The immutability of the will

[MaximilianK]

I cannot understand with my mind how a human (or angelic) will can become definitely and unchangeable. And also I cannot understand what’s happened with the will after death and angels will after fall. They can’t change or don’t want to change, if they can’t change why God don’t redempt this will? And if they don’t want, how their mind don’t become more and more weak and dark, and after a lot of time of participate in evil, they also keep the real image of God and the sense of world, objects, and yet don’t want, (not CAN’T recognize the rationality and the right way to salvation, and again, if respond is can’t, why God don’t redemp this)

 

[Vico]

…

The angels have superior knowledge and freedom, so their first choice is final. Once beatified there can not be sin.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae > First Part > Question 62 The perfection of the angels in the order of grace and of glory

Article 5. Whether the angel obtained beatitude immediately after one act of merit?​

On the contrary, Man’s soul and an angel are ordained alike for beatitude: consequently equality with angels is promised to the saints. Now the soul separated from the body, if it has merit deserving beatitude, enters at once into beatitude, unless there be some obstacle. Therefore so does an angel. Now an angel instantly, in his first act of charity, had the merit of beatitude. Therefore, since there was no obstacle within him, he passed at once into beatitude by only one meritorious act.

Article 8. Whether a beatified angel can sin?​

I answer that, The beatified angels cannot sin. The reason for this is, because their beatitude consists in seeing God through His essence. Now, God’s essence is the very essence of goodness. Consequently the angel beholding God is disposed towards God in the same way as anyone else not seeing God is to the common form of goodness. Now it is impossible for any man either to will or to do anything except aiming at what is good; or for him to wish to turn away from good precisely as such. Therefore the beatified angel can neither will nor act, except as aiming towards God. Now whoever wills or acts in this manner cannot sin. Consequently the beatified angel cannot sin.

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1062.htm

St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae > First Part > Question 63 The malice of the angels with regard to sin

Article 6. Whether there was any interval between the creation and the fall of the angel?​

Reply to Objection 3. An angel has an inflexible free-will after once choosing; consequently, if after the first instant, in which he had a natural movement to good, he had not at once placed a barrier to beatitude, he would have been confirmed in good. It is not so with man; and therefore the argument does not hold good.

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1063.htm#article9

Mankind is more to the image of God than angels, in some respects, according to that in which he can best imitate God, which means by intellectual nature. The intellectual soul raises mankind above the beasts. Unlike the angels, mankind uses discursive reason so has more time to decide finally. We believe in the immediate particular judgement upon death of the body so no change can be made after that.

 

[Aloysium]

It’s hard to follow that reply, but I’d say that the final judgement is another way to describe the reality of our lives. Over the course of our lives, we are given countless opportunities to submit our will to God. When we do so, we become Christ-like, and becoming Love itself, in those aspects of ourselves that we have turned over to God, we cannot sin. Our lives would be like a seed from which our eternal being arises; once completed, there’s no changing that reality. God have mercy on us all.