About knowing if oneself is in a state of grace

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Can I know for sure that I am in the state of Grace as beyond question, no I do not think I can. I certainly can experience myself as in a relationship of friendship with God hence hope for salvation…with hope in God’s Unfailing and Generous Mercy to a sorrowful and repentant sinner. Hence I should imagine I would know if I was not in a state of friendship with God and acting against Him hence potentially on my way to Hell/damnation…in such a state I would be quite actively refusing sorrow and repentance for all my sins including my overall state of animosity with God.

Salvation (or the state of Grace) while living as a known factor can only be based on Hope…“work out your own salvation in fear and trembling” and “not all who say Lord! Lord! shall enter into my Kingdom”. At this point while I may experience some sort of basis for my Hope due to my felt state of friendship with God and what my Faith teaches me, nevertheless I would be wise indeed to pray that my Faith may be increased and pray too for final perseverence.

Regards - Barb:)
 
In addition to the other great contributions, I would like to emphasize this from the Summa, explaining why we can be certain of faith, but not of charity/grace:

… it is an essential condition of faith that a man should be certain of the things of faith, and this, because certitude belongs to the perfection of the intellect, wherein these gifts exist. Hence, whoever has knowledge or faith is certain that he has them. But it is otherwise with grace and charity and such like, which perfect the appetitive faculty.

Summa Theologica
Whether man can know that he has grace?
catholicprimer.org/summa/FS/FS112.html#FSQ112A5THEP1

I think it is useful for understanding what “certainty of faith” means. It is intellectual certainty.

So then, it seems that the perfection of the intellect is certainty; but the perfection of the will (appetite) is charity.

This reminds me of the young rich man

Matthew 19:16 And behold one came and said to him: Good master, what good shall I do that I may have life everlasting? 17 Who said to him: Why asketh thou me concerning good? One is good, God. But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He said to him: Which? And Jesus said: Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 20 The young man saith to him: All these I have kept from my youth, what is yet wanting to me? 21 Jesus saith to him: If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me. 22 And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad: for he had great possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples: Amen, I say to you, that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you: It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. 25 And when they had heard this, the disciples wondered very much, saying: Who then can be saved? 26 And Jesus beholding, said to them: With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible. 27 Then Peter answering, said to him: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? 28 And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.

Jesus talks about perfection of the will, and it is accomplished by action. Also, He talks about the possessing of eternal life being fulfilled later.

I compare it to “having” a sunbeam. We can’t keep a sunbeam, unless perhaps we can keep the sun. But it is far away etc. But we can “have” the warmth as long as we are in its light, and yet we don’t have it in a definitive manner.

hurst
 
Hi Hurst…love your signature and an excellent Post explaining I thought simply what could be made into a very complex matter. Excellent example of the sunbeam - beautifully put. Thank you.
Regards - Barb:)
 
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tjmiller:
It is an official dogma of the Catholic Faith that, apart from a special revelation, no one can know with the certainty of faith whether or not he or she is in a state of grace.

It is true, though, that one cannot “accidentally” or “unknowingly” commit mortal sin.
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What about 1 John 5:13?

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
 
If I recall correctly - w/o looking it up - in the original Greek, the “you” in the verse you cite is in the plural. That is, John assures not any individual, but the church in general that it, as a collective, enjoys eternal life.

(In any case, Catholic dogma can of course never contradict Scripture - which itself can only be understood correctly by means of Catholic dogma…)
 
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St.Eric:
Should I just stick with what he says and go with it? It is not like I have a lot of options for Catholic priests in rural Oregon State.

St. Eric,
Your priest is flat out wrong to tell you that withdrawal and contraception are not grave sins. Get yourself a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, then you won’t have to rely on the word of a priest. What an individual priest says is not what determines if something is sinful. You have posted 3 times on this subject in this thread. I think you already know that what the priest told you is not correct. Search your heart carefully. You wrote earlier that you weren’t “certain” that it is wrong. Are you not sure that it is wrong, or are you trying to convince yourself that it is not wrong. I hope I don’t sound harsh, because I wrestled with this very problem myself not too long ago. Sometimes the Truth is difficult to accept. Especially when it requires us to make huge changes in our lives. When I confessed to having used contraception in the past, my confessor sounded like he was trying to excuse my actions because “you were trying to be a responsible parent”. I actually didn’t appreciate him trying to excuse my actions. Don’t be fooled by your priest. He will have to answer to God for leading his flock astray.

I will pray for you.
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trumpet152:
What about 1 John 5:13?

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
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tjmiller:
John assures not any individual, but the church in general that it, as a collective, enjoys eternal life.
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In the verse preceding the one quoted here, John speaks in the singular: “He who has the Son has life.” His use of the plural in v. 13 should be understood in that context.
 
Probably most of us while hoping for Heaven are confident that it will be by virtue of The Lord’s Mercy.

Regards - Barb:)
 
The context of I John 5: 13 is plural/collective in intent. St. John uses the plural forms “we” or “us” more than a dozen times in the chapter; e.g. v.11, “And this is the testimony, that God hath given to us eternal life…” and v.14: “And this is the confidence which we have towards him: That whatsoever we ask acording to his will, he heareth us.” Cf. also v.21, concluding the Epistle: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols…”
 
Even still, the singular in v 12 (and before) shows that the teaching applies to the individual. They (plural) know that they have eternal life because God has testified that the one (singular) who has the Son has life. If the assurance didn’t apply to the individual, the benefit of assurance wouldnt be true of the collective.

I’ll bet that if the average reader of this thread opens his Bible and stares at that passage, he’ll get the same impression I have 🙂 The passage is teaching that one may know that he has life.
 
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