Can. 5. If anyone says that the increase
as well as the beginning of faith and the very desire of faith—by which we
believe in him who justifies the sinner and by which we come to the generation
of holy baptism (quo in eum credimus, qui iustificat impium, et ad
[re]generationem sacri baptismatis pervenimus)—proceeds from our own nature
and not from a gift of grace, namely form an inspiration of the Holy Spirit
changing our will from unbelief to belief and from godlessness to piety, such a
one reveals himself in contradiction with the apostolic doctrine, since Paul
says; “I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to
completion at the day of Jesus Christ” [Phil 1:6]; and again: “It has been
granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him
but also suffer for his sake” [Phil 1:29]; and also: “By grace you have
been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is a gift of God”
[Eph 2:8]. For those who say that the faith by which we believe in God
is natural declare that all those who are strangers to the Church of Christ
are, in some way, believers.
. . .
Can. 8. If anyone maintains that
some are able to come to the grace of baptism (ad gratiam baptisimi)
through <God’s> mercy, but others through their own free will—which, it
is clear, is wounded in all those who are born from the transgression of the
first man—one shows that one has departed from the correct faith.
. . .
Can. 13. The restoration of free
will. Freedom of will weakened in the first man cannot be repaired except
through the grace of baptism (Arbitrium voluntatis in primo homine
infirmatum, nisi per gratiam baptismi non potest reparari); “once it has
been lost, it cannot be restored except by him by whom it could be given. Thus
Truth itself says: ‘If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’” [Jn.
8:36] (Heinrich Denzinger, Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and
Declarations on Matters of Faith and Morals, ed. Peter Hünermann, Robert
Fastiggi, and Anne Englund Nash [43rd ed; San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012],
135, 136, 137)
From the section, “Conclusions Drawn up by Bishop Caesarius
of Arles”:
According to the Catholic faith
we also believe that after grace has been received through baptism (quod
post acceptam per baptismum gratiam), all the baptized, if they are willing
to labor faithfully, can and ought to accomplish with Christ’s help and
cooperation what pertains to the salvation of their souls. (Heinrich Denzinger,
Compendium of Creeds, Definitions, and Declarations on Matters of Faith and
Morals, ed. Peter Hünermann, Robert Fastiggi, and Anne Englund Nash [43rd ed;
San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012], 140)
