The Divine Economy

Q: What would come to mind if someone asked you what God's economy is?

A:

The economy of grace is post-scarcity since it flows from an infinite wellspring. Therefore, the notions of production, exchange, and consumption have no consequences in it. There is only the norm of distributive justice which is satisfied perfectly.

Grace itself is divided into actual and sanctifying grace. In a terrestrial economy, goods are distributed first of all according to the order of merit. However, because all grace is gratuitous, merit must first be determined by the distribution of sanctifying grace. God offers this grace, which removes sin and makes the soul holy and pleasing to Him, to every rational creature. Those who freely reject sanctifying grace can do nothing to merit any good from God, but those who accept it can merit and deserve gifts from God by reason of their participation in the supernatural life, which is the definition of sanctifying grace. Wherefore the saints who enjoy sanctifying grace have real intercessory power with God.

Actual graces include nature itself and every other thing that God does for His creatures beyond what they deserve. God distributes actual graces according to His own plan, which since He is a divine being is beyond human comprehension or control.

The above principles follow naturally to the conclusion that those who participate in the divine economy by way of sanctifying grace thereby merit the eternal satisfaction of all their desires in union with the very essence of God, the apprehension of which is known as the Beatific Vision. Therefore one who dies in the state of sanctifying grace is capable of sinning no more and has a right to enjoy this blessed eternity. God being justice itself is fully incapable of denying this right to any holy soul.

Sanctifying grace has ordinary and extraordinary means of distribution. The ordinary means are the seven sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity, and given to the Catholic Church which He founded to sanctify and teach the souls of the world. A sacrament is defined as an outward sign of an inwardly infused grace which was instituted by Christ. God who can neither deceive nor be deceived has guaranteed by His power that any duly ordained priest who validly confects a sacrament exercises the ministry of a sacramental grace ex opere operato, that is, by the very fact of performing those actions which God guaranteed would confect the sacrament.

The extraordinary means of sanctifying grace is perfect contrition, that is, perfect sorrow for all one's sins because they offend God and not merely because of the punishment they have incurred, along with the firm resolution never to offend God again, even to the point of dying rather than sin.

A sacrament has four parts corresponding to the four causes in nature: the minister, matter, form, and intention.

The minister varies from sacrament to sacrament and from ordinary to extraordinary kind. Ordinarily for validity the minister must at least be ordained a priest, although the sacrament of baptism was deemed so important by God that He allows laymen to baptize in cases of grave necessity. Also, the ordinary ministers of matrimony are the husband and wife. Other than that, the minister must be either a priest or a bishop, otherwise the sacrament does not happen. One can only become a priest or a bishop by being ordained by a validly consecrated bishop, so there is an unbroken lineage of priests stretching back to the first bishops, the Apostles who were ordained by Christ Himself.

The matter also varies from sacrament to sacrament, but it is always a thing or action which in some way signifies the grace that is to be conferred upon the recipient. In the case of baptism, it is the action of pouring water over the head; for the Eucharist, it is unleavened bread and naturally fermented grape wine; for confirmation, the signing of the forehead with holy chrism and the laying on of hands; and so forth. Any deviation from the prescribed matter invalidates the sacrament, and no sacramental grace is conferred.

The form is a literal verbal formula that must be recited by the minister of the sacrament, if not word for word, then at least such that the meaning of the formula is left intact. A defect of form likewise renders a sacrament invalid or at least doubtful. The intention in any valid sacrament is always to do what the Church does.

Now, in the late sixties, the Church attempted to change sacred Tradition and alter the matter and form of most of the sacraments. But no body of prelates, not even the Pope in union with an ecumenical council, has the authority to contradict what has been handed down from Christ. Thus, the widespread practice of the Church since the late sixties has been to confect doubtful or invalid sacraments, including the sacrament of Holy Orders which leaves the episcopal lineage of the Novus Ordo or new order of clergy in grave doubt. As the effect of sanctifying grace is to make the soul holy and pleasing to God, the effect of depriving the people of this means of grace because of the invalidity of the new sacraments was a general breakdown in morals, religion, and social order.

Now you know what the divine economy is and what its impact on our world has been. After we die, we shall also see the greatest effects of God's economy in the souls of the blessed, and we shall see the tragic consequences of men's arrogant attempt to tamper with it in the everlasting torments of hell.

Slavery

My education should have come free of charge, since I was taught by Jesuits. Even if Fordham is technically a private university that uses its funding as “alms” to support the priests, it is still against the constitutions of St. Ignatius of Loyola for Jesuits to take money in exchange for tutelage.

But then again, were they really Jesuits?

Alas, I am now a slave to the state and the banksters. Thank God I’m also a slave to Christ.

1 Corinthians chapter vii: “Let every man abide in the same calling in which he was called. Wast thou called, being a bondman? Care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. For he that is called in the Lord, being a bondman, is the freeman of the Lord. Likewise he that is called, being free, is the bondman of Christ.

“You are bought with a price: be not made the bondslaves of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he was called, therein abide with God.”

You’re only truly free as a slave to Christ. Matthew chapter xi: “Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest in your souls. For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.”

Theologically speaking, the human will loses some freedom every time it sins, because in giving way to the passions it becomes mastered by them. So it really only is in keeping God’s commandments and avoiding sin that one can be free in the proper sense.

One is either a slave to Christ or a slave to sin and the devil. The common idea that there is nothing worse than slavery becomes itself an unwilling slavery to Satan, if followed to its conclusion, because it follows Satan in his rebellion.

That’s precisely what sentiment unites hard anarcho-capitalists with communists, namely the hatred of servitude. Both ideologies are born from this one sentiment.

However, as each internalizes their mutual absolute opposition, they must arrive at a compromise, namely, to accept a certain servitude, agreeing to call it freedom on the condition that most of their desires can be satisfied.

Basically this is secular liberal democracy, that thing viewed by our establishment as the final answer to everything.

Consider for example freedom of worship. You are free to practice whatever religion you like. And by that is meant, you are free to practice whatever religion you like, so long as it isn’t a radical religion. And by radical religion is meant, whatever the majority considers radical. And by whatever the majority considers radical is meant, what all have been told  is so by a public moral authority. For whatever a public moral authority says is so, the majority will accept.

This offends libertarians, because it is not an absolute freedom and comes down from an authority(1). But most libertarians will bear with it as long as it doesn’t personally affect them. Likewise it offends communists, because it allows some religion to exist(2). But they will bear with it, because some control over the opiate is much better than none.

Besides, we have always been at war with Eastasia, and the proles have been terrified and desperate for the protective guidance of Big Brother for longer than anyone living can remember. Who has time to worry about such ivory tower notions as the afterlife and God? The salient reality of the life into which all are thrown is far too sensible. You either want to be a part of history-in-the-making or you don’t; that will determine your place on the political chess board.

Never mind that they are all shadows projected onto the wall of the cave. The Masons, the communists, the Islamic State, Russia, the Novus Ordo, all of them…

You are a slave. It is impossible to escape your slavery. However, you have the ability to choose your master.

Choose wisely.

1. For "libertarians," read "Protestants."

2. For "communists," read "Muslims." For "some religion," read "some religion other than Mohammedanism."