DIVINE GRACE (in English)

[InHocSignoVinces]

Grace is given us to obtain eternal life ; it
is therefore most valuable. Grace, says St.
Thomas, 3 is more valuable than the whole
world with all that it contains. St. Augustine
affirms that even heaven and all the
choirs of angels cannot be compared with
grace. Man ought to be more thankful to
God for the smallest gift of divine grace
than if he had received the perfection of the
highest angels and had been made king of
heaven and earth. The angels, too, enjoy the
grace of God, and hence St. Augustine is
speaking only of the natural perfections of
the angels. Grace is a ray of the beauty of
God that falls on our souls to make them
also beautiful. Since grace makes us worthy
of the love and possession of God Himself,
it cannot be understood by us entirely; its
value cannot be measured by anything
created; it can only be compared to God.

TBC...

3 Sum. Theol. I—II, qu. 113, a. 9 ad 2.

Grace, says St. Thomas, is more valuable than the whole world with all that it contains.

[InHocSignoVinces]

The angels in heaven cannot appreciate fully
the value of grace ; they stand and adore
the mercy of God, who communicates Himself to
His creatures. I fear, however, that they also stand
and wonder at the incomprehensible folly of man,
who so lightly casts aside that precious gift for a piece of
dirt in the shape of money or some vile pleasure of
the senses. The angels must weep at seeing
us, who are called to the highest honor and
the greatest happiness in heaven, rushing
headlong into misery and sin, exposing ourselves
to the danger of being cast forever
into hell with the devil and his followers.
Indeed, the prophet spoke the truth when he
said, "With desolation is all the land made
desolate, because there is none that considereth in his heart." 1
If we considered the value of divine grace,
that grace alone can bring us to the end for which we were created, that it
alone can bring us the everlasting happiness
of heaven, would we care so little for it and
cast it aside so readily ? Assuredly not.


1 Jer. 12. 11.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

Grace is compared by St. Augustine to
the soul. Matter in itself is dead, and can
never of itself become living ; it requires a
soul to put life and motion into the dead
clay: man, too, of himself is dead for heaven,
and can no more of his own strength gain
heaven than a piece of lifeless clay can of
itself stand up and walk. God Himself
cannot create a creature for which grace
should be a natural perfection, just as He
cannot create matter which can think without
having a soul. As the soul is the cause
of natural life, so grace is the cause of the
life of heaven. The earth receives its light
from the sun, and if the sun should cease to
give light, the earth would be in darkness ;
so our soul is but like the earth, and grace is
the sun that illumines it and gives it all the
beauty that it possesses in the eyes of God.
Grace makes the poor man richer than the
greatest king ; a man who has the grace of
God has a greater treasure than he who
possesses all the wealth of the earth.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

We should be very grateful to God for
the gift of His holy grace. We thank Him
that He has created us out of nothing, and
has placed us above all His works. How
much greater gratitude do we not owe
Him for the still greater gift of grace?
We should never for a moment forget the
greatness of this gift of God, lest we become
like those men in the gospel who
were invited to a banquet, but neglected to
come for the sake of some little gain or
pleasure. Of them our Lord said that they
were not worthy of the banquet. We will
always keep before our mind the inestimable
value of divine grace, that it is more
valuable than all the things of this earth
or even all that the angels possess, apart from
grace, that it is given us to make us forever
happy, that without it we cannot reach the
end for which God created us, that its perfection
is in the glory of heaven. With this
before our mind we will not be so foolish as
to imitate the guests invited to the banquet,
of whom our Lord said that they were not
worthy of it because they did not appreciate
the goodness of the host who invited them.
We will not forfeit the heavenly banquet for
some worldly consideration or some passing
pleasure.


COMING NEXT... DIVISION OF GRACE

"Nous ne renoncerons pas au banquet céleste pour quelque considération mondaine ou quelque plaisir passager."

[InHocSignoVinces]

DIVISION OF GRACE

How many kinds of grace are there ?
There are two kinds of grace, sanctifying grace and
actual grace.


By grace, as we have seen, we understand
a supernatural gift of God bestowed on us
through the merits of Jesus Christ for our
salvation. Grace, strictly speaking, is only
one, as God who gives it is one, and as Jesus
who merited it is one, but we give it different
names according to the different purposes
for which it is given to us.

Grace is given us to work out our salvation ;
every help that God gives us for this purpose
is called divine grace. These helps are
especially of two kinds ; God gives us grace
either to be good or to do good. The grace
which God gives us to make us good and
holy in His eyes is called sanctifying grace.
Sanctifying grace is something that God
puts into our souls to remain there, and
which makes them holy and pleasing to
Him; it is a supernatural beauty. The
grace which God gives us to perform good
actions, to do good, is called actual grace.

Actual grace is a supernatural help which
God gives us to turn away from sin, to
pray well, to repent of our sins, to give
alms, to perform our duties properly, etc.
Actual grace does not remain in the soul
as sanctifying grace does; it is given us
to help us perform some good act; hence
with the performance of the act the grace
also passes away. Let us see this by an
example: we are going to Mass on Sunday
morning, and some boy meets us and tries
to induce us to stay away from Mass in
order to make some little excursion out into
the woods. Our conscience tells us that
we must hear Mass on Sunday, that it is
a mortal sin to neglect to go to Mass on
Sunday, when we are able to do so. On
the other hand, it is a fine morning, and
the temptation to stay from Mass and take
a walk instead is great. The voice of
conscience, warning us not to sin, is from
the influence of the grace of God; God
put this good thought into our minds that
we might resist the temptation and resolve
to go to Mass. Once we have, under the
influence of divine grace, made the good
resolution, and have by the help of this
same grace carried it out, the good work
is finished and there is no more need of
grace for this particular good work. Actual
grace was necessary for the performance of
the good work, but when the work was
done actual grace also ceased.

Actual grace is, therefore, as you understand now,
a help of God to perform some good act,
whether that good act be to resist temptation,
to avoid sin, or whether it be some
positively good act, such as to hear Mass,
to say our morning and evening prayers, to
say grace before and after meals, to make
a good confession, to forgive someone who
has injured us, etc. Because this grace is
given us to help us to do good acts, we
call it actual grace.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

Sanctifying grace, on the other hand,
is given us not to do good, but to make us
good and holy in the sight of God. It is a
supernatural gift that God puts into our
souls, which makes them pleasing to Him.

Sanctifying grace remains in the soul. It
changes the soul into a temple of the Holy
Ghost and makes it beautiful, giving it a new
life, the life of the love of God. This grace
remains in the soul until it is driven out by
mortal sin. Sanctifying grace raises us above
our nature ; it makes us children of God, and
being children of God we become heirs of
heaven. Sanctifying grace makes us partake
of the divine nature itself. As long as
we have in our souls sanctifying grace, so
long are we friends of God and certain
of the possession of the kingdom of heaven.
As long as this treasure is ours, so long we
possess the love of God ; and if God is our
friend and is with us, whom shall we fear?

Sanctifying grace is the greatest gift that
God can give us, since it insures us the
possession of God Himself.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

In the Holy Scriptures this grace
is compared to a garment; just as a beautiful
garment is used to adorn the body and make it
pleasing in the eyes of men, so sanctifying grace clothes
and adorns the soul, giving it a supernatural
beauty and making it pleasing in the eyes of
God. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
and my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for
He hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation ; with the robe of justice He
hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked
with a crown and as a bride adorned with
jewels." 1 As long as we have this grace we
shall remain in the love of God ; and " He
that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and
God in him. God is charity." 2

Every grace is a supernatural gift ; both
actual and sanctifying grace are supernatural ;
both belong to the order of salvation; both
come from God, and are given to us to lead
us to God. They differ from each other in
this, that actual grace is given us to help us
to do good and avoid evil, whereas sanctifying
grace is given us that it may remain in
the soul and make it pleasing to God. Actual
grace is given to all men, saints and sinners, to
the heathen and the Christian ; God wishes all
men to be saved, and gives to all the actual
grace necessary to enable them to do what
is required for salvation. Sanctifying grace
is possessed only by the children of God;
only they who are baptized and free from
mortal sin have this special gift of God's love.

Actual grace disposes the soul for the reception
of sanctifying grace, and after sanctifying grace
has been received in the soul actual grace continually
moves man to know and to will what is commanded
by God and what is pleasing to Him. Both actual grace
and sanctifying grace are necessary for us
— sanctifying grace that we become children of God,
actual grace that we live as His children, loving Him and serving Him.


1 Is. 61. 10.
2 I John 4. 16.

COMING NEXT... NATURE OF SANCTIFYING GRACE

[InHocSignoVinces]

III - NATURE OF SANCTIFYING GRACE

What is sanctifying grace ?
Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul
holy and pleasing to God.


One of the most beautiful parables which
our Lord told for the instruction of His
hearers was that of the heavenly marriage-feast.
He said : " The kingdom of heaven
is likened to a king who made a marriage for
his son. And he sent his servants to call
them that were invited to the marriage : and
they would not come. Again he sent other
servants, saying, Tell them that were invited,
Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my
beeves and fatlings are killed, and all things
are ready; come ye to the marriage. But
they neglected and went their ways, one
to his farm, and another to his merchandise.
And the rest laid hands on his servants, and
having treated them contumeliously, put
them to death. But when the king had
heard of it, he was angry, and sending his
armies, he destroyed those murderers, and
burned their city. Then he saith to his servants:
The marriage indeed is ready; but
they that were invited were not worthy.
Go ye, therefore, into the highways, and as
many as you shall find, invite to the marriage.
And his servants going forth into
the ways gathered together all that they
found, both bad and good ; and the marriage
was filled with guests. And the king went
in to see the guests ; and he saw there a man
who had not on a wedding garment. And
he said to him: Friend, how camest thou
in hither, not having on a wedding garment ?
But he was silent. Then the king said to
the waiters: Bind his hands and feet, and
cast him into the exterior darkness ; there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen." 1

We can interpret this parable in the following
manner: The king is God, the Father,
who makes a marriage-feast for His
Son. Through His servants, the priests,
He invites all men to this feast, the happiness
of heaven ; all are to have part in enjoying
the glory of the Son of God. This
feast takes place in the kingly palace, where
everything is most beautiful, and hence the
guests are to come clothed in an especial
wedding-garment. This garment can be
obtained by every one. In fact in the East
it was customary that such a garment be
sent by the person giving the feast to each
of the invited guests. This garment is to
make our souls beautiful in the eyes of God ;
it is the garment of sanctifying grace.
Without this garment we cannot take part
in the pleasures of the heavenly banquet.
He who comes into eternity without it will
not be admitted into heaven, but will be cast
into exterior darkness, where there is weeping
and gnashing of teeth. Such a one must
be silent when God asks him, Friend, how
did you come hither, not having on a wedding-garment?
He cannot excuse himself on the plea of poverty
because God sent him such a garment ; and if
he does not wear it, it is through his own neglect.
He knew that such a garment was necessary;
it was even sent to him ; he has therefore no excuse to
offer. Without sanctifying grace we cannot
please God ; we cannot enjoy the happiness
of heaven. For this reason the instruction
on sanctifying grace is most important. We
should try to learn what is meant when we
hear the words, sanctifying grace, state of
grace, justification, etc.


1 Matt. 22. 2 seqq.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

When we understand what a precious
gift sanctifying grace is, then we will be
more anxious to preserve it in our hearts.
Our catechism tells us that sanctifying grace
is that grace which makes the soul holy
and pleasing to God. What sanctifying
grace is in itself is difficult to explain, but
we can get some idea of it by considering
its origin and its effects upon the soul. As
to its origin, it is, like actual grace, a free
gift of God. The Holy Ghost distributes
the fruits of the Redemption ; He is the distributer
of grace. Actual grace is also a gift
of the Holy Ghost, but sanctifying grace is
a gift of the Holy Ghost in an especial manner.
The Holy Ghost is the Sanctifier,
and by this grace we are made holy, and
are sanctified in the eyes of God.

Like all grace, sanctifying grace is a supernatural
gift of God. God did not create us
for this world, that we should live here and
seek our happiness on this earth ; for the
things of this world can never satisfy the
desire of the heart of man. Our end lies
beyond this life, that is, we are made for a
supernatural end. God has made us for
heaven; the vision and possession of God
Himself is the purpose for which we are
created, and in this our happiness is to consist.

To reach this supernatural end our
natural powers are not sufficient. We cannot
of our own natural strength reach that
which is above nature; we need supernatural
faculties to do supernatural works worthy of
a supernatural reward. These supernatural
faculties are given us by the Holy Ghost
in sanctifying grace, which makes us holy
before God and entitles us to enter a supernatural
community of life with God and the saints.

TBC...

[InHocSignoVinces]

How does the Holy Ghost give us sanctifying grace?

He gives us sanctifying grace by entering our
souls and working there our sanctification ;
as St. Paul says, " The charity of God is poured
forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us." 1
By sanctifying grace the Holy Ghost Himself comes
into our souls, and thus we enter into a
most close union with God. St. Thomas
Aquinas calls grace a participation of the
divine nature on the part of man, and a
communication of the divine nature on the part
of God. This is well founded in the Holy
Scriptures. Our Lord said, " If any one love
Me, he will keep My word, and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and
will make Our abode with him." 2 There
is then, according to the teaching of Jesus, a
most intimate union between God and them
that love Him ; God dwells in them. They
are no longer "strangers and foreigners, but
fellow-citizens and domestics of God." 3 The
teaching of St. Thomas that grace is a communication
of the divine nature is founded on the words of St. Peter,
"He hath given us most great and precious promises that by
these we may be made partakers of the divine nature." 4


1 Rom. 5. 5.
2 John 14. 23.
3 Eph. 2. 19.
4 2 Peter 1. 4.

TBC...