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Dist. 15, Part 2, Art. 1, Q. 3

Book I: On the Mystery of the Trinity · Distinction 15

Textus Latinus
p. 272

QUAESTIO III.

Utrum Filius et Spiritus sanctus mittantur, quando dona gratiae augmentantur.

Tertio quaeritur, utrum missio Filii et Spiritus sancti sit secundum eadem dona gratiae augmentata. Et quod sic, videtur exemplo, auctoritate et ratione.

1. Exemplo sic: constat, in die Pentecostes Apostolis esse Spiritum sanctum missum, non tantum visibiliter, sed etiam invisibiliter, quia missio visibilis sine invisibili non confert: sed ipsi prius habebant gratiam: ergo etc.

2. Item, hoc videtur auctoritate Rabani1: «In baptismo datur Spiritus sanctus ad habitationem Deo consecrandam, sed in confirmatione cum omni plenitudine sanctitatis venit in hominem»: ergo datur in confirmatione post baptismum: ergo etc.

3. Item, augmentum gratiae est per gratiae additionem; sed ubi est gratiae additio, ibi est2 gratiae donatio; sed «Spiritus sanctus mittitur vel datur, cum datur eius gratia», ut dicit Beda3: ergo in augmento gratiae datur vel mittitur Spiritus sanctus.

4. Item, non minus donum est caritatem consummare4 quam inchoare: ergo si mittitur Filius vel Spiritus sanctus, cum gratia inchoatur, multo fortius cum consummatur; sed consummatur per augmentum: ergo mittitur in augmento.

Contra:

1. Spiritus sanctus non mittitur in hominem, ut de novo sit in eo, sed ut aliter sit in ipso; sed in eo, in quo augetur gratia, non est aliter quam prius: ergo ad illum5 non mittitur.

2. Item, si mittitur in augmento gratiae, aut ergo quia de novo mittitur, aut quia abundantius mittitur; non quia de novo: ergo quia abundantius. Sed contra: mitti est procedere, ergo abundantius mitti est abundantius procedere; sed semper aequaliter procedit: ergo etc.

3. Item, si mittitur in gratiae augmento; cum ergo gratia in nobis quotidie augeatur, etiam homine nesciente, videtur quod Spiritus sanctus vel Filius mittatur, homine nesciente, et6 quod quotidie mittatur homini; quod non est dicendum.

4. Item, contingit gratiam caritatis in aliquo per negligentiam remitti: ergo si Spiritus sanctus mittitur in augmento, et recedit in remissione: ergo quando aliquis peccat venialiter, perdit Spiritum sanctum: quod falsum est.

CONCLUSIO.

Spiritus sanctus non dicitur mitti, quando solummodo fit profectus in gratia prius habita, sed in collatione novi usus vel novi doni gratuiti dicitur mitti.

Respondeo: Ad hoc dicunt aliqui, quod gratiam augeri est dupliciter, scilicet perceptibiliter et imperceptibiliter. Si perceptibiliter, tunc dicunt, in tali augmento dari vel mitti Filium et Spiritum sanctum; si autem imperceptibiliter, tunc dicunt, ipsum non mitti. Et ratio huius est, quia tunc dicitur dari vel mitti, cum mente percipitur.

Sed aliter potest dici, quod augmentum gratiae est dupliciter: aut secundum profectum in gratia prius habita et7 eius usu, aut per collationem novi usus vel etiam novi doni gratuiti. Si solum per profectum, sicut ostendunt ultimae rationes, non dicitur mitti Spiritus sanctus. Si autem per collationem novi doni, sicut fuit in8 Apostolis in die Pentecostes, vel novi usus, sicut est in confirmatione; tunc potest dici mitti vel dari Spiritus sanctus, quia aliquo modo est ibi de novo quantum ad illud donum vel usum doni, et quia abundantius est.

1. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod non est ibi alio modo essendi; dicendum, quod etsi hoc9 non sit alio modo essendi, est tamen perfectiori modo inhabitandi et alio modo utendi, et ideo novo modo.

2. Ad illud quod obiicitur10, si abundantius mittitur, abundantius procedit; dicendum, quod mitti abundantius vel procedere est dupliciter: vel ab hoc, vel in hoc; primo modo uniformiter est mitti, secundo modo non.

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3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod quotidie augetur; dicendum, quod quotidie augetur quantum ad fervorem, sed non quantum ad novorum donorum vel usuum collationem.

4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod gratia remissa debet recedere; dicendum, quod, sicut infra patebit, gratia augetur quantum ad substantiam, sed non remittitur nisi solum quantum ad fervorem; Spiritus autem sanctus11 mitti non dicitur in augmento fervoris, sed solum substantiae caritatis.

Scholion

I. Sensus quaestionis est, utrum semper mittantur Filius et Spiritus sanctus, quotiescumque dona vel gratia augentur. — Prima opinio, quam S. Doctor nec approbat nec reprobat, est B. Alberti, Richardi aliorumque. Ipse vero respondet sub alia distinctione et bimembri conclusione, ut patet ex textu. — Verba in solut. ad 1. et ad ult., quae videntur insinuare, quod in omni augmento gratiae sanctificantis sit missio, intelligi debent secundum doctrinam in corp. positam. Sententiam Seraphici sequitur S. Thomas, qui tamen in Comment. addit: «Quidam dicunt, quod in omni augmento gratiae gratum facientis sit missio divinae personae, quod et sustineri faciliter potest».

II. Alex. Hal., S. p. I. q. 73. m. 4. a. 3. — S. Thom., hic q. 5. quaestiunc. 2; S. I. q. 43. a. 6. ad 2. — B. Albert., hic a. 19; d. 17. a. 9. — Petr. a Tar., hic q. 4. a. 1. quaestiunc. 3. — Richard. a Med., hic a. 4. q. 2. — Aegid. R., hic 2. princ. q. 1. coll. 1. — Dionys. Carth., hic q. 3. in fine.

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English Translation
p. 272

QUESTION III.

Whether the Son and the Holy Spirit are sent when the gifts of grace are augmented.

Third it is asked whether the mission of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is according to the same gifts of grace augmented. And that it is so, seems [clear] by example, by authority, and by reason.

1. By example thus: it is plain that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit was sent to the Apostles — not only visibly, but also invisibly, since the visible mission without the invisible does not confer [grace]; but they previously had grace: therefore etc.

2. Likewise, this seems [clear] by the authority of Rabanus1: «In baptism the Holy Spirit is given to consecrate a habitation for God, but in confirmation he comes into a man with all the fullness of holiness»: therefore he is given in confirmation after baptism: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, the augmentation of grace is by the addition of grace; but where there is addition of grace, there is2 donation of grace; but «the Holy Spirit is sent or given when his grace is given», as Bede says3: therefore in the augmentation of grace the Holy Spirit is given or sent.

4. Likewise, it is no less a gift to consummate4 charity than to begin it: therefore if the Son or the Holy Spirit is sent when grace is begun, much more strongly when it is consummated; but it is consummated through augmentation: therefore he is sent in the augmentation.

On the contrary:

1. The Holy Spirit is not sent into a man in order to be in him anew, but in order to be in him otherwise [than before]; but in him in whom grace is augmented, there is no other [mode] than before: therefore he is not sent to him5.

2. Likewise, if he is sent in the augmentation of grace, then either because he is sent anew, or because he is sent more abundantly; not because anew: therefore because more abundantly. But on the contrary: to be sent is to proceed; therefore to be sent more abundantly is to proceed more abundantly; but he always proceeds equally: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, if he is sent in the augmentation of grace, then since grace daily increases in us — even with the man unaware — it seems that the Holy Spirit or the Son is sent without the man's awareness, and6 that he is sent to the man daily; which is not to be said.

4. Likewise, it happens that the grace of charity is in someone remitted [diminished] through negligence: therefore if the Holy Spirit is sent in the augmentation, and withdraws in the remission: therefore when someone sins venially, he loses the Holy Spirit: which is false.

CONCLUSION.

The Holy Spirit is not said to be sent when there is merely progress in the grace previously had, but in the bestowal of a new use, or of a new freely-given gift, he is said to be sent.

I respond: To this some say that to be augmented in grace is twofold — namely, perceptibly and imperceptibly. If perceptibly, then they say that in such augmentation the Son and the Holy Spirit are given or sent; but if imperceptibly, then they say [the person] is not sent. And the reason for this is that he is then said to be given or sent when he is perceived in the mind.

But it can be said otherwise, that the augmentation of grace is twofold: either according to progress in the grace already had and7 in its use, or by the bestowal of a new use or even of a new freely-given gift. If only by progress — as the last arguments show — the Holy Spirit is not said to be sent. But if by the bestowal of a new gift, as was the case in8 the Apostles on the day of Pentecost; or of a new use, as is the case in confirmation: then it can be said that the Holy Spirit is sent or given, since he is in some way there anew with respect to that gift or use of the gift, and because he is there more abundantly.

1. To what is objected — that there is no other mode of being there — it must be said that, although this9 is not another mode of being, it is nevertheless a more perfect mode of indwelling and another mode of use, and therefore [it is] a new mode.

2. To what is objected10 — if he is sent more abundantly, he proceeds more abundantly — it must be said that to be sent or to proceed more abundantly is twofold: either from this [side], or into this [side]; in the first mode it is uniformly to be sent, in the second mode it is not.

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3. To what is objected — that [grace] is augmented daily — it must be said that it is augmented daily as to fervor, but not as to the bestowal of new gifts or new uses.

4. To what is objected — that diminished grace ought to withdraw — it must be said that, as will appear below, grace is augmented as to its substance, but is not diminished except as to fervor alone; but the Holy Spirit11 is not said to be sent in the augmentation of fervor, but only of the substance of charity.

Scholion

I. The sense of the question is whether the Son and the Holy Spirit are always sent whenever the gifts or grace are augmented. — The first opinion, which the Holy Doctor neither approves nor reprobates, is that of Bl. Albert, Richard, and others. He himself, however, responds with another distinction and a two-membered conclusion, as is plain from the text. — The words in the reply to the first and to the last [objection], which seem to insinuate that there is mission in every augmentation of sanctifying grace, must be understood according to the doctrine set forth in the corpus. The opinion of the Seraphic [Doctor] is followed by St. Thomas, who nevertheless in the Commentary adds: «Some say that in every augmentation of grace that makes pleasing there is a mission of a divine person, which can also be easily sustained».

II. Alex. Hal., Summa p. I, q. 73, m. 4, a. 3. — St. Thom., here q. 5, quaestiuncula 2; S. I, q. 43, a. 6, ad 2. — Bl. Albert, here a. 19; d. 17, a. 9. — Peter of Tarentaise, here q. 4, a. 1, quaestiuncula 3. — Richard. a Med., here a. 4, q. 2. — Aegid. R., here, second principal q. 1, coll. 1. — Dionys. Carth., here q. 3 in fine.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. Libr. I. de Cleric. instit. c. 30: Signatur enim baptizatus cum chrismate per sacerdotem in capitis summitate, per pontificem vero in fronte, ut priori unctione significetur Spiritus sancti super ipsum descensio ad habitationem Deo consecrandam, in secunda quoque, ut eiusdem Spiritus sancti septiformis gratia cum omni plenitudine sanctitatis et scientiae et virtutis venire in hominem declaretur.
    Book I, On the Instruction of Clerics, c. 30: For the baptized is signed with chrism by the priest on the top of the head, but by the bishop on the forehead — so that by the first anointing the descent of the Holy Spirit upon him is signified, for consecrating a dwelling for God; and by the second, that the sevenfold grace of the same Holy Spirit may be declared to come into the man with all the fullness of holiness and knowledge and virtue.
  2. A Vat. et cod. cc abest verbum est, quod tamen in ceteris mss. et ed. 1 invenitur.
    From the Vatican edition and codex cc the word est is missing, which is nevertheless found in the other manuscripts and in ed. 1.
  3. Libr. II. Homil. 10: Cum enim eiusdem Spiritus gratia datur hominibus, mittitur profecto Spiritus a Patre. Cfr. supra p. 242, nota 3.
    Book II, Homily 10: For when the grace of the same Spirit is given to men, the Spirit is indeed sent by the Father. Cf. above p. 242, note 3.
  4. Praeferendo ed. 1 lectionem, utpote quae ex ipso contextu vera comprobatur, posuimus in hoc argumento ter consummare loco conservare, quod Vat. cum mss. exhibet.
    Preferring the reading of ed. 1 — since it is shown to be true from the context itself — we have set in this argument three times consummare ("to consummate") in place of conservare ("to conserve"), which the Vatican edition with the manuscripts displays.
  5. Ex antiquis mss. et ed. 1 substituimus illum pro minus apto illud, et paulo ante quam loco ut.
    From the old manuscripts and ed. 1 we have substituted illum (masculine) for the less apt illud (neuter), and a little before, quam in place of ut.
  6. Plurimi codd. cum ed. 1 loco et ponunt eo, quae tamen lectio et vim obiectionis elidere et responsioni infra positae minus congruere videtur. — Paulo supra post etiam codd. L O adiungunt praepositionem in.
    Most codices with ed. 1 in place of et put eo; this reading, however, seems both to weaken the force of the objection and to accord less with the response posited below. — A little above, after etiam, codices L and O add the preposition in.
  7. Vat. cum cod. cc, aliis autem codd. cum ed. 1 obnitentibus, pro et ponit aut, quo membra disiunctionis confunduntur.
    The Vatican edition with codex cc — though the other codices with ed. 1 resist — puts aut in place of et, by which the members of the disjunction are confused.
  8. Supplevimus ex mss. et ed. 1 in.
    From the manuscripts and ed. 1 we have supplied in.
  9. In codd. variae exstant lectiones; nam aliqui codd. ut gg legunt ibi pro hoc, alii vero ut ff in hoc, ed. 1 autem omittit hoc; multi tandem quod si loco quod etsi, licet minus bene.
    Various readings exist in the codices; for some codices (such as gg) read ibi in place of hoc; others (such as ff) read in hoc; ed. 1, however, omits hoc; finally many [read] quod si in place of quod etsi, although less well.
  10. Nonnulla scripta ut I K P Q V X addunt quod.
    Some writings (I, K, P, Q, V, X) add quod.
  11. Vat., contra codd. et ed. 1 et aliter quam supra in corp., hic legit Spiritum autem sanctum. Mox post fervorem cod. V addit nec in alio augmento.
    The Vatican edition, against the codices and ed. 1, and otherwise than above in the corpus, here reads Spiritum autem sanctum (acc.). Soon after fervorem codex V adds nec in alio augmento ("nor in any other augmentation").
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