Part 55 (1/2)
Canon 3. Whoever says that the grace of G.o.d can be bestowed in reply to human pet.i.tion, but not that the grace brings it about so that it is asked for by us, contradicts Isaiah the prophet and the Apostle [Is. 65:1; Rom.
10:20].
Canon 4. Whoever contends that our will, to be set free from sin, may antic.i.p.ate G.o.ds action, and shall not confess that it is brought about by the infusion of the Holy Spirit and his operation in us, that we wish to be set free, resists that same Holy Spirit speaking through Solomon: The will is prepared by the Lord [Proverbs 8:35, _cf._ LXX; not so in Vulgate or Heb.], and the Apostle [Phil. 2:13].
Canon 5. Whoever says the increase, as also the beginning of faith and the desire of believing, by which we believe in Him who justifies the impious, and we come to the birth of holy baptism, is not by the free gift of grace, that is, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit turning our will from unbelief to belief, from impiety to piety, but belongs naturally to us, is declared an adversary of the apostolic preaching [Phil. 1:6; Ephes.
2:8]. For they say that faith by which we believe in G.o.d is natural, and they declare that all those who are strangers to the Church of Christ in some way are believing.
Canon 6. Whoever says that to us who, without the grace of G.o.d, believe, will, desire, attempt, struggle for, watch, strive for, demand, ask, knock, mercy is divinely bestowed, and does not rather confess that it is brought about by the infusion and inspiration of the Holy Spirit in us that believe, will, and do all these other things as we ought, and annexes the help of grace to human humility and obedience, and does not admit that it is the gift of that same grace that we are obedient and humble, opposes the Apostle [I Cor. 4:7].
Canon 7. Whoever a.s.serts that by the force of nature we can rightly think or choose anything good, which pertains to eternal life, or be saved, that is, a.s.sent to the evangelical preaching, without the illumination of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all grace to a.s.sent to and believe the truth, is deceived by an heretical spirit, not understanding the voice of the Lord [John 15:5], and of the Apostle [II Cor. 3:5].
Canon 8. Whoever a.s.serts that some by mercy, others by free will, which in all who have been born since the transgression of the first man is evidently corrupt, are able to come to the grace of baptism, is proved an alien from the faith. For he a.s.serts that the free will of all has not been weakened by the sin of the first man, or he evidently thinks that it has been so injured that some, however, are able without the revelation of G.o.d to attain, by their own power, to the mystery of eternal salvation.
Because the Lord himself shows how false this is, who declares that not some, but no one was able to come to Him unless the Father drew him [John 6:4], and said so to Peter [Matt. 16:17] and the Apostle [I Cor. 12:3].
The canons that follow are less important. The whole concludes with a brief statement regarding the points at issue, as follows:
And so according to the above sentences of the Holy Scriptures and definitions of ancient Fathers, by G.o.ds aid, we believe that we ought to believe and preach:
That by the sin of the first man, free will was so turned aside and weakened that afterward no one is able to love G.o.d as he ought, or believe in G.o.d, or do anything for G.o.d, which is good, except the grace of divine mercy comes first to him [Phil. 1:6, 29; Ephes. 2:8; I Cor. 4:7, 7:25; James 1:17; John 3:27].
We also believe this to be according to the Catholic faith, that grace having been received in baptism, all who have been baptized, can and ought, by the aid and support of Christ, to perform those things which belong to the salvation of the soul, if they labor faithfully.
But not only do we not believe that some have been predestinated to evil by the divine power, but also, if there are any who wish to believe so evil a thing, we say to them, with all detestation, anathema.
Also this we profitably confess and believe, that in every good we do not begin and afterward are a.s.sisted by the mercy of G.o.d, but without any good desert preceding, He first inspires in us faith and love in Him, so that we both faithfully seek the sacrament of baptism, and after baptism with His help are able to perform those things which are pleasing to Him.
Whence it is most certainly to be believed that in the case of that thief, whom the Lord called to the fatherland of paradise, and Cornelius the Centurion, to whom an angel of the Lord was sent, and Zacchus, who was worthy of receiving the Lord himself, their so wonderful faith was not of nature, but was the gift of the divine bounty.
And because we desire and wish our definition of the ancient Fathers, written above, to be a medicine not only for the clergy but also for the laity, it has been decided that the ill.u.s.trious and n.o.ble men, who have a.s.sembled with us at the aforesaid festival, shall subscribe it with their own hand.
86. The Roman Church as the Centre of the Catholic Roman Element of the West
In the confusion of the fifth century, when the provinces of the Roman Empire were being lopped off one by one, Italy invaded, and the larger political inst.i.tutions disappearing, the Church was the one inst.i.tution that maintained itself. In not a few places among the barbarians the bishops became the acknowledged heads of the Roman element of the communities. In meeting the threatened invasion of Italy by Attila, Leo was the representative of the Roman people, the head of the emba.s.sy sent to induce the Hun to recross the Danube. Under such circ.u.mstances the see of Rome constantly gained in importance politically and ecclesiastically.
As a centre of unity it was far more powerful than a feeble emperor at Ravenna or puppets set up by barbarians. It was the one and only great link between the provinces and the representative of the ancient order. It represented Rome, an efficient and generally gratefully recognized authority. In the development of the papal idea the first stadium was completed with the pontificate of Leo the Great (440-461), who, fully conscious of the inherited Petrine prerogatives, expressed them the most clearly, persistently, and, on the whole, most successfully of any pontiff before Gregory the Great. Leo, therefore, stands at the end of a development marked by the utterances of Victor, Cornelius, Siricius, Innocent I, Zosimus, Boniface I, and Celestine. For their statements of the authority of the Roman see, see Denziger, under their names, also Kirch and Mirbt. The whole may be found combined in one statement in Schwanne, _Dogmengeschichte_, I, 413 _f._; II, 661-698.
Additional source material: In English there is comparatively little except the writings of Leo, see especially _Sermones_ 2, 82, 84; _Epistul_ 4, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 105, 167; Jerome, _Ep._ 146, _ad Evangelum_. Kirch, Mirbt, and Denziger give many references to original texts and citations.