The Meaning of Grace

CONTENTS
PART ONE
GRACE IN ITS ESSENCE
I. Habitual grace and the indwelling of the Holy Ghost 3
1. The Judaeo-Christian revelation of God\'s love.-2. The presence of immensity by creation and the presence of indwelling by grace.-3. Difference between human love, which presup- poses the being of things, and divine love, which creates the being ofthings.-4. The`common\'loveofGodforallcreaturesand his \'special\' love for his friends.-5. The universe of natures andthatofgrace.-6. Habitualorpermanentgrace.-7. In whatsensesisitfiniteandinfinite?-8. SomeScripturetexts. —9. Different degrees of grace correspond to different degrees ofindwelling.-10. SonsofGod,brothersofJesus,co-heirs with Christ.
II. Actual Grace . 17
1. Actualandhabitualgrace.-2. Divineforeknowledgeand human freedom.-3. The scheme of the good act; opposed errors of Pelagius and Luther; the Catholic doctrine.-4. Molinism and Thomism.-5. Divine motion and human freedom.-6. Divineforeknowledgeofthegoodact.-7. The schemeofthebadact.-8. `Thydestructioncomesfromthee, 0 Israel;frommecomesthyhelp\'.-9. Normalandmiraculous divineinitiatives.-10. Sufficientandefficaciousgrace;Pascal, theLettresProvinciales,Jansenism.-11. Divineforeknowledge andtheinitiatingofevilacts.-12. Thedramaofhistory.- 13. Inequality of grace.-14. Charismatic graces in the service of love.
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 III. Predestination
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CONTENTS
1. The mysteries of grace are mysteries of love accepted or refused.-2. TextsfromStPaulon.predestination.-3. Re- fusalonthepartofthenon-predestined.-4. Theerroneous doctrine ofdoublepredestination to hellor toheaven.-5. destination as a speculative question and as a cause of personal anxiety.-6. StPaul\'sdoctrineonthemysteryofIsrael:God\'s summons, neglected by the mass of the Jews, passes to the Gentiles,butwillreturntoIsrael.-7. AtthetimeofIsrael\'s generaldefection,\'aremnant\'remainedfaithful.-8. Distinc- tion between vocations concerning the present time, in which God is completely free to choose or reject whom he will, and vocations concerning eternal life, in which he is bound by his love.-9. Exposition of Romans IX as applied to vocations concerningthe-presentlife.-10. Thesameconcerningeternal life.-11. Conclusion.
IV.Justification,merit,consciousnessofthestateofgrace 51
1. Whatis\'justification\'?-2. \'God doesnotjustifytheewith- outthyself\'.-3. Thestagesofjustification.-4. Justification agreaterworkthancreation.-5. Miraculoustypesofjustifica- tiOn.-6. Is venialsin always avoidable? Does it lessen sancti- fying grace? To what degree is grace, once lost, regained?- 8. Thedoctrineof\'merit\'.-9. OurmeritsaregiftsofGod.- 10. Merit and reward.-11. Can one merit for another? Meritdeeongruomeansmorethansimpleprayer.-12. Canwe merittemporalgoods?-13. Canwemeritthegraceoffinal perseverance?-14. Canwe\'know\'ifweareinthestateof grace? The Protestant view.-15. The Catholic view: no absolute certainty apart from the case of confirmation in grace. —16. Thereasonforthis.-17. Moralorpracticalcertainty ofthestateofgrace:thesignsofthestateofgrace.-18. Fluc- tuations of conscience.
PART TWO
THE EXISTENTIAL STATES OF GRACE
V. The first existential state: the earthly paradise or the state of Adam . 71
1. Theexistentialstatesofgrace.-2. Thefirstproclamation of theJudaeo-Christian revelation was an answer to the problem ofevil.-3. Godcouldhavecreatedmaninthestateofpure
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nature, that is in a tragic and divided state.-1. In fact, he createdhiminastateofharmony.-5. Invisiblesupernatural giftsandvisiblepreternaturalones.-6. Physiologicalstateof the first man.-7. Era of religion without intermediary.- 8. TheageofAdam\'sgracetheageoftheFather.-9. Myths ofa\'goldenage\'.-10. Effectsofthefall.-11. Thewindow inSenscathedral.-12. Thefallpermittedinordertoreplace Adam\'s grace in the universe of creation by Christian grace in the universe of redemption.-13. Christ\'s universe better than that of the first Adam.
VI. The second existential state: Christian grace \'by anticipation\' under the law of nature and under the Mosaiclaw . . 81
1. ThebreakdownofAdam\'sgrace.-2. Recapitulationofthe universeofChristandChristiangracebyanticipation.-3. Grace undertheregimeofthelawofnature.-4. Outwardformsof worship.-5. Holinessalwayspossibleunderthelawofnature. -6. Sporadicmediationofprophecyandmediationofthe sacraments.-7. The forces of evil.-8. Grace under the Mosaiclaw.-9. Continuityofprophecyanddivineinstitution ofthesacrament.-10. ThesamegraceorientatesJewsand GentilestowardsChrist.-11. Christianityexistedinaninitial statebeforeChrist.-12. Christ\'scrossthrewitsshadowover theworldfromthetimeofthefall.-13. ItisChristian grace that is offered to children at the dawning of their
moral life.
VII. The third existential state: Christian grace by derivation . . . . . . . . 94
1. The age of Christ\'s presence: the entire Church gathered up intheVirginMary.-2. TheageoftheHolyGhost:Christian grace by derivation.-3. Derivation by contact and at a distance.-4. Themysteryofderivationbycontact.-5. Grace that is fully Christian is the condition for a more intimate mode of indwelling by the divine Persons.-6. With fulness of mediationappearsfulnessofgrace.-7. Thegracesofcontact come to us through the hierarchy.-8. Christian grace is
orientated.-9. Itissacramental.

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VIII. The fourth and fifth existential states: Uncove- nanted Christian graces. Beatifying and transfiguring grace . . 112
1. The apostles had to take to the ends of the earth the graces of contact that constitute the Church in her completed state.- 2. Resistance of the powers of evil: these are active even within Christians.-3. Pre-Christian religion.-4. Judaism. —5. Islam.-6. Dissidentsects.-7. Theworldofatheism. —8. UncovenantedChristiangraces.-9. TheChurchsharesin theirdistribution.-10. TheyconstitutetheChurchinaninitial andrestrictedstate.-11. Afewexamples:fromIndia.-12. FromJudaism.-13. FromIslam.-14. Thedifferenterron- eous religions form round the Church zones less and less favour- abletothepenetrationofChristiangrace.-15. Isthedistinc- tion between graces of contact and graces at a distance to persist to the end of time?-16. Final existential state of Christian grace: beatifying and transfiguring grace.