Grace is one of my favorites gifts from God. I know I need it and use it and ask for it very regularly. Without grace, I would not be the person I am.

What is Grace?

Grace is any “underserved gift or help freely and lovingly provided by God, but above all the utterly basic gift of being saved in Christ through faith, a grace that God wishes to give all human beings” (A Concise Dictionary of Theology, O’Collins and Farrugia, S.J.).

We receive sacramental graces when we, well, receive the sacraments. Those help us live out our Christian vocation to love God and others. When we accept the grace God offers us it is efficacious, meaning it takes effects or works in us. Habitual or sanctifying grace makes us holy; it makes us more open and willing to live as God calls us to rather than the world. And then, there is actual grace, which we receive for a specific purpose.

Thoughts on Grace

How do these thoughts on grace from Thomas Merton and St. Ignatius resonate with you?

Grace is not a strange, magic substance which is subtly filtered into our souls to act as a kind of spiritual penicillin. Grace is unity, oneness within ourselves, oneness with God. — Thomas Merton

God gives each one of us sufficient grace ever to know His holy will, and to do it fully. – St. Ignatius of Loyola

Scripture

There are many, many verses about grace. These seemed particularly suited to our conversation.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God.”  Ephesians 2:8

“But when [God], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased” Galatians 1:15

Grounded in Grace Workshop

I’m offering a series of webinars to learn how to stand in the grace God has for us. Come to one or all, more information is on this page.

Our Challenge this week, each evening, look for the grace you received that day. Where did you see God with you?

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