Article V. The Essential Relation of Infused Contemplation and of The Mystical Life with the Gifts of The Holy Ghost
We have seen what infused contemplation does not essentially require. We must now see what constitutes it formally and from what principle it proceeds. By so doing, we shall
83 Life, chap. 27.
84 Cf. Saudreau, £tat mystique (2d ed., pp. 320-48), in which he shows that the texts invoked in favor of the immediate perception of God are incomplete and have not the meaning that some writers attribute to them.
SB Summa, Ila Ilae, q.97, a. 2 ad 2um. In the Commentary on the Divine Names (chap. 2), St. Thomas thus explains this passage: “Not only learning but also experiencing divine things, that is, not only receiving the knowledge of divine things in the intellect but also by loving, united to Him by affection." Likewise De veritate, q.26, a.3 ad i8um. See farther on (p. 306) for other texts of St. Thomas and of John of St. Thomas.
explain the definition given at the beginning of the preceding article.
According to the common teaching of theologians, infused contemplation is, above reasoning and in the obscurity of faith, a simple and loving knowledge of God which cannot be obtained by our personal activity aided by grace; but, on the contrary, it requires a special, manifest inspiration and illumination of the Holy Ghost.1 In other words, whereas the ascetial life is characterized by the predominance of the human mode of the Christian virtues, which we exercise at will, the mystical life has as its distinctive character the predominance of the superhuman or divine mode of the gifts of the Holy Ghost; that is, an infused knowledge and love that cannot be the fruit of our personal effort.2 To understand this doctrine clearly, we must recall the role and the necessity of the gifts of the Holy Ghost in our super natural life, and in particular that of the gift of wisdom, which theologians commonly consider the superior principle of infused contemplation. The best means of learning the traditional teaching on this point is to consult St. Thomas, who has been generally followed.
I. The gifts of the Holy Ghost. Are they specifically distinct from the acquired virtues and from the infused virtues?
We have explained (supra, chap. 3, art. 2) the specific distinction between the infused virtues and the acquired virtues by their formal object. It is of faith that over and above the m natural virtues, which are acquired and developed by the frequent repetition of the same acts, we have received with sanctifying grace the infused virtues of faith, hope, and charity. 3 As for the infused moral virtues, such as Christian prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, they differ from the corresponding acquired moral virtues because they have a superior rule—in other words, not only natural reason, but reason illumined by faith; they are inspired by much loftier views. 4 It is thus that Christian temperance implies a mortification which purely natural ethics would not know; it is founded on the revealed doctrines of original sin, of the gravity of our personal sins, of their results, of our elevation to a supernatural end, and of the imitation of Jesus crucified. What a distance there is between the temperance described by Aristotle and that of which St. Augustine speaksl The gifts of the Holy Ghost are, moreover, superior to the infused moral virtues; although they are less elevated than the theological virtues, nevertheless they bring them, as we shall see, an added perfection. 6 “In order to differentiate the gifts from the virtues,” says St. Thomas, 6 “we must be guided by the way in which Scripture expresses itself, for we find there that the term employed is ‘spirit* rather than ‘gift.* For thus it is written (Is. 11: 2, 3): 'The spirit ... of wisdom and of understanding . . . shall rest upon him . . .* T From these words we are clearly given to understand that these seven are there set down as being in us by divine in-
8 Council of Trent, Sess. VI, chap. 7.
4 See la Ilae, q.63, a.4.
&Summa, la Ilae, q.68, a. 8.
- Ibid., a.i.
7 In Is. 11:2 f., we read: "And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of the fear of the Lord." This text is applied to the announced Messias, and since Pentecost, also to the living members of the mystical body of our Lord. It is in this way that the fathers understood it. Cf. Diet. de thiol, cathol., art. "Dons du Saint-Esprit" by Father Gardeil, O.P.: "Fondement scripturaire de cette doctrine, et enseignement des P&res,” col. 1728-81.
spiration. Inspiration denotes motion from without. For it must be noted that in man there is a twofold principle of movement, one within him (the reason), the other extrinsic to him (God), as stated above (q. 9, a. 4, 6), and also by the Philosopher in the chapter on Good Fortune {Ethic. Eudem., VII).
“Now it is evident that whatever is moved must be proportionate to its mover: and the perfection of the mobile as such, consists in a disposition whereby it is disposed to be well moved by its mover. Hence the more exalted the mover, the more perfect must be the disposition whereby the mobile is made proportionate to its mover: thus we see that a disciple needs a more perfect disposition in order to receive a higher teaching from his master. Now it is manifest that human virtues perfect man according as it is natural for him to be moved by his reason 8 in his interior and exterior actions. Consequently, man needs yet higher perfections, whereby to be disposed to be moved by God. These perfections are called gifts, not only because they are infused by God, but also because by them man is disposed to become amenable to the divine inspiration, 9 according to Is. 50: 5: ‘The Lord . . . hath opened my ear, and I do not resist; I have not gone back.’ Even the Philospher says in the chapter on Good Fortune {Ethic. Eudem., loc. cit.) that for those, who are moved by divine instinct, there is no need to take counsel according to human reason, but only to follow their inner promptings, since they are moved by a principle higher than human reason. This then is what some say, viz., that the gifts perfect man for acts which are higher than acts of virtue.”
From this we see that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are not acts or actual movements or passing helps of grace, but rather
8 We are concerned here with what happens in the supernatural order of reason illumined by faith; it is thus in particular that infused prudence directs the infused moral virtues.
» “Secundum ea homo disponitur, ut efficiatur prompte mobilis ab inspiratione divina.”
permanent qualities or habits, conferred on the soul in view of certain supernatural operations.
Holy Scripture, in the classic text of Isaias, 10 represents them as existing in a stable manner in the just, and it is said of the Holy Ghost: “He shall abide with you, and shall be in you.” 11 The Church in her liturgy considers the “sevenfold gift,” sacrum septenarium, as constituting an organic whole with habitual or sanctifying grace, which is often called “the grace of the virtues and of the gifts.” 12 St. Gregory the Great insists on this permanence, saying: “By the gifts, without which one cannot attain to life, the Holy Ghost dwells in a stable manner in the elect; while by prophecy, the gift of miracles, and other gratuitous graces, He does not fix His dwelling in those to whom He communicates Himself.” 13
St. Thomas defines them: “The gifts of the Holy Ghost are habits (or essentially supernatural, permanent qualities) whereby man is perfected to obey readily the Holy Ghost.” 14 The word “obey,” used by St. Thomas, does not express a pure passivity. As the moral virtues subject our appetitive faculties to the domination of reason and thus dispose them to act well, so the gifts render us docile to the Holy Ghost, in order to make us produce those excellent works known as beatitudes. 15 In this sense we can say of the gifts: “They confer at one and the same time pliability and energy, docility and strength, which render the soul more passive under the hand of God, and likewise more active in serving Him and in doing His work.” 14
10 Is. HI 2.
11 John 14: 17.
12 “Whether sacramental grace confers anything in addition to the grace of the virtues and gifts** (Ilia, q.62, a. 2).
is Moral., Bk. II, chap. 56.
is “The beatitudes are none but perfect works and which, by reason of theii perfection, are assigned to the gifts rather than to the virtues” (la Ilae, q.7o, a.2).
10 Bishop Gay, De la vie et des vertus chretiennes, first treatise.3
According to these principles, the great majority of theologians hold with St. Thomas that the gifts are really and specifically distinct from the infused virtues, as the principles which direct them are distinct: that is, the Holy Ghost and reason illumined by faith. We have here two regulating motions, two different rules, which constitute different formal motives. It is a fundamental principle that habits ( habitus) are specified by their object and their formal motive, as sight is by color and light, and hearing by sound. Virtue is a habit inclining us to follow the rule of right reason, whereby we lead a good life measured by the rule of reason. The gifts are higher perfections which have divine inspiration as their rule. A virtue and the corresponding gift (for example, fortitude and the gift of fortitude) have the same material, but they differ in the rule which serves as a measure for their acts, and also by their mode of acting; therefore their formal object is not the same. Reason, even illumined by faith and infused prudence, directs our acts according to a human mode; the Holy Ghost, according to a superhuman mode . 20
17 If we confuse the virtues and the gifts, we meet with serious difficulties. It would not be possible to explain why certain gifts, such as fear, are not among the number of the virtues, and why Christ possessed the seven gifts, as Isaias (11: 2) teaches us, without having certain infused virtues such as faith, hope, and penance, which suppose an imperfection.
is Summa, la Ilae, q.68, a. 1 ad gum.
10 “Since the gifts are above the human mode in their action, it is fitting that the operations of the gifts should be measured by a rule other than that of human virtue, which is the Divinity itself shared by man in his manner, so that he operates no longer in a human way after the manner of man, but as though he were made God by participation” (ibid., and III Sent., D. XXXIV, q. 1, a.3).
20 “The gifts surpass the ordinary perfection of the virtues, not as regards the kind of works (as the counsels surpass the commandments), but as regards the manner of working, in respect of man being moved by a higher principle” (la Ilae, q.68, a.2 ad lum). Likewise III, D. XXXIV, q.i, a. 1: “The gifts are distinguished from the virtues in this that the virtues accomplish acts in a human manner, but the gifts in a superhuman manner.” Ill, D. XXXV, q.2, a.3: “The gift transcends the virtues in this that it operates above the human manner.”
This doctrine of St. Thomas in his Commentary on the Sentences does not differ, in spite of what has been said, from that of the Summa, as can be seen from the text (la Ilae) quoted at the beginning of this note, and from that indicated in the following note. Moreover, it is clear that when (la Ilae, q.68, a. 1)
*77
Likewise, while faith adheres simply to revealed truths, the gift of understanding makes us scrutinize their depths. The theologian points out what is of faith and answers the sophisms of heresy by collating texts from Scripture and from the councils according to a human method of procedure, which is often very complicated. Simple souls, on the contrary, under a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost answer in a different manner, at times with an astonishing and unanswerable perspicacity which causes the theologian to exclaim: “Mirabilis Deus in sanctis suis.”
The same difference exists between prudence and the gift of counsel. When a grave decision is to be made, prudence, whether acquired or infused, must take counsel, examine all the circumstances and consequences of the act to be performed; it deliberates at length, without always reaching certitude, as to what is best to choose. On the contrary, if we have prayed with humility and trust, sometimes an inspiration of the gift of counsel instantly clarifies the whole problem. 21 In a difficult situation, where two duties in apparent opposition must be harmonized, prudence is, as it were, perplexed; it hesitates, for example, about what answer to give so as to avoid a lie and keep a secret. In certain cases, only an inspiration of the gift of counsel will enable us to find the proper reply without in any way failing in the truth, and without having recourse to mental restrictions of dubious morality. 22 he distinguishes the virtues from the gifts by what moves them respectively, it is a question of the powers which direct and rule (the Holy Ghost and reason) and not of pure, efficient causes which would give a more or less strong impulse without direction and formal regulation. It is manifest that the Holy Ghost directs according to a superhuman mode. The doctrine of the Summa clearly maintains on this point what had already been written in the Commentary on the Sentences . Likewise Qu. Disp. de caritate, q. unic., a. 2 ad 7um: “The gifts perfect the virtues by elevating them above the human manner.”
21 Summa, Ha Ilae, q.52, a. 2 ad lum.
22 St. Thomas says expressly: “Prudence or eubulia, whether acquired or infused, directs man in the research of counsel according to principles that the reason can grasp; hence prudence or eubulia makes man take good counsel
II. Are the gifts of the Holy Ghost necessary to salvation?
The necessity of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, as we have seen, springs from the imperfect mode of even lofty Christian virtues in our souls. Consequently the more the soul advances toward perfection, the more the gifts must intervene; so much so indeed that their superhuman mode must end by prevailing, in an order superior not only to the processes of casuistry, but also to those of asceticism and to methods of prayer. This is the very foundation of our doctrine.
Here, in imitation of St. Thomas, we must proceed with measure. Were one to neglect to examine for himself, when possible, what should be thought, said, and done, under the pretext of abandonment to Providence, he would be tempting God. 23 But we must take into account our insufficiency with regard to the supernatural end toward which we should tend.
St. Thomas teaches that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are necessary to salvation. 24 “Of all the gifts,” he says, “wisdom seems to be the highest, and fear the lowest. Each of these is necessary to salvation: since of wisdom it is written (Wis. 7: 28): ‘God loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom’; and of fear (Eccles. 1: 28): ‘He that is without fear cannot be justified.’ ” Because our Lord knew the profound needs of our souls. He promised us the Holy Ghost, from whom we have received the sevenfold gift.
To explain this necessity of the gifts, St. Thomas makes use of a profound reason: “The gifts are perfections of man, whereby he is disposed so as to be amenable to the prompt- either for himself or for another. Since, however, human reason is unable to grasp the singular and contingent things which may occur, the result is that the thoughts of mortal men are fearful, and our counsels uncertain (Wis. 9: 14). Hence in the research for counsel, man requires to be directed by God who comprehends all things: and this is done through the gift of counsel whereby man is directed as though counselled by God” (Ha Ilae, q.52, a.i ad xum).
23 “If man, instead of doing what he can, were to be content with awaiting God's assistance, he would seem to tempt God” (Ha Ilae, q.53, a.4 ad turn).
24 Summa, la Ilae, q. 68 , a. 2.
ings of God. Wherefore in those matters where the prompting of reason is not sufficient, and there is need for the prompting of the Holy Ghost, there is, in consequence, need for a gift. Now man’s reason is perfected by God in two ways: first, by its natural perfection, viz., by the natural light of reason (like the acquired virtue of wisdom); secondly, by a supernatural perfection, viz., by the theological virtues. And, though this latter perfection is greater than the former, yet the former is possessed by man in a more perfect manner than the latter: because man has the former in his full possession, whereas he possesses the latter imperfectly, since we love and know God imperfectly. Now it is evident that anything that has a nature or a form or a virtue perfectly, can of itself work according to them: not, however, excluding the operation of God, who works inwardly in every nature and in every will. On the other hand, that which has a nature or form or virtue imperfectly, cannot of itself work, unless it be moved by another. Thus the sun, which possesses light perfectly, can shine by itself; whereas the moon, which has the nature of light imperfectly, sheds only a borrowed light. Again a physician, who knows the medical art perfectly, can work by himself; but his pupil, who is not yet fully instructed, cannot work by himself, but needs to receive instructions from him.
“Accordingly, as to things subject to human reason, and subordinate to man’s connatural end, man can do them through the judgment of his reason (with the ordinary help that Providence gives to secondary causes). If, however, even in these things man receive help in the shape of special promptings from God (instinctum specialem), this will be out of God’s superabundant goodness {hoc exit superabun - dantis bonitatis ): hence, according to the philosophers, not everyone that had the acquired moral virtues, had also the heroic or divine virtues. But in matters directed to the supernatural end (which absolutely surpasses the forces and exigences of our reasonable nature) to which man’s reason moves him, according as it is, in a manner, and imperfectly, actuated by the theological virtues, the motion of reason does not suffice, unless it receives in addition the prompting or motion of the Holy Ghost, according to Rom. 8: 14, 17: ‘Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God . . . and if sons, heirs also’: and Ps. 142: 10: ‘Thy good Spirit shall lead me into the right land’; because, to wit, none can receive the inheritance of that land of the blessed, except he be moved and led thither by the Holy Ghost.” 28 In this sense, the gifts are necessary to salvation as habitual dispositions to receive divine inspirations, just as sails are necessary on a boat that it may be responsive to the winds.
This does not mean that, without the intervention of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, a Christian is never capable of a supernatural act. But, if by mortal sin he has lost these gifts together with charity, he can still, with an ordinary actual grace, make a supernatural act of faith; and rather often the just man also acts in a supernatural manner without a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost. But, as St. Thomas says, it is not in the power of reason, even when enlightened by faith and infused prudence, “to know all things or all possible things. Consequently it is unable to avoid folly (stultitia) and other like things. . . . God, however, to whose knowledge and power all things are subject, by His motion safeguards us from all folly, ignorance, dullness of mind, and hardness of heart, and the rest. Consequently the gifts of the Holy Ghost, which make us amenable to His promptings, are said to be given as remedies to these defects.” 28 “By the theological and moral virtues, man is not so perfected in respect of his last end, as not to stand in continual need of being moved by the yet higher promptings of the Holy Ghost .” 27
**Sutnma, la Ilae, q.68, a.2. Cf. Cajetan>, commentary on this question 68, and also that of John of St. Thomas.
Ibid., ad gum.
27 ibid., a. 2 ad sum. Some theologians have wrongly interpreted this text of St. Thomas and thought he meant to say that man needs always to be moved
III. Necessity of an increasingly perfect docility to the interior Master.
This special assistance, of which we have spoken, is so much the more necessary since the soul, in advancing, should perform more perfect works, and since the Lord wishes to conduct us to a deeper and more loving knowledge of the supernatural mysteries. 28 The infused moral and theological virtues, even when they have reached a high degree, without a special help of the Holy Ghost still operate according to the human mode of the faculties in which they are received. 29
Faith makes us know God in a way which is still too abstract, too exterior, in speculo et in aenigmate , by excessively narrow formulas that must be multiplied. We should like to be able to condense them into one that would bring us into close contact with the living God and that would express for us the Light of life which more and more He ought to be for us. Hope and charity, which are directed by faith, share in this imperfection of faith. These two virtues of the will lack vitality and keep too much of the human manner as long as they are directed only by reason illumined by faith.
No matter how circumspect Christian prudence, which for each salutary act by a special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, even in acts which are called remissi. They confounded ordinary actual grace with the special inspiration which is in question here. St. Thomas did not write: “Quin indigeat semper moveri,” but “Quin semper indigeat moveri.” St. Thomas’ expression means that man is not perfected to such a degree by the theological virtues that he never needs to be inspired by the interior Master, as one might say: “This student of medicine is not so well instructed that he never needs the assistance of his master for certain operations.” It is quite certain that man can make a supernatural act of faith with an actual grace, without any assistance on the part of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. This is certainly the case with a soul which, being in the state of mortal sin, has lost together with charity the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and which, nevertheless, still rather frequently makes acts of supernatural faith. Cf. Gardeil, art. “Dons,” in Diet . thiol., col. 1779; Father Frojet, O.P., De Vhabitation du Saint-Esprit dans les dmes justes, Part IV, pp. 407-24, clearly expresses the true thought of St. Thomas on this point.
28 Rom. 8 : 14. “For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”
20 Summa, la Ilae, q. 68 , a. a.
rules the other moral virtues, may be, though it is quite superior to purely natural prudence, which is described by the philosophers, it still frequently remains timid, uncertain in its foresight, and too cautious to respond to all the exigencies of divine love; just as our fortitude and patience do not suffice in certain trials, .or our chastity in the face of some temptations. 80 Because our supernatural virtues must be adapted to the human mode of our faculties, they leave us in a state of inferiority with respect to the supernatural end toward which we should advance with greater eagerness.
With only the virtues, even though they are supernatural, man is like an apprentice who knows fairly well what he must do, but who has not the skill to do it in a suitable manner. Consequently the master who is teaching him must come from time to time, take his hand, and direct it so that the work may be presentable. Thus, as long as our prayer is only the fruit of an assiduous meditation, it remains too human to taste truly the word of God. In meditation we drink only of water which has flowed along the ground and is mixed with mud, as St. Teresa says. That we may drink from the fountain, the Holy Ghost must, like the master of the apprentice, directly intervene, take possession of our intellect and will, and communicate to them His manner of thinking and of loving; a divine manner which alone is worthy of God, who wishes to be known as a living truth and divinely loved. As we always remain apprentices toward God, the Holy Ghost must intervene habitually in our prayer and works that they may be perfect. That is why, unlike purely gratuitous graces (gratis datae ) such as prophecy, the gifts, which make us amenable to divine inspirations as the virtues do to the directions of reason, should be permanent in us. 81 They are in our soul what sails are on a boat. Two means can be used so St. Thomas, III Sent., D. XXXIV, q. 1, a. 2.
8i “Whether the gifts of the Holy Ghost are habits” (la Ilae, q.68, a.3).
to move a small sailboat through the water: rowing, which is slow and laborious, and sailing. A soul can make progress and can advance by the exercise of the virtues; in this it is active; or by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, who breathes where He wills and when He wills. Here the soul is docile, acting less than it is acted upon. “The gifts of the Holy Ghost perfect man ... for he is so acted upon by the Holy Ghost, that he also acts himself in so far as he has a free will. Therefore he needs a habit.” 32 From this we see that the soul approaches perfection only by a great docility to the Holy Ghost, in which the superhuman mode of the gifts must normally prevail so as more and more to remedy what is essentially imperfect in the human mode of the virtues. This is the function of the gifts.
IV. The special inspiration of the Holy Ghost and the progress of charity.
No one questions that St. Thomas’ mystical theology is found especially in his teaching about the gifts of the Holy Ghost, their relation to charity and to infused contemplation. But some persons merely read rather hastily in the Summa (la Ilae, q. 68) the articles devoted to the gifts of the Holy Ghost in general, and (Ha Ilae, q. 8, 9, 45) the articles that relate to the gifts of understanding, knowledge, and wisdom, without considering sufficiently their connection with what is said (Ha Ilae, q. 24, a. 9) about the three degrees of charity in beginners, the proficient, and the perfect, and without recalling what St. Thomas teaches (la Ilae, q. 111, a. 2) about operating grace, to which he attaches the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost. As a result, they fail to see clearly what is original and very deep in the Thomistic doctrine of the gifts.
This point is briefly and lucidly set forth in the most thorough treatment that has been written on the subject of
82 Ibid., ad 2um.
the gifts. We refer to the article by Father Gardeil, O.P., in the Dictionnaire de theologie catholique . 8S In the historical part of the article, after showing the sources for the doctrine of the gifts in Scripture and in the Greek and Latin fathers, and after mentioning the treatises of the first Scholastic theologians. Father Gardeil analyzes what has been written on the gifts by the founders of systematized theology—Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure, St. Albert the Great, and St. Thomas Aquinas. It is interesting to see how these four great Scholastics reacted against William of Auxerre and William of Paris, who denied the specific character of the gifts and reduced them to the virtues, thus preparing the ground for the minimist doctrine of the decadent nominalists of the fourteenth century. Father Gardeil says: 84 “These four great theologians fundamentally consecrated the ancient doctrine, which distinguished the gifts from the virtues, by considering them as primi motus in corde . . . but, instead of identifying the gifts and actual graces, they saw in the gifts, at least St. Thomas did, subjective dispositions to receive the most sublime actual graces. With an incomparable and magnificent synthesis, St. Thomas attached this point of doctrine to what, both in the philosophy of Aristotle and in his own theology, is most elevated and most profoundly true on the pre-eminence of the divine action. He thus brought this point of doctrine back to absolutely first principles, which, in philosophy as well as theology, govern questions about the divine action as such; that is, developing it in conformity with the inner law of the divine being. By this systematization, he assured it the indestructible solidity of every doctrine which is attached to first principles, evident in themselves or primarily revealed.” 85
** Vol. IV, col. 1728-81.
Loc. cit col. 1776.
85 Cf. Gardeil, Le donnS riveli et la thiologie, 1910: A comparison of the theological systems (pp. 266-86). On the question which occupies our attention, see also the introduction of the excellent work of the same author, Les dons du Saint-Esprit dans les Saints Dominicains.
It is our wish: (1) to show how, according to St. Thomas, the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost, to which the gifts render us docile, differs from the common, actual grace necessary to the exercise of the infused virtues; (2) to follow the growing elevation of this special inspiration, in beginners, the proficient, and the perfect, by considering especially the gifts of wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.
For a clear understanding of this teaching, as Father del Prado 36 remarks, we must distinguish, as St. Thomas does, the different ways in which God moves our intellect and our will, whether in the natural or in the supernatural order. St. Thomas distinguishes between three principle modes of the divine motion in the order of nature, and three others proportionately similar in that of grace. They can be expressed in the following division which we will explain:
Our mind (mens) is moved by God
"in the natural order to will beatitude in general.
a certain veritable good.
[or an apparent good, by a special inspiration, for example, in the philosophical or poetic order, etc.
to resolve upon in the supernatural order
"to be converted to God, supernatural last end.
to resolve upon the use of the infused virtues.
by a special inspiration to which the gifts render us docile.
86 De gratia et libero arbitrio, 1907, II, 201, 225, 247.
The first mode of motion is before human deliberation, 87 the second is after or with it, the third is above it, and that in the order of nature as well as in that of grace. St. Thomas has enumerated them in la Ilae, q. 9, a. 6 ad 3um; q. 68, a. 2, 3; q. 109, a. 1, 2, 6, 9; q. 111,.a. 2; De veritate, q. 24, a. 15. It will suffice to translate the first of these texts which—many seem to ignore the fact—is explained by those that follow, as we shall see: “God moves man’s will, as the Universal Mover, to the universal object of the will, which is good. And, without this universal motion, man cannot will anything. But man determines himself by his reason, to will this or that, which is true or apparent good. Nevertheless, sometimes God moves some specially to the willing of something determinate, which is good; as in the case of those whom He moves by grace, as we shall see later on (q. 109, a. 2; q. 109, a. 6; q. 111, a. 2).’’ 88
By the first mode of divine motion in the natural order, our will is therefore moved, as to its exercise, to will good in general or beatitude, and this act, by which each one of us wishes to be happy or desires happiness, is without doubt a vital act determined upon by the will; but it is rfbt free, in this sense that we cannot hate beatitude or prefer anything else to it. 39 We always aspire to it, and this aspiration bears thus confusedly on God, although we do not always judge that our true beatitude is to be found in Him. 40 Every man
87 There is, properly speaking, no deliberation and election on the ultimate end; cf. Ia Ilae, q.13, a. 3; Ha Ilae, q.24, a.i ad 3um. We will explain this farther on.
88 Summa, Ia Ilae, q.9, a. 6 ad 3um. See, on this text and its relation with the others which we have quoted, Del Prado, De gratia et libero arbitrio, I, 236; II, 228, 266.
89 Ibid,., q. 10, a. 1, 2.
40 “To know that God exists in a general and indefinite way is implanted in us by nature, inasmuch as God is man’s beatitude. For man naturally desires happiness, and what is naturally desired by man must naturally be known to him. This, however, is not to know absolutely that God exists; as to know that someone is approaching is not the same as to know that Peter is approaching, naturally desires to be happy, “and the source of all good consists in placing happiness where it should be, and the source of all evil lies in misplacing it.” 41 This is why our Lord began His preaching with the evangelical beatitudes, which tell us, as opposed to the maxims of the world, where true happiness is to be found.
In this first act of the will, in this natural desire for happiness, there can be no sin, if the act is considered in itself independently of the acts that may follow it. We do not say that the will moves itself to this first act; strictly speaking, it moves itself to an act only in virtue of an anterior act. Thus it moves itself to choose the means in virtue of the act by which it wishes the end. 42 The question here concerns the first act in the strict sense; hence in this case the will cannot sin; it is moved by God without moving itself, although it produces this act vitally. 48
The second mode of divine motion is that in virtue of which our free will, still in the natural order, determines upon a true good or an apparent good. This movement of our will is not only vital but free, and to produce it the will moves itself in virtue of an anterior act; hence it can sin in this case. 44 But, since God cannot by His motion be equally the cause of evil and of good, we must say that the motion by which He moves the free will to determine upon a good natural act, is not the same as that by which He is the cause even though it is Peter who is approaching; for many there are who imagine that man's perfect good (which is happiness) consists in riches, and others in pleasures, and others in something else” (la, q.2, a.i ad turn).
<1 Bossuet, Meditations sur l'£,vangile, first meditation.
« Summa, la Ilae, q.g, a. 3: “The intellect, through its knowledge of the principle, reduces itself from potentiality to act, as to its knowledge of the conclusions; and thus it moves itself. And, in like manner, the will, through its volition of the end, moves itself to will the means.” Ibid., ad turn and la, q.63. a.5.
« Summa., Ia Ilae, q.g, a.6, third objection and reply.
« Summa, Ia, q.63, a.i ad 4um; a.5; a.6; Ia Ilae, q-7g, a.i, 2.
of the physical act of sin and not of its malice. The good act comes entirely from God, as from its first cause, and entirely from us as from its second cause: “What hast thou that thou hast not received?” 45 On the contrary, the evil act, considered with respect to what is disordered and evil in it, does not come from God, but only from our defectible and evilly disposed free will. Just so, the gait of a lame person, in so far as the action is concerned, springs from his vital energy, but its defectiveness comes only from the malformation of his leg. As opposed to the divine motion which moves to good, the motion required for the physical act of sin is accompanied by the divine permission of the disorder contained in the sin. God allows this disorder to occur for very lofty reasons of which He is the judge, but He can in no way be its cause. Indefectible principle of all good and of all order. He can no more cause the evil involved in the act of sin than the eye, seeing the color of a fruit, can perceive its taste. Moral evil is no more the object of omnipotence than sounds are the object of sight. Without being obliged thereto, God often remedies the weaknesses of our free will; He does not always do it. Therein lies a mystery.
The third mode of divine motion in the natural order is mentioned by St. Thomas 49 when he quotes the Eudemian
45 Otherwise it would follow that God by His motion is no more the cause of the good act than of the sin, which would be contrary to the definition of the Council of Trent (Sess. VI, canon 6): “Si quis dixerit mala opera ita ut bona Deum operari non permissive solum, sed proprie et per se, anathema sit.” If the divine share were only simultaneous or if it were an indifferent first impulse, God by this participation would no longer be the cause of the good act any more than of the sin. The reason why He would not be the cause of the sin, is that His participation would be only simultaneous and indifferent; for the same reason He would not, strictly speaking, be the cause of the good act. Cf. Ia Ilae, q.79, a. 2, and the Thomists on this article.
46 See I Cor. 4: 7. As St. Thomas shows, in a commentary on this Epistle, all good things come from God, even the good determination of our free will, in so far as it is distinguished from the evil. Cf. Ia, q.23, a.5; Ia Ilae, q.109, a.2.
47 Summa, Ia Ilae, q.79, a.i, 2.
48 Ibid.
49 “Even the Philosopher says in the chapter on Good Fortune (Ethic. Eudem., loc. cit.) that for those who are moved by divine instinct, there is no need to
Ethics (Bk. VII, chap. 14). In this work, which is attributed to Aristotle but was composed under his influence by one of his platonizing disciples, the author says: “Someone will ask, perhaps, whether a person’s good fortune makes him desire what he should when he should. . . . Without reflecting, deliberating, or taking counsel, it happens that he thinks and wills what is most suitable. ... To what is this due, if not to good fortune? What is good fortune itself and how can it give such happy inspirations? This is equivalent to asking what is the superior principle of the movements of the soul. Now, it is manifest that God, who is the principle of the universe, is also the principle of the soul. All things are moved by Him who is present in us. The principle of reason is not reason but something superior. What is superior to reason and intelligence except God? . . . This is why the ancients used to say: ‘Happy are they who without deliberating are led to act well.’ This does not come from their own will, but from a principle present in them which is superior to their intellect and to their will. . . . Under a divine inspiration, some even foresee the future.”
In the Nicomachian Ethics, Bk. VII, chap. 1, Aristotle speaks of heroes, such as Hector, who “because of the excellence of their courage are called divine . . . , for there is something superior to human virtue in them” or to human science. Thus it was customary to say “the divine Plato,” because of the superior inspiration which often animated his discourse. This inspiration is in the natural order and takes different forms, philosophical, poetical, musical, and strategic. These are the various forms of genius.
St. Thomas clearly states that this special inspiration is not at all necessary to man for the attainment of his natural take counsel according to human reason, but only to follow their inner promptings, since they are moved by a principle higher than human reason. This then is what some say, viz., that the gifts perfect man for acts which are higher than acts of virtue” {ibid., q.68, a. 1).
last end. But he maintains that it is otherwise in the order of grace, where the gifts of the Holy Ghost and the corresponding inspirations are necessary to salvation. 50
These three modes of divine motion, which we have defined, are transposed in the order of grace; in this order the three are normal.
- At the moment when a sinner is justified, God as the Author of grace moves the sinner’s free will to be converted to his supernatural last end. Under this divine motion and by it the sinner is made just or is justified, and begins to act no longer merely in view of happiness naturally desired, but for God supernaturally loved above all things. This supernatural motion first of all prepares the sinner to receive sanctifying grace, and justifies him through the infusion of this grace and of charity by moving him to a free act of faith, charity, and repentance. 51 In this case the free will does not, strictly speaking, move itself to this act of living faith and charity; it is moved thereto by operating grace. 52 In this act there cannot be
80 “Accordingly, as to things subject to human reason, and subordinate to man's connatural end, man can do them through the judgment of his reason. If, however, even in these things man receive help in the shape of special promptings from God, this will be out of God’s superabundant goodness: hence according to philosophers, not everyone that had the acquired moral virtues, had also the heroic or divine virtues. But in matters directed to the supernatural end to which man’s reason moves him, according as it is, in a manner, and imperfectly, actuated by the theological virtues, the motion of reason does not suffice, unless it receives in addition the prompting or motion of the Holy Ghost, according to Rom. 8: 14: ‘Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ " (la Ilae, q.68, a. 2).
siSumma, la Ilae, q.113, a. 1-3, 4 ad mm; a.5-8. Cf. Del Prado, De gratia et libero arbitrio, II, 240.
82 Summa, la Ilae, q.111, a.2: “First, there is the interior act of the will, and with regard to this act the will is a thing moved, and God is the mover; and especially when the will, which hitherto willed evil, begins to will good. Hence, inasmuch as God moves the human mind to this act, we speak of operating grace. But there is another, exterior act; and since it is commanded by the will, as was shown above (q. 17, a. 9), the operation of this act is attributed to the will. And because God assists us in this act, both by strengthening our will interiorly so as to attain to the act, and by granting outwardly the capability of operating, it is with respect to this that we speak of co-operating grace.” In the same article (in reply to the second objection), St. Thomas shows how under operating grace, although the will does not move itself by virtue of an anterior act, it sin; on the contrary, there is hatred of sin. This act is freely produced under the impulse of efficacious grace. 63 Although entirely free, this supernatural movement of the will resembles the first natural movement by which we wish happiness. Strictly speaking, man cannot move himself; that would suppose an efficacious anterior act of the same order. This anterior act does not exist, since the question here concerns the first efficacious act of love of the supernatural end. 64 This act is not preceded by personal merit; rather it opens the way of merit. It is, as it were, the threshold of the order of grace, or the first step in the execution of divine predestination.
- The second mode of motion in this order is that by which God moves a just man to act well supernaturally by using the infused virtues as he ought. In this movement of the free will, the will is moved and moves itself by virtue of an anterior supernatural act. Here there is deliberation, properly so called, regarding the means in view of the end, and a human manner of acting under the direction of reason enlightened by faith. 66 Moreover, this grace is called co-operating nevertheless freely consents to be moved: "God does not justify us without ourselves, because while we are being justified we consent to God’s justification ( justitiae ) by a movement of our free will. Nevertheless, this movement is not the cause of grace, but the effect; hence the whole operation pertains to grace.”
68 "Hence if God intends, while moving, that the one whose heart He moves should attain to grace, he will infallibly attain to it” (ibid., q.113, a.5; q.112, a.3).
5* Summa, Ha Ilae, q.24, a.i ad 3um. Cf. Del Prado, op. cit., II, 220. "Hie motus voluntatis (sub gratia operante in instanti justifications) quamvis liberrimus, est etiam ad instar motus naturalis per modum simplicis volitionis; et homo non valet per rationem se primo determinare ad hujusmodi velle, quod excedit omnem naturalem facultatem, tam rationis, quam voluntatis. ... Est fundamentum omnium sanctarum electionum in ordine gratiae.” Cf. ibid., p. 223, and I, 226-28, 236, where the author shows that on this point St. Thomas is followed more faithfully by Lemos than by Didacus Alvarez, Gonet, and Goudin, who reduce operating grace to a simple exciting grace which does not go as far as consent.
55 Thus by infused prudence a man delibertates that he may act as is proper according to the virtues of religion, justice, fortitude, and temperance; and, when necessary, even to make acts of faith, hope, and charity. Prudence thus rules per accidens the acts of the theological virtues, although it does not measure them. Cf. Billuart’s commentary on Ila Ilae, q.81. 3.5.
grace. 56 When this grace is efficacious, free will can still resist if it wishes, but it never wills to do so. In fact it cannot happen that sin is produced in the very use of grace, when man is moved by efficacious actual grace. 57 Thus he who is seated can indeed rise, but he cannot at one and the same time be seated and standing. Liberty is not destroyed because God, who is infinitely powerful and closer to us than we are to ourselves, moves our will according to its natural inclinations freely to will one thing or another. 58
- Lastly, the third mode of the divine motion in the order of grace is that by which God especially moves the free will of a spiritual man, who is disposed to the divine inspiration by the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Here the just soul is immediately directed, not by reason enlightened by faith, but by the Holy Ghost Himself in a superhuman manner. 59 This motion is not only given for the exercise of the act, but for its direction and specification; consequently it is called illumination and inspiration. 60 It is an eminent mode of operating grace which thus leads to the highest acts of the virtues and of the gifts:
50 “But in that effect in which our mind both moves and is moved, the operation is not only attributed to God, but also to the soul; and it is with reference to this that we speak of co-operating grace” (la Ilae, q.111, a. 2). The will already willing the supernatural last end moves itself, under the impulse of cooperating grace, to will the means ordained to this end. Actual grace is necessary for every act of infused virtue. Cf. Ia Ilae, q.iog, a. 9, and Hugon, De gratia, pp. 281-83.
57 “if God moves the will to anything, it is incompossible with this supposition, that the will be not moved thereto. But it is not impossible simply. Consequently, it does not follow that the will is moved by God necessarily” (Ia Ilae, q.10, a.4 ad sum).
58 “The divine will extends not only to the doing of something by the thing which He moves, but also to its being done in a way which is fitting to the nature of that thing. And therefore it would be more repugnant to the divine motion for the will to be moved of necessity, which is not fitting to its nature, than for it to be moved freely, which is becoming to its nature” (ibid., ad lum). Likewise Ia, q.19, a.8; q.83, a.i ad 3um; De malo, q.6, a.i ad sum: “Deus movet quidem voluntatem immutabiliter propter efficaciam virtutis moventis, quae deficere non potest, sed propter naturam voluntatis nostrae, quae indifferenter se habet ad diversa, non indudtur necessitas, sed manet libertas” (ibid., ad lum).
50 See Ia Ilae, q.68, a. 1-3.
00 Ibid .
*93 faith, illumined by the gift of understanding, becomes much more penetrating and contemplative; hope, enlightened by the gift of knowledge as to the vanity of all that is transitory, becomes perfect confidence and filial abandonment to Providence; and the illuminations of the gift of wisdom invite charity to the intimacy of the divine union. As the bee or the carrier pigeon, directed by instinct, acts with a wonderful certainty revealing the Intelligence which directs them, just so, says St. Thomas, “the spiritual man is inclined to act, not principally through the movement of his own will, but by the instinct of the Holy Ghost, according to the words of Isaias (59: 19): ‘When he shall come as a violent stream, which the Spirit of the Lord driveth on.’ And in St. Luke we find: ‘Jesus . . . was led by the Spirit into the desert.’ 61 It does not follow that the spiritual man does not operate by his will and his free will, but it is the Holy Ghost who causes this movement of the will and of the free will in him, as St. Paul says: ‘For it is God who worketh in you both to will and to accomplish.’ ” 42 These words of St. Thomas are the best commentary on what he has written about operating grace. 63 Again he says: “The sons of God are led by the Holy Ghost in order that they may pass through this life which is full of temptations (Job 7: 1) and gain the victory by the grace of Christ.” 44
Although the illumination of the Holy Ghost dispenses us from deliberating, nevertheless the act remains free and meritorious, for we consent to be moved in this way, as a good student wills to profit from the lesson of his teacher and as an obedient man is perfectly and freely docile to the order given him. This third mode of divine motion thus
•1 Luke 4: 1.
•2 Phil, a: 13: St. Thomas, In Ep. ad Rom., 8: 14: "For whosoever are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Likewise, In Comm, in Cantic., chap. i.
«8 See la Ilae, q. 111, a. 2.
In Matth., 4: 1: "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert.”
safeguards liberty and harmonizes with the infallibility of the divine foreknowledge and of the divine decree: “The Holy Ghost . . . does unfailingly whatever He wills to do. Hence it is impossible for these two things to be true at the same time—that the Holy Ghost should will to move a certain man to an act of charity, and that this man, by sinning, should lose charity.” 65
Evidently these three modes of motion, in the natural order and also in that of grace, are distinct, according as they are before human deliberation, 66 after it (or with it), or above it. 67 But the third of these modes is rarely found in the natural order, in geniuses or heroes, whereas in the order of grace it is normal, for reason, even enlightened by faith, acts in so human a manner as not to suffice to direct us toward our supernatural last end. 68
This doctrine of St. Thomas, confirming what he teaches on “the virtues of the purified soul,” 69 is reiterated exactly in the writings of St. John of the Cross 70 Where he speaks of these purified souls: “Thus ordinarily the first movements
05 See Ha Ilae, q.24, a. 11.
00 We do not actually deliberate for the purpose of desiring happiness, and if we do so to place our last end in God and not in a creature (la Ilae, q.89, a.6), it is not deliberation, properly speaking, which bears on the means (cf. Ia Ilae, q. 13, a.3, and Ha Ilae, q.24, a. 1 ad 3um): “Charity, whose object is the last end, should be described as residing in the will rather than in the free will/'
07 See Ia Ilae, q.9, a. 6 ad 3um. This is the explanation of that famous ad 3um which has been the object of so many controversies. Cf. Del Prado, De gratia et libero arbitrio, I, 236; II, 228, 256.
00 See Ia Ilae, q.68, a. 2 ad 3um: “Human reason as perfected in its natural perfection, or as perfected by the theological virtues, . . . does not know all things, nor all possible things. Consequently it is unable to avoid folly and other like things . . . ignorance, dullness of mind, and hardness of heart."
00 “There are the virtues of those who have already attained to the divine similitude: these are called the perfect virtues. Thus prudence sees nought else but the things of God; temperance knows no earthly desires; fortitude has no knowledge of passion; and justice, by imitating the divine mind, is united thereto by an everlasting covenant. Such are the virtues attributed to the blessed, or in this life, to some who are at the summit of perfection" (Ia Ilae, q.61, a.5).
to The Ascent of Mount Carmel, Bk. Ill, chap. 1.
of the powers in such souls are, as it were, divine. This is not to be wondered at since these powers are, in a fashion, transformed into the divine Being. 71 . . . God moves specially the powers of these souls . . . ; consequently, their works and prayers are always efficacious. Such were those of the glorious Mother of God, who from the beginning of her life, was raised to this high degree of union. There was never in her soul the impress of any created form whatsoever, capable of distracting her from God, for she was always docile to the motion of the Holy Ghost.” 72
Therefore every just man has, together with grace and the infused virtues, the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, which are related to charity, perfect the different virtues, and with them constitute a perfect supernatural organism ready to move deliberately and also to be moved by the Holy Ghost in a manner beyond all human consideration. This is why habitual or sanctifying grace is called “the grace of the virtues and of the gifts,” from the name of the infused habitus which spring from it, just as the faculties have their origin in the essence of the soul. 78
This supernatural organism, according to the teaching of St. Augustine and St. Thomas, we illustrate by the synopsis on the next page, where we note the correspondence of the virtues, the gifts, and the beatitudes indicated by these two great doctors.
In this summary, in which we have brought together the teaching of Scripture and of tradition on this subject, the
This transformation is the effect of a high degree of grace; since grace, being a participation of the divine nature, deifies us in a way. Cf. Ia Ilae, q. 112, a.i: “For it is as necessary that God alone should deify ... as it is impossible that anything save fire should enkindle.”
72 St. Thomas speaks in a like manner of the Blessed Virgin’s holiness (Ilia, q.27, a. 4).
73 “The grace of the virtues and gifts perfects the essence and powers of the soul sufficiently as regards ordinary conduct; but as regards certain special effects which are necessary in a Christian life, sacramental grace is needed” (Ilia, q.62, a. 2 ad lum).
The grace of the virtues and of the gifts theological virtues bearing directly on the end moral virtues bearing directly on the means
Virtues
Gifts
Beatitudes charity wisdom peacemakers
- faith understanding pure of heart hope knowledge those who weep prudence justice counsel the merciful
(religion)
piety the meek fortitude fortitude those who hunger after justice temperance fear the poor in spirit
Fruits of the Holy Ghost (Gal. 5:22-23)
charity peace i°y patience benignity goodness longanimity faith modesty continency chastity virtues are set down according to the order of their hierarchy, and the corresponding gifts in like manner. 74 The gift of knowledge is placed opposite hope, inasmuch as it acquaints us with the vanity of created things and human help, 75 and thus leads us to desire the possession of God and to hope in Him. The correspondence of the beatitudes is more clearly seen if we recall the reward promised to each one. 76 The last one (“Blessed are they who suffer persecution”) is not indicated, even though it is the most perfect, because it contains all the others in the midst of the greatest difficulties. 77
The order of the gifts of the Holy Ghost is clearly seen from the outline of what St. Thomas says of them, 78 as appears in the synopsis on the next page.
From this outline we see that the gifts of the intellect, which direct the others, are superior to them. 79 They perfect the intellect in its first two operations: simple apprehension and penetration of the truth, and judgment. There is no question of the third, reasoning or discourse, because the acts dependent on the gifts are not discursive, and are superior to the human mode of reasoning. The gift of wisdom is superior to that of understanding, for wisdom judges first principles themselves by the highest Cause. 80 Here we are concerned with judgment, not only according to the perfect use of speculative reason, as in acquired wisdom, but by connaturality or sym-
74 This enumeration of the gifts corresponds to that made by Isaias (11: 2) except for the gifts of counsel and of fortitude, which, because of their difficult matter, are placed by Isaias before those of knowledge and of piety, though they are simpliciter inferior to them. Cf. Ia Ilae, q.68, a.7.
75 Summa, Ila Ilae, q.9, a. 4.
7 « See Ia Ilae, q.69, a.3 ad sum, and Ila Ilae, q.8, a.7; q.9, a.4; q.45, a.6; q. 19, a. 12; q.121, a.2; q. 139, a.2.
77 See Ia Ilae, q.69, a.3 ad 5um. On the fruits of the Holy Ghost, cf. Ia Ilae, q.70, where St. Thomas shows clearly that they proceed from the Holy Ghost, according as He disposes our souls in regard to God, to our neighbor, and to inferior things.
78 Ibid., q.68, a.4; Ila Ilae, q.8, a.6.
79 Summa, Ia Ilae, q.68, a.7.
so Ibid., q.66, a. 5. In the preceding outline, to simplify the arrangement wisdom was placed after understanding. It should, however, precede it.
Gifts
Virtues
The gifts
"the understanding enlightened by faith for the penetration of truth...understanding, .faith
( divine things ... wisdom.charity created things .. knowledge ... .hope our actions ....counsel .prudence perfect the will and the sensitive appetites
"relative to the wor- ship due to God.
.... piety .
... (religion)
against the fear justice of danger.
.... fortitude ..«
,... fortitude against disorderly concupiscences .
.... fear .
... temperance
Ltheological
Imoral pathy with divine things; a connaturality founded on charity, or the supernatural love of God. 81
All the gifts are related to charity, 82 and as infused habitus they grow with charity, which ought always to increase until death. 88 Consequently, as we distinguish three degrees of charity (that of beginners, of proficients, and of the perfect), 84 we make the same distinction in regard to the gifts of the Holy Ghost. This point has been especially developed by Dionysius the Carthusian in his treatise on the gifts, 85 where he shows that their first degree corresponds to strict obligation, the second to the practice of the counsels, and the third to heroic acts. We will briefly indicate these three degrees: first, in the gift of knowledge and in the gifts subordinated to it; then, in the more elevated gifts of understanding and wisdom.
The gift of knowledge makes us judge created things supernaturally, either by showing us their nothingness, 86 or by disclosing to us the divine symbolism hidden in them. In the first degree, it makes us recognize the fact that in themselves creatures are nothing and that we should not be attached to them as to our last end, but should use them solely as a means to bring us to God. In the second degree, it leads us to use creatures with moderation and with interior detachment; at si “Wisdom denotes a certain rectitude of judgment according to the eternal law. Now, rectitude of judgment is twofold: first, on account of perfect use of reason, secondly, on account of a certain connaturality with the matter about which one has to judge . . . thus, Dionysius says (Div. Nom., ii) that Hierotheus is perfect in divine things, for he not only learns, but is patient of, divine things” (Ila Ilae, q.45, a.2).
82 Summa, la Ilae, q.68, a. 5.
83 Summa, Ila Ilae, q.184, a. 3.
8 *Ibid., q.24, a.9; q.183, a.4.
85 Opera omnia , 1908, XXXV, 157-260: De donis Spiritus Sanctu se Summa, Ila Ilae, q.9, a. 2, 4. This gift has an important place in the passive night of the senses; from it proceeds the holy sadness of which Christ speaks in the beatitude of tears.
the same time, by the spectacle of nature, it lifts us to God. 87 In the third degree, it bestows the spirit of renunciation, carried even to the heroic practice of the counsels. It makes us see the value of humiliations and sufferings, which render us like Christ crucified and which associate us with the great mystery of the redemption. This knowledge is no longer superficial and a simple remembrance of pious reading, but a profound conviction and true participation in the divine knowledge of created things. 88 It consists particularly in the knowledge of the gravity of sin, and has as its fruit the tears of contrition. Under the direction of the gift of knowledge, the gifts of counsel, fear, piety, and fortitude are exercised.
While the gift of knowledge directs us to a general point of view (detachment from created things), that of counsel, perfecting prudence, shows us in particular the best means of attaining the end. Where prudence would hesitate, it shows us what to do or to avoid, what to say or to suppress, and what to undertake or to abandon. 89 In the first degree, it directs us in matters of strict obligation; in the second, it inclines us to the generous practice of the evangelical counsels; and in the third, it makes us undertake holy works with heroic perfection. 90 It corresponds to the beatitude of the merciful, for it counsels the works of mercy. Only the merciful really know how to give afflicted souls good advice that will encourage them. 91
Under the direction of the gift of knowledge, the gift of fear strengthens temperance and chastity by making us avoid,
87 By this gift St. Francis of Assisi trod earthly things under foot and received such a penetrating intuition of the symbolism of nature that he called all creatures his brothers and sisters, and through them was lifted to God.
88 On these three degrees of the gift of knowledge, cf. Dionysius the Carthusian, op. cit ., tr. 3, a. 25.
89 Summa, Ila Ilae, q.52, a.i, 2. It makes us more surely avoid haste, rashness, inconsiderateness, negligence, and inconstancy. Cf. Ila Ilae, q. 53-55.
so Cf. Dionysius the Carthusian, op. cit., tr. 3, a.7.
Summa, Ila Ilae, q.52, a.4.
in the sight of God, the mistakes that our corrupted nature is prone to. 92 It corresponds to hope by leading us to a filial respect toward God. 98 In the first degree, it inspires horror of sin and arms us against temptation. 94 In the second, it bestows deeper filial respect for the divine Majesty, preserves us from irreverence to holy things, and also from presumption. In the third, it leads to the practice of perfect renunciation and of the mortification which St. Paul describes in the following words: “Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our body.” 95 Thus we can see how this fear, which has for its fruit the beatitude of the poor in spirit, is “the beginning of wisdom,” 96 of a very lofty wisdom.
This holy fear, however, should be accompanied by the gift of piety, which fills us with a filial affection for God our Father and makes us accomplish with our whole heart and with religious eagerness all that has to do with divine worship. This gift makes us cry: “Abba (Father),” as St. Paul says. 97 It corresponds to the beatitude of the meek, since it bestows a heavenly sweetness and thus leads us to comfort our afflicted neighbor because it makes us see in him a brother or a suffering member of Christ. 98 In its highest degree, the gift of piety strongly inclines us to give ourselves entirely to the service of God, to offer Him all our acts and sufferings as a perfect sacri fice. This gift makes us realize that communion is a participation in the sacrifice of the cross perpetuated on our altars; a participation by which our Lord wishes to render our hearts like His Sacred Heart of priest and victim, and to associate us with the deepest sentiments He experienced when instituting
»2 Ibid., q. 19, a. 9, c.; q. 141, a. 1 ad 311m.
os Ibid., a.9 ad lum.
94 Ps. 118: 120: “Pierce Thou my flesh with Thy fear.”
95 See II Cor. 4: 10.
98 Ps. 110: 10.
97 Rom. 8: 15.
98 Summa, Ha Ilae, q.121, a.i ad 3um; a.2.
3 02 CHRISTIAN PERFECTION the Holy Eucharist just before He went forth to die for us." Of this union with Christ the priest, St. Peter says: “Be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” 100
The gift of fortitude, under the same direction of the gifts of knowledge and counsel, gives us the courage to undertake great things for God and to bear crushing trials for Him. It comes to the aid of the virtue of fortitude in very difficult circumstances. This gift corresponds to the fourth beatitude: “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice,” and who, in spite of all obstacles, maintain unshaken confidence in the help of God. In the perfect, this gift imbues the soul with an irresistible attraction to the things of God; it leads the soul to suffer joyfully the most painful torments for God, for faith, and for justice. This gift enables humble virgins and weak children to win the crown of martyrdom. 101 It also sustains those who pass without weakening through the bitter crucible of the passive purifications of the soul, and who experience the truth of the Scriptural expression: “Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them.” 102 This gift is what made St. Paul exclaim: “I exceedingly abound with joy in all our tribulation”; 103 and also, “who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings
»» Summa, Ilia, q.79, a.2 ad lum: “We must first suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified afterward with Him (Rom. 8: 17).” Cf. Officium SS. Sacramenti. On the three degrees of the gift of piety, see also Dionysius the Carthusian, op. cit., tr. 3, a. 40. To the third degree of this gift, considered in relation to one’s neighbor, Dionysius refers St. Paul’s words: “I most gladly will spend and be spent myself for your soul; although loving you more, I be loved less” (II Cor. 12: 15).
100 See I Pet. 2: 5.
101 Summa, Ha Ilae, q.139, a.i, and Dionysius the Carthusian, op. ciL, tr. 3, a. 18.
102 Ps. 33: 20.
103 See II Cor. 7: 4.
of Christ in my flesh, for His body which is the Church.” 104
Knowledge, counsel, fear, piety, and fortitude are, as we have seen, the inferior gifts directed to victory over sin and to action. The soul, living habitually under the regime of these gifts, is already in the mystical life, even though mystical contemplation, which proceeds from the higher gifts, is not yet clearly discerned in it. This fact is important in practice, and should be clearly noted so as to maintain, always without exaggeration, the exact meaning of the doctrine which we defend, namely, the normal though eminent character of infused contemplation. Although infused contemplation is generally granted to the perfect, it is not always clearly characterized in them. But they are already in the mystical life if they live habitually under the regime of the gifts which correspond to the beatitudes of the flight from sin and to those of the active life. This is evident from what St. Thomas says about the first five beatitudes. 105 Thereby the soul is immediately prepared for infused contemplation, which is chiefly the fruit of the gifts of understanding and wisdom.
The gift of understanding makes us penetrate the meaning of revealed truths and discover the spirit beneath the letter. While faith is a simple assent to the word of God, an assent that exists in a believing soul even in the state of mortal sin, this gift, which like the others is found only in the just, implies a penetrating and progressive understanding of the mysteries of faith, the precepts, and the counsels. It does not remove
104 Col. 1: 24. Cf. St. Thomas, In Ep. ad Col. 1: 24. There is nothing lacking in the passion of Christ in itself. It has a superabundance and infinite value; there is something lacking only in its radiation in us. This is why St. Paul says: “I fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh,” in order to be associated in the great work of the redemption in Christ and through Him, in order to continue His redeeming work by the application of His merits. “Heirs indeed of God and joint-heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified with Him.”
10 $ Summa, la Ilae, q.69, a.3, 4. See also what St. Thomas says of the active life and its relation to the contemplative life and to the mixed or apostolic life (Ha Ilae, q. 179, 181, 182, 188, a.4, 6).
3«4 the obscurity of faith or its merit. It never gives us, while on earth, the evidence of mysteries, properly so called, for example, those of the Blessed Trinity, the incarnation, the redemption, and predestination. But it makes us perceive more and more clearly that the obscurity of these mysteries is the very opposite to the obscurity of incoherence and absurdity, and that it comes from a light which is too strong for our weak eyes. Thus it shows us the emptiness of the objections raised against faith, and it greatly confirms the motives of credibility, or signs of revelation. 108
In the first degree, the gift of understanding strengthens the faith of every good Christian to such an extent that illiterate persons, who cannot make a study of the motives of credibility, adhere to the word of God with a firmness which may surpass that of the faith of learned men. In the second degree, this gift discloses the consistency and sublimity of revealed mysteries. It also contributes greatly to the passive purification of the soul, by making us glimpse the infinite grandeur of God, His unfathomable perfections, the annihilations of the Word made flesh and, on the other hand, the depth of the wretchedness subsisting in us. It corresponds to the beatitude of the clean of heart. 107 In the third degree, this gift makes the soul penetrate the hidden depths of the divine mysteries; it unveils more and more the meaning of the prophecies and of our Lord’s words, and in a way makes us see God; “by the gift of understanding, we can, so to speak, see God,” 108 not by a positive, immediate intuition of the divine presence, but
106 Summa, Ila Ilae, q. 8 , a.i, 2, 4.
107 “For cleanness is twofold. One is a preamble and a disposition to seeing God, and consists in the heart being cleansed of inordinate affections: and this cleanness of heart is effected by the virtues and gifts belonging to the appetitive power. The other cleanness of heart ... is the cleanness of the mind that is purged of phantasms and errors . . . and this cleanness is the result of the gift of understanding” (ibid., a. 7).
108 “in this life . . . the (mind's) eye being cleansed by the gift of understanding, we can, so to speak, see God.” Thus, the reward of each of the eight beatitudes exists in a certain inchoative manner in Christian life on earth, which *s eternal life begun, semen gloriae (la Ilae, q.69, a. 2 ad sum).
by showing us more and more clearly what God is not, and how His intimate life infinitely exceeds the natural knowledge of every created and creatable intelligence. 108 Evidently the third degree of the gift of understanding, that which is normally proper to the perfect, belongs to the mystical life, strictly so called, as the principle of infused contemplation. We can easily understand this by reading the description of the third degree in the work of Dionysius the Carthusian. 110
Lastly, whereas the gift of understanding conceives and penetrates, that of wisdom makes us judge all created things by the taste, by the affective and sweet knowledge of God, their beginning and end. 111 Although in this life wisdom remains in the obscurity of faith, without seeing God as He is (sicuti est), nevertheless it contemplates Him in His intimate life in the measure in which we have an experimental knowledge of Him as the soul of our soul, the life of our life. As we take cognizance of our soul in our actions, 112 so, in a certain way, we have a quasi-experimental knowledge of God by the action He exercises in us and by the spiritual joy and peace we experience therefrom. 113 Thus St. Paul says: “For the
10 v Summa, Ila Ilae, q.8, a.7: “Again, the sight of God is twofold. One is perfect, whereby God’s Essence is seen: the other is imperfect, whereby though we see not what God is, yet we see what He is not; and whereby, the more perfectly do we know in this life, the more we understand that He surpasses all that the mind comprehends. Each of these visions of God belongs to the gift of understanding; the first, to the gift of understanding in its state of perfection, as possessed in heaven; the second, to the gift of understanding in its state of inchoation, as possessed by wayfarers/’
110 De donis, tr. 2, a. 35: “Ad tertium gradum (doni intellectus) id attinet ut singulorum fidei articulorum proprias rationes ac fundamenta quis purgatissima acie valeat considerare . . . atque certissimo mentis oculo quoeat delectabiliter speculari.”
111 Summa, Ila Ilae, q.45, a. 1, 2.
112 “Socrates or Plato perceives that he has an intellectual soul, because he perceives that he understands” (la, q.87, a.i).
11 * Summa, Ila Ilae, q.45, a.2, 5, and q.97, a.2 ad 2um, where it is stated: “There is a twofold knowledge of God’s goodness or will. One is speculative. • . . The other knowledge of God's will or goodness is affectve or experimental, and thereby a man experiences in himself the taste of God’s sweetness and complacency in God’s will, as Dionysius says of Hierotheos (Div. nom., ii) that he learns divine things through experience of them.” This does not require
Spirit Himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.” 114 Such is indeed, as St. Thomas and John of St. Thomas show, the effect of the gift of wisdom. We will quote in a note the formulas of the Master to which one must continually revert, as will be seen from what follows. 115
The gift of wisdom is thus the most perfect of all; it exerts the same influence over the other gifts as charity does on the virtues which are subordinated to it. Wisdom is, at one and the same time, eminently speculative and practical; 116 it appears in some souls especially under the first form, and in others more particularly under the second. Thus, there are saints called to the active life, like St. Vincent de Paul, who under a practical form have, nevertheless, a very profound mystical union with God. It is this which makes them see constantly in the poor, the sick, and abandoned children, the suffering infused ideas. St. Thomas says also in la, Dist. 14, q.2, a. 2 ad gum: “This knowledge is quasi-experimental.”
114 Rom. 8:16.
ns St. Thomas (In Ep. ad Rom. 8: 16) says: “ 4 Ipse enim Spiritus testimonium reddit spiritui nostro quod sumus filii Dei/ reddit testimonium per effectum amoris filialis quem in nobis facit.” Likewise in la Ilae, q.112, a.5: “Without special revelation the presence of God in us and His absence cannot be known with certainty. . . . But things are known conjecturally by signs; and thus anyone may know that he has grace, when he is conscious of delight in God, and of despising worldly things, and inasmuch as a man is not conscious of any mortal sin. And thus it is written (Apoc. 2: 17): ‘To him that overcometh I will give the hidden manna . . . which no man knoweth, but he that receiveth it/ because whoever receives it knows, by experiencing a certain sweetness, which he who does not receive it, does not experience.” It is with this meaning, moreover, that this text of the Apocalypse is generally quoted by mystics.
John of St. Thomas explains this doctrine clearly by saying: “Sicut contactus animae quo experimentaliter sentitur, etiamsi in sua substantia non videatur, est informatio et animatio, qua corpus reddit vivum et animatum, ita contactus Dei quo sentitur experimentaliter, et ut objectum conjunctum, etiam antequam videatur intuitive in se, est contactus operationis intimae, quo operatur intra cor, ita ut sentiatur, et experimentaliter manifestetur, eo quod ‘unctio ejus docet nos de omnibus/ ut dicitur I Joan. 4. . . .
“Haec cognitio experimentalis datur etiamsi intuitive non videatur in se sufficit quod per proprios effectus, quasi per tactum et vivificationem sentiatur, sicut animam nostram experimentaliter cognoscimus, etiamsi intuitive ejus substantiam non videamus.” John of St. Thomas, on la, q.43, disp. 17, a. 3, nos. 13, 17. Also Vallgornera, Theol. myst. D. Thomae, Vol. II, no. 866.
n« Summa, Ila Ilae, q.45, a. 3.
members of Christ. It is very important to note these practical forms of the mystical life if we are to understand clearly the meaning of the doctrine which we hold as traditional, and if we do not wish to apply it materially in the same way to all souls. St. Paul was thinking of this gift when he said: “Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect. . . . But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden. ... So the things also that are of God no man knoweth, but the Spirit of God. ... Now we have received . . . the Spirit that is of God. . . . The spiritual man judgeth all things; and he himself is judged of no man. . . . But we have the mind of Christ.” 117 This experience of divine things gives a certitude which fills the soul with ineffable consolation. 118 The gift of wisdom thus corresponds to the beatitude of the peacemakers, 119 who, in the midst of all that might trouble them, preserve deep peace, the tranquillity of order, so as to communicate it to others. They are accustomed to contemplate all things in God, unforeseen and most painful events, as well as those that are most consoling.
This gift is bestowed on us according to the measure of our charity, by virtue of its intimate connection with charity. Moreover, we can see in it, better than in the other gifts, the three degrees corresponding to those of charity. In the first degree, wisdom shows us principally the grandeur of God's commandments and gives us an attraction to what is good. “But it is good for me to adhere to my God.” 120 In the second degree, it makes us see how valuable the counsels are and how all Christians should have the spirit of the counsels, even when their condition does not permit the practice of them. Illumined by the light of contemplation, a soul which
117 See I Cor. 2: 6-16; and St. Thomas, Ila Ilae, q.45, a. 1. ns Cf. St. Thomas on Ps. 33: 9: "O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet.” "The effect of experience is twofold: one is certitude of the intellect, the other security of the affections.” ns Summa , Ila Ilae, q*45 # a. 6.
Vio p s . 73: 38.
passes through the night of the spirit more and more appreciates the cross of Jesus; at times, it even finds therein a spiritual sweetness and a “peace which surpasses all understanding.” In the third degree, the soul is transformed by the gift of wisdom. In the light of this gift, says St. Thomas, “the perfect aim chiefly at union with and enjoyment of God, and desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ.” 121 Like St. Paul the soul takes pleasure “in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ.” 122 This is the eighth beatitude, the highest of all. 128
Evidently this third degree of the gift of wisdom belongs to the mystical life, strictly so called, even when this degree of wisdom appears under a practical form, as it does in the saints called to the active life. Dionysius the Carthusian, following the principles of St. Thomas, brings this out in his description of this third degree. He says: “The spirit no longer rests in any created thing for itself; it is completely fixed in the contemplation of divine things, a contemplation, which is very pure, easy, and sweet, now that the passions are calmed and the soul purified ... as far as human frailty permits. This wisdom belongs to those who can say with St. Paul (II Cor. 3: 18): ‘But we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory as by the spirit of the Lord.’ ” 124 We ought
121 Summa, Ila Ilae, q.24> a.9: “The divers degrees of charity are distinguished according to the different pursuits to which man is brought by the increase of charity (beginners, proficients, and the perfect). . . . Man’s third pursuit is to aim chiefly at union with and enjoyment of God: this belongs to the perfect who desire to be dissolved and be with Christ.” Likewise In Ep. ad Phil. 1: 23.
122 See II Cor. 12: 10.
123 Summa, la Ilae, q.69, a.3 ad 5um.
12 De donis, tr. 2, a. 15: “Quod donum sapientiae et virtus caritatis divinae proportionaliter crescunt simul.” Art. 16: “And I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me” (Gal. 2: 20). Dionysius observes here that these three degrees of the gift of wisdom correspond to the three degrees of the moral virtues explained by St. Thomas, la Ilae, q.61, a.5, where he divides the virtues into social virtues, perfecting virtues, and perfect virtues. Cf. Dionysius, De fonte lucis, a. 12, * 5 » an d De cont., Bk. I, 3.44 In these works we find a similar description of all to desire this divine wisdom which normally increases with charity, which ought to grow continually in this life. 125
What is extraordinary is supereminent contemplation which proceeds not only from the gifts of the Holy Ghost, but from a grace gratis data, like that of prophecy, or that called by St. Thomas sermo sapientiae. Moreover, after stating that all the just receive the gift of wisdom in the measure necessary to their own sanctification, St. Thomas adds: '‘Some, however, receive a higher degree of the gift of wisdom, both as to the contemplation of divine things (by both knowing more exalted mysteries and being able to impart this knowledge to others) and as to the direction of human affairs according to divine rules (by being able to direct not only themselves but also others according to those rules). This degree of wisdom is not common to all that have sanctifying grace, but belongs rather to the gratuitous graces.” 126 We must also remark that these graces, like prophecy, are not precisely necessary for this act of contemplation, but they simply help to render it more complete and more perfect. 127 What would be even more extraordinary is the beatific vision granted in a transitory manner in this life, as St. Augustine and St. Thomas thought that it was granted to Moses and St. Paul. 128 the gift of wisdom. In De fonte lucis (a. 12, 15) it is clearly stated that that is properly the contemplatio unitivae ac mysticae sapientiae which unites us to God tanquam prorsus ignoto in the transluminous darkness, per supersplendentem caliginem, of which Dionysius the Mystic speaks, and St. Thomas after him (In lib. de div. nom chap. 1, lect. 1; chap. 7, lect. 4).
125 Cf. Henry Suso, L’Exemplaire , Part I, chap. 4; Part III, chap. 1; Ruysbroeck, Le royaume des amants, chap. 33.
126 Summa, Ha Ilae, q.45, a.5; and on graces gratis datae, la Ilae, q. 111, a. 1.
127 Cf. Thomas of Jesus, C.D., De contemplatione, Bk. II, chaps. 3-5; De oratione, Bk. II, chaps. 1, 4; Schram, Theol. myst., I, 2; chap. 4, sec. 244. “Solum probatur contemplationem secundum essentiam suam non consistere in his gratiis, sed per illas juvari accidental!ter et perfici directe in ordine ad alios, indirecte in ordine ad se. . . . Quia sermo est de contemplatione perfecta, quae supponit vel facit animam perfectam, haec nequit a solis gratiis gratis datis procedere, cum sit caritate formata, et elevata donis Spiritus Sancti.” Cf. Meynard, O.P., Traite de la vie interieure, Vol. II, nos. 42-46.
128 Summa, Ila Ilae, q. 175, a. 3-6.
This is the Angelic Doctor’s teaching on the special inspiration of the Holy Ghost in the souls of the just, and on its progress, which usually accompanies that of charity. If we recall that, in his opinion, the perfection of charity is not only of counsel, but falls under the first precept as the end to which all must tend, each one according to his condition, 129 we shall see more and more clearly that infused contemplation, proceeding from the gift of wisdom, is truly found in the normal way of sanctity and that it is generally granted to the perfect.
We must now make a more profound study of the gift of wisdom in particular, and of its relation to faith and to infused contemplation.
Footnotes
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This inspiration and illumination are quite manifest, if not for the person who receives them, at least for the experienced spiritual director to whom the soul reveals itself. We will explain this later on. The soul may, in fact, be in the mystical state without knowing it. This is the case with certain very pure and simple souls who have never heard of the passive state, but who are in it, as St. Teresa remarked on more than one occasion. ↩
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St. Teresa says: “Here, indeed, learning would be very much to the pur pose, in order to explain the general and particular helps of grace; for there are many who know nothing about them. Learning would serve to show how our Lord now will have the soul to see, as it were, with the naked eye, as men speak, this particular help of grace" (Life, chap. 14). This is a dear statement about the special inspiration to which the gifts of the Holy Ghost make us dodle. ↩
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*Summa, la Ilae, q.68, a.3; a.2 ad lum; III Sent., D. XXXIV, q.i, a.i. ↩
Chapter 19 of 31