31. The Natural and Supernatural Orders
Part II
THE ELEVATION TO THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER
17. Natural and Supernatural Orders
When God created the different creatures, he gave them not only their being, but also an essence or nature. This essence or nature makes them what they are—a sheep, a rock, or a man—and gives them the capacity to perform specific operations befitting their manner of being—to graze and grow wool, to form mountains, or to live, laugh, walk, and think. All these natural operations are ordained to the natural end of each creature.
The natural order is the ordination of all creatures to the end proper to each one’s nature, together with the provision of the means necessary to reach that end.
The natural end of the intelligent creatures—angels and people—is loving knowledge of God. The natural perfection of mankind consists in:
· the natural knowledge of God,
· the ordination of the will to God, and
· as a consequence, the right order with respect to himself, other people, and other creatures.
However, to know God in his essence is beyond the capacity of any created intelligence. On God’s part, there would be no problem to be united to a created intellect. However, the latter does have an incapacity to be so united to God because of its limitations. It would be like having the light of a thousand suns illuminating a human retina. The light would be so dazzling that it would prevent vision, not because of a lack of light, but because of the eye’s limitations, which are unable to see in such brightness.
In spite of that, God wants the intellectual creatures to get to know his essence, and he gives them the means necessary to elevate their nature above their own possibilities so that they can achieve this knowledge.
The supernatural order is, thus, the ordination of the rational creatures to:
· the knowledge of God in his own intimate life;
· the love of God, which accompanies this knowledge;
· the life flowing from this beatific vision; and
· all the means ordained by God for the creatures so favored to attain their last end. In this case, it is no longer a natural last end but a supernatural one.1
18. The Supernatural Last End
God proposed to the rational creatures a supernatural last end (de fide).
God offered himself to rational creatures in his intimate Trinitarian nature as their supernatural last end. This is a completely free gift exceeding their nature.
The Church has professed this truth throughout her history. The First Vatican Council expressed this constant teaching thus: “God, out of his infinite goodness, destined man to a supernatural end, that is, to a participation in the good things of God, which altogether exceed the human mental grasp.”2 The Magisterium of the Church also teaches that this supernatural last end consists in the eternal beatitude, that is, in the immediate vision of God. In 1336, Pope Benedict XII answered those who claimed that souls could not enjoy the happiness of heaven while separated from their bodies. He declared that the souls of those who died in grace and who need no further purification in purgatory “have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive and even face-to-face vision, without the interposition of any creature in the function of object seen … are truly blessed and possess life and eternal rest.”3
In Sacred Scripture, St. Paul referred to this beatific vision: “For now we see [God] in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). St. John described the ultimate goal of the Christian, saying, “For we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2). Jesus Christ said that the angels also enjoy the beatific vision: “Their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10).4
Revelation and the Magisterium, as we have seen, affirm the beatific vision of angels and humans. If we accept that no creature can contemplate the divine essence through its natural powers alone, we must conclude that rational creatures were elevated to the supernatural order by grace.
The elevation of rational creatures to the supernatural order is a separate operation from creation. It belongs to the order of grace (i.e., gratuitous), which is distinct from the natural order.
19. The Supernatural Elevation is a Completely Free Gift
The supernatural last end is completely beyond the reach of any creature relying only on its natural powers. It cannot be known, desired, or reached without a previous elevation by God to the supernatural order.
God could have elevated any creature to the supernatural order, even a stone. As St. John the Baptist said in his preaching, “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Mt 3:9). However, the stone would first have to cease being a stone. It would have to receive from God an intellect and a will. This means that it cannot be elevated to the supernatural order without a change in its nature.
On the other hand, humans and angels do not have to change their nature to be elevated to the supernatural order because they already have the operative potencies of intellect and will. With these, after being elevated to the supernatural order, they can reach the One and Triune God. They can also partake of the divine processions of the Word and the Holy Spirit, who exist in God according to the intellect and will. Therefore, we can say that both angels and humans are naturally capable of receiving grace.
Still, this capacity does not mean that nature is in any way ordained to grace, as if grace were somehow demanded by nature. Grace is completely gratuitous. It is a strictly unmerited gift that cannot be demanded under any title. God simply wants to pour out his love on the intellectual creature.
20. Grace and Nature
The supernatural elevation presupposes and perfects nature (sent. comm.)
The ordination to the supernatural life does not suppress human nature. Rather, grace presupposes and perfects nature.
The Magisterium of the Church teaches that “the supernatural order … not only does not in the least destroy the natural order, but elevates the natural order and perfects it.”5
Through elevation to the supernatural order, the operative capacities of nature are confirmed, increased, and perfected. The natural intelligence is strengthened by the light of faith (lumen fidei) and is strengthened even more by the light of glory (lumen gloriae), in which faith reaches its perfection.
The will, which has a natural inclination to the good, is likewise confirmed in that inclination when supernatural charity causes it to love God above all things and love creatures for the love of God.
When a person or angel is in the state of grace, all his potentialities are perfected by supernatural virtues. He acquires the ability to act with a new supernatural moral object, which includes and surpasses the natural moral good.
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 374–379.
2. First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. De Fide Catholica: DS 3005.
3. Benedict XII, Const. Benedictus Deus: DS 1000.
4. Cf. CCC, 1027.
5. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri: DS 3689.
THE ELEVATION TO THE SUPERNATURAL ORDER
17. Natural and Supernatural Orders
When God created the different creatures, he gave them not only their being, but also an essence or nature. This essence or nature makes them what they are—a sheep, a rock, or a man—and gives them the capacity to perform specific operations befitting their manner of being—to graze and grow wool, to form mountains, or to live, laugh, walk, and think. All these natural operations are ordained to the natural end of each creature.
The natural order is the ordination of all creatures to the end proper to each one’s nature, together with the provision of the means necessary to reach that end.
The natural end of the intelligent creatures—angels and people—is loving knowledge of God. The natural perfection of mankind consists in:
· the natural knowledge of God,
· the ordination of the will to God, and
· as a consequence, the right order with respect to himself, other people, and other creatures.
However, to know God in his essence is beyond the capacity of any created intelligence. On God’s part, there would be no problem to be united to a created intellect. However, the latter does have an incapacity to be so united to God because of its limitations. It would be like having the light of a thousand suns illuminating a human retina. The light would be so dazzling that it would prevent vision, not because of a lack of light, but because of the eye’s limitations, which are unable to see in such brightness.
In spite of that, God wants the intellectual creatures to get to know his essence, and he gives them the means necessary to elevate their nature above their own possibilities so that they can achieve this knowledge.
The supernatural order is, thus, the ordination of the rational creatures to:
· the knowledge of God in his own intimate life;
· the love of God, which accompanies this knowledge;
· the life flowing from this beatific vision; and
· all the means ordained by God for the creatures so favored to attain their last end. In this case, it is no longer a natural last end but a supernatural one.1
18. The Supernatural Last End
God proposed to the rational creatures a supernatural last end (de fide).
God offered himself to rational creatures in his intimate Trinitarian nature as their supernatural last end. This is a completely free gift exceeding their nature.
The Church has professed this truth throughout her history. The First Vatican Council expressed this constant teaching thus: “God, out of his infinite goodness, destined man to a supernatural end, that is, to a participation in the good things of God, which altogether exceed the human mental grasp.”2 The Magisterium of the Church also teaches that this supernatural last end consists in the eternal beatitude, that is, in the immediate vision of God. In 1336, Pope Benedict XII answered those who claimed that souls could not enjoy the happiness of heaven while separated from their bodies. He declared that the souls of those who died in grace and who need no further purification in purgatory “have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive and even face-to-face vision, without the interposition of any creature in the function of object seen … are truly blessed and possess life and eternal rest.”3
In Sacred Scripture, St. Paul referred to this beatific vision: “For now we see [God] in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor 13:12). St. John described the ultimate goal of the Christian, saying, “For we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2). Jesus Christ said that the angels also enjoy the beatific vision: “Their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10).4
Revelation and the Magisterium, as we have seen, affirm the beatific vision of angels and humans. If we accept that no creature can contemplate the divine essence through its natural powers alone, we must conclude that rational creatures were elevated to the supernatural order by grace.
The elevation of rational creatures to the supernatural order is a separate operation from creation. It belongs to the order of grace (i.e., gratuitous), which is distinct from the natural order.
19. The Supernatural Elevation is a Completely Free Gift
The supernatural last end is completely beyond the reach of any creature relying only on its natural powers. It cannot be known, desired, or reached without a previous elevation by God to the supernatural order.
God could have elevated any creature to the supernatural order, even a stone. As St. John the Baptist said in his preaching, “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Mt 3:9). However, the stone would first have to cease being a stone. It would have to receive from God an intellect and a will. This means that it cannot be elevated to the supernatural order without a change in its nature.
On the other hand, humans and angels do not have to change their nature to be elevated to the supernatural order because they already have the operative potencies of intellect and will. With these, after being elevated to the supernatural order, they can reach the One and Triune God. They can also partake of the divine processions of the Word and the Holy Spirit, who exist in God according to the intellect and will. Therefore, we can say that both angels and humans are naturally capable of receiving grace.
Still, this capacity does not mean that nature is in any way ordained to grace, as if grace were somehow demanded by nature. Grace is completely gratuitous. It is a strictly unmerited gift that cannot be demanded under any title. God simply wants to pour out his love on the intellectual creature.
20. Grace and Nature
The supernatural elevation presupposes and perfects nature (sent. comm.)
The ordination to the supernatural life does not suppress human nature. Rather, grace presupposes and perfects nature.
The Magisterium of the Church teaches that “the supernatural order … not only does not in the least destroy the natural order, but elevates the natural order and perfects it.”5
Through elevation to the supernatural order, the operative capacities of nature are confirmed, increased, and perfected. The natural intelligence is strengthened by the light of faith (lumen fidei) and is strengthened even more by the light of glory (lumen gloriae), in which faith reaches its perfection.
The will, which has a natural inclination to the good, is likewise confirmed in that inclination when supernatural charity causes it to love God above all things and love creatures for the love of God.
When a person or angel is in the state of grace, all his potentialities are perfected by supernatural virtues. He acquires the ability to act with a new supernatural moral object, which includes and surpasses the natural moral good.
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 374–379.
2. First Vatican Council, Dogm. Const. De Fide Catholica: DS 3005.
3. Benedict XII, Const. Benedictus Deus: DS 1000.
4. Cf. CCC, 1027.
5. Pius XI, Enc. Divini Illius Magistri: DS 3689.