Chapter 7

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.