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Sola Fides vs Salve Gratias: Saved By Grace! Part 1

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JMJ

 Protestants believe that we are saved by Faith Alone (Sola Fides), even though the 'alone' part was added by Luther.

What do Catholics believe?

I had heard Steve Wood of Family Life International mention (https://www.dads.org), in response to Protestants,  that we are saved by Grace and I realized that I didn't know enough about this topic. So I dusted of my electronic copy of  Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma writtne by Ludwig Ott and dove into a study.

All quotes are from Ott's discussion on the Salvation

So I can now report that, yes the correct Catholic answer is that we are saved by Grace and the core seems to be the following:

  • The source of the Subjective Redemption is the Triune God.
    •     Since however, the communication of grace is a work of the Divine Love, it is “appropriated" to the Holy Ghost, i.e., to the Personal Divine Love.
    •     Nevertheless it is effected by the Three Persons in common.
    •     The Subjective Redemption, however, is not the work of God alone.
    •     By reason of the fact that God has endowed human nature with reason and free will, Justification requires the free cooperation of men (D 799).
    •     The unfathomable mystery of the doctrine of grace lies in this intimate mutual co-operation of Divine power and human freedom.
    •     The final object of the Subjective Redemption is the Beatific Vision.

 


 The causal chain of salvation is founded on the Vicarious Atonement made by Our Lord Jesus Christ in His death on the cross. As stated above the subjective redemption is not the work of God alone, as there is the mutual cooperation in the act due to our free-will.


 So yes, we are not saved by Faith Alone as the protestants want to believe, but at the core by the Grace provided by God and our cooperation with that Grace.

 I get the sense that I've just touched the surface of this topic and will do a follow-up article when time allows.

The full map is attached below.

P^3





 

 

 



 

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