The Thomistic Institute Beyond but Not Against Nature: How Grace Perfects and Transforms Nature – Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P.
Oct 17, 2025
Fr. Cajetan Cuddy, O.P., is a Dominican priest and scholar of Thomistic theology, who delves into the interplay between grace and nature. He discusses how grace perfects and transforms human nature without destroying it. Exploring the concept of obediential potency, he illustrates how our natural capacities are elevated to supernatural ends. Cuddy raises the intriguing paradox of continuity and discontinuity in grace, emphasizing that while it transcends nature, it exists within it, offering profound insights into salvation and the human experience.
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Supernatural End Requires a Special Teaching
- God is a supernatural end that exceeds our natural intellectual and volitional capacities.
- Sacra Doctrina exists to order our intentions and actions toward that surpassing end.
First Act And Second Act Matter For Grace
- Human nature comprises first act (form/existence) and second act (operations).
- Grace must transform both existence and operations to elevate us to the supernatural end.
Pure Nature Preserves Continuity In Salvation
- The principle of 'pure nature' functions analogously to prime matter as continuity between states.
- Without a principle of continuity, salvation would amount to annihilation and a new, unrelated creation.
