ELECT AND ELECTION. — The elect are those whom God chooses to be the recipients of His supernatural gifts in this life and in the life to come. In the Old Testament, the elect are the Jews, especially those who remained faithful to God amid trials; in the New Testament, they are the members of the Church; and in current theological language, they are those who are saved. In this last sense, the phrase “many are called, but few are elect” (Mt. 20:16, 22:14) was understood in the past, but today it is preferred to explain the word “elect” in the broader sense of chosen souls who serve God with fervor. Thus, the best biblical foundation is removed from the theory that holds the number of the predestined to be small in comparison with the number of the reprobate. In reality, the question of the number of the elect cannot be resolved with valid proofs either in an optimistic or rigorist sense.
Election is the free act by which God decrees to give the predestined the glory and the graces necessary to attain II. It is taught by the Church, especially in the two Councils that dealt with predestination (Quierzy 853, Valence 855, cf. Denz.-U. 316, 322), and is asserted by theologians on the grounds that predestination is gratuitous. Indeed, it is not in virtue of foreseen merits that one is predestined; rather, it is by a free choice of God. Whether election is distinct from predestination or not is a matter of strong controversy (v. PREDESTINATION).