METHODISM AND CATHOLICISM.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVI, Issue 21, 29 September 1898, Page 28

METHODISM AND CATHOLICISM.

ACTUAL GRACE.

(By the Very Rev. T. Le Menant des Chesnais, S.M., V.G. SUMMARY. I. Origin of Methodism and its progress. 11. Characteristics and organisation of Methodism. 111. Belief of Methodists. IV. Catholic Doctrine on Grace and Justification. V. Errors of Methodists refuted. I. ORIGIN AND FROGRESS OF METHODISM. John Wesley may be considered as the first founder of Methodism. He was born at Epworth, in the County of Lincoln, in England, in 1705. He made his classical studies at Oxford, and, in 1726, he became a fellow of Lincoln College. He had an ascetic mind. The woiks of William Law, which he read, produced a great impression on him. With his brother Charles and a f evv other gentlemen, he conversed on devotional subjects and the Greek and Latin classics. Among those gentlemen we may mention Mr. Ingham, Mr. Hervey, j and Mr. Whitefield. They spent together several evenings every week, and conversed mostly on spiritual subjects. They also visited a few poor families. In 1735, after the death of their father. John and Charles Wesley, Ingham and Delamelte, went to Georgia to convert the Indians. On arriving in I America they were disappointed at the state of things there, j and considered the time had not yet come to convert the Indians. Charles Wesley soon after returned to England. John exercised his zeal in Savannah. Prayer, singing, and an exhortation were the general programme of his religious services. In 1738 he returned to England. On his passage to America, and whilst in Georgia, he had made the acquaintance of some Moravians, and it was trom them he borrowed his doctrine of justification by faith with a firm assurance of personal pardon. In the summer ot that same year, 1738, he travelled through Germany, and spent some time in a Moravian village. He was delighted with the people. Havir.g returned to London he tried to diffuse his doctrine. Not being permitted to preach his system in the Churches of the Establishment he beg, in to preach in the open air, especially to the poor. He- encountered great difficulties. Little by little, however, he made a few proselytes, whose numbers went on gradually inci easing. In 1 741 he had about one thousand followers. At the time of his death his society had spread through Europe, America, and India. In Great Britain there are about 300,000 Methodists; in America they reckon about 2,000,000; in Ireland 20,000; in Canada 30,000 ;

and about 100,000 in other countries : that is, their tottl numerical strength is about two millions and a-half. The' name of Methodist was given to the sect on account of their pretending to do everything systematically or methodically. I he object of Wesley was to lead people to a more holy and perfect life than what was generally practised at the time by the members of the Church of England. He did not wish to separate from the Anglican Church, but to purify and sanctify it. Whitefield separated from Wesley, and preached pure Calvinism. John Wesley has left a book of sermons, a tract on original sin, a book on medicine, Pafiism Examined (a book full of calumnies and misrepresentations against Catholics), etc. Charles Wesley, his brother, died in 1735. (Wesleyan Method, Ch. Thorton ; Religion of the World, Ch. Griffin, I 872; The Parliament of Religions , 11., p. 1162-116^. IC. CHARACTERISTICS AND ORGANISATION OF METHODISM. The peculiar characteristics of Methodism, which embraces twenty-nine different organisations, are :— (a) The class meeting ; (b) Probation, local preachers, itinerancy, general superintendency. This polity is common to all the Methodist organisations, no matter how widely they may differ in other matters. J Let me explain this more fully. 1. Each Methodist Society is divided into small companies, called classes. 2. Each class consists generally of twelve persons living in the same locality. 3- The chief of each class, or leader, as he is generally called, is to visit his members every week, encourage and advise them, and receive their offerings. 4. The leader presides always over his class. 5. The duties of the ministers are : To preside at the general meetings of his society ; to give ihem exhortations and to instruct them ; to visit all the classes once a quarter. 6. After the minister has visited his district, a circuit meeting is held, consisting of the ministers, leaders, and lay preachers. At this circuit meeting collections are received and temporal matters settled. 7. A number of circuits, generally ten, forms a district, or conference. 8. Every district has a chairman. The conference examines the candidates for the ministry, deals with the building of new chapels, erection of schools, etc. The conference consists of the ministers and representatives of each district. 111. BELIEF OF METHODISTS. 1. They profess to believe in the Bible and Primitive Christianity. 2. The teaching of the Church of England, her liturgy and formularies, interpreted mostly in the Arminian sense. 3. The Doctrine of Universal Atonement, human freedom and responsibility. 4. Salvation by Grace through Christ. 5. This salvation is obtained by humble faith and trust in the atonement made for sinners by Christ. 6. Believers are to be assured of acceptance with God, implying free and full remission of sins. 7. This consciousness of one being free from sin fills us with love for our adorable Benefactor. 8 As soon as anyone has the true faith, that moment he is justified : that is, as soon as he has an assured confidence that Christ died for his sins. General Rules : All members are to be anxious to flee from the wrath to come and to be saved from their sins. They are to avoid taking the name of God in vain, the profanation of the day of|the Lord, drunkenness, fighting, quarrelling, putting on of gold and costly apparel, singing profane songs, taking part in dangerous diversions. They must help members in business, and employ them in preference to others. Lastly, they are to search the Scriptures, attend private and public meetJn&S of the Society, and promote its interests. ' % The fundamental principles of Methodism are :— ~itt&'< 1. That we are saved by humble faith and trust in the atonement made by Christ for sins. 2. That as soon as any one has the frue faith he is justified -—that is, as soon as he has an assured confidence that Christ died for his sins. 3. Justification is a persuasion of the present pardon and acceptance by God, through interior consciousness. In order to refute this erroneous anjd pernicious doctrinal system, we must first have an accurate idea of grace and justification. IV. CATHOLIC DOCTRINE ON GRACE A^fD JUSTIFICATION, The destiny of man is twofold : he has a natural an,d a supernatural destiny. By original sin, man lost his supernatural privileges and his right to heaven\y bliss. The Son of God had pity on fallen man and gave hipi the possibility of attaining his immortal destiny, that is, heavenly bliss, and the clear sight and enjoyment of God. This supernatural destiny being above Nature, man could never relach it without the grace of God and the mediation of Christ. 1 The means which God gives us through Jesus Christ to attain heavenly bliss we call grace. This grace perfects our human nature and

renders it deiform or Gbd-like. . Man endowed with super?*Jtu ™ grace is anew^creature ('Nova creatura,' ii. Cor. v. " •ii? < - > V1 * Ephes'. iuio); Divine grace gives us a new -; wilrand a new heartland enables us to do those things which , a {! c , pleasing to God, and which without it we should not be able to peribrm (Phil. iv. 13) . It is the seed of eternal glory (semen gloriae). God bestows His graces upon us out ot pure mercy and benevolence. Although natural gifts are sometimes called graces, in the theological sense, we design by that/word only such gifts as are superadded to our reasonable nature, in order to enable us to obtain eternal bliss. By grace our nature is helped, cured and saved. It may be defined : « A supernatural gift of God given to a reasonable creature for the obtaining of eternal life.' ' Donum supernaturale gratis a Deo creaturae rationali concessum pertinens aliquomodo ad vitam aeternam ' (Hurter, iii. n. 9). All the graces given to men since the fall of our first parents being granted to us on account of the merits of Christ are called 'Christian graces,' or graces of Christ, 'gratia Christi,' because it is in Christ that they have their foundation, and they rest, not on our own merits, but on His. This grace of Christ is also called ' medicinal,' because its object is to heal the wounds of original sin, and to raise us to the supernatural state. ' Est a Christo capite nostro, ut elevaret hominem ad ordinem supernaturalem, est medicinalis et elevans ' (Hurter, Übi supra). We speak of interior and exterior grace. By interior grace we mean the interior helps inherent to the soul to enable it to secure salvation. By exterior grace we understand external helps, as the preaching of the Gospel, the example of Christ and of His holy Apostles, etc. The object of interior grace is our sanctification. The grace which makes us pleasing to God and is given us tor our own spiritual utility and advantage is designated as 'gratia gratum faciens.' The grace which is given us for the benefit of others is called ' gratia gratis data,' or gratuitous grace. The grace which makes us pleasing to God may be transitory or permanent. In the former case it is called ' actual grace ' ; in the latter case it is named ' habitual grace.'

(a) Grace is a help, an assistance from God, ' auxiliuin, adjutorium Dei.' We must not confound actual grace with the Divine concourse ' concursus divinus,' which is indispensable to all secondary causes in order that they may produce their effects. God must give His concourse to all His creatures, but not His grace. Even with the presence of actual grace, the Divine concourse is always wanted. Grace gives us extra help and assistance, the divine concourse does not. Actual grace is an illumination, an irradiation of the intellect, an inspiration of the will. ' Mentis illustratio atque inspiratio voluntatis.' It points out to us what we are to do and what we are to avoid, how we are to keep the commandments, how we are to act in order to endear ourselves to Almighty God. It gives light to the intellect and strength to the will to perform actions meritorious of eternal 'life. It is said to be co-operative when, being faithful to it, we profit by it to do good. Whenever we co-operate with actual grace it obtains for us new graces. We cannot perform any supernatural action without the help of actual grace. 'Ad omnes actus salutares est r.ecessana ' Oar Blebsed Lord sajs that in the supernatural order we can do nothing without Him. 'As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abide in the vine; so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the blanches; he that abideth in Me and 1 in him the same beareth much fruit ; for without Me you can do nothing ' (John, xv. 415). There is iv question hereof natural gifts or ordinary Divine concourse, but oi a special supernatural help given is by Christ to perform a supernatural action. This is wliv, in Holy Scripture, those who are deprived of supernatural are said to be spiritually dead, ' mortui,' because as a dead man cannot act, so in the supernatural order, without God's grace, we can do nothing meritorious of eternal life. Olr salvation is attributed to grace ; it would not be the case it without it we could work out our salvation. This Divine grace is necessary even for the beginning of faith, * etiam ad iijitium fidei.' In order to have faith we must be moved by Gad to acknowledge our insufficiency and the need we have of ja Saviour and of a Mediator. This grace which is necessary for meritoiious acts is supernatural, actual, and interior, ' supfcrnaturalis, actualis, et interna.' Even those who are justified are in need of this salutary actual grace. As we cannot perceive External objects without the light of the sun, so neither can we percehe the beauty of celestial UjAigs without the heavenly light which comes from Christ, rvfose who have been' lustified cannot perseveie in iheir justice except they be helped and assisted by God. The reason is, that in order io persevere we must keep all the commandments and overcome all temptations, which is not possible to man without a special help from God. However, God will never refuse this (assistance to those who humbly ask it from Him. Without /a special privilege man, even alter he has been justified, cannot avoid for life every venial sin. This was defined against the Pelagians, who contended that without grace man could avoid all venial sins and obtain a perfect

imperturb'bility (Cone. Carthag. can. vi.,Jvii., viii. — Trid. Sess, vi. can. 23;. 'In many things we all offend (James, iii. 2). This is why in the Lord's Prayer we pray to God to forgive us our daily sins, no matter what holy life we may lead. In the state of our fallen nature, we cannot observe all the natural law and overcome grievous temptations without the assistance of Divine grace. QTo be continued.')