tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129086278343859186.post4779607045528112843..comments2023-11-29T18:53:19.500+00:00Comments on Reading The Summa: Question 97 – Man’s Physical State in ParadiseGregory the Eremitehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11652447286252910371noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129086278343859186.post-35025802637381830212015-03-03T17:47:14.486+00:002015-03-03T17:47:14.486+00:00The preternatural gifts are not all of the same le...The preternatural gifts are not all of the same level of theological certainty. For the two mentioned in this question, the gift of immortality is de fide; the gift of impassibility is considered to be a so-called sententia communis (common teaching). So the former is of the faith, the latter is generally accepted by theologians but, strictly speaking, belongs to the field of free opinion.<br /><br />For the other preternatural gifts, the gift of the freedom from irregular desire is considered a sententia promima fidei (generally believed to be a truth of revelation, but not yet defined by the Church as such); and the gift of infused natural knowledge is considered a sententia communis.<br /><br />Yes, these do sometimes seem strange and they do seem to break the apparent symmetry between the old Adam and the new Adam; but that symmetry is limited by scripture itself. So, for example, the main justification for the dogmatic definition of the gift of immortality being a truth of the faith is scriptural: St. Paul is very clear that death entered the world through the first sin. One might, along similar lines of thought to your question ask why the sacrifice of Christ on the cross didn’t simply redeem us all there and then!<br /><br />It might be worth reinforcing one point: although the primordial gift to Adam and Eve of sanctifying grace is of the supernatural order, its effect in the preternatural gifts is a perfecting of the natural order. The gift of sanctifying grace that Christ makes available to us by his sacrifice is ordered to our supernatural end in heaven; and after the general resurrection our bodies will benefit from this supernatural perfection of the natural order. The symmetry returns.<br /><br />But rather than have me witter on about this, there’s a very good treatment by the late Fr. Hardon at:<br /><br />http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/God/God_013.htm<br /><br /><br />Gregory the Eremitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652447286252910371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2129086278343859186.post-66953565410243998502015-03-03T05:42:27.132+00:002015-03-03T05:42:27.132+00:00Are the preternatural gifts dogmatic or are we all...Are the preternatural gifts dogmatic or are we allowed to disagree that they ever existed?<br /><br />I have a hard time reconciling with them when they #1 seem like needless miracles and #2 aren't given back to us by virtue of what Jesus did, even though St. Paul and other insist there is an equivacable parallel between what Adam lost for us and what Christ gained for us.UncleNatehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09070075064000664211noreply@blogger.com