Congregatio de Auxiliis

Okay, so imagine you are playing with your friend, and you both want to play a game. But uh-oh, you both want to play a different game. You want to play tag, but your friend wants to play hide-and-seek.

This is kind of like what happened a long time ago in the Catholic Church. People were talking about how God's grace, which is like a special power from God, works with our free will, which is like our ability to make choices. Some people believed that God's grace and our free will work together like friends playing the same game. They called this the "congratio de auxiliis," which is a fancy Latin phrase that means "the agreement of aids."

Let's break it down. "Congregatio" means a gathering or an assembly. "De" means "of" or "about," and "auxiliis" means "aids" or "helps." So the "congragatio de auxiliis" is like a gathering or discussion about how God's grace and our free will help each other.

Some people believed that God's grace and our free will are like buddies who work together. They thought that God's grace helps us make good choices, and our free will allows us to accept or reject God's grace. It's like a game where both players agree to play the same game, just like how you and your friend might agree to play tag.

But here's where it gets a little complicated. Some other people said, "No, no, no! God's grace and our free will can't work together like that!" They believed that God's grace is the one that decides everything, and our free will doesn't really matter. They called this view "congratio ad impossibile," which means "the agreement to the impossible."

So, just like you and your friend couldn't agree on which game to play, the Catholic Church couldn't agree on how God's grace and our free will work together. They had a big discussion and even had a special meeting called the "Congregation of Auxiliis" to try to figure it out.

But here's the fun part: in the end, they couldn't agree! Some people still believed in the "congragatio de auxiliis," and others believed in the "congragatio ad impossibile." So, they didn't find a clear answer, and the Church decided that both views were okay to believe.

So, just like you and your friend can agree to play tag sometimes and hide-and-seek other times, people in the Church can believe in both views about God's grace and our free will. They are both okay, and people can choose which one makes the most sense to them.

And that, my little friend, is the story of the "congragatio de auxiliis." It's like a big discussion about how God's grace and our free will are kind of like friends playing a game, but the Church couldn't decide which game to play. So, they said both games are okay, and everyone can choose which game they want to play in their heart.