[CynicalBear]

It amazes me that Catholics don't see the fallacy in their own arguments. You agree that it's grace alone that saves and it is what produces faith in the believer. A person can't have that faith without having been already saved by grace. So the saving part has already happened or the person would not have the faith. Then the works would not happen except the person was already saved by grace. So again the saving happened before the works. Once again the person was saved by grace alone by Catholics own admission.

Now, if a person can only have faith and works after after having been saved by grace how is a Protestant wrong when they say "saved by grace alone"?

>>It, for example, might prevent him from properly venerating the Catholic saints and learning ways to salvation from them.<<

Ways to salvation? You just stated that salvation is by grace alone! What more is there to know? You just admitted it's by God's grace alone and that will then produce faith and works.

[annalex]

A person can't have that faith without having been already saved by grace

No, he is saved when he is dead and judged. Not when he has faith from grace. He also has water and air form grace. That does not make him saved.

it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27)

faith and a good conscience, which some rejecting have made shipwreck concerning the faith (1 Timothy 1:19)

faith without works is dead (James 2:26)