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| Image: Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) |
He [Aquinas] argues: (1) While people can know some truth without grace, there are truths to which only grace can lead them to assent (1a2ae,109,1); (2) While people can do some good without grace, they need grace to act perfectly (1a2ae,109,2); (3) While people considered as human are naturally drawn to the goodness that is God, the descendants of Adam need grace in order to love God above all things (1a2ae,109,3); (4) We now need God’s grace in order to be morally perfect and to act in accordance with ways in which God has taught us by revelation to behave (1a2ae,109,4); (5) Nobody can merit eternal life without the assistance of grace (1a2ae,109,5); (6) People cannot prepare themselves for grace without the assistance of grace (1a2ae,109,6); (7) Nobody can “return from the state of guilt to the state of justice” without grace (1a2ae,109,7); and (8) The descendants of Adam, unlike Adam himself, cannot refrain from sinning mortally without grace and need grace in order to persevere in good even after they have already received grace (1a2ae,109,8 and 10).
Brian Davies, Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologica: A Guide and Commentary (p. 225)
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