H/T: Fr. Ray

The Indefectibility of the Church

"Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter"
Lorenzo Veneziano (1369)

The indefectibility of the Church is a gift from Christ to the Church by which she is preserved to the end of the age as the "institution of salvation". She can neither perish from the world nor depart from "her teaching, her constitution and her liturgy". (Ott, 296) This gift of indefectibility is essential to Christ's purpose in establishing His Church as the means of continuing His saving work to all the nations and peoples of the world until the end of the age. Regarding this purpose, Pope Leo XIII wrote, "What did Christ the Lord achieve by the foundation of the Church; what did He wish? This: He wished to delegate to the Church the same office and the same mandate which He had Himself received from the Father in order to continue them." (Satis cognitum, 4)

The indefectibility of the Church follows from the nature of the union of Christ with the Church, His Body. Concerning this union, St. Augustine writes:

Let us rejoice then and give thanks that we have become not only Christians, but Christ himself. Do you understand and grasp, brethren, God's grace toward us? Marvel and rejoice: we have become Christ. For if he is the head, we are the members; he and we together are the whole man. . . . The fullness of Christ then is the head and the members. But what does "head and members" mean? Christ and the Church.

St. Gregory the Great (whose feast day is November 10) writes the following:

Our redeemer has shown himself to be one person with the holy Church whom he has taken to himself.

And St. Thomas Aquinas writes:

Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person. (ST III Q.48 a.2)

It is because of this union of Christ with the Church that the Church is indefectible. St. Augustine shows this when he says:

The Church will totter when her foundation totters. But how shall Christ totter? ... as long as Christ does not totter, neither shall the Church totter in eternity." (Enarr. in Ps. 103, 2, 5)

Elsewhere, writing about Psalm 48:9 (which is Psalm 48:8 in Protestant Bibles) St. Augustine says:

Let not heretics insult, divided into parties, let them not exalt themselves who say, "Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there." (Matt 24:23) Whoso says, "Lo, here is Christ, or lo, there," invites to parties. Unity God promised. The kings are gathered together in one, not dissipated through schisms. But haply that city which has held the world, shall sometime be overthrown? Far be the thought! "God has founded it forever." If then God has founded it forever, why fearest thou lest the firmament should fall?"

And in his Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed (1:6), St. Augustine writes:

The same is the holy Church, the one Church, the true Church, the catholic Church, fighting against all heresies: fight, it can; be fought down, it cannot. As for heresies, they all went out of it, like unprofitable branches pruned from the vine: but itself abides in its root, in its Vine, in its charity.

In these quotations we see the indefectibility of the Church grounded in the Church's ontological union with Christ as His Mystical Body. Because the life of Christ is indefectible, and because the life of the Church is the life of Christ, therefore the Church is indefectible. Those who deny the indefectibility of the Church are denying that this union of Christ with His Church is anything more than extrinsic. They imply that Christ's Mystical Body can become corrupted such that He may abandon His Body and take on a different body. By their denial of the indefectibility of the Church they imply that Christ can abandon the Bride with which He is "one flesh" (Eph 5:31-32; Mt 19:6), and find a different bride. But such claims are contrary to the intimate and ontological union of Christ with His Body, which is also His Bride. In virtue of this union she can be neither defeated nor corrupted nor destroyed, since the risen Christ Himself can neither be defeated nor corrupted nor destroyed, and since His Spirit lives within her as her soul. (CCC 797, 809).

Understanding the indefectibility of the Church is essential for understanding what Christ did in establishing the Church and equipping her to fulfill His purpose. If the Church had not been given this gift, then each man would have been left to determine for himself what Christ's message was, by sifting through all the available historical evidence. The full and visible unity of all Christians would then be impossible, as each man would simply do what seemed right in his own eyes. That is why understanding indefectibility and its basis and necessity are essential for the reunion of all Christians. Only if indefectibility is true is there a means for full and visible unity. If the Church were not indefectible, every heresy would have an equal claim to orthodoxy with orthodoxy itself. But God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and Christ has promised that the gates of hell would never prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18), that He would be with her to the end of the age (Matt 28:20), that His Church is the pillar and ground of truth (1 Tim 3:15), and that His Holy Spirit would guide her into all truth (John 16:13). Therefore heresy has no equal claim to orthodoxy. Heresy is distinguished from orthodoxy precisely by what the indefectible Church has ruled.

The Catholic Encyclopedia article titled "The Church" has a very helpful section on the indefectibility of the Church. The following two paragraphs are excerpted from that article.

Among the prerogatives conferred on His Church by Christ is the gift of indefectibility. By this term is signified, not merely that the Church will persist to the end of time, but further, that it will preserve unimpaired its essential characteristics. The Church can never undergo any constitutional change which will make it, as a social organism, something different from what it was originally. It can never become corrupt in faith or in morals; nor can it ever lose the Apostolic hierarchy, or the sacraments through which Christ communicates grace to men. The gift of indefectibility is expressly promised to the Church by Christ, in the words in which He declares that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. It is manifest that, could the storms which the Church encounters so shake it as to alter its essential characteristics and make it other than Christ intended it to be, the gates of hell, i.e. the powers of evil, would have prevailed. It is clear, too, that could the Church suffer substantial change, it would no longer be an instrument capable of accomplishing the work for which God called it in to being. He established it that it might be to all men the school of holiness. This it would cease to be if ever it could set up a false and corrupt moral standard. He established it to proclaim His revelation to the world, and charged it to warn all men that unless they accepted that message they must perish everlastingly. Could the Church, in defining the truths of revelation err in the smallest point, such a charge would be impossible. No body could enforce under such a penalty the acceptance of what might be erroneous. By the hierarchy and the sacraments, Christ, further, made the Church the depositary of the graces of the Passion. Were it to lose either of these, it could no longer dispense to men the treasures of grace.

The gift of indefectibility plainly does not guarantee each several part of the Church against heresy or apostasy. The promise is made to the corporate body. Individual Churches may become corrupt in morals, may fall into heresy, may even apostatize. Thus at the time of the Mohammedan conquests, whole populations renounced their faith; and the Church suffered similar losses in the sixteenth century. But the defection of isolated branches does not alter the character of the main stem. The society of Jesus Christ remains endowed with all the prerogatives bestowed on it by its Founder. Only to One particular Church is indefectibility assured, viz. to the See of Rome. To Peter, and in him to all his successors in the chief pastorate, Christ committed the task of confirming his brethren in the Faith (Luke 22:32); and thus, to the Roman Church, as Cyprian says, "faithlessness cannot gain access" (Epistle 54). The various bodies that have left the Church naturally deny its indefectibility. Their plea for separation rests in each case on the supposed fact that the main body of Christians has fallen so far from primitive truth, or from the purity of Christian morals, that the formation of a separate organization is not only desirable but necessary. Those who are called on to defend this plea endeavour in various ways to reconcile it with Christ's promise. Some, as seen above (VII), have recourse to the hypothesis of an indefectible invisible Church. The Right Rev. Charles Gore of Worcester, who may be regarded as the representative of high-class Anglicanism, prefers a different solution. In his controversy with Canon Richardson, he adopted the position that while the Church will never fail to teach the whole truth as revealed, yet "errors of addition" may exist universally in its current teaching (see Richardson, Catholic Claims, Appendix). Such an explanation deprives Christ's words of all their meaning. A Church which at any period might conceivably teach, as of faith, doctrines which form no part of the deposit could never deliver her message to the world as the message of God. Men could reasonably urge in regard to any doctrine that it might be an "error of addition".

Why Did Adam Originally Need Grace?

Creation of Adam
Michelangelo (Sistine Chapel, 1510)

Aquinas answers this question in Summa Theologica I Q.95 a.1 co.. He explains that man was made by God in such a way that man's reason was subject to God, his lower powers were perfectly subject to his reason, and his body also was perfectly subject to his soul. But the first subjection was the cause of the latter two subjections. Then Aquinas says,

"Now it is clear that such a subjection of the body to the soul and of the lower powers to reason, was not from nature; otherwise it would have remained after sin; since even in the demons the natural gifts remained after sin, as Dionysius declared (Div. Nom. iv). Hence it is clear that also the primitive subjection by virtue of which reason was subject to God, was not a merely natural gift, but a supernatural endowment of grace; for it is not possible that the effect should be of greater efficiency than the cause. Hence Augustine says (De Civ. Dei xiii, 13) that, "as soon as they disobeyed the Divine command, and forfeited Divine grace, they were ashamed of their nakedness, for they felt the impulse of disobedience in the flesh, as though it were a punishment corresponding to their own disobedience." Hence if the loss of grace dissolved the obedience of the flesh to the soul, we may gather that the inferior powers were subjected to the soul through grace existing therein."

Here is Aquinas's argument. The subjection of Adam's body to his soul and of the lower powers to his reason was an effect of the subjection of his reason to God. But it is not possible that the effect should exceed the cause. And since the subjection of the body to the soul and of the lower powers to reason was not from nature [for otherwise these two subjections would have remained after Adam's sin], it follows that the subjection of Adam's reason to God was also not a merely natural gift but was a supernatural endowment of grace. And the quotation from Augustine confirms this. Hence Aquinas concludes that if the loss of grace dissolved the obedience of the flesh to the soul, the inferior powers must have been subject to the soul through grace existing in them.

According to Aquinas it is not that Adam was naturally disordered, but that his nature alone did not preserve his order in his original state. Nor is Aquinas saying that Adam initially had some defect. The need for grace in the initial state is not based on matter, for even the angels, as beings having no matter, needed grace in their original state. Aquinas, along with the Church, believed that everything God made was very good, and that Adam was created posse non pecarre (with the ability to avoid sinning). Nor is Aquinas saying that the image of God in man was a superadded gift. Man bears the image of God through the rational power that is natural to man.

For Aquinas, grace is not merely divine favor; it was something in Adam and Eve. Aquinas would have treated the notion that grace is either something ontological or merely divine favor, as a false dilemma. He teaches in Summa Theologica I-II Q.110 a.1 that grace has three aspects. In one sense it refers to favor. In another sense it refers to the gift given as an expression of that favor. And in another sense it refers to the gratitude one has for the reception of a gratuitous gift. So we don't have to choose between grace as divine favor, and grace as divine gift.

The gift of grace that God gave to Adam and Eve was not a substance, but a quality inhering within their souls. (ST I-II Q.110 a.2) God "infuses" (infundit) into us "certain forms or supernatural qualities (aliquas formas seu qualitates supernaturales), whereby we may be moved by Him sweetly and promptly to acquire eternal good." The Catholic Catechism teaches that Adam and Eve were created having the grace of original holiness and justice (CCC 375), by which they were in harmony with God, and thus had an inner harmony within themselves (no concupiscence), a harmony between each other, and a harmony with all of creation. This entire harmony was lost when they disobeyed God.

Da pacem Domine

"Virgin of the Annunciation"
Guido Reni (1575-1642)

"Da pacem Domine" (Give peace, Lord)
Composed by Arvo Pärt
Performed by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir

Lord Jesus, where there is division between your followers, bring the peace of true unity in reunion and reconciliation. Let all who love you, seek the peace of true unity in your Body, the Church. Let love awaken all of us who have defined unity down or forgotten full visible unity and settled for division or the mere appearance of peace. May we reach out to each other, with the gift of love, born by the Holy Spirit, who is both Love and Gift. Reveal what divides us, and defeat it with the truth in love, through the power of your Holy Spirit. Love who seeks perfect unity, since you live in us, stir us up to seek perfect unity and true peace. Shine the light of divine truth, and defeat the deception that disregards true unity. Heal our divisions, and make us truly one, so that we may have true peace, the perfect peace of the community of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity. Blessed Theotokos, pray for us your children, that we may be one in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

"For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." (1 Corinthians 14:33)

"Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11)

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness" (Gal 5:22)

"Being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph 4:3)

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful" (Col 3:15)

"Live in peace with one another." (1 Thess 5:17)

"Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!" (2 Thess 3:16)

"Not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money." (1 Tim 3:3)

In our own strength we can do nothing. But God can do what we thought unimaginable. I am committed to pray daily for the full visible unity of all Christians. If you haven't done so already, will you too make this commitment? If so, please invite others to do so as well. Even though we may disagree on many things, let's agree to make this our daily prayer, and, insofar as possible, that of Christians around the world. "Lord Jesus, may all Christians be reunited in full visible unity, that we may be truly one, as you and the Father are one. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."