August 23, 2005
A friend of the friars from Philly recently requested that we say a few things about grace and its effects upon our immortal soul. I would hope that all of our friends have a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I would have to say this book is an almost indispensable resource which no doubt you will find very helpful. Don’t be put off by its size and weight; in fact, I have a very handy “friendly looking” pocket edition from New Zealand produced by Saint Paul Publications. I believe pocket editions are also now available here in the States through the Daughters of Saint Paul.
What can we say about grace? Plenty! However, it may be helpful to state what it is not. Grace is not a “thing” given to us so that we do something. While it is understandable that it is sometimes compared to gasoline which gives us power, it should not be confined to a quantitative reality. Grace cannot be measured, weighed, or “stored up”. Christians are not like camels who carry grace in their souls to get them through the deep, dry desert of life.
Grace is also not automatically received when we do or say something. It is not a spiritual “product”, a thing which drops out of a heavenly vending machine. This means, no prayer or devotional practice guarantees our getting grace. In fact, the word “grace” can be translated “gift”. There really is no such thing as a gift we buy for ourselves – for something to be a “gift”, it must be given by another.
Well then, what is grace? Crack open your Catechism! Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us to the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of His Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into Him and who forms the Church.
There are also different kinds of grace – remember, not like different octane levels of gas! There is sanctifying grace and there is actual grace; the former makes us holy while the latter helps us to accomplish the will of God. There are also sacramental graces given us on the day of our baptism, confirmation, marriage and ordination. When you needed special assistance in loving your spouse, did you go to God and ask to receive heavenly help? If you are a priest or deacon, do you boldly approach the throne of grace for assistance? In these things, every analogy limps, yet we can say that we often live like paupers only because we refuse to go to the bank. The sad thing is this – our Father owns the bank!
Rather than say that grace is like water to make holiness grow within us, it is better to say it is like friendship or love. True love has a transformative effect on us – it makes us feel accepted, happy, and warm inside. Sometimes love can make us sing – why do you think there are so many love songs? Yes, there is nothing as powerful as love. As the Scriptures say: “Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away.”
Therefore, if grace is like love, it is not a “thing”, but rather a sharing in the life of the person you love. It also cannot be received without it first being given. Like love, grace is a gift which ennobles us, empowers us, and makes us do what we would otherwise find impossible to do. This is the secret of the saints – men, women, and children – grace made everything possible.
A brief story you might have heard: A reporter was covering a story about a group of religious missionary sisters who took care of lepers. After watching one of the sisters meticulously and calmly clean the open and oozing wounds of her patients, the writer had to finally leave; the sight and stench just became too much. Later that day, the reporter approached the nun and said, “Sister, I would not do what you did this morning for a million dollars”. The sister replied, “Neither would I”. Now, that’s grace.
Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
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