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Collect: O God who not only gives gifts of grace, but also works in us that we may be prepared to receive them, dispose us to them by thy mercy, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY
In the Sed Contra, St. Thomas quotes two dogmatic texts that speak on the preparation necessary to meet God. They are straightforward.
In the Respondeo, he begins by distinguishing the specific sense which he is using “grace.” In the first sense, the grace is habitual, i.e., a certain superadded form infused into the soul. Now, since it is a form, there needs to be the proper disposition of matter. As the soul (form) leaves the body (matter) when it is not disposed to contain it (death). Thus, with the coming of habitual grace there needs to be a disposition by God.