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A. An effect is that which is caused by something else, as smoke, for example,
is an effect of fire.
A. Redemption means the buying back of a thing that was given away or sold.
A. By his sin Adam gave away all right to God's promised gifts of grace in this
world and of glory in the next, and Our Lord bought back the right that Adam
threw away.
A. The chief effects of the Redemption are two: The satisfaction of God's
justice by Christ's sufferings and death, and the gaining of grace for men.
A. We say "chief effects" to show that these are the most important but not the
only effects of the Redemption -- for all the benefits of our holy religion and
of its influence upon the world are the effects of the redemption.
A. God's justice required satisfaction because it is infinite and demands
reparation for every fault. Man in his state of sin could not make the
necessary reparation, so Christ became man and made it for him.
A. By grace I mean a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us, through the
merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation.
A. Supernatural means above or greater than nature. All gifts such as health,
learning or the comforts of life, that affect our happiness chiefly in this
world, are called natural gifts, and all gifts such as blessings that affect
our happiness chiefly in the next world are called supernatural or spiritual
gifts.
A. Merit means the quality of deserving well or ill for our actions. In the
question above it means a right to reward for good deeds done.
A. There are two kinds of grace, sanctifying grace and actual grace.
A. Sanctifying grace remains with us as long as we are not guilty of mortal
sin; and hence, it is often called habitual grace; but actual grace comes to us
only when we need its help in doing or avoiding an action, and it remains with
us only while we are doing or avoiding the action.
A. Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to
God.
A. Those graces or gifts of God by which we believe in Him, and hope in Him,
and love Him, are called the Divine virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.
A. Virtue is the habit of doing good, and vice is the habit of doing evil. An
act, good or bad, does not form a habit; and hence, a virtue or a vice is the
result of repeated acts of the same kind.
A. Habit does not excuse us from the sins committed through it, but rather
makes us more guilty by showing how often we must have committed the sin to
acquire the habit. If, however, we are seriously trying to overcome a bad
habit, and through forgetfulness yield to it, the habit may sometimes excuse us
from the sin.
A. Faith is a Divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which God has
revealed.
A. Hope is a Divine virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give us
eternal life and the means to obtain it.
A. Charity is a Divine virtue by which we love God above all things for His own
sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.
A. Faith, Hope and Charity are called virtues because they are not mere acts,
but habits by which we always and in all things believe God, hope in Him, and
love Him.
A. Faith, Hope and Charity are called infused theological virtues to
distinguish them from the four moral virtues -- Prudence, Justice, Fortitude
and Temperance.
A. We say the three theological virtues are infused; that is, poured into our
souls, because they are strictly gifts of God and do not depend upon our
efforts to obtain them, while the four moral virtues -- Prudence, Justice,
Fortitude and Temperance -- though also gifts of God, may, as natural virtues,
be acquired by our own efforts.
A. We believe God and hope in Him because He is infinitely true and cannot
deceive us. We love Him because He is infinitely good and beautiful and worthy
of all love.
A. Atheism, which is a denial of all revealed truths, and heresy, which is a
denial of some revealed truths, and superstition, which is a misuse of
religion, are opposed to Faith.
A. Every human being capable of salvation of every age, country, race or
condition, especially if he needs our help, is our neighbor in the sense of the
Catechism.
A. We should love our neighbor because he is a child of God, redeemed by Jesus
Christ, and because he is our brother created to dwell in heaven with us.
A. Actual grace is that help of God which enlightens our mind and moves our
will to shun evil and do good.
A. Grace is necessary to salvation, because without grace we can do nothing to
merit heaven.
A. We can, and unfortunately often do, resist the grace of God.
A. It is a sin, knowingly, to resist the grace of God, because we thereby
insult Him and reject His gifts without which we cannot be saved.
A. God gives to everyone He creates sufficient grace to save his soul; and if
persons do not save their souls, it is because they have not used the grace
given.
A. The grace of perseverance is a particular gift of God which enables us to
continue in the state of grace till death.
A. We cannot merit the grace of final perseverance, or know when we possess it,
because it depends entirely upon God's mercy and not upon our actions. To
imagine we possess it would lead us into the sin of presumption.
A. A person cannot merit any supernatural reward for good deeds performed while
he is in mortal sin; nevertheless, God rewards such good deeds by giving the
grace of repentance; and, therefore, all persons, even those in mortal sin,
should ever strive to do good.
A. God rewards our good intention and desire to serve Him, even when our works
are not successful. We should make this good intention often during the day,
and especially in the morning.
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