§308The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes: "For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."171 Far from diminishing the creature's dignity, this truth enhances it. Drawn from nothingness by God's power, wisdom and …

§755"The Church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows whose holy roots were the prophets and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is Christ who gives life and fruitfulness…

§787From the beginning, Jesus associated his disciples with his own life, revealed the mystery of the Kingdom to them, and gave them a share in his mission, joy, and sufferings.215 Jesus spoke of a still more intimate communion between him and those who would follow him: "Abide in me, and I in you.... I am the vine, you are the branches."216 and he proclaimed a mysterious and real …

Source. Translated by J. Walker, J. Sheppard and H. Browne, and revised by George B. Stevens. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 11. Edited by Philip Schaff. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1889.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210224.htm>. Contact information. The editor of New Adven…

§44Because Christ the Head holds such an eminent position, one must not think that he does not require the help of the Body. What Paul said of the human organism is to be applied likewise to the Mystical Body: "The head cannot say to the feet: I have no need of you."[69] It is manifestly clear that the faithful need the help of the Divine Redeemer, for He has said: "Without me you…

§51Holiness begins from Christ; and Christ is its cause. For no act conducive to salvation can be performed unless it proceeds from Him as from its supernatural source. "Without me," He says, "you can do nothing."[89] If we grieve and do penance for our sins if, with filial fear and hope, we turn again to God, it is because He is leading us. Grace and glory flow from His inexhaust…

§67Here, Venerable Brethren, We wish to speak in a very special way of our union with Christ in the Body of the Church, a thing which is, as Augustine justly remarks, sublime, mysterious and divine;[132] ut for that very reason it often happens that many misunderstand it and explain it incorrectly. It is at once evident that this union is very close. In the Sacred Scriptures it is…

It is taught among us that man possesses some measure of freedom of the will which enables him to live an outwardly honorable life and to make choices among the things that reason comprehends. But without the grace, help, and activity of the Holy Spirit man is not capable of making himself acceptable to God, of fearing God and believing in God with his whole heart, or of expell…

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Calvin expounds the union of believers with Christ under the figure of the vine and branches. Apart from Christ we can do nothing — every branch that does not bear fruit is taken away, and every fruitful branch is purged. The disciples are chosen and appointed to bear fruit. The hatred of the world toward believers is not sur…

You alone, in contrast with all others, have attacked the real thing, that is, the essential issue. You have not worried me with those extraneous issues about the Papacy, purgatory, indulgences and such like — trifles, rather than issues — in which almost all to date have sought my blood. You, and you alone, have seen the hinge on which all turns, and aimed for the vital spot.

Without grace, can man know anything? Without God's grace, can man do or wish any good? Without grace, can man love God above all things? Without grace, can man keep the commandments of the Law? Without grace, can he merit eternal life? Without grace, can man prepare himself for grace? Without grace, can he rise from sin? Without grace, can man avoid sin? Having received grace,…

Abba Moses said, "The man who flees from men is like a ripe grape; but the man who dwells among men is like a sour grape."

It was said of Abba John the Dwarf that he withdrew and lived in the desert at Scetis with an old man of Thebes. His master, taking a piece of dry wood, planted it, and said to him, "Water it every day with a bottle of water, until it bears fruit." Now the water was so far away that he had to leave in the evening and return the following morning. At the end of three years the w…

Q. Why is the Son of God called Jesus, meaning savior? A. Because he saves us from our sins. Salvation cannot be found in anyone else; it is futile to look for any salvation elsewhere.

Q. But doesn't this teaching make people indifferent and wicked? A. No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude.

Q. What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood? A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and thereby to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ's blessed body. And so,…

Therefore, all people are conceived in sin and are born children of wrath, unfit for any saving good, inclined to evil, dead in their sins, and slaves to sin. Without the grace of the regenerating Holy Spirit they are neither willing nor able to return to God, to reform their distorted nature, or to dispose themselves to the reformation of it.

The Synod rejects the errors of those who teach that in spiritual death the spiritual gifts have not been separated from the human will, since the will in itself has never been corrupted but has only been hindered by the darkness of the mind and the disorder of the emotions. Once these hindrances are removed, the will is able to exercise its innate free ability, that is, the wi…

We believe that God created human beings from the dust of the earth and made and formed them in his image and likeness—good, just, and holy; able by their will to conform in all things to the will of God. But when they were in honor they did not understand it and did not recognize their excellence. But they subjected themselves willingly to sin and consequently to death and the…

Christian faith is not an opinion or human conviction, but a most firm trust and a clear and steadfast assent of the mind, and then a most certain apprehension of the truth of God, presented in the Scriptures and in the Apostles' Creed. It is the gift of God, which is given to the elect according to the measure which God has distributed to each one. Because faith is a gift of G…

We believe a man to be not simply justified through faith alone, but through faith which worketh through love, that is to say, through faith and works. Not that the foundation and certainty of our salvation resteth upon works; for no man can do the works of God — for Christ hath said, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5) — but that faith without works is dead, and worketh…

We believe man in falling by the [Original] transgression to have become comparable and like unto the beasts, that is, to have been utterly undone, and to have fallen from his perfection and impassibility, yet not to have lost the nature and power which he had received from the supremely good God. For otherwise he would not be rational, and consequently not man; but to have the…