Grace in the Catechisim

It has been said to us that the reason for why we can embrace the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic Church is due to our Evangelical upbringings in understanding the true meaning of the Grace of God.  Therefore we can more easily reconcile the Catholic view of Grace because we will always hold on to our deep (true) roots of God's Grace being the unmerited, unwarranted, undeserved, gift of the Lord.  It has been accused that Catholics do not believe this, that they believe in a works based form of Grace that is "dolled" out through the sacraments from an almost stingy God that makes one reach up in order for him to look down. 

Do Catholic's believe that God's Grace is all sufficient, freely given, freely received?
Quotes from the Catechism are in blue

"Our Justification comes from the grace of God. 

Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life."

Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 1996)

Grace is a participation in the life of God.  It introduces us into 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.

This vocation to eternal life is supernatural.  It depends entirely on God's gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself.  It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other creature.

The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it.  It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism.  It is in us the source of the work of sanctification.

(Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.) 2 Cor. 5:17 - 18

To summarize the Catechism thus far:

Grace is favor, free and undeserved help from God

Grace is participation in the life of God

Grace depends entirely on God's initiative

Grace is a gratuitous gift from God

Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love.  Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.

(ie: when one is in Christ, the only way such person can do anything that merits God's favor is because they were first given the gift of Grace.  God first intervenes to bring us to him, because we, being dead in our sins, are unable to find him on our own.  Once we are adopted into his family, we then receive sanctifying Grace that allows us to grow in him, purify ourselves, and be partakers of his divine nature (2 Peter 1:4)

The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace.  This latter (grace)  is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification through faith, and in sanctification through charity.  God brings to completion in us what he has begun, "since he who completes his work by cooperating with our will began by working so that we might will it."

Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us.  It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be give life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God; for without him we can do nothing. (St. Augustine).

(ie: there is nothing you can do for God without first receiving his Grace.  This Grace then allows us to participate with God as he redeems us and perfects us. )

God's free initiative demands man's free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him.  The soul only enters freely into the communion of love.  God immediately touches and directly moves the hearts of man.  He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy.  The promise of "eternal life" responds, beyond all hope, to this desire;

If at the end of your very good works... you rested on the seventh day, it was to foretell by the voice of your book that at the end of our works, which are indeed, "very good" since you have given them to us, we shall also rest in you on the Sabbath of eternal life. (St. Augustine).

Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us.  But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church.  There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments.  There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning, "favor," gratuitous gift," "benefit." Whatever their character - sometimes  it is extraordinary , such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented towards sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church.  They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church."

Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith.  We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved.  However, according to the Lord's words - "Thus you will know them by their fruits" - reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

To Summarize:



• Grace is favor, free and undeserved help from God
• Grace is participation in the life of God
• Grace depends entirely on God's initiative
• Grace is a gratuitous gift from God
• Sanctifying Grace is a gift that allows us to participate in the life of the Spirit, perfecting man
• Preparing man to receive initial Grace is already an act of Grace by God
• We are able to remain in Christ and to be sanctified in him because he has bestowed his grace upon us.  We cannot act of our own might.
• Man must freely respond to this Grace.  God will not force his Grace upon us, because he is love, and love does not coerce.
• All man has a longing in his soul to know his Creator and to receive eternal life.
• Grace is first of all a gift from Christ to save us.  Grace is also gifts that the Spirit gives us to aid in the spreading of salvation and to the building up of His Body.
• Grace can only be known by faith.  We cannot rely on our own merits to conclude salvation.  However, if we see growth, fruit, and holiness within our lives, we can know that the grace of God is working within our lives and have hope for that prize to which we have been called, eternal life with him.

The Catholic Church is adamant that one cannot work their way to heaven, it is a sheer gift of the Lord, God's grace freely given so that man may be redeemed.  Once received, man must respond to his Grace.  God is a lover, he will not force himself upon us.  St. James tells us faith without works is dead.

What good is it my brothers, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed', but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.  But someone will say, "You have faith, I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God.  Good! Even the demons believe that, and shudder." James 2:14/19

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell. Matthew7:26

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

By Faith, Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son. Hebrews 11:17

They profess to know God but deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work. Titus 1:16

I could go on, there are many more, but this post is getting long. The point being, faith without works equates to dead faith is a Biblical belief.  The sacraments, rather than being acts of a works based system, are the channels in which God sends down specific graces that equip and aid one in their walk towards total and complete union with Him in heaven, and which are used to further build up His Body, the Church.  They are not dolled out according to the whim or holiness of the administrator.  They are given out from the person of Christ himself, who has entrusted His Bride to bring all people to himself, the Bridegroom. 

The Evangelical world does not have a monopoly on the definition of the Grace of God.  The Catholic Church does not have final authority on who will receive the Grace of God.  That is the work of Christ, alone.  He is the head of his Church, but if he chooses to work outside of those visible walls to extend his Grace upon those unaware or distrusting of a representative of the Church, then he is God, and he can act. 

I come to the Catholic Church precisely because of what they hold true about God's Grace.  The Evangelical Church taught me to search for Him above all else, because there is no greater gift than the grace that has been freely poured down from the Father.  The Catholic Church now teaches me how to remain in him once that Grace has been given and received.  Grace cannot be cheapened; accepted, but not moved to action. Because although it was freely first given to me, it was bought with a Price. It was bought with a Life.  And because HE thought it was important to put actions to his words, then maybe I should be willing to as well. 







Forty Days for My Life

Easter is quickly approaching.. which inevitably means the beginning of Lent, which in its completion marks the true beginning of my journey into the fullness of the faith.  On the one hand, I find great comfort in knowing that this period of discernment will be over; a soul can only take so much before it literally crumbles under the pressure to get things correct; eternity, after all,  is at stake.   On the other hand, I have experienced the closeness of God like never before in the last 18 months, so much so that although I believe I will only know Him deeper in full communion with his Body, the Church, I will miss this initial honeymoon experience of my Savior leading me step by step, hour by hour, to become one with Him.

For my own memory, I wanted to write my current thoughts now just shy of forty days until Easter Vigil.  Similar the great Saints who came before, whose lives of faith were deepened and expanded only as time went on, that too will be our experience.  I will not, and do not, have to be sure of everything at this very moment.  I am only asked to trust that the Lord is the King of this process, that he has in his Sovereignty and mercy established his Bride, the Church, here on earth,  so that all may be welcomed into the family of faith, united under the one Head of it all, Christ. 

Under the Church, I find that Scripture is alive like never before.  When I read the Bible in light of a Catholic lens, there is a depth and a wisdom there that I had never been able to access.  It is ironic how the undermining of Scripture in favor of tradition is a widespread criticism of the Catholic Church, when the fact is that once I studied Scripture in light of that tradition, through the guidance of the Church, I fell in love like never before with the Word.  I cannot express it enough; the closer Scripture is read to it's original birthplace (the Church) the deeper and more profound it becomes.  Much like a wireless Internet connection gains or looses strength depending on it's proximity to the router, so too is Scripture when held within the bosom of the Church.  There are mysteries, hidden in the subtleness of the passages, acting as seeds to greater truths, that are revealed within the time and places that the Lord sees most beneficial to his people.  Tradition does not trump Scripture.  Tradition allows Scripture to be understood, and Scripture holds the birthplace of all Tradition, whether overtly stated or gracefully alluded. 

The Saints are friends who will come along side of every faithful person if the person desires their aid.  Although this may sound odd to my non Catholic friends, I have been taken under the wing of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, learning from his writings, his thoughts, and I am confident prayed for by him at the Father's feet.  I did not search this Saint on my own. He literally presented himself to us in the form of random Saint drawing at the New Year's Day Mass.  My Priest asked that we all pull blindly from a basket one Saint who we could read about and be encouraged by in this new calendar year.  My entire family was not with me, so I picked names for them as well.  I drew two John Henry Newman's, and later found a third stuck in my pocket that I did not remember grabbing. 

Newman was a convert from Anglicanism, who faced immense ridicule and pressure in his conversion process.  After he became Catholic, he gave his life to praying for the unity among all Christian people. And although we have not experienced the level of trauma that he did, in giving up his very livelihood for Catholicism, we have experienced at best confusion whether or not we have turned our backs on Jesus all together, and at worst stern warnings of doubt as to the truth of the entire Catholic Church.  His quotes, writings, and encouragements have randomly found themselves into my emails from unknowing friends, Bible studies, and various circumstances.  Reading his Apologia Pro Vita Sua (A Defense of His Life) has given me a unexpected confidant in a person who has walked a similar journey, and found comfort through the same doors I wish to enter.  The Saints are alive and well, praying for us; gifts from a loving Father who desires we all confidently approach the throne of Grace. 

Catholic friends are something to be held close, cherished at all times, and prayed for, continually.  We were not created to do this alone.  The body of Christ is a organism made up of humans, attached and built up by one another.  On our own, Jesus can be sought after, yet with one another, Jesus can be known and we can be transformed.  "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love another.  No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (1 John 4:11).

If you are coming into the Church, and feel very alone, "suffocated" as we called it early on.. pray for Catholic Friends.  Pray unceasingly, pray like the Persistent Widow.  And the God who loves to bestow Good gifts on his children will answer.  He created the communion of Saints so that we may all encourage and help each other along in this gift of Faith, and he will provide hands and faces of his very self to aid us in that pursuit. 

"Friends are a sturdy shelter;

Whoever finds one has found a treasure.

Faithful friends are beyond price;

No amount can balance their worth.

Faithful friends are life saving medicine;

And those who fear the Lord will find them."

Sirach 6:14 - 16

The disciplines of the Church, especially in the season of Lent are made to prepare us for the coming celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus.  Many non Catholic churches wisely practice a period of penance, alms giving, and fasting in the same manner.  As Robert Barron, a Catholic priest in the Chicago area said beautifully, "In the desert we will meet a God who is love through and through."  Through the encouragement and support of divine friends I have learned to understand and appreciate the discipline of fasting, through the example of devout Catholic women I have learned how to pray, and I am praying that this Lent will open my eyes to the practice of alms giving in order that what I have been given will not be buried away and selfishly kept only for myself.  The Catholic disciplines lead one into a greater reverence and devotion to the Lord, they are again, mercifully shared with the people to build up the Church.  

Last year I experienced Lent through the eyes of one sitting in the pew, discerning whether or not I would take the steps necessary to become a full fledged Catholic.  Last year I yearned to have the discipline of those surrounding me through church and radio and books, but did not yet have the training or knowledge to happily enter into the desert.  Last year I considered them wise, but burdensome, and often felt overwhelmed due to inexperience and lack of support.  This year, as Lent has begun, the training is no less difficult, but it has a profoundly different end.  This year my Lent will end with the full rejoicing of the union with Jesus that I have sought for years.  This year, as the desert ends, and the celebration of the resurrection is hailed, the celebration of my life living as a Catholic among the body of Christ will begin. 

"Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather that it shall never have a beginning."

Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman

Discernment, and the Oscars

This is not a Catholic post, or a denominational post.  This is a post written because I have tried unsuccessfully to sleep for the last 2 hours.  This is typically what  happens when the Lord is speaking and my thoughts all begin to flow in essay form about something that will not rest until words are put to paper.

This post is about discernment.  And as I type that word I am also reminding myself to discern well what is being said, because topics like this can quickly become heated and argumentative instead of logically discussing disagreements within the public square of ideas. 

Last night was the Oscars.  Yes, I chose to watch it because I like to imagine what it would be like to have my hair and make up perfectly styled along side of my gorgeous made for me and only me, gown.  I'm a woman, it's what we do.  I quickly settled into the couch and gave up the next four hours of my life to shallow acceptance speeches, awkward laughs, and the occasional inspirational song.  Who doesn't get a bit misty when Bette Midler becomes the Wind Beneath our Wings?

I sat and watched unto the final award.  Yet before the Best Movie was announced, I had already  sufficiently found myself disturbed by one acceptance speech in particular.  The best actor's acceptance speech was broken down into a three part thank you speech.  The first half went to God.  The second half went to his family, and the third going to his hero, which actually turned out to be none other than himself. 

Please note this "need to write" was not a need to slam one actors personality or question his genuine love for God or his family (or himself).  I don't give up precious sleep to harp about celebrities.  I do, however, find myself concerned with the response that his speech drummed up among Facebook feeds, especially those of professing Christians. 

Feed after feed I woke this morning and saw postings of friends sharing the speech across the internet.  Hailing such titles as "A Real Man thanks God 1st" or "A must See!" "Awesome," "#ThankGod."  I did not see the movie, but from the clips and a few Google searches, I'm confident it wouldn't have changed this post. If the speech for the win of the best supporting actor was any indicator, it was not a movie for the faint of heart or for those seeking a purely entertaining two hours. I was initially impressed when the supporting actor thanked his mom who had been a pregnant high school drop out and chose life, meaning, him.  It could have been a poster for the Pro Life Cause.  However he also closed his speech with a mega phone ad to love whoever you choose, and sexual equality for all. 

The very last thing in the world I want to do is write a response that drums up hate and fails to get the point across that my point is not to bash lost people while standing on a false podium of purity and humility.  I am keenly aware that my sin alone put him on the cross, and he came into the world to redeem, everyone.  Yet to those of us who have been touched by his love, who have experienced and tasted and seen the very arms of Christ come along side of us through truth, His Word, and his Church, we have a greater responsibility to discern who and what we praise, in the Name of "God."

When we post things on Facebook congratulating or praising an artist for an award won, should we not first understand what that award was given for?  Do we not have a duty to first search if the movie would have been one that God would have actually approved?  Even if it was based on a true story, we cannot deny that movies are often produced to sell an agenda or an idea, very often those contrary to our core beliefs.  This movie at it's best demonstrated the pain that pervasive promiscuity can have, while at its worst blurred the lines between moral truths including sexual ethics. 

One of the greatest assaults to our culture today is the break down of the definition of marriage, with movies like these heavily helping to shape impressionable minds with beliefs and seemingly compassionate ideas that in reality, only lead to more pain.  Do we not need to know that a significant catalyst for the plot involved escapades with a prostitute, impersonation of a priest to smuggle drugs, and an awarded best supporting actor playing the role of a sympathetic transgendered woman?  Should we not also be aware that the Best Actor's previous movie was a number one selling comedy titled "Magic Mike," wholly centered around a male strip club?  (Also not seen.. but I have Google).

While recognizing that it is refreshing to hear the name "God" spoken in a public forum, we have to be aware that the god in those arena's may be very different than the God that we know who asked us to carry our cross and follow him.  The God who told us that in this world we might have trouble, simply because we chose to love Him.  The Name above every name entered into our world to save us; dare I say to inconvenience us in our sin, drawing us to Himself.  If the god professed among celebrities, sports stars, even upon our own lips is in no way inconveniencing our lives, let us consider very seriously if that is the God who for our sake, became man.  We need to be people who simply seek  not to hear the name of a created form of a Hollywood god, but who long for a conversion to the Person of Jesus Christ.

Paul did not give his life so that his God could be one among the many in Athens.  He gave his life so that all people, for all time, could know that this God, Jesus, was the only One who gave his life as a ransom for all, freeing us from the bondage of our own self interpretations of truth, love, and sexuality.  And it's a good thing to remember, that unlike the celebrities' self fulfilling personal hero, of himself, John the Baptist told us, "He must increase, I must decrease."  And likewise, Paul stated, "we who are in Christ no longer live, but it is he, that lives in us."  Praise should exist for the man whose hero alone is Christ.  A speech that follows a thanks to God with a praise for oneself should be closely examined in the Christian world. 

In any forum, of course we stand with Paul in Phillippians 1:18 that no matter the motives behind the individual speaker, if Christ is preached, we should rejoice.  Let us just discern in all arenas whether or not the truth being spoken is indeed the truth in which we claim to have given our lives.