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This subject is treated at length in another
place.[1402] Here we will consider only the
essentials.
According to the nominal definition, supernatural denotes
that which is above nature. The term "nature" commonly
has two meanings: it means either the essence of a thing
considered as the root of the specific activity (in this
sense we speak of the nature of gold, of silver, of a
man), or the complexus of all things in the universe as
they are interdependent according to certain laws.
Supernatural therefore commonly means that which is above
nature taken collectively, that is, what is above the
laws of nature. Hence a supernatural effect is one that
cannot be produced according to the laws of nature, and a
supernatural truth is one that cannot be known according to
the natural laws of our intellect.
For the Catholic Church, as we see from her
definitions, the supernatural is that which is above every
created nature, as exceeding the powers and exigencies of
every created nature, although it does not exceed the
passive and perfectible capacity of our nature, nor is it
incongruous to our nature.
Moreover, according to the Church, supernaturalness is
at least twofold: 1. the supernaturalness of miracles,
which exceed the efficient powers (or causality) and
exigencies of any created nature, but do not exceed the
cognitive powers of man's nature; 2. the
supernaturalness of mysteries strictly so called, and the
supernaturalness of grace and glory, which exceed not only
the efficient powers and exigencies of any created nature
but the cognitive and appetitive powers of any created
intellectual nature as well.[1403]
Hence the supernatural is that which exceeds the
properties (the powers and exigencies) of nature and is
able to perfect nature gratuitously. The relative
supernatural is that which exceeds the properties of only
some particular created nature, but not of all created
nature, for example, that which is natural and specific
for an angel is relatively supernatural for man. Such
would be the cunning and tricks of the devils, which are
imitations of miracles. The absolute supernatural is that
which exceeds the properties of all created and creatable
nature, namely, that which exceeds the powers and
exigencies of every created nature.
How is the absolutely supernatural divided? According to
the Church, as we said above, supernaturalness is at
least twofold: a) the supernaturalness of the miracle,
which exceeds the efficient powers and exigencies of every
created nature but does not exceed the cognitive powers of
human nature; b) the supernaturalness of mysteries
strictly so called and of the life of grace and glory,
which exceeds not only the powers and exigencies of every
created nature but also the cognitive powers, and
consequently exceeds also the appetitive powers and the
natural merit of every created intellectual nature. We
see this distinction in the miracle of resurrection, in
which natural life is supernaturally restored to a corpse,
but in which there is no restoration of life that is
essentially and intrinsically supernatural.
To explain this distinction the Thomists point out that
the absolutely supernatural is that which exceeds the
powers and exigencies of every created nature. But this
transcendency can be founded only on the intrinsic formal
cause of the thing that is called supernatural, and then
the thing is substantially (or entitatively or
intrinsically) supernatural, or on causes extrinsic to
the thing that is said to be supernatural, and then the
thing is supernatural with regard to mode. This
transcendency cannot be founded on the material cause since
the material cause is the subject in which the supernatural
forms are received, namely, the soul and its
faculties.[1404]
With regard to the formal cause, a being is said to be
supernatural as to essence or substance, whether it be the
uncreated supernatural, namely, God, the Trinity, the
person of the Word subsisting in the human nature of
Christ, or a created supernatural being by reason of the
specifying formal object, such as the light of glory,
habitual grace, the infused virtues, the gifts of the
Holy Ghost, and actual graces of this order.
With regard to the efficient cause, a being is said to be
supernatural as to the mode of its production, namely, a
miracle. But miracles are divided into those that are
supernatural as to the substance, for example, the
glorification of the body, which can in no way be effected
by nature, and those that are supernatural with regard to
the subject in which they happen, for example, a
resurrection that is not glorious, since nature can
produce life but not in the dead, and those that are
supernatural as to mode, for example, the sudden cure of
a fever, since a fever can be cured by nature or by
science but this cannot be done suddenly.
We should try to avoid the confusion arising from the
terms "supernatural as to substance" and "miraculous as
to substance," since in the first term "substance"
means formal and intrinsic, but in the second it means
efficient and extrinsic. With regard to the preternatural
privileges of the state of innocence, it should be noted
that the preservation or immunity from death implies a
miracle of the same order as a resurrection that is not
glorious, for just as nature cannot restore life to a
corpse so it cannot permanently preserve man's body from
death.
With regard to the final cause, a being is said to be
supernatural as to the mode of its ordering, for example,
the act of natural acquired temperance directed to a
supernatural end, that is, to life eternal, under the
influence of charity. This act of acquired temperance
differs essentially from the act of infused temperance,
which is supernatural as to substance and essence by reason
of the specifying formal object.
This classic division may be presented as follows:
Supernatural knowledge can be either supernatural as to
substance, as the act of infused faith, or supernatural
as to mode, and this latter, like miracles, has three divisions:
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1. the prophetic knowledge of some future, natural,
contingent event, which is distant in time;
2. the knowledge of a natural object already existing but
remote in space;
3. the instantaneous knowledge of some language, which
can be learned naturally but not in a moment.
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THE ABSOLUTELY SUPERNATURAL
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God under the aspect of the Deity, the Trinity, the
person of the Word united to human nature
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the light of glory, habitual and actual grace, infused
virtues, the gifts of the Holy Ghost
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a natural act supernaturally ordered to a supernatural end
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a miracle as to substance (as the glorification of the body)
a miracle as to the subject (as non-glorious resurrection)
a miracle as to mode (the sudden cure of a fever)
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What is the natural order? In general, order is the
disposition of things with regard to before and after in
relation to some principle.[1405] The natural order
therefore is the disposition of the various created natures
with regard to before and after in relation to God as the
author and end of these natures. This natural order
comprises, on the part of the efficient cause, creation,
conservation, and the divine cooperation necessary for the
natural acts of creatures. In the case of man the natural
final end is the possession of God, not in the beatific
vision, but as known discursively through reason and loved
naturally above all things.
What is the supernatural order? It is the fitting
disposition of those things that exceed the properties of
created nature in relation to God as He is their author
and end. We must distinguish between the essentially
supernatural order, which is purely supernatural, from
that which is only effectively supernatural, as for
example, a miracle, and which is often referred to as
preternatural.
For man the essentially supernatural order is constituted
by the following:
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1. the end, or the possession of God by intuitive vision;
2. the first agent, or God the author of grace and
glory, and the second agent, or man elevated by grace;
3. the objective means, such as the external revelation
proposed by the Church and the sacraments;
4. the subjective means, such as the infused virtues,
the gifts, actual grace;
5. the law, or the system of precepts by which the
supernatural end is to be reached.
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God, therefore, can be considered in two ways:
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1. as the author and end of the natural order;
2. as the author and end of the supernatural
order.[1406]
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First corollary. That which is only effectively
supernatural (as a miracle) can be produced by God as
the author and lord of nature, but not that which is
supernatural as to substance or essence.
Second corollary. No opposition, but rather harmony
exists between the order of nature and the order of grace
because both have their origin in the same immutable font
of truth, God the best and greatest being. "Thus,"
says St. Thomas, "faith presupposes natural knowledge
just as grace presupposes nature, and perfection
presupposes the perfectible."[1407]
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