Chapter II: Part I: Actual Grace

Actual grace is a transient supernatural help given by God from the treasury of the merits of Jesus Christ for the purpose of enabling man to work out his eternal salvation.

We shall consider: (1) The Nature of Actual Grace; (2) Its Properties, and (3) Its Relation to Free-Will.

GENERAL READINGS:—St. Thomas, _Summa Theologica_, 1a 2ae, qu.
109-114, and the commentators, especially Billuart, _De Gratia_
(ed. Lequette, t. III); the Salmanticenses, _De Gratia Dei_
(_Cursus Theologiae_, Vol. IX sqq., Paris 1870); Thomas de Lemos,
_Panoplia Divinae Gratiae_, Liège 1676; Dominicus Soto, _De Natura
et Gratia_, l. III, Venice 1560; *Ripalda,(2) _De Ente
Supernaturali_, 3 vols. (I, Bordeaux 1634; II, Lyons 1645; III,
Cologne 1648).

*C. v. Schäzler, _Natur und Übernatur: Das Dogma von der Gnade_,
Mainz 1865; IDEM, _Neue Untersuchungen über das Dogma von der
Gnade_, Mainz 1867; *J. E. Kuhn, _Die christliche Lehre von der
göttlichen Gnade_, Tübingen 1868; Jos. Kleutgen, S. J., _Theologie
der Vorseit_, Vol. II, 2nd ed., pp. 152 sqq., Münster 1872; R.
Cercià, _De Gratia Christi_, 3 vols., Paris 1879; *C. Mazzella, S.
J., _De Gratia Christi_, 4th ed., Rome 1895; *J. H. Oswald, _Die
Lehre von der Heiligung, d. i. Gnade, Rechtfertigung, Gnadenwahl_,
3rd ed., Paderborn 1885; *D. Palmieri, S. J., _De Gratia Divina
Actuali_, Gulpen 1885; *Heinrich-Gutberlet, _Dogmatische
Theologie_, Vol. VIII, Mainz 1897; *S. Schiffini, S. J., _De
Gratia Divina_, Freiburg 1901; G. Lahousse, S. J., _De Gratia
Divina_, Louvain 1902; Chr. Pesch, S. J., _Praelectiones
Dogmaticae_, Vol. V, 3rd ed., Freiburg 1908; G. van Noort, _De
Gratia Christi_, Amsterdam 1908; E. J. Wirth, _Divine Grace_, New
York 1903; S. J. Hunter, S. J., _Outlines of Dogmatic Theology_,
Vol. III, pp. 1 sqq.; Wilhelm-Scannell, _A Manual of Catholic
Theology_, Vol. II, 2nd ed., pp. 227 sqq., London 1901; A. Devine,
_The Sacraments Explained_, 3rd ed. pp. 1-43, London 1905.—L.
Labauche, S. S., _God and Man, Lectures on Dogmatic Theology II_,
pp. 123 sqq., New York 1916.—J. E. Nieremberg, S. J., _The Marvels
of Divine Grace_, tr. by Lady Lovat, London 1917.

On the teaching of the Fathers cfr. Isaac Habert, _Theologiae
Græcorum Patrum Vindicatae circa Universam Materiam Gratiae Libri
III_, Paris 1646; E. Scholz, _Die Lehre des hl. Basilius von der
Gnade_, Freiburg 1881; Hümmer, _Des hl. Gregor von Nazianz Lehre
von der Gnade_, Kempten 1890; E. Weigl, _Die Heilslehre des hl.
Cyrill von Alexandrien_, Mainz 1905.

Chapter I. The Nature Of Actual Grace