Graces
This brings us to another question we need to answer, the question of sin, before we can fully understand these questions about grace. We must turn to Pelagius for answers. Pelagianism said that Adam did not create original sin, man is not corrupted with original sin and man can achieve salvation through his own ability because man is inherently good. Pelagianism concluded that man can act morally and attain salvation without the aid of grace. Pelagianism was declared a heresy and rightly so. But then came along semi-Pelagianism. These guys acknowledged original sin but said that faith is a human activity and starts with man accepting the free gift of grace that God leaves hanging there and then and only then does God get involved in our salvation. In other words man’s free will was sufficiently powerful and righteous to ask for grace directly from God. In 529 A.D., the Second Synod of Orange condemned semi-Pelagianism as a heresy. The Synod issued the following cannons: Canon 1. If anyone denies that it is the whole man, that is, both body and soul, that was "changed for the worse" through the offense of Adam's sin, but believes that the freedom of the soul remains unimpaired and that only the body is subject to corruption, he is deceived by the error of Pelagius. (Adam’s sin corrupted the whole man, both body and soul.) Canon 2. If anyone asserts that Adam's sin affected him alone and not his descendants also, or at least if he declares that it is only the death of the body which is the punishment for sin, and not also that sin, which is the death of the soul, passed through one man to the whole human race, he does injustice to God and contradicts the Apostle. (Adam’s sin thoroughly corrupted the whole human race, both body and soul.) Canon 4. If anyone maintains that God awaits our will to be cleansed from sin, but does not confess that even our will to be cleansed comes to us through the infusion and working of the Holy Spirit, he resists the Holy Spirit himself. (Only the Holy Spirit can inspire the human will to be cleansed from sin.) Canon 5. If anyone says that not only the increase of faith but also its beginning and the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly and comes to the regeneration of holy baptism — if anyone says that this belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending our will and turning it from unbelief to faith and from godlessness to godliness, it is proof that he is opposed to the teaching of the Apostles. (Both the beginning and increase in faith is a grace from the Holy Spirit that inspires the human will toward faith in Christ.) Canon 6. If anyone says that God has mercy upon us when, apart from his grace, we believe, will, desire, strive, labor, pray, watch, study, seek, ask, or knock, but does not confess that it is by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit within us that we have the faith, the will, or the strength to do all these things as we ought; or if anyone makes the assistance of grace depend on the humility or obedience of man and does not agree that it is a gift of grace itself that we are obedient and humble, he contradicts the Apostle (God’s mercy of grace invades the human soul by the power of the holy spirit and causes our faith and free will to be humble and obedient. Humans can do nothing to aid in the transmission of grace. It is a free gift.) Canon 7. If anyone affirms that we can form any right opinion or make any right choice which relates to the salvation of eternal life, as is expedient for us, or that we can be saved, that is, assent to the preaching of the gospel through our natural powers without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who makes all men gladly assent to and believe in the truth, he is led astray by a heretical spirit, (Only the Holy Spirit can cause the human will to assent to and believe the truths of the Gospel.) Canon 8. If anyone maintains that some are able to come to the grace of baptism by mercy but others through free will, which has manifestly been corrupted in all those who have been born after the transgression of the first man, it is proof that he has no place in the true faith. For he denies that the free will of all men has been weakened through the sin of the first man, or at least holds that it has been affected in such a way that they have still the ability to seek the mystery of eternal salvation by themselves without the revelation of God. The Lord himself shows how contradictory this is by declaring that no one is able to come to him "unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44) (Free will has been corrupted by Adam such that only God’s mercy and grace can reveal the reward of eternal salvation through baptism.) Canon 13. Concerning the restoration of free will. The freedom of will that was destroyed in the first man can be restored only by the grace of baptism, for what is lost can be returned only by the one who was able to give it. (Only Baptism can restore the freedom of will.) Conclusion. And thus according to the passages of Holy Scripture quoted above or the interpretations of the ancient Fathers we must, under the blessing of God, preach and believe as follows. The sin of the first man has so impaired and weakened free will that no one thereafter can either love God as he ought or believe in God or do good for God's sake, unless the grace of divine mercy has preceded him. We therefore believe that the glorious faith which was given to Abel the righteous, and Noah, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and to all the saints of old, and which the Apostle Paul <sic> commends in extolling them (Heb. 11), was not given through natural goodness as it was before to Adam, but was bestowed by the grace of God. And we know and also believe that even after the coming of our Lord this grace is not to be found in the free will of all who desire to be baptized, but is bestowed by the kindness of Christ,… According to the catholic faith we also believe that after grace has been received through baptism, all baptized persons have the ability and responsibility, if they desire to labor faithfully, to perform with the aid and cooperation of Christ what is of essential importance in regard to the salvation of their soul. We not only do not believe that any are foreordained to evil by the power of God, but even state with utter abhorrence that if there are those who want to believe so evil a thing, they are anathema. We also believe and confess to our benefit that in every good work it is not we who take the initiative and are then assisted through the mercy of God, but God himself first inspires in us both faith in him and love for him without any previous good works of our own that deserve reward, so that we may both faithfully seek the sacrament of baptism, and after baptism be able by his help to do what is pleasing to him. We must therefore most evidently believe that the praiseworthy faith of the thief whom the Lord called to his home in paradise, and of Cornelius the centurion, to whom the angel of the Lord was sent, and of Zacchaeus, who was worthy to receive the Lord himself, was not a natural endowment but a gift of God's kindness. (Adam corrupted human free will so that no one could love God unless preceded by His merciful grace. Righteous faith of old was bestowed by the grace of God. After the appearance of Christ, faith was bestowed by the grace of the Holy Spirit through baptism. All baptized persons are imparted with a desire and free will to labor for salvation. No one is predestined to evil. The desire to do good works is not a natural endowment but a gift of god’s kindness.) This is what the Catholic Church believes and preaches.
Then Calvin came along 1000 years later and stated that man is totally depraved, man can do nothing toward his salvation and grace is extended only to those whom God predestined from the beginning of time. The Council of Trent declared Calvin and Luther heretics but never fully addressed the issue of how or why a human first desires and then receives God’s grace. Does one have to ask for God’s grace or does God give it only to those he chooses? Or is it a combination of man’s desire and God’s intent. Is it conferred only through baptism? It must be one or the other or can it be a combination of both? It seems to me that it either must be semi Pelagian in nature or Calvinistic in nature (two extremes), but both have been declared heresies. We already saw what the Catholic Church says about original sin, grace and baptism. But questions still remain. The Catholic Church has still not resolved the question of transmission of grace from God to man. What causes a person to convert, who is never baptized until later in life, like Paul or Constantine? Or why does one who is baptized as an infant still seek and participate in evil? What darkens a baptized soul like Adolph Hitler or converts a heathen like Augustine? And why are some never baptized or converted at all? Does man must act or does God fail to act? These are the questions still unanswered.
I believe that man was originally burdened with original sin as a result of Adam’s transgression. When God sent Himself to earth, Christ did not appear as a good example for us to follow. But He did in fact give his life for mankind. Sin and death were conquered once and for all by His death and resurrection. But which type of sin was vanquished, individual sin, original sin or both? I am tempted to conclude that Christ conquered both. Individual sin can now be forgiven upon request in the form of confession. But if original sin is vanquished, it no longer exists. I believe that when God currently creates new souls at conception, they are pure and free from all sin, both original and individual. Since the crucifixion of Christ, I propose that we are no longer burdened with original sin. At conception, a child’s soul is pure and perfect. Free will is pure and perfect also. However the child is born into an imperfect world. God puts us to the test like He did Job. God lets us choose our actions. Most, if not all, choose incorrectly because we have poor examples to follow, depraved friends and family. When a child is baptized, the Holy Spirit fortifies his or her free will. The Holy Spirit then becomes our paraclete and guide. The Holy Spirit and the seven sacraments become the graces of God. These are the free gifts God extends to humanity. God freely extends these graces but we must chose them to fully attach ourselves to them. What happens when we don’t accept them? We create individual sin for ourselves, we lose our way, we lose the support of the Holy Spirit and we drift until death. Some eventually realize the purpose in this life, a journey to eternal salvation. The reward is a conversion. Others continue in the cycle of sin and confession, never getting out of the rut. Some remain in sin forever.
Take my life story as an example. I was baptized as an infant, maybe at eight days of age. I can remember when I was a young child, I was innocent as a babe. I followed my elders and teachers and obeyed my parents. No violation of the Ten Commandments for me. I loved God and neighbor. Then I began hanging around with older kids and my venture into the cesspool of humanity began. I always retained a distant attachment to the church but I never fully committed. I received the graces of Holy Communion, Confession, Confirmation and Marriage. But I would sin and then ask for forgiveness, sin and ask for forgiveness. I knew I was doing wrong deeds in the process but it only moderately burdened me. I would rock along with life, face a moderate setback, and then get on me feet again. This cycle would continue for 48 years. Then finally I faced a major crisis in my life with the loss of a job. That one incident knocked me flat on my back. It was a Paul experience. I didn’t request nor was I seeking a conversion like Augustine. I can only assume that it was God who instigated the whole process. But this incident (loss of a job) deeply affected me. As a result of this catastrophe, I could have gone down the wide path with evil as my guide; or I could have chosen the narrow path with the Holy Spirit as my guide. I don’t know if God influences all of our decisions. I am sure there are many people who turn from God and refuse to listen when major events happen in their lives. In my case I chose God and listened to Him. God extended more graces to me, faith, hope and charity, and I accepted. He has offered justice, prudence, temperance, and fortitude and I have accepted. He has presented wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord and I have accepted. So I guess the answer to all of my questions is that God acts first by tendering graces, and then we humans must decide to receive and act upon these free gifts. God extended grace to me for 48 years and I never responded. Or did I? Was my grace the rewards of a home, wife, children and a job for 20 years? If it was, I never grasped the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Or did I? I detested my sin but I never accepted the power of the Holy Spirit, if He was residing in me, to finally give up sin for good. I relished sin and I couldn’t give it up. I doubt the spirit was in me. The Holy Spirit did not reside in me or if He did, I didn't realize it or accept Him. Then I was zapped. My world view changed. My attention was finally fully focused on God. Why did it take me 48 years? Was it my free will or was it God’s grace? I know God's grace was at work, for I would have never changed otherwise. But I did have to finally make the decision to change. Grace is an enigma.