Grace

What is this thing we call grace? We hear that it is something we are given by God. We receive it in the sacraments yet what is it? It is not something we can tangibly hold in our hands yet it is a gift. Most of the gifts we receive we can hold on too or at least see in action such as the gift from a child to do dishes for a mother on her birthday. God’s gift of grace is free and we not need to do anything to deserve it. God gives us this gift so that we may respond to his call to become his adopted children.

This gift that God gives to us freely is called sanctifying grace and we receive it through the sacrament of Baptism. The only way we lose sanctifying grace is by committing a mortal sin. And yes we can get it back by going to confession (remember confession or reconciliation is a sacrament as well, see a connection here?). Sanctifying grace is a habitual gift and it will enable our soul to live with God in heaven. This is the grace that sustains us in our ongoing life of discipleship. Yes, we are disciples of God and need to be sustained in living a Christian life.

Then there is actual grace. This comes and goes as we need it. This is the grace that helps us to live our lives in a Christian manner. It helps us to regulate our lives with God’s will for us. This is God’s way of nudging us to a deeper relationship with Him, to put God first in all that we do. We may not always feel that nudge or if we do we ignore it. Then there are times that the nudge pretty much “knocks” us off our feet and is something we can’t ignore. Have you experienced either? I have experienced both and must admit ignoring a nudge or two in my lifetime. The times that are very hard to ignore always seem to make me step back and reevaluate what I am doing which is exactly what God has intended. The gentle nudges for the most part are easy to incorporate into our lives yet sometimes they are just ignored. Keep your eyes and heart open for those gentle and sometimes not so gentle nudges that God sends your way.

Pope Francis tells us in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium that:
“112. The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him.[79] He sends his Spirit into our hearts to make us his children, transforming us and enabling us to respond to his love by our lives. The Church is sent by Jesus Christ as the sacrament of the salvation offered by God.[80] Through her evangelizing activity, she cooperates as an instrument of that divine grace which works unceasingly and inscrutably. Benedict XVI put it nicely at the beginning of the Synod’s reflections: “It is important always to know that the first word, the true initiative, the true activity comes from God and only by inserting ourselves into the divine initiative, only begging for this divine initiative, shall we too be able to become – with him and in him – evangelizers”.[81] This principle of the primacy of grace must be a beacon which constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.”
You can find Pope Francis’ Exhortation at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium_en.pdf


I hope this helps you a little bit in understanding what grace is and how it works in our lives.