I agree. I’m glad there wasn’t any wishy-washy, weasel wording, hemming and hawing on the topic of grace.
You mean as if the machine was programmed by RC polemicists?
In which case it could read somewhat like,
Grace is often described as the unmerited favor and freely given love and mercy of God towards humanity. It is a fundamental concept in Roman Catholicism,which emphasizes that sanctifying or deifying grace grace is conferred through the act itself of baptism, (CCC 1999) which makes the subject inwardly just by the power of the mercy of God. (CCC 1992) Therefore, having been actually made inwardly just by the power of the mercy of God, then they and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death) have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, and joined to the company of the holy angels. (CCC 1023)
This sanctifying or deifying grace is also operative in enabling those who were in need of purification when they died, having discovered and experienced that "certain temporal consequences of sin remain in the baptized," including "weaknesses of character, and so on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence." (CCC 1264) And as they "were not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness " etc." (City of God XXI.24) thus "after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (CCC 1030)
Which postmortem grace, with its "purifying punishments" (Indulgentiarum Doctrina; cp. 1. 1967) are what most believers can look forward to, and thereby realize the Blessed Hope.
It is thus by God's grace, normally dispensed thru the Catholic church, that believers are forgiven, and made good enough to actually enter Heaven, and thus fully experience His love, acceptance, and eternal life, having been "accounted to have, by those very works which have been done in God, fully satisfied the divine law according to the state of this life, and to have truly merited eternal life." (Trent, Chapter XVI; The Sixth Session Decree on justification, 1547)
Yet since the believer is only made good enough to be with God by the operation of grace, then it can be said that salvation and forgiveness are not earned through human efforts or works, but rather received as a gift from God, as meaning salvation by grace through merit.
In contrast to which is Biblical salvation by grace, which is thru effectual regenerating justifying faith being accounted righteousness - not of works or as being due to being made actually good enough to be with God. (Romans 4:5; 10:10)
For it is this faith that purifies the heart in the washing of regeneration when one effectually believes the gospel, (Acts 10:43; 15:7-9; Titus 3:5) and results in the fruit of obedience/holiness. (Romans 6:22)
Which fruit evidences that such are believers, and which effectual faith God rewards the justified for, (1 Co. 3:8ff: but not that the believer attained his salvific justified acceptance with God due to his own holiness).
Thus the redeemed are those who come to God as sinners knowing their desperate need of salvation - not as souls saved by their works or religious heritage, but as destitute of any means or merit whereby they may find salvation - and with a humble and penitent heart (that at least implicitly wants a new life following Christ) believe on the crucified and risen Lord Jesus who alone can save them on His account, by His sinless shed blood and righteousness. (Romans 3:9 - 5:1)
And who are thus baptized to follow the Lord Jesus with persevering faith. And who thus are baptized and follow Him (John 10:27-29; Acts 8:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10) - and effectually repent when they find that they failed to do so. (Psalms 32:5, 6; 51:3; Hosea 5:15; 1 John 1:9) For penitent, heart-purifying, regenerating effectual faith, (Acts 10:43-47; 15:7-9) is that which is imputed for righteousness, (Romans 4:5) and is shown in baptism and following the Lord, (Acts 2:38-47; Jn. 10:27, 28) and by which faith the believer is completely forgiven and "accepted in the Beloved" and positionally seated with Him in Heaven. Ephesians 1:6; 2:6; cf. Phil. 3:21) And wherever Scripture clearly speak of the next conscious reality for those who die in that effectual faith then it is with the Lord, at death or His return (whatever comes first), by the grace of God. (Lk. 23:43 [cf. 2Cor. 12:4; Rv. 2:7]; Phil 1:23; 2Cor. 5:8 [“we”]; 1Cor. 15:51ff'; 1Thess. 4:17)
Note also that Rome attempts to clarify her teaching on merit, in that, "With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man," "the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit." (CCC 2007-2008)
However, this argument could be used for those who held to salvation under the Law, that by the grace of God they attained unto perfect obedience (and Paul as a Pharisee was blameless as concerning this: Philippians 3:6), whereas salvation by grace does not mean salvation by attaining to actual, practical perfection in this life or in Purgatory, but that of being accepted in the Beloved on His account, (Eph. 1:6) resulting finally in the resurrection of the body, which is the final conformity to Christ after this life. (1 John 3:2) And with obedience with holiness in this life being its effects/fruits, but which effects are not the cause of justification, though works justify one as being a believer. (Heb. 6:9,10)
And while God does reward faith (Hebrews 10:35) by rewarding the obedience of faith, (Mt. 25:31-40) and which obedience attests that one is a believer and thus it is appropriate that they be blessed, (Rv. 3:4) yet the "worthiness" here is not because moral attainment itself has made such accepted in the Beloved, and made them to sit together with Christ in Heaven,(Eph. 1:6; 2:6) and given them access to into the holy of holies in Heaven to pray, (Heb. 10:19) but as in conversion, it is because the faith that effects obedience is imputed for righteousness, (Rm. 4:5) eternal life being a gift, not a wage, (Romans 6:23) but in His grace God rewards the obedience of faith. (Heb. 10:35) Thus believers are exhorted, "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward." (Hebrews 10:35)
Moreover, the Catholic emphasis upon merit as obtaining eternal life not only leads to salvation via obtaining perfection of heart in this life or in mythical Purgatory, but it fosters just what the natural man expects, that if he does more good than evil then he can obtain Heaven. As expressed by this RC:
I feel when my numbers up I will appoach a large table and St.Peter will be there with an enormous scale of justice by his side. We will see our life in a movie...the things that we did for the benefit of others will be for the plus side of the scale..the other stuff,,not so good will..well, be on the negative side..and so its a very interesting job Pete has. I wonder if he pushes a button for the elevator down for the losers...and what .sideways for those heading for purgatory..the half way house....lets wait and see.... ” http://forums.catholic.com/showpost.php?p=4098202&postcount=2