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Collect: O God who infallibly brings to pass that which thou dost decree, pour thy grace into our hearts that we may persevere in that same faith, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Summary
In the Sed Contra, St. Thomas dogmatically proves the thesis by appealing to the book of Jeremiah, where God is the potter and we are the clay. For, while the potter brings about the form of the vessel in the matter of the clay, there is no necessity on the part of the clay that it may be a vessel.
In the Respondeo, St. Thomas distinguishes between the mover and the thing moved. In man's preparation for grace, the thing moved is the will and the mover is God. Now, on the part of the will, there is no necessity to recieve grace. For, there is no necessity that a certain form will be infused in well disposed matter. For example, if water is well disposed to recieve heat, there is no necessity to receive that form, for, it requires an efficient cause to receive that form. Now, on the part of God, there is an infallibility of his acts in creation, therefore, it can be said to be necessary on the part of his motion.