Darrell Kostiha

Theological Anthropology
Mgsr. James Anderson,
November 29, 2013.
This appearance of being that stirs in me, these light and fugitive acts of a shadow,
carry in themselves, as I am told, a responsibility heavy with eternity, and even at the price of
blood I cannot buy nothingness because nothingness is no longer possible. It seems then that I
am condemned to life, condemned to death, condemned to eternity!1 Maurice Blondel captures
with certainty the paradoxical connotations confluent in the totality of being qua being as
existing in the concrete. Blondels condemnations of life such as it is may appear as a
conglomeration of negativity, yet even Heidegger would philosophize that being-in-the-world is
the reality of being thrust or cast into a world it did not choose.2 In the consideration of
theological anthropology and the relationship of the natural to the supernatural it is imperative
that any metaphysical musings refrain from the abstract or hypothetical. Human nature is
complexity that mysteriously meanders in two worldsas the already here and the not yet the
rational animal and the divine image, or exiles from Eden or sons and daughters of God.
Querying into the abyss of the nothingness in which he was created being qua being will reveal
concretely that man is not contained in a closed systembeing qua being is endowed with an
openness to the divine that refuses to shut even when traumatized by life. Being wants to
transcend because it needs to transcend, or the spirit dies. Becoming is always a call from God
1 Lacroix, Jean. Maurice Blondel. An Introduction to the Man and His Philosophy. New York:
Sheed and Ward, 1968. 30.

2 Heidegger, Martin. Being and Time. Trans. John Macquarrie & Edward Robinson. New York:
Harper perennial Modern Thought, 1962. 174.

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that proclaims, come hither and see the many dwelling places I have prepared for you (Jn.
14.2). Unfortunately, the call of God as explained by theologians is not impervious to the
multiplicity inherent in human language as seen through the interpretations of theologians in the
historical drama of Gods self-communication. Herein the contradiction is situated not in there
being a call, but where does the call originate from. Is this desiderium naturale innately part of
our being as understood by Henri de Lubac, or is it in the words of the commentators of St.
Thomas Aquinas a natural desire that is elicited and conditioned. Therefore, this thesis will state
the argument of Thomas Aquinas desiderium naturale as understood by modern commentators,
Henri De Lubacs natural desire for the Supernatural, and will assert the openness of the spiritual
creature to Gods self-communication through the analogy of language.
For, in the end, what is man in nature? A nothing compared to the infinite, an everything
compared to the nothing, a midpoint between nothing and everything, infinitely removed from
understanding the extremes: the end of things and their principle are hopelessly hidden from him
in an impenetrable secret.3 In the context of Blaise Pascals remark the theological task ahead is
daunting and demanding in which many diverging theological paths have developed not in any
way diminutive in wisdom. First of all, the inquiry begins with St. Thomas Aquinas and
supporters who assert that the call of God is elicited and conditioned, and can only be achieved
by the help of grace. Thomas Aquinas writes:
If therefore the human intellect, knowing the essence of a created effect, knows no
more of
God than that he is; the perfection of that intellect does not reach simply the
First Cause.
Wherefore, it is not perfectly happy. Consequently, for perfect happiness
the intellect needs to
reach the very essence of the First Cause. And thus it will have its
perfection through union with
god as with that object, in which alone mans happiness consists, as stated above (AA. 1, 7; Q. 2, A. 8).4

3 Pascal, Blaise. Roger Ariew ed. Pensees. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2004. 59.

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To summarize the argument of Aquinas it will be stated that all men desire happiness and perfect
happiness consists only when the intellect can rest in knowing the essence of God. All things
created have an ordering from God to reach their perfection which is their end as it is known in
their nature as such; however, for the rational animal the end is perfection of the intellect in
coming to know the essence of God. The desiderium naturale is posited within the intellect and
is a natural part of metaphysical inquiry into the cause of effects. Reinhard Hutter writes:
A natural reaction of admiratio, wonder, gives rise to increasingly disciplined and
methodologically reflective philosophical enquiry. This quest is a movement that
receives its lan from a natural desire elicited by the encounter with something and that
finds its rest or terminus in the contemplation of the cause of that thing. 5

Thus, this ability of the intellect to know the cause from the effect is what makes it possible for
the intellect to grasp the universality of being, and from there to desire to know the cause of its
being which is God. Yet, to know the essence of finite causes in not the same as knowing the
essence of heavenly things such as God. It would seem that either the intellect would be
frustrated in not being able to reach its end which is God by its natural powers, or it would have
to be assisted by Gods grace to achieve perfect felicity. Reinhard Hutter describes the relation
between created intellectus and divine intellectus as being relative in their act of understanding.
Conversely, Gods intellect is pure act while ours in potentially in act. Reinhard writes:

4 Aquinas, Thomas. The Summa Theologia of St. Thomas Aquinas Vol. 1. QQ. 1-119 & First
Part of the Second Part QQ. 1-114. New York: Benziger Brothers, Inc., 1947. Pt. I-II Q. 3 Art. 8.

5 Hutter, Reinhard. Joseph Torchia, O.P. ed. The Thomist 73 Aquinas on the Natural Desire
for the Vision of God: A Reflecture of Suma Contra Gentiles III, C. 25 Aprs Henri de Lubac.
Washington D.C.: The Dominican Fathers Province of St. Joseph. (2009): 523-91. 565.

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The divine substance is not beyond the capacity of the created intellect in such a way that
it is altogether foreign to it, as sound is from the object of vision, or an immaterial substance
is from sense power; in fact, the divine substance is the first intelligible object and
principle
of all intellectual cognition. But it is beyond the capacity of the created intellect, in the
sense that
it exceeds its power. (ScG III, c. 54, 8).6

However, Aquinas does state that desiderium naturale is not able through human intellect
able to comprehend the essence of God, but only that God is. The diligent Dominican will then
state that only by grace does our natural desire achieve fulfillment or perfection. Aquinas states
that every created form has by God the power to act towards its proportional end according to its
nature. However, for rational animals our end exceeds our nature, so Aquinas writes that God by
a superadded form elevates human nature to the supernatural.7 According to Aquinas, by the light
of grace man can know divine things. Furthermore, Aquinas will assert, That man could in a
state of perfect nature by his natural power do the good natural to him without any gratuitous
gift, but God would have to help in moving him.8 Needless to say, these two articles raise the
contradictory questions of obedential potency and the mode of pura natura in human nature. It is
these two modalities that de Lubac has the most difficulty with. Now, it is fair to say that
Aquinas never mentions that man existed in a state of pura natura, but the fact that he postulates
the idea is pertinent to his reasoning in maintaining two distinct orders of nature and the
supernatural. Two separate orders ensure that grace remains indicative to Gods gratuitous gift to
man in his nature. However, the idea that another form is superadded on by grace does sound
distinctly dualistic as the line of demarcation seems to inhibit the composite of man as body and
6 Ibid. 555.

7 Aquinas. Summa Theologia. Q.109, Art. 2 pt I-II.

8 Ibid. Q. 109, Art. 3.

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soul. It would appear that in one miraculous fashion Jesus the carpenter builds upon our human
nature a superstructure first floor naturesecond floor supernatural! But, the most puzzling
aspect of obedential potency is the claim that on one hand this passive potency does not change
our nature, but on the other hand it has the potency to raise it to a supernatural likeness.
Lawrence Feingold states:
This capacity to receive supernatural perfections without losing ones nature and identity
has come to be called specific obedential potency. Thus, we distinguish obedential potency
in the generic sense (man), and specific obedential potency that is proper to a spiritual
creature. It follows that the criterion of non-repugnance or non contradiction is not an
entirely negative principle. Obedential potency that is specific to a rational nature can only
be oriented toward the further perfection of that nature. Only a spiritual creature created
in
the image of God has the specific obedential potency to be perfected further in that
image, by
being carried from a natural to a supernatural likeness. 9

Contradictorily, how can nature as such as elevated by the will of God through the passive
potency of the spiritual creature still be essentially that same identity or nature? Is not being in
the supernatural likeness of God beyond the potentiality of human nature? Yet through grace and
obedential potency we can remain in that same nature but elevated to the supernatural. Feingold
is careful not to assert that this grace through obedential potency is the perfection of that nature,
but only that it furthers that perfection. Aquinas will state that only in cases such as St. Paul is
grace seen to be miraculous because Paul is justified all at once, but grace commonly works in
the ungodly as an imperfect conversion vis--vis a perfect conversion. Aquinas writes, And thus
the justification (or knowing Gods essence) of the ungodly is not miraculous, because the soul is
naturally capable of grace; since from its having been made to the likeness of God by grace, as
Augustine says, in the above quotation.10 Yet, he clearly argues that this is the movement from a
natural to a supernatural likeness that does not change human nature! Momentarily recalling
9 Feingold, Lawrence. The Natural Desire to See God According to St. Thomas Aquinas and His
Interpreters. Florida: Sapientia Press, 2010. 113.

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what Aquinas said about grace as a superadded form that elevates human nature to the
supernatural, yet this superadded form does not metaphysically alter human nature. Does that
mean that human nature now has two forms? Quite possibly why some theologians refer to
Aquinas nature as being two tiered.11 Speaking enigmatically does not change the assertion that
either human nature is elevated to that which is beyond its capabilities by grace, or human nature
does not receive deification and beatitude. Feingold asserts, That a spiritual creature can receive
spiritual perfections above their nature without losing their nature. Thus, spiritual creatures have
transcendent obedential potencies that are unique to them.12 At this juncture it might be
pertinent to elaborate on the theological issue of pura natura as staunchly held by the
commentators of St. Aquinas. The reality of God creating man in a state of pure nature is
feasible, but this is a hypothetical solution for maintaining the distinct orders of nature and
supernatural. Steven Long critiquing Balthasar fights for the idea of pure nature in Aquinas
theology, and it does appear that Aquinas conceives of the idea as possible without being a
punishment. However, Aquinas only conceives of the idea and does not state it as a theological
truth. Clearly, God could have created man in pure nature in this given order without any of the
preternatural gifts of sanctifying grace or the maladies of original sin, and this would not have
been a punishment in the context of humanity. Hereto, Bernard Mulcahy, O.P. explicates on the
definition of pura natura:
10 Aquinas. (Q. 113 Art. 10)

11 Lubac, Henri de. A Brief Catechesis on Nature and Grace. Trans. Brother Richard Arnandez,
F.S.C. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1980. 34.

12 Feingold. 112.

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According to Garrigou-Lagrange, pure nature means nature with its intrinsic constituent principles and
such as follow from them or due them. The expression, then, does not refer
to a real state in which
anyone has existed. Rather, it indicates all those notes which are
included in the definition of
man, a rational animal, and further the properties of man and
the natural aids due to human
nature that it may attain its final natural end. 13
Thereto, pura natura is only an abstraction of the mind that serves as a functionality of

theologians and their propositions, and fails to maintain that which is realwhat a thing is.
There exists an abyss or chasm between that which is conceived and that which is in reality. This
theory fails to maintain the truth of revelation and biblical drama of humanity and God in
relationship. Pura natura is a construction formulated to elevate the gratuitousness of grace apart
from human nature, and fails to maintain the truth of revelation. In the gospel of John it clearly
states that, From his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace, because while the law
was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:16-17). Therefore,
the sanctifying grace lost through original sin was supplemented by the grace of Christ in the
Incarnation. How could pura natura ever exist in Gods plan of humanity when the Word created
humanity in grace, and in order not to lose the image of Himself in Adam Christ became
incarnated to restore us in grace? Nevertheless, the theory has unanswered questions and many
theologians quite literally reject it out of hand as being repugnant. Philosophical inquiries into
humanity must be juxtaposed to the theological assertions in Revelation and how God has
revealed Himself and humanity.
These foundations, solidly established on the inviolable authority of religion, let us
know that there are two equally constant truths of faith. One is that man in the state of creation

13 Mulcahy, Bernard O.P. Aquinass Notion of Pure Nature and the Christian Integralism of
Henri de Lubac Series VII Theology and Religion Vol. 314. New York: American University
Studies, 2011. 2.

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or in the state of grace is raised above all nature, made in some way similar to God and sharing
in divinity. The other is that in the state of corruption and sin, he is fallen from the first state and
made similar to the beasts.14 Following in the words of Pascal we turn our attention to the
controversial and era changing theology of Henri de Lubac whose critique raised many questions
concerning the theology of the scholastics and their understanding of Aquinass desiderium
naturale. The profound and provocative book of de Lubac called The Mystery of the
Supernatural is forthright in looking at the dispute of the relationship between nature and grace.
The foremost issue raised by de Lubac is the reality of the desiderium naturale as being innate as
compared to elicited in Thomas Aquinas. Modern commentators whether Feingold, Mulcahy,
Long, Joseph Torchia, O.P. all agree that de Lubac makes the relation of nature and grace too
communal; insofar, that de Lubac does not keep the boundaries of nature and grace distinct and
as a result grace is something that God owes us because of our nature and its capacity for grace.
Naturally, they feel that de Lubac went too far in trying to overcome the notion of pura natura
and does not grasp the metaphysical meaning of obedential potency. Therefore, it is necessary to
investigate de Lubacs stance more closely in order to grasp the relation between nature and
grace, so as to be able to better appreciate his contributions to this equivocal issue. For de Lubac
this desire is most understood in the concepts of a call as when the Israelites were called to be
Gods chosen people. De Lubac writes:
It is in me as a result of my belonging to humanity as it is, that humanity which is, as
we say, called. For Gods call is constitutive. My finality, which is expressed by this
desire, is inscribed upon my very being as it has been put into the universe by God. And,
by Gods will, I now have no other genuine end, no end really assigned to my nature or
presented for my free acceptance under any guise, except that of seeing God. 15

14 Pascal. 37.

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De Lubacs terminology seems to suggest that this desire is not only innate as inscribed upon my
very being from creation, but also that it can really have only one end which is supernatural. Guy
Mansisni, O.S.B., writes, De Lubacs theological claim is, negatively, that we do not need the
idea of pure nature in order to safeguard the gratuity of the supernatural order, and, positively,
that there is in man an innate desire for God.16 Necessarily, this desire does not in all reality
have two connatural ends in which man could be happy: one end consists of philosophical
contemplation of causes and effects, and the other is the elevation of that desire to the beatific
vision. If understanding correctly de Lubacs thesis this desire can be none other than the desire
implanted deep within our spiritual being at the moment of creation. God gives himself to me at
creation at and the same time he calls me. De Lubac quotes the words of Berulle:
Let us bless God who has given us being, and a being which has a relationship and a
movement towards him. That movement is impressed by the Creators power in the
depths of his creature, deep within it from the very moment of its creation. And it is a
movement so deep and so powerful that the will cannot affect it except to fight against
it, that no sin we commit can hold it back, that hell itself cannot obliterate it. That inclination,
which is natural to the soul, is hidden in this life, just as the soul is hidden from itself as it is
buried in the body. It sees neither its own being, nor what lies at the depths of its being.
When it leaves the body, it will see itself and will then also feel the powerful weight of
that inclination, but without the power or freedom to make any good use of it. 17

This quote by Berulle expresses most clearly what most Christians feel if they would have to
define that inner calling of God that can only be interior and spiritual. If Berulle does not
15 Lubac, Henri de. The Mystery of the Supernatural. trans. Rosemary Sheed. New York:
Crossroad Publishing Company, 1967. 54.

16 Mansini O.S.B., Guy. The Abiding Theological Significance of Henri de Lubacs

Surnaturel. The Thomist 73, (2009): 593-619. 599.

17 De Lubac. 57-58.

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particularly explain how this natural desire comes about in the human dynamics of being body
and soul he does express it with poetic truth beyond the capacity of Aquinas and De Lubac. How
can this inclination at the point of suffering still be so mysterious and beyond the grasp of the
intellect? De Lubac continues by stating, Whatever may be said of desire being elicited by, or
following upon, a knowledge of the object, however indeterminate that object in fact remains,
this natural desire is not only necessary, but just as determinate as its correlative end.18
Herein there seems to be truth in the statement that if one desires a supernatural end or a
supernatural end is possiblehis desire would be directed to the supernatural. And anything
short of the supernatural would be deemed in the words of de Lubac as I have failed in
everything.19 It may not be politically correct to say that both Aquinas and de Lubac are correct
for it seems that one could have an innate desire by grace that is elicited by grace. For clarity de
Lubac will designate this call as: two instances of gratuitousness, two divine gifts, and
consequently, if legitimate to speak in this way, designating it not in itself but in a two fold
goal, its two fold objecta two fold divine freedom.20 De Lubac understands that in
creating humanity God rightfully calls man to the beatific vision; however, if one considers
Adam in the garden does this call still remain valid? Charles Journet writes that had Adam not
sinned he would have gone from the state of being on the way to the state of glory with no
experience of death. He continues to state that this grace as infused would not have needed the

18 Lubac. 56.

19 Ibid. 57.

20 Ibid. 81.

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mediation of any other type of grace.21 This reality of Adam as constituted with divine grace
would correspond to de Lubacs theory of the two fold gratuitousness of being created and
called, but with no coercion on the part of human nature and Gods grace. Bringing all these
ideas together de Lubac writes:
Gratuitous being is of a genus different from natural being. One can imagine no kind of metaphysical
necessity which the creation of sprit would impose on God.
Just as creation
itself is no kind
of necessary consequence of something which preceded it within God, so
the giftand
also therefore the offer of the giftof the supernatural is no mere consequence of creation [sequela
creationis]. If creation itself can in a real sense be called a grace, then the
call to see God is
another one: Although it is rightly called a certain grace by which we were
createdit is by
another that we are called22

Necessarily, before hammering into stone the herculean theological accomplishments of de

Lubac it must needs be that one listen to the contrary argument of the detractors of de Lubac.
And quite honestly the discussion surrounding de Lubacs view today might be just as relevant,
controversial, and condemning as when Surnaturel was first published in 1965. Feingold argues
that once de Lubac asserts an absolute and innate desire contrary to the conditional and elicited
desire of Aquinas than the gratuitousness of grace is lost. Essentially, grace must be given to the
creature because God has so designed him, and to not give grace would frustrate the desire of the
creatures essential nature as constituted as supernatural. However, Feingold does state that the
elicited natural desire is based upon an innate natural desire to know the cause and effects, but it
is the elicited desire that is able to go beyond the capabilities of the innate desire because elicited
desires of the spiritual creature are able to transcend. Feingold argues that an innate appetite
concerns only that which constitutes our happiness in general, the good in general and more or
21 Journet, Charles. The Meaning of Grace. Trans. A.V. Littledale. New York: Scepter
Publishers, 1996. 85.

22 De Lubac. 82.

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less is confined to what is proportionate to our nature. But, and this does not seem very
convincing it is only the elicited appetite that desires to transcend because it is situated in
knowing. The argument in retrospect seems to be situated in that Feingold holds that it is
ultimately the elicited desire above and beyond the innate desire to rise up to the essence of God.
While de Lubac holds that essentially the elicited desire is noteworthy only if there is an
underlying innate desire formally directed to God. Surprisingly, it does appear that on some level
there can be a synthesis in regards to these two different types of desires, and they can co-exist
within one nature.23 Bishop Andre-Mutien Leonard correlatively echoes the thought of Feingold
where human nature includes the spiritual aspect by way of obedential potency is open to grace
that would exceed what is proportionate to a spiritual creature in the consideration of the
supernaturalGod. Unfortunately, he confers that without this abstract non-concrete
hypothetical existence of pure nature the gratuitousness of grace becomes a necessity. Honestly,
one might be able to imagine God creating human nature outside the boundaries of grace, but is
this not the definition of what one might call Hell! Bishop Leonard might be able to imagine
pura natura; inasmuch, as long as he does not have to live in it. Nevertheless, Bishop Leonard
retreats to the theological stance of Karl Rahner and the modality of a supernatural existential in
order to maintain spiritual openness to grace.24 Karl Rahners supernatural existential maintains
the abstract theory of pura natura and obedential potency, so the major dissimilitude to de
Lubacs two fold freedom subsists in the imprint of a supernatural finality because it is the
initial step in Gods self communication, and existential because it permeates the totality of life.
23 Feingold. 399-401.

24 Bishop Andre-Mutien Leonard. The Theological Necessity of the Pure Nature Concept.
328.

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Whereas de Lubac asserted that human nature is open to Gods grace through the grace of
creation and the simultaneous call, Rahner explicates that, If God calls, Gods word does not
return empty but affects humanitys inner core; humans are as they are because of their
supernatural finality. For Rahner there is but one graced event that unites all of salvation
history and that is Gods redeeming self-communication.25 The problematic that is not
addressed by Rahner is how Gods self-commnuication to Adam transposes a supernatural
finality so important to his theology? Karl Rahners theology of the self-communication of God
understood through the supernatural existential has the potential to synthesize the paradox of
human nature where it does not cross the boundaries of metaphysics, but also establishes an
openness within the spiritual creature where grace can operate as a foreign entity in human
nature without the fear of rejection. Yet, Karl Rahners theology of the supernatural existential
incorporates the idea of pura natura and obedential potency that remains inevitably similar to
that of the Thomistic commentators.26 There is possibly of a connection with the Word of God as
formative in the act of creation and the Word of God as redeeming humanity through the cross as
related to Gods self-communication and our finality as such. However, these spiritual
speculations will be considered in our final act.
Spirit is the root of personality. The notion of personality thus involves that of totality and
independence; no matter how poor and crushed a person may be, he is a whole, and as a person,
25 Marmion, Declan, Mary E. Hines, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Karl Rahner:
Experience of Grace, Stephen F. Duffy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 46-52.

26 Rahner S.J., Karl. Nature and Grace Dilemmas in the Modern Church. New York: Sheed and
Ward, 1964. 140-141.

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subsistent in an independent matter. It is to say that he is a minute fragment of matter that is at
the same time a universe, a beggar who participates in the absolute being, mortal flesh whose
value is eternal, and a bit of straw into which heaven enters.27 In our last section the reality of
human nature as created spirits is fundamental to the two fold order of nature and the
supernatural. The book of Wisdom relates the reality of Wisdom as there in the creation of the
first man. She preserved the first-formed father of the world when he alone had been created;
and raised him up from his fall, and gave him power to rule all things (Wis. 10:1-2). In addition,
For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of
His goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews, while herself perduring; and
passing into holy souls from age to age. (Wis. 7:27). The Lord by Wisdom founded the earth,
established the heavens by His understanding (Pr. 3:18-19). Wisdom as proclaimed in the Old
Testament seems to solidify the argument of Aquinass desire for God as being elicited in that
man comes to know God by way of natural contemplation of the First Cause through His effects.
However, in these same passages of the book of Wisdom we find, She hastens to make herself
known in anticipation of mens desire (Wis. 6:12-13). The personification of Gods wisdom is
also related to the word of God as being the Son of God. The Wisdom and Word of God are both
present in the creation of man in the beginning, and these two terms have come to be
understood by theologians as the personifications of the Word of God or Christ. Theologian
Richard Bauckham in defining a High Christology in early antiquity unequivocally states that in
Jewish monotheism the personifications of Wisdom and Word are intrinsic to the divine identity
in the work of creation. Bauckham is not timid in speculating that these personifications are

27 Fecher, Charles A. Fecher, Charles A. The Philosophy of Jacques Maritain. Westminster, Md.:
Newman Press, 1953.159.

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congruent to a distinct existence in reality, and must be comprehended as there being a
distinction within God. This formulation makes possible the doctrine of the Trinity or three
persons in one God as understood by Jewish monotheism.28 Therefore, asserting that the Word of
God was present in creation is paramount to pinpointing the source of the desire within humanity
for God. Therefore, in the theology of Karl Rahner and the self-communication of God as related
to mans finality and de Lubacs two fold gratuitousness as creation and call it would be crucial
to this study to extrapolate the philosophical work of Hans-Georg Gadamer in the book, Truth
and Method, and the relation of the Word of God within the Trinity and how it correlates to
human language. First of all, by way of analogy Gadamer speaks of the inner word as thought
that exists in our mind before it becomes the spoken word in speech. Thus, Christ exists in the
mind of the Father as the inner word or thought that is begotten by the Father through speech.
Fundamentally, our language is by way of analogy related to the divine mind as seen through the
Second person of the Trinity the Word of God, but the divine word is to be understood as
completely expressed for the nature of the divine essence knows itself in totality. However, the
human mind or person does not know itself in totality because the essence of humanity as such is
mystery, and must through the invention of new words find new ways of expressing reality as
such. Moreover, this plurality or incompleteness has a positive connotation in that it reveals the
infinity of the mind or spirit in its desire to form new concepts or words.
Gadamer writes:
The perfect word, therefore, is formed only in thinking, like a tool, but once it exists as
the full perfection of thought, nothing more is created with it. Rather, the thing is present
in it. Thus, it is not a real tool. Thomas found a brilliant metaphor for this: the word is
like a mirror in which the thing is seen. The curious thing about the mirror, however, is that it nowhere

28 Bauckham, Richard. Jesus and the God of Israel. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 2008. 17.

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extends beyond the image of the thing. In it nothing is mirrored except this one thing, so that
the whole mirror reflects only the image (similtudo). What is remarkable about this metaphor is
that the word is understood here entirely as the perfect reflection of the thingi.e, as the
expression of the thingand has left behind it the path of the thought to which alone, however, it
owes its existence. This does not happen with the divine mind. Unlike the divine word, the
human word is essentially incomplete. No human word can express our mind completely. But
the image of the mirror shows, this does not mean that the word as such is incomplete. Rather, the
perfection of the human mind consists in its never being able to be completely present to itself but
in being dispersed into thinking this or that. From this essential point it follows that the human
word is not one, like the divine word, but must necessarily be many words. 29

In addition, Gadamer will state the inner word in us by way of the analogy of the Trinity means
that the inner word is formed not by way of reflection but is formed by the existing species
within the mind. Hereto, it is as if the inner word and the spoken word exist alongside each other
in close proximity and unity. Gadamer writes, Their unity is so close that the word does not
occupy a second place in the mind beside the species (Lat.); rather, the word is that in which
knowledge is consummatedi.e., that in which the species is fully thought.30 Furthermore, the
divine word as complete must be considered to be one of unity as juxtaposed to the multiplicity
of the human word in its incompleteness. However, Gadamer acknowledges that even though the
divine word expresses unity it does not find itself so expressed in the multiplicity of human
language. Rather, the proclamation of salvation as event is expressed in the gospel through the
multiplicity of the proclamation. Gadamer writes, Hence it is one word that is proclaimed ever
anew in preaching. Its character as gospel, then, already points to the multiplicity of its
proclamation.31 Therefore, if Christ as the invisible word created man in the divine imagethat
29 Gadamer, Hans-Georg. Truth and Method Second Edition. Trans. Joel Weinsheimer Donald
G. Marshall. New York: Continuum, 424.

30 Ibid. 425.

31 Ibid. 426.

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is in the image of the Word of God who is the image of the Father (Heb 1.3)and as St. Irenaeus
stated that Christ came to restore His own image in man32then it would seem that this desire
for God must be innate but unconditional in the gift of creation. For the invisible word as
imprinted on the image of man must be understood through the reality of the unity of the inner
word and the spoken word. In relation to the philosophy of Gadamer the invisible inner word has
an immediate unity to the spoken word; therefore, the invisible Word of God in creation must be
related to the Incarnation of the Word of God who makes visible the invisible inner Word of
creation. If there is an openness to the divine in human nature it is because of Gods initial selfcommunication through the invisible Word in creation that imprinted the invisible Word of God
in the spirit of man. The Word of God through the Incarnation not only reclaims the image of the
Word in man, but makes visible what was initially invisible. How other would the Word of God
as proclamation ever penetrate the heart of man if the image of God as Word was not already
there! Nevertheless, though this desire for God is innate it remained unconditional until the Word
of God appeared as such through the Incarnation. And this un-conditionality finds expression in
the multiplicity of concepts of God as expressed in antiquity through false idols and images even
in the age of the prophets. Thereto, the Israelites expressed the reality of God through the
multiplicity of concepts as expressed through the signs of Gods power to save them, and the
Gentiles expressed the reality of God only through the analogy of human wisdom in which God
was the epitome. Therefore, when the Word of God died on the cross it must be seen as the death
of the concepts of God as understood by wisdom and power as formulated through the
multiplicity of human language. St. Paul writes,

32 Irenaeus, Saint. The Scandal of the Incarnation Irenaeus against the Heresies. Trans. John
Saward. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1981. 56.

18
For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it
was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Cor. 1.21-23.).

If the desire for the vision of God was misaligned through the multiplicity of human
language and sin then the Incarnation of Christ as the Word of God finds a definitive unity only
as the Word of God as crucified on the cross. St. Irenaeus writes:
For in times past it was said that man was made in the image of God, but not shown,
because the Word, in whose image man was made, was still invisible. That is why man
lost the likeness so easily. But when the Word of God was made flesh, He confirmed both
things, He showed the true image, when He Himself became what His image was, and he
restored and made fast the likeness, making man like the invisible Father
through the visible
Word.33

The unity of the one Word as divine wisdom then gives clarity to the words of Proverbs
concerning wisdom, She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and he is happy who holds her
fast (Prv. 3.18). The invisible inner Word of God as innate and un-conditional in creation
becomes conditional through the Incarnation as the visible Word of God as crucified. Desire for
the vision of God must be understood as a vision for the God of poverty in which God calls all
people even those who have no voice. The one Word of God speaks to all through the Word of
the Cross that speaks one word of unity which is love. The finality of the supernatural existential
of Karl Rahner can only be expressed through the self-communication of God as the invisible
inner word and the visible incarnate word. Gadamer writes:
The subordination of the natural concept formation that occurs in language to the
structure of logic, as taught by Aristotle and, following him, Thomas, thus has only
a relative truth. Rather, when the Greek idea of logic is penetrated by Christian
theology,
something new is born: the medium of language, in which the mediation of the
incarnation
event achieves its full truth. Christology prepares the way for a new philosophy
of man,
which mediates in a new way between the mind of man in its finitude and the
divine infinity. Here what we have called the hermeneutical experience finds its own, special ground. 34

33 Irenaeus. 56.

19
In the language of de Lubac it would appear that the Word of God in creating being qua being
through grace also instilled within humanity an innate calling or desire for God. For through
Christ the inner word that was imprinted invisibly in humanity takes a form in the Incarnation of
the Word of God. Humanity has a capacity for the self-communication of God and grace because
human language in its multiplicity is open to the infinite, yet in its multiplicity of concepts it can
never grasp the essence of the one Word even after the Incarnation. Consequently, since human
language is always an unfolding or process of new inventions of concepts that desperately tries
to comprehend the unity of the one Word it can never by power of its own intellect or will see the
essence of the one Word. Additionally, because of the multiplicity of the finitude of human
language being unable to express man/woman to themselves or the reality of God in totality must
by way of a dialectical process grow in the knowledge of itself and God as revealed by the one
Word of God through the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, God remains in absolute freedom and must
be free in His self-communication through grace in order to assist man in his multiplicity of
concepts. Gods grace can never be solicited from the side of human nature or is it by any means
demanded simply of the innateness of the desire in human nature. Romano Guardini proclaims,
God is in himself the speaker, the one spoken, and the living comprehension of the eternal
speech. He is this by nature, independent of whether a creature exists which could hear him.35
Conversely, because human nature as such is one in potentiality through multiplicity God must
have the freedom to give grace through the psychosomatic development of the human person.
The multiplicity of the inner word of human nature safeguards the freedom of the divine Word as
34 Ibid. 427.

35 Romano Guardini. The World and the Person. Trans. Stella Lange. Chicago: Henry Regnery
Company, 1939. 135.

20
self-communicated to human nature for only the Divine Word can bring unity to human nature
through the grace of the proclamation of the Word of God and the sacraments. Gadamer writes,
It is always one word that we say to one another and that is said to us (theologically, the Word
of God)but the unity of this word, as we saw, always unfolds step by step in articulated
discourse.36 Clearly, this understanding gives light to the unfolding of the Word of God in the
historical biblical drama of mans relationship to God, and why this unfolding of the salvific
work of God happens through stages as seen in the Old Testament and then the New Testament.
Aaron Riche relates the theological writings of de Lubac within the very context of this
becoming or unfolding of the plurality of the inner word of human language when he writes:
This Irenaean theology is sensitive to what de Lubac perceives as St. Pauls insistent
recollection of
how both natural law and Mosaic law work pedagogically to ground the
gradual intensification
(through history) of the self-communication God makes to man
of his own inner life, the climax
of which is the predestined fullness of time that completes
the process of God and man
becoming mutually accustomed to one another (mutuae inter
Deum et hominem assuetudinis). On this
view, the human person is a being in the midst
of divine predestination, where to be is to be
receptive to the
ontological transformation
of divine pedagogy.37

Forte asserts that the human nature must have a capacity for the self-communication of the Word
of God if man is to be able to receive grace from God. Bruno Fortes theological arguments
relate to de Lubacs theory of the grace received in creation and the grace of the call from God.
He writes:

God

If there is a Word of God, there is a created capacity to listen in man. By this capacity,
man can be receptive to Gods communication and make a free decision about it. If one
day God is to speak to his creature in order to draw it to himself, there is no doubt that
has already inserted in the depths of the very constitution of this creature a sort of two-

36 Gadamer. 454.

37 Riches, Aaron. Church, Eucharist, and Predestination in Barth and de Lubac: Convergence
and Divergence in Communio. Communio. Winter 2008, Vol. XXXV, Number 4. 579.

21
fold
call, however vague and indeterminate its scope may be, which could have remained
forever hidden.38

St. Irenaeus correlates this same mentality when he states that, Adam at no time escaped the
Hands of God [the Son and the Spirit], to whom the Father said, Let us make man in our image
and likeness (Gen. 1:26).39 Moreover, to be made in the image of the one Word corresponds to
the creation of humanity in the beginning as called or elected by the invisible inner Word of the
Father as understood as en Christo. According to Koshi Usami, the prepositional phrase en
Christo has an existential head -Christ/body-Church relation regarding the election of believers
in Christ in the beginning.40 If this two-fold gratuity of de Lubac as understood in the grace
of the creation and call what is the primary call or means of self-communication of God to man.
If there could be a synthesis of Gods self-communication it could only be understood in the
unity of the One Word which is love. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, the charity of God is
fundamental to mans participation in union with God and with the realization of mans
deification through grace which is none other than charity. A.N. Williams writes:
An important part of the unity between God and humanity rooted in the Incarnation thus
consists
in its fostering of virtue in individual subjects. Thomas alludes to this theme
especially in relation to
particular events in the life of Christ. The first effect Thomas names of Christs Passion, for example, is
that it excites charity (III. 49, 1 resp.). The bond of love between the comprehensor and Goodness
apprehended in vision forms but the most important
link in a much longer chain of love. The vision
of the Divine Essence is said to fill the soul with
all good things, by uniting it to the source of all
goodness (I-II.5, 4 resp.) This union, while
perfectly realized in the next life begins imperfectly in

38 Forte, Bruno. Walker, Adrian (Editor) Nature and grace in Henri de Lubac: From Surnaturel to Le Mystre
du Surnaturel. Communio 23 Wint 1996, p 725-737. (733-736).

39 Irenaeus, Saint. 57.

40 Usami S.J., Koshi. Analecta Biblica-101. Somatic Comprehension of Unity: The Church in
Ephesus. Rome: Biblical Institute Press, 1983. (137).

22
this. However imperfect the love of
this life may be in comparison to that of the next, perfection in
this life nevertheless consists in charity.41

Sacred Scripture proclaims, We love because He first loved us (1 Jn. 4.19). The unity of
human nature is accomplished through the one Word of Christ which is love who wills that all
men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tm. 2.4). Karl Rahner writes, The
difference between nature and grace must be understood on the basis of the radical unity of
Gods free self-communication in love. The hermeneutic of givenness best describes the
reality of God to manone desireone Wordone loveone end! Karl Rahner states that
mans giving in and by no means to be understood as a giving up is the reality of the call or
desire to see God that engenders in man a letting go of self. Rahner writes, We are called to
confront our nature, to come to ourselves. Our nature is substance in action, and the substantial
acceptance of the Word of God is substantial self-dedication. 42 However, the res that comes
into contact with the subjective experience of the believer can be assimilated into love;
inasmuch, in that whatever is not identical with God can be replaced or expelled by something
else. It can be loved, yes, but it can also be denied love, because precisely, it is finite.43
Gaudium et Spes defines mans vocation or call as that of resembling Christs hermeneutic of

41 Williams, A.N. The Ground of Union Deification in Aquinas and Palamas. New York: Oxford
University Press, 1999. 93, 99.

42 Carpenter, James A. Nature and Grace Toward an Integral Perspective. New York: Crossroad
Publishing Company, 1988. 59, 65.

43 Rahner S.J., Karl. The Love of Jesus and the Love of Neighbor. Trans. Robert Barr. New
York: Crossroad, 1983. 45.

23
givenness: This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed
for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.44
Consequently, it was henceforward only with great difficulty that one could see why the
supernatural gift was the Good News par excellence If the human nature that belongs to
me has its end in itself by nature, what would compel me or even simply provoke me to
investigate history in order to see whether another call happened to make itself heard.45 In
conclusion, the profound mystery of man in his multiplicity of language understood by the inner
word and spoken word will never exhaust the reality of the simplicity of the Divine in its unity.
However, it is through the image of the invisible inner word as in unity with the visible Incarnate
Word of God in humanity that makes possible the unity of the one call or desire for God within
the multiplicity of its proclamation as the living Word in historical consciousness. In the words
of Aquinas man is one and the same time a wayfarer and a comprehensor in the imiatio of
Christ.46 Therefore, this thesis has shown the argument of Thomas Aquinas desiderium naturale
as understood by modern commentators, Henri De Lubacs natural desire for the Supernatural,
and asserts the capacity of the spiritual creature to Gods self-communication through the
analogy of language. Fr. Raoul Plus, S.J. writes, God, indeed, did not make first the natural in

44 Gaudium et Spes. The Documents of Vatican II Vatican Translation. Vatican City: Libreria
Editrice Vaticana, 2009. SC 24.

45 Lubac, Henri de. The Total Meaning of Man and the world. Communio. Winter 2008 Vol
XXXV, number 4. 619.

46 Williams. 92.

24
man, and then the supernatural. No, both were created in the same act.47 Let us say notSince
we know we love. But rather since we love, we know enough.48

47 Plus S.J., Raoul. God Within Us. New York: P.J. Kennedy and Sons, 1949.

48 Browning, Robert & Elizabeth. The Love Poems of Robert and Elizabeth Browning. New
York: Barnes and Noble, 1994. xxvi.

25

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