Gratuitous grace (series 1, pt. 2)

It is difficult to arrive at a satisfying translation of the Latin phrase gratias gratis datas. “Gratuitous gifts” is the term used most frequently. But it might also be translated “gracious grace gifts” or “gifts of graces”[1]. Moreover, confusion arises because the phrase “gifts of the Holy Spirit” is used in connection with both the seven sanctifying gifts of the Spirit (from Isaiah 11:2) and with the nine gratuitous gifts of the Holy Spirit (from 1 Corinthians 12:8-10). Marie-Dominique Chenu notes that the language of the Old Testament is “the spirits of” rather than “the gifts of” wisdom, understanding, council and so forth.[2] His remark underscores how unalike the two lists are from a Biblical standpoint. However, it is obvious that for Thomas both clusters are appropriately named “gifts of the Spirit”. In fact the easy confusion of the two gift-clusters underscores their similarities. Both are aspects of Holy Spirit’s direct agency, and both are necessary for humans to achieve their supernatural ends. The gifts, sanctifying and gratuitous alike, are the nuts and bolts of grace; they are primary points of contact between God and his people. In Thomas’s schema the two uniquely work together. As he states in the Summa, “the (sanctifying) gifts of the Holy Ghost are habitual dispositions of the soul, rendering it amenable to the motions (or charisms) of the Holy Ghost.” [3]

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[1] Fabian Larcher, O.P. uses this term in his translation of Thomas’s Commentary on 1 Corinthians.

[2] M-D Chenu. Aquinas and His Role in Theology. Paul Philibert, trans. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 2002; St Thomas d’Aquin et la theologie. Editions de Seuil: 1959.

[3] Summa, 2.2.121.4. Almost identical wording of the same statement can be found in 1.68.6., 2.2.8.5, 2.2.19.9, and 2.2.52.1. The parenthetical additions are my own.

Thomas and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (series 1, pt. 1)

For Roman Catholics Thomas Aquinas is a doctor of the church. His teachings, therefore, have a timeless quality and his opinions are authoritative even in contemporary theological debate. In Protestant circles his works have slowly emerged from Reformation suspicions and now enjoy a well-deserved place of honor. However, some aspects of his teaching have been noticeably neglected. His extensive reflections on angels, for example, are not of interest to most theologians, Protestant or Catholic. More broadly, Thomas’s whole pneumatology seems neglected. Why? Perhaps because his highly rational approach to other doctrines appeals to modern sensibilities, whereas hierarchies of angels, prophecy, miracles and the like seem to belong to an earlier age. This series of blog entries will examine one aspect of Thomas’s pneumatology: his teaching on the charisms of the Holy Spirit, what he calls the gratuitous gifts. It is not a speculative or extraneous subject for Thomas. Rather, the charisms of the Holy Spirit are a component part of grace itself, an integral aspect of one of Christianity’s central doctrines. Thomas makes important contributions to the on-going theological understanding of grace. Above all he helps to rescue grace from unnecessary abstraction by personalizing it. For in Thomas’s thought there is a real sense in which grace is the Holy Spirit.