The Effects of Grace

A man is justified by the remission or removal of the guilt of sin.

This removal or remission of sins is effected in man bythe in-pouring of supernatural grace.

God gives the grace which justifies; he also gives to free will the grace to accept justification. God moves all things according to the nature he gave them in creating them; to man’s nature he gave free will; hence, by grace he moves man’s will to accept freely the justifying or sanctifying grace which removes the guilt of sin from the soul.

To move the will to accept grace, the mind or intellect is moved; for free will follows in its choice the ultimate practical judgment of the intellect. Now, the intellect is here moved by being turned to God by faith. Hence, a movement of faith is required for the justifying of a sinner.

Since free will cannot choose to turn to God unless it also chooses to turn away from sin, there are two will-acts required for justification: the repudiating of sin, and the embracing of God’s justice.

Four things are required for the justification of as inner: (a) the infusion of grace; (b) the movement of the freewill towards God; (c) the movement of the free will to reject sin;(d) the remission of sins.

The justification of a sinner, which is the change fromthe state of sin to the state of grace, is not a gradual change butan instantaneous one. The effective factor in this change is the infusion of grace, and this is an instantaneous act. Sometimes,indeed, the soul is gradually disposed, by successive influences,to receive justification. But the actual justification does not consume time, or admit of successive degrees or steps.

In the actual justification of a sinner, all fourrequisites-grace, faith, hatred of sin, remission-concur in thesame instant. But in their own nature there is priority among theserequisites for justification. Thus considered, first comes the infusion of grace; then, the will’s movement towards God by faith and love; then, the will’s rejection of sin; finally, there mission of guilt.

The justifying of sinners by grace can be called the greatest work of God. Not only is this work great in itself; it is great in the fact that it is done for those unworthy of it. Psalm144 says that God’s tendermercies are over all his works. And the work of justifying a sinner is a work of most tender mercy.

Apart from wondrous and unusual manifestations, as in the conversion of St. Paul, the justifying of a sinner is not called a miracle. For a miracle, taken in its widest meaning as a wondrouswork divinely wrought, is always something outside the usual course of God’s proceeding with men. Now, justification regularly proceeds by the same course: grace, faith, rejection of sin,remission.