GRACE

Grace is the name for every way that God pours forth His gifts of love, mercy, and holiness upon our souls.  It leads us to repentance, brings forgiveness, enables us to live a life of holiness and helps us live our calling and vocation in Christ.  There are various distinctions we make when speaking of grace.

ACTUAL GRACE: An actual grace is the term used for those promptings from God to call us to a life of conversion and holiness.  It’s the initial gift God gives to draw us in.  These graces are not something we have earned or have a right to; rather, they are free gifts from God given out of love for us.  

You may experience an actual grace, for example, when God speaks to your conscience revealing that you have sinned and need to return to Him.  It may also come in the form of an inspiration to pray or read the Scriptures.  It could be a grace given to encourage you to reconcile with someone or offer mercy and love.

SANCTIFYING GRACE: “Sanctity” means “holiness.”  Sanctifying grace is the term we use to refer to the permanent and ongoing presence of God in your life, helping you to remain holy and live according to His will.  When one is in a state of sanctifying grace, they are on their way to Heaven.  All Christians are called to live habitually in sanctifying grace.  To lose sanctifying grace, one must commit a mortal sin.  In that case, all sanctifying grace is lost, and one may then be in need of a new actual grace to be called back to Christ.

Sanctifying grace is given in Baptism and remains as long as the person remains faithful to the will of God.  This grace, therefore, is what makes us holy and just before God.  If you are in a state of sanctifying grace, you are living in a relationship with Christ.  He is alive within you, and you are living in Him.  Sanctifying grace comes to us in varying degrees.  The greatest of saints are consumed by this grace and led by it in all their actions.  That person who is one step away from mortal sin is also in sanctifying grace, but to a much lesser degree. To Be Continued…….