ness of a mere man cannot be the cause of the good of
the entire nature. Yet the holy Fathers merited the Incarnation
congruously by desiring and beseeching; for it was becoming that God
should harken to those who obeyed Him.

And thereby the reply to the First Objection is manifest.

Reply Obj. 2: It is false that under merit falls everything without
which there can be no reward. For there is something pre-required not
merely for reward, but also for merit, as the Divine goodness and
grace and the very nature of man. And again, the mystery of the
Incarnation is the principle of merit, because "of His fulness we all
have received" (John 1:16).

Reply Obj. 3: The Blessed Virgin is said to have merited to bear the
Lord of all; not that she merited His Incarnation, but because by the
grace bestowed upon her she merited that grade of purity and
holiness, which fitted her to be the Mother of God.
_______________________

TWELFTH ARTICLE [III, Q. 2, Art. 12]

Whether the Grace of Union Was Natural to the Man Christ?

Objection 1: It would seem that the grace of union was not natural to
the man Christ. For the union of the Incarnation did not take place
in the nature, but in the Person, as was said above (A. 2). Now a
thing is denominated from its terminus. Therefore this grace ought
rather to be called personal than natural.

Obj. 2: Further, grace is divided against nature, even as gratuitous
things, which are from God, are distinguished from natural things,
which are from an intrinsic principle. But if things are divided in
opposition to one another, one is not denominated by the other.
Therefore the grace of Christ was not natural to Him.

Obj. 3: Further, natural is that which is according to nature. But
the grace of union is not natural to Christ in regard to the Divine
Nature, otherwise it would belong to the other Persons; nor is it
natural to Him according to the human nature, otherwise it would
belong to all men, since they are of the same nature as He. Therefore
it would seem that the grace of union is nowise natural to Christ.

_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (Enchiridion xl): "In the
assumption of human nature, grace itself became somewhat natural to
that man, so as to leave no room for sin in Him."

_I answer that,_ According to the Philosopher (Metaph. v, 5), nature
designates, in one way, nativity; in another, the essence of a thing.
Hence natural may be taken in two ways: first, for what is only