e justification
of the ungodly is the infusion of grace; the second is the
free-will's movement towards God; the third is the free-will's
movement towards sin, for he who is being justified detests sin
because it is against God, and thus the free-will's movement towards
God naturally precedes the free-will's movement towards sin, since it
is its cause and reason; the fourth and last is the remission of sin,
to which this transmutation is ordained as to an end, as stated above
(AA. 1, 6).

Reply Obj. 1: The withdrawal from one term and approach to another
may be looked at in two ways: first, on the part of the thing moved,
and thus the withdrawal from a term naturally precedes the approach
to a term, since in the subject of movement the opposite which is put
away is prior to the opposite which the subject moved attains to by
its movement. But on the part of the agent it is the other way about,
since the agent, by the form pre-existing in it, acts for the removal
of the opposite form; as the sun by its light acts for the removal of
darkness, and hence on the part of the sun, illumination is prior to
the removal of darkness; but on the part of the atmosphere to be
illuminated, to be freed from darkness is, in the order of nature,
prior to being illuminated, although both are simultaneous in time.
And since the infusion of grace and the remission of sin regard God
Who justifies, hence in the order of nature the infusion of grace is
prior to the freeing from sin. But if we look at what is on the part
of the man justified, it is the other way about, since in the order
of nature the being freed from sin is prior to the obtaining of
justifying grace. Or it may be said that the term _whence_ of
justification is sin; and the term _whereto_ is justice; and that
grace is the cause of the forgiveness of sin and of obtaining of
justice.

Reply Obj. 2: The disposition of the subject precedes the reception
of the form, in the order of nature; yet it follows the action of the
agent, whereby the subject is disposed. And hence the free-will's
movement precedes the reception of grace in the order of nature, and
follows the infusion of grace.

Reply Obj. 3: As the Philosopher says (Phys. ii, 9), in movements of
the soul the movement toward the speculative principle or the
practical end is the very first, but in exterior movements the
removal of the impediment precedes the attainment of the end. And as
the free-will's movement is a move