CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz, Long Island CatholicThomas Aquinas tells us, “Although man is inclined to an ultimate end by nature, yet he cannot attain that end by nature, but only by grace and this because of the exalted character of the end.”
What is this purpose? It is the direct knowledge of God as he is in himself in heaven. Why is this man’s purpose? It is because he has intelligence. Why is grace necessary for this purpose? Man cannot arrive at the infinite by his own power. There is simply no means. The human will and the human soul are not able to attain heaven just by willing it.
In fact, all creation is motivated by the “desire” to return to the unity of God from which the panoply of the created order took its origin. The universe was created from unity into the diversity of all things, and the primary moving force for all those different marvelous things from the electron to supernovas is to return to the unity of God. The love of God in the Holy Spirit is the foundational force and energy which drives the movements of nature. The Holy Spirit is a creator: “Come, Holy Ghost, Creator Blest.”
Yet, without man, who has a spiritual soul and a physical body, the universe would be frustrated in this design. This is because man by his spiritual life is also called to have God as one with whom he can enjoy the communion of friendship here on earth and the blessedness of the direct knowledge of heaven. Man is called to know as God knows and to love as God loves. But he must receive the ability to carry out in action this destiny from God himself. He does not possess it by nature.
Some people think that grace is only needed for human life to avoid sin or be converted from sin. This is true. But before sin, and indeed in heaven where there is no sin, grace is still needed. Before the first sin, Adam and Eve enjoyed an intense intimacy with God and understood themselves and all creation as a result of a gift from God. They needed mercy then because they could not desire heaven without a gift from God. This was despite the fact that there was no sin. No finite creature can arrive at the infinite by his own power.
Adam and Eve were created with the ability to experience communion with God and to arrive at heaven because they were created in what we now call sanctifying grace. St. Peter says in his second epistle, “He has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature” (1:4). How does one participate in divine nature as opposed to human nature? As a gift from God, and in redemption He also gives us a plus added to our souls. This plus is a quality which from God’s point of view is infinite, but from our point of view it is finite and created by which we are elevated to a friendship with God. Grace is not just God overlooking sin. It is also not just a help to nature which allows us to do something we could do on our own more easily. It is a true kind of being, a divine being, which not only frees those who receive it from sin, but also make them like God.
Interior Change
The Catholic doctrine of grace thus emphasizes a true interior change in the engraced soul by which the engraced person is elevated to experience a loving conversation with the Trinity and to acquire a supernatural point of view toward the world. Man is not, of course, corrupted and changed into God. The engraced person remains a created being. However, the very nature of his soul receives a quality of life which is divine and allows him to get beyond the vagaries of time to see them from the new perspective of eternity. This can only be the result of divine mercy. In the original creation of Adam and Eve this was a stupendous sign of the love of God.
In the condition of original sin God gives an even greater mercy than the original creation of Adam and Eve in grace. To remedy the Fall, God gives His only-Begotten Son, the Word made flesh, to the world so that by His atoning death on the cross He could bring grace back to a wounded human race. This new grace is caused by the grace of Christ (which He himself does not merit as man) in which human nature is now united to God in person. In light of this union, Christ’s human nature becomes the means by which we return to grace. The grace of the union of nature to the person of the Word, called the hypostatic union, is unique to Christ. Yet, in light of it, sanctifying grace is brought back to the world. The grace of Adam and the grace of Christ are the same. They both sanctify, but the grace of Christ also heals.
Art: Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. Our spiritual nature comes from God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines sanctifying grace: “Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love” (No. 2000). By this gift, the soul is truly made holy. Though man still has a tendency to sin, this tendency is not efficacious and is certainly not identified with the act of sin. Moreover, because grace is the very life of God in the essence of the soul, man can grow in communion of life with God just as he can grow in communion of life with other human beings.
The presence of this divine indwelling presence in the soul gives the engraced person a completely different perspective on the world. But to experience this — and indeed to persevere to death in the friendship with God this engenders — is not something a person can get or keep by his own power. He must continually pray to God for his aid in doing this. This aid consists in God inspiring the person by enlightening the mind and strengthening the will. This is not an interior quality like sanctifying grace but an exterior aid given constantly by God if the person asks for it. This is called actual grace because by it God inspires the person to live his constant union, and in the case of us who live as redeemed from sin to avoid sin.
The Catechism defines it this way: “Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification” (No. 2000, emphasis in original). Examples of the desire for this grace are the petitions in the Lord’s Prayer such as: “Lead us not into temptation” and “Deliver us from evil”; and the scriptural verses which begin most of the hours in the Liturgy of the Hours: “God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.”
Art: John and Peter racing to the tomb on Easter morning – By Burnard
Finally, not only does the Lord sanctify the person by a true sharing in his life, but He also chooses to allow one person to cooperate in the sanctification of another. This is called charismatic grace. This grace, unlike sanctifying grace, is not a quality in the soul and can be possessed without holiness. It may even be active in people in the state of mortal sin, for God is not stymied in giving his gifts by the weakness of His instruments. Examples of ordinary charisms would be the infallibility of the pope and the ability of the priest to consecrate at Mass and forgive sins. Extraordinary charisms are given by God in the times when they are needed and normally are connected to proving the truth of teaching. These are things like preaching, healing, the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues.
The Catechism explains: “Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning ‘favor,’ ‘gratuitous gift,’ ‘benefit.’ Whatever their character — sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues — charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church” (No. 2003, emphasis in original).
The marvelous and extensive mercy of God demonstrates that the love of God is both like and unlike human love. It is like human love in the sense that it is approval of a good and recognition of a similarity in being between the lover and the beloved. The lover rests in another as pleasing. It is unlike human love because the love of God creates the good and the similarity in what He loves. In the case of all creation, this good is primarily the goodness of existence and action. In the case of man, this likeness goes further. God elevates us to be like Him in knowledge and love and so to be His children. As St. Augustine preached, “You have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”
Father Brian Thomas Becket Mullady, O.P., received his Doctorate in Sacred Theology (S.T.D.) from the Angelicum University in Rome. He is an author, professor, retreat master and preacher and has hosted several series on the EWTN television network.
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Father Brian Mullady is also the author of “Christian Social Order.”
Many in all parts of the world these days are pushing away “established religions” for something, new, attractive and (they hope) better.
Yesterday, I noticed the man in the car behind me sucking on some kind of hose. Further down the road the police pulled him over and gave him a citation.
All around us we can see beheadings, atrocities and all sorts of disorder.
What has given society order, justice and a place we want to live in for the past two thousand years?
Fr. Mallady answers that question.
Thomas Aquinas said that all men seek the future because over time they realize nothing in this world brings them to fulfillment.
Mallady agrees, drawing from Catholic doctrine that says no person can fully realize their potential until they give themselves to others fully as a disinterested gift.
This is also the key teaching of many 12-Step Programs like Alcoholics Anonymous.
Robert Curtis, a life-professed Lay Dominican, gives this quick run-down on Fr. Mallady’s “Christian Social Order.” —
The social doctrine, formed over 19-plus centuries, details the foundation of human life and nature, giving us guidance to form our consciences.
Fr. Mullady states that it is natural for human beings to live in societies. The fundamental nature of society is to foster the common good. The common good, however, is rooted in natural law, i.e. the law of the nature of things, and is not subject, by reason, to mere whim. This means, according to Church teaching, that an objective truth lay at the heart of social interaction.
Fr. Mullady traces the decline of objective truth in its various manifestations from the Enlightenment through the modernist period through to our present day. As an example, he writes, “The beginning of the 20th century also saw the full implications of the denial of personal responsibility which was heralded by Sigmund Freud in his discovery of neurosis. Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis sounded the death knell for the responsibility of the personal conscience in moral actions since it basically attributed moral behavior to a series of unconscious forces which ranged from repressed sexuality to the death wish.”
This problem literally surrounds us, in education, work, and especially in the news, and, as we can see, Fr. Mullady has named names.
One of our biggest problems today is that this denial of personal responsibility is partly responsible for radical change in the view of the human person as a unique individual to the mechanistic view that the human being is but a cog in a machine. With that, we have collectivism, or the centralizing of control over economics (i.e. over-regulation) and social action (i.e. welfare, healthcare, etc.). We can see this in all facets of our society. Because the Church teaches that the human person is created in the image of God – imago dei – and that all dignity is derived from Him, this modernist and post-modernist view is directly contrary.
Fr. Mullady also points out that the denial of personal responsibility has led us to a wrongful view of the conscience. A mechanistic view means that our consciences are formed merely by necessity, expediency, and what is useful. Absolute truth fades away and the whole society shudders. Abortion becomes the norm. Those of us who do believe, find our consciences bound to the truth which the Church teaches. Our natural freedom has allowed us the free-choice to follow the truth and avoid the free-for-all.
One really interesting find in Fr. Mullady’s book is the foundation of the idea of inalienable rights as illustrated in the Declaration of Independence. Cardinal Robert Bellarmine wrote a work called De Laicis in which he posited that power in government comes from the people and its authority is only actual if agreed upon by the people. This work was quoted in a book by a proponent of the divine right of kings as an argument. The passage from Bellarmine was underlined in the book and found in Thomas Jefferson’s personal library.
Fr. Mullady further discusses right and rights as part of the social order and then he turns Church teaching toward the actual practice in a magnificent defense of marriage.
A great and clear read.
http://www.catholicsun.org/2015/07/20/books-christian-social-order-the-authority-of-the-churchs-teaching/
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale
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Reflection by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh Archbishop of Singapore
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22 JANUARY 2016, Friday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
CHOOSING OUR COLLABORATORS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 SM 24:3-21; Ps 56:2-4, 6, 11; Mk 3:13-19
In the gospel, we read how “Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted.” It was time for Him to form a community of disciples and collaborators for the mission. He knew that He could not accomplish this mission all by Himself. Thus, in order to grow the community and ensure that the mission would continue even after His death, He chose the twelve apostles. As leaders too, we need collaborators. Leaders cannot achieve much when they work alone, because we are limited in many ways. The question is, how do we choose our collaborators? What criteria should we use for selecting people to help us achieve our goals?
Right from the outset, before we can even think of choosing our collaborators, the leader must be clear about himself and what he wants to offer to his people. He cannot be a leader unless he has a clear vision and a powerful message and mission. Jesus was a visionary. He wanted to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. He wanted to bring all men into one big family of God. His message was simple; that God loves us and has reconciled us to Himself. This love and mercy of God would be demonstrated by the miracles of healing, exorcism and most of all, forgiveness. As leaders, we too must first ask ourselves and clarify for ourselves what is our vision for humanity, and the message that we want to put across; and how this message must be proclaimed more than just by word but by actions. Without an inspiring vision and a strong message, we would not be able to find any collaborators, for no one is going to waste their time on us.
Secondly, the leader must be willing to empower and delegate. Finding collaborators is not the same as servants who will carry out our orders and be at our beck and call. Collaborators are different from servants, as Jesus said in the gospel, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.” (Jn 15:15) Indeed, the gospel underscores this difference by saying that “they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.” Indeed, Jesus said, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (Jn 15:16) Collaborators therefore share in the authority and power of Christ to do what He did.
Once the leader is clear about his vision and message, he could then go about finding his collaborators. In the gospel, Jesus shows us that the most important criterion is not whether they are educated, intelligent, influential, rich or powerful. Indeed, the motley crowd that He chose to be His apostles included fishermen, tax-collectors, revolutionaries and physicians. They were people of diverse personalities. Thus, let us not be too impressed by externals, remembering that “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Sm 16:7) So what are the most important attributes that we should be looking for in a potential collaborator, besides skills and talents?
Firstly, our collaborator must share in our vision, mission and message. If he or she is not aligned with our vision, nor excited with our mission and message, we cannot make much progress. Indeed, very often, failure in Church today is caused by a lack of alignment. Bishops must align themselves with the Holy Father. Clergy and religious must align themselves with the local bishop. The laity must align themselves with the parish priest. Only in this way, sharing in the same vision, mission and message, can we accomplish the task of building the community of Christ’s disciples. In truth, what is happening in our churches is that we are working against each other. Instead of helping us, our collaborators often work against us. The team players we select must therefore be people who are convinced and excited about the leader’s vision and message. The disciples of Jesus were indeed enthusiastic about Jesus’ message and vision for humanity. That was why they left everything to follow Him.
Secondly, our collaborators must be loyal to us. In the gospel, the text ended with a tone of sadness, for the evangelist recorded that Judas Iscariot was “the man who was to betray him.” Indeed, a leader cannot succeed when his team members are working against him, betraying his confidence. A good leader must find those who are loyal to him and can help him to accomplish the mission. The disciples were ready to die for Jesus and suffer with Him because they were convicted of His mission. That was the loyalty and fortitude they displayed. St Peter said to the Lord, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!” (Lk 22:33)
David’s absolute loyalty to King Saul was evident although Saul tried to kill him. “David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the men who say to you, “David means to harm you”? Why, your own eyes have seen today how the Lord put you in my power in the cave and how I refused to kill you, but spared you.’” He even called Saul, his father. “O my father, see, look at the border of your cloak in my hand. Since I cut off the border of your cloak, yet did not kill you, you must acknowledge frankly that there is neither malice nor treason in my mind. I have not offended against you, yet you hunt me down to take my life. May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be laid on you.”
Thirdly, our collaborators must have respect for us if we as leaders are to accomplish our tasks. When our collaborators or subordinates have no regard for us, they will not listen to whatever we say, much less carry out our instructions. David held King Saul with deep respect in spite of Saul’s insecurities and wrong judgment of him. He did not take things into his own hands. David knew that Saul was the Lord’s anointed and therefore, regardless of what decision Saul made, he had to respect legitimate authority. This explains why at the ordination, the Bishop asks the Ordinand, “Will you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?” The answer of course is “yes.” Unfortunately when this promise is merely a lip service and not from the heart, that collaborator will not work with him but for himself. But David was so respectful of Saul that he even felt remorse for cutting a piece of the royal robe from Saul as it was tantamount to disrespect for his office. “Afterwards David reproached himself for having cut off the border of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord preserve me from doing such a thing to my lord and raising my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord.’ David gave his men strict instructions, forbidding them to attack Saul.”
Fourthly, our collaborators must be people who are magnanimous, sincere and forgiving. This was the case of David when even Saul acknowledged that he had what it takes to be a good king and shepherd. Saul said to David, “You are a more upright man than I, for you have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil. Today you have crowned your goodness towards me since the Lord had put me in your power yet you did not kill me. When a man comes on his enemy, does he let him go unmolested? May the Lord reward you for the goodness you have shown me today. Now I know you will indeed reign and that the sovereignty in Israel will be secure in your hands.” When our collaborators lack forgiveness, generosity and sincerity in their hearts, they will not be able to command others. Those who are vindictive, insecure and violent, like King Saul, will only destroy what we seek to build and create enemies. Good leaders must be like David, ever ready to let go, forgive, to seek dialogue, peace and reconciliation.
Finally, a good collaborator must be a team player. Indeed, Jesus deliberately chose a diverse group of apostles because He needed the different skills and talents for the mission. But because team members come with different skills, talents and temperament, the greatest challenge of a leader is to foster unity and alignment among themselves. Helping and getting the members of the team to work in unison with each other for the common good and for the greater good, remains the most daunting task of a leader. Often our team members work for themselves and allow their ego to get the better of them. Such competition and egoistic outlook bring about division. Thus, in looking for a good collaborator, we look for one who is humble, gracious, receptive and able to work as a team.
How, then, can leaders ensure that their team members remain cohesive, united and aligned at all times? The key is for the leader to be with them, sharing his vision, message and mission. This was what Jesus did. Before He sent them out, He first called them to be with Him, to be His companions, so that as a leader, He will know their strengths and weaknesses; and conversely, the disciples will know His heart and mind intimately. Leaders therefore must always be with their collaborators, sharing with them their vision and mission so that as the gatekeeper of the vision, this passion for the mission will stay alive. Spending time with each other, building communion, being together in prayer, in play and in work is important to build communion, trust, fraternal love and support for each other. Only then can we become a potent force in bringing about transformation in society. Hence, success is dependent on whether we have a good leader with vision and passion, and a good team of collaborators to carry out the mission.
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Written by The Most Rev William Goh
