The Finite Supernatural and Its Modes

Abstract

The notion of the finite supernatural is not at all univocal and must apply to such diverse realities as the infused virtues of faith, hope, and charity, sanctifying grace, actual grace, the grace of the hypostatic union in Christ, the beatific vision of creatures, and anything else that can be grouped together under the general heading of created grace. But perhaps it is possible to achieve an understanding of the finite supernatural in general through a notion analogically applicable to all the diverse instances. Such a unified notion of supernatural created being was the goal of De La Taille,¹ in his conception of the finite supernatural as created actuation by uncreated act. Lonergan,² and Rahner too,³ have also sought for such a unified grasp of the various modes of this being, Rahner through the idea of quasi-formal causality and Lonergan by a refinement of De La Taille’s conception. In fact, we have already encountered something of their views in the discussion of the nature of the hypostatic union. Without dwelling further upon them here, we will proceed to our own examination and elaboration, beginning with some general observations on the mode of procedure, recalling something from our discussion of the hypostatic union in order the better to compare the mission of the Holy Spirit as sanctifier with that of the Son as incarnate, reflecting upon the actual created term of the mission of the Holy Spirit in our life of grace here below and noting the analogical similarity between this created term and that found in the hypostatic union, moving to a consideration of the structure of the beatific vision in the light of the foregoing considerations, and finally summing up our investigation in a statement of the unified conception of the finite supernatural and the diverse mode of its application in each of the three cases discussed, namely the Incarnation, the life of grace here below, and the beatific vision.