God gives us His grace 43 BOSCH, Hieronymus Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights (detail) c Oil on panel Museo del Prado, Madrid

Compendium of the Catechism 423. What is the grace that justifies? That grace is the gratuitous gift that God gives us to make us participants in his trinitarian life and able to act by his love. It is called habitual, sanctifying or deifying grace because it sanctifies and divinizes us. It is supernatural because it depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative and surpasses the abilities of the intellect and the powers of human beings. It therefore escapes our experience.

Introduction Grace is a great gift God grants to achieve eternal life. No wonder Saint Bernard says that “we only need grace”. BOSCH, Hieronymus Triptych of Garden of Earthly Delights (detail) c Oil on panel Museo del Prado, Madrid

Main ideas

1. Grace, a supernatural interior gift As a consequence of the original sin, we all are born without that supernatural grace that God had freely granted to Adam and Eve and their descendents. Human nature was wounded, and with our natural strength alone we cannot keep the natural law for long. But God, has taken pity on us, and through the merits of Jesus Christ, grants and infuses in the soul the wonderful gift of grace. God grants grace freely –that is, without any merit on our part— so that we may attain eternal life in heaven. HACKERT, Jacob Philipp The Waterfalls at Terni (1779) Oil on canvas, 98 x 80 cm Private collection

2. The wonders of grace in the soul Grace is a participation in God’s nature. When a piece of iron or coal, comes into contact with fire, it becomes red-hot and acquires the characteristics of fire. Something similar happens to the soul that receives God’s grace. A soul in grace is like a ruby; sin has been destroyed, it does not exist any more, and the soul acquires a wonderful brilliance pure and clean as fire; just like a piece of coal, the soul loses its blackness and becomes a golden ember. MAES, Nicolaes Christ Blessing the Children ( ) Oil on canvas, 206 x 154 cm National Gallery, London

3. Sanctifying grace, actual grace God grants two types of grace: a) Sanctifying grace makes us saints, adoptive sons of God and heirs of heaven; we become temples of the Holy Spirit and God dwells in our souls. b) Actual grace is that with which God enlightens the intellect and moves the will, so as to help us to do good –even when it is difficult— and avoid evil. CARAVAGGIO The Conversion of St. Paul (1600) Oil on cypress wood, 237 x 189 cm Odescalchi Balbi Collection, Rome

4. God grants to all the grace necessary for salvation God grants to all the grace necessary for salvation because he “wants all men to be saved”. Those who are condemned are condemned because they did not correspond to the grace that God granted them. That God grants more grace to some than to others depends on His love, and also on our correspondence to His grace. God grants us more grace if we ask for it, if we receive the sacraments and if we let ourselves be led by grace. ANDREA DA FIRENZE Way of Salvation (detail) Fresco Cappella Spagnuolo, Santa Maria Novella, Florence

5. Ways to grow in grace A Christian cannot settle for merely keeping the grace given to him; he has to strive to make it grow. The means to help it grow are:  prayer,  the sacraments  and good deeds done out of love. We can grow in grace most especially by receiving the sacraments because through them grace is born and grows in our soul, and is recovered when it has been lost. Consequently, the life of a Christian should be a life of frequent confession and communion. MURILLO, Bartolomé Esteban The Infant Jesus Distributing Bread to Pilgrims (1678) Oil on canvas, 219 x 182 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

6. A firm resolution: to live always in God’s grace and to increase it The most precious thing we have on earth is grace. As an old poem says “at the end of life, he who is saved knows, and he who is not saved knows nothing”. This calls for a resolution to live always in God’s grace and to make grace grow more and more. If we suffer the misfortune of losing grace because of a mortal sin, we have to go to confession as soon as possible. POUSSIN, Nicolas The Triumph of David Oil on canvas, 100 x 130 cm Museo del Prado, Madrid

Resolutions for Christian life

Resolutions to move forward Make a firm resolution to live always in God’s grace, to see Christian life as a continuous growth in grace. If one commits a mortal sin, go to confession as soon as possible, making an Act of Contrition right away with the resolution to go to confession at the first opportunity.