Salvation in Catholicism

I just uploaded as a page, it is shown at top right of my blog, my post on Salvation in Catholicism.  It is brief explanation of Catholic understanding of salvation and its related issues.  Some of its statement were copied from my earlier posts.  My hope is I can explain in easy-to-undersatnd way the teaching of the Catholic Church on Salvation.

Grace and free will, which comes first?

While Catholics believe in human freedom it should be noted that we can exercise our freedom after being moved first by God’s Grace, i.e. we can choose whether to cooperate with His Grace or to reject it.

When God touches man’s heart through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, man himself is not inactive while receiving that inspiration, since he could reject it; and yet, without God’s grace, he cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God’s sight.

Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1993 (underlined emphasis added)

Thus Catholics believe that God, not us, who takes the first initiative in our salvation.  Those who believe that we, in using our freedom, can initiate our salvation and then God will assist us by giving us grace follow the teaching of Pelagian or Semi-Pelagian.   On this issue Augustine wrote (English translation from Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers or NPNF series I, Vol. 5, available online at www.ccel.org):

When God says, “Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you,” [Zechariah 1:3] one of these clauses-that which invites our return to God-evidently belongs to our will; while the other, which promises His return to us, belongs to His grace. Here, possibly, the Pelagians think they have a justification for their opinion which they so prominently advance, that God’s grace is given according to our merits. In the East, indeed, that is to say, in the province of Palestine, in which is the city of Jerusalem, Pelagius, when examined in person by the bishop, did not venture to affirm this. For it happened that among the objections which were brought up against him, this in particular was objected, that he maintained that the grace of God was given according to our merits,-an opinion which was so diverse from catholic doctrine, and so hostile to the grace of Christ, that unless he had anathematized it, as laid to his charge, he himself must have been anathematized on its account. He pronounced, indeed, the required anathema upon the dogma, but how insincerely his later books plainly show; for in them he maintains absolutely no other opinion than that the grace of God is given according to our merits. Such passages do they collect out of the Scriptures,-like the one which I just now quoted, “Turn ye unto me, and I will turn unto you,”-as if it were owing to the merit of our turning to God that His grace were given us, wherein He Himself even turns unto us. Now the persons who hold this opinion fail to observe that, unless our turning to God were itself God’s gift, it would not be said to Him in prayer, “Turn us again, O God of hosts [Psalms 80:7];”.and, “Thou, O God, wilt turn and quicken us [Psalms 85:6];.and again, “Turn us, O God of our salvation [Psalms 85:4],”-with other passages of similar import, too numerous to mention here. For, with respect to our coming unto Christ, what else does it mean than our being turned to Him by believing? And yet He says: “No man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. [John 6:65]“.

Augustine, A Treatise on Grace and Freewill, Chapter 10

Grace and human freedom

The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares (# 2001): The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace.  God through His grace always takes the initiative for our salvation.  This vocation of eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely ob God’s gratuitous initiative (ibid # 1998). We, in using our freedom, respond to it.  God’s free initiative demands man’s free response (ibid # 2002).   Thus in Catholic teaching we have freedom to choose between good and evil (ibid # 1732); yet the Catechism also reminds us that without God’s grace, he [man] cannot by his own free will move himself toward justice in God’s sight (ibid # 1993).  We cannot do anything good without first being moved by God’s grace.

Now the Lord Himself not only shows us what evil we should shun, and what good we should do, which is all that the letter of the law is able to effect; but He moreover helps us that we may shun evil and do good [Psalms 37:27], which none can do without the Spirit of grace; and if this be wanting, the law comes in merely to make us guilty and to slay us. It is on this account that the apostle says, “The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life [2 Corinthians 3:6]. He, then, who lawfully uses the law learns therein evil and good, and, not trusting in his own strength, flees to grace, by the help of which he may shun evil and do good. But who is there who flees to grace except when “the steps of a man are ordered by the Lord, and He shall determine his way”? [Psalms 37:23] And thus also to desire the help of grace is the beginning of grace; of which, says he, “And I said, Now I have begun; this is the change of the right hand of the Most High.” [Psalms 76:10]. It is to be confessed, therefore, that we have free choice to do both evil and good; but in doing evil every one is free from righteousness and a servant of sin, while in doing good no one can be free, unless he have been made free by Him who said, “If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed.” [John 8:36]. Neither is it thus, that when any one has been made free from the dominion of sin, he no longer needs the help of his Deliverer; but rather thus, that hearing from Him, “Without me ye can do nothing,” [John 15:5]. he himself also says to Him, “Be thou my helper! Forsake me not.” [Psalms 27:9]. I rejoice that I have found in our brother Florus also this faith, which without doubt is the true and prophetical and apostolical and catholic faith; whence those are the rather to be corrected-whom indeed I now think to have been corrected by the favour of God-who did not understand him.

Augustine, A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace, Chapter 2 (underlined emphasis is added)

English translation from Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers (NPNF), Series I, Vol. 5

(available online at www.ccel.org)