The joy of contemplating the grace of God and the glory of God, which
must be preached to all, have brought me to this task. The apostle Paul
was a stout-hearted champion of God’s glory throughout this whole
epistle [Romans], and defended it with apostolic authority and prudence
against the Jews; the holy fathers everywhere defended it against
heretics, and we desire it to be inscribed in our hearts in order to
acquire a disposition of total humility and to achieve purity of
devotion. Those who completely devote themselves to divine worship
should know that piety is the worship of God, as Scripture says; but
there is no piety without thanksgiving and no thanksgiving without an
acknowledgment of grace. By meditating frequently on this they become
the blessed who are poor in spirit, to whom the kingdom of heaven
belongs and whose spirit is believed to be totally with God. For grace
predestined us before we existed, when we were nothing; when we turned
back, it justified us; and it will glorify us when we are justified if
we are not ungrateful. Grace accomplishes good in us so we may will; it
cooperates with us when we do will; and without it we can neither will
nor accomplish any good. Just as we were created by God from no
subsisting elements so that we might be something among his creatures,
so by grace we have been created in good works by no merits of our own.
And therefore if we merit anything, it is a grace, and what we merit is
grace for grace. Indeed, to bear the fruit of a grace received is an
increase of grace, just as to have received grace in the first place is
a grace. Grace goes before us so we can pray; it helps us while we
pray; and it gives us what we pray for. The Virgin was filled with
grace so she could become the Mother of God; he who was born of the
Virgin was found to be full of grace. Noah, Abraham, Moses and the rest
of the holy fathers are said to have found grace with God, and when the
apostle Paul sought something else, he was told that grace would
suffice.
Would someone who had "turned back" and been justified, be ungrateful for their justification? What I mean is, wouldn't a heart of gratefulness be concomitant with the "turning back" (I assume "metanoia" is what he is referring to with that phrase)?
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