WHAT IS GRACE
What do you think of when you hear the word “Grace?” Maybe a relative or friend? Perhaps Gracie Allen, from the comedy duo Burns and Allen, jumps to mind. For young people, Grace Van Dien, the actress, might be the first Grace that crosses their minds. But as this is a Church bulletin so we want to look at the meaning of God’s Grace.
Webster defines grace as unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification, or a virtue coming from God.
Our Catechism says, "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 eternal life." Wow! Grace is like an unopened gift! Free and undeserved.
Children get excited about life and gifts. They ask five times more questions each day than adults. Can we get excited about God’s grace? Grace is exhilarating! Grace is an enabling power.
Grace enables us to do and to be what we cannot do and cannot be if left to our own means. All of us need such an enabling power. Our playful side can think of gobbling up an energy pill like Pac-Man going through the maze of life. Each bit of Grace makes us stronger and more joyful and more Christ-like.
How do we obtain this gift from God? Some of us remember the Baltimore Catechism definition of a sacrament: “A Sacrament is an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.” Sacraments are instituted by the Lord. They are the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist); the Sacraments of Healing (Penance and the Anointing of the Sick); and the Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Marriage and Holy Orders). Through the Sacraments, God shares his holiness with us so that we, in turn, can make the world holier.
NEXT WEEK, TYPES OF GRACE
TYPES OF GRACE
In our Catholic tradition, there are two types of grace: Actual and Sanctifying. An easy way to understand actual grace is to remember that it enables us to act. It is the strength that God gives us to act according to his will.
Sanctifying grace is a state in which God allows us to share in his life and love. When we speak of being in the state of grace, we mean the state of sanctifying grace. There is no mortal sin in us. This grace comes to us first in Baptism and then in the other Sacraments. Sanctifying Grace comes to us when we receive the Sacrament of Baptism. It confers new life in our souls. Sanctifying Grace makes us holy and pleasing to God; it makes us adopted children of God; with it comes the presence of the Holy Spirit to live inside of us, and finally, it gives us the right to heaven.
That last point is very important to understand. Sanctifying grace gives us the right to go to heaven. Now, that does not mean that it makes our salvation automatic. Sadly, we can lose Sanctifying Grace through sin. In short, we can lose sanctifying grace the same way we can lose our health: by not doing what is necessary to maintain and preserve it.
Sanctifying grace is lost whenever we commit a mortal sin. A mortal sin is sin serious enough that it kills the Sanctifying Grace in our souls. When that happens the Holy Spirit can no longer remain. Then we must go to the Sacrament of Penance, or Confession, to have it restored. When we receive absolution from the priest, our Sanctifying Grace returns, and with it all of its gifts, including the presence of the Holy Spirit within us.
Venial sins are less serious sins that wound our relationship with God and lessen the gift of sanctifying grace within us. Venial sins should never be allowed to build up but should be confessed regularly since they weaken the Grace in us and predispose us to commit more serious sins.
NEXT WEEK: LIVING IN GRACE
LIVING IN GRACE
When we are in the state of grace it means that we have no unconfessed mortal sins on our conscience, so that we possess sanctifying grace and the presence of the Holy Spirit. This is also why we refer to the commission of mortal sin as a “fall from grace”.
The second type of grace is called actual grace. Actual grace is the supernatural help of God that enlightens our minds and strengthens our will to do good and avoid evil. Actual grace comes to us through receiving the other five Sacraments of the Church, and it is also obtained by the prayers we say, the good works we do, and the penances we perform.
Sanctifying grace is called “abiding grace” or permanent grace because we are meant to have it always. actual grace is called transient grace. This means that actual grace is only given to us when we need it, to perform a good act, or to overcome temptation.
For the Sacraments to be beneficial to us, and to give us the particular grace we need from each of them, it is most important that they always be received in the state of grace (except, of course, for Baptism and Penance, which are designed to give or to restore the state of grace.) So, our lives as Catholics should be focused on obtaining grace, restoring it when we lose it, and habitually living in the state of grace, so that we can attain heaven.
Grace is an unconditional love that you can show to others regardless of the way they treat you. Before we were even born, before we repented and came to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, God extended His loving-kindness towards us in the person of His son Jesus Christ. May the Peace Love and Grace of God be with all of us.
OBSTACLES TO GRACE
In previous weeks we learned about God’s grace. The abundant and overflowing Grace that recharges the human spirit through the sacraments. Because we are human and have free will there are obstacles to grace. The obstacles to Grace are those cunning ways we let the things of the world, the flesh, and spiritual evil disrupt our relationship with God and with our neighbor. Simply put, we mean sin and how to overcome it.
In some ways, our life journey is the story of how each of us struggles with the choices we make and the forces that form barriers between God and ourselves. There is an old Cherokee proverb that says we are all born with two wolves struggling inside of us one is named good and the other is named evil. Which one thrives and becomes stronger? The one that we feed. As Catholic Christians, we all experience times when we refuse to let God love us and save us by His grace because of poor choices.
As we meditate through the obstacles to God’s grace we help each other better understand the many ways we diminish our relationship with God by worshiping false gods and investing our time and attention in the wrong areas. And help each other understand the ways we diminish and even destroy our relationships with others in the body of Christ when we neglect the means of grace and let anything other than God become our priority.
The sooner we realize that we cannot take this journey alone the better off we will be. We all need help. Our Savior, Jesus Christ came to us as a vulnerable and dependent infant. Humans are a stubborn breed. We don’t mind helping once in a while, but we don’t like to admit that we need help. Many years ago I went from a confidant and successful corporate executive to a vulnerable and dependent patient when a tractor-trailer T-boned my car on the driver's side door.
The trip from the penthouse to the basement is a quick one. Thanks to my wife, doctors, nurses, family, and friends I learned to humbly accept help once in a while.
In James 3:7 the Bible tells us “That men have trained every kind of animal, bird, and reptile, but no human can tame” the tongue. We all know that this is true. The tongue is a small thing but can cause enormous damage. In many cases our strengths and weaknesses are similar. I am sarcastic, but when this wit goes too far it can hurt the feelings of a loved one.
This week we are going to spend some time identifying obstacles to our relationship with God and examining the work of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual disciplines that will enable us to overcome those obstacles. We know that we were created in the image of God for a relationship with God and that God invites us to accept this relationship in and through Jesus Christ (grace). Living the Christian life requires that we use all the means of grace God offers us through Christ and his Church.
We could be more successful in avoiding the obstacles to God’s Grace if we remained in the pews and gazed at the Blessed sacrament. But for the Catholic Christian life takes place in a real-world affected by the consequences of sin. So, we have to recognize the occasions of sin and learn how to help ourselves and others to prepare for and avoid obstacles.
Remember I said that I was sarcastic? I like oxymorons. Such as “we are all unique, just like everyone else”. We must accept that obstacles to grace are common. We all experience obstacles to grace. An obstacle to grace is anything that keeps us from enjoying the loving relationship God offers us in Christ.
The biggest obstacle is sin. Sin is self-centered rather than God-centered. Our society attempts to teach us the opposite. That we should be self-reliant and pull ourselves up by the bootstraps. We start to see anyone who needs help as inferior. Some have described the middle letter in the word sin as the “big I”—making ourselves the center of the universe and the standard for supreme goodness instead of acknowledging God as the rightful center of all creation.
Sin is alienation. The essential nature of every obstacle to grace is experienced as alienation from God, from others, and even from ourselves at times. The Greek word for sin is hamartia, an archery term meaning “to miss the mark or target.” We can miss the mark in any direction, by aiming too high as well as too low, or too far to the right as well as too far to the left. But sin is anything that causes us to miss the target of God’s will for our lives. It is anything that separates us from the love of God and the love of our neighbor (Matt. 22:36-40).
Broaden the definition of sin in your mind to be anything that diminishes life. Sin can be an abuse of any part of God’s creation—the land, water, or air, as well as plants, animals, and people (Gen. 1:1-31, especially vv. 28-31).
Be ever vigilant for anything that becomes an obstacle to our relationship with God, each other, and ourselves. None of what we look at is going to be new to us. But we have to pause the noise and dive deeper into the following issues. In this case, it is okay to be selfish! Take some “me” time and don’t try to cure all of the ills of the world. Focus on YOU.
Next Week: Definitions of Obstacles
DEFINING OBSTACLES
Obstacles to your relationship with God can come under the headings:
Idolatry—worshiping and serving false gods (Deut. 5:7-8). I seldom see anyone without a phone nowadays. Not bad until it gets in the way of or takes the place of God. How much do we let golf change our schedules? Money? Think - where and how do I spend my 1440 minutes every day?
Blasphemy is an obstacle. Speaking irreverently or profanely of God; using God’s name to curse or revile anyone or anything (Deut. 5:11). I don’t know about you, but I can curse a blue streak when annoyed.
Ignoring God—or postponing God by not making time for Him in our lives. God doesn’t necessarily make noise when we ignore Him so we place Him on the back burner sometimes. We can be disobedient to God on occasion. Maybe we reason that God must have meant something else. Our sin is intentionally rejecting the relationship that God offers and failing to develop the talents and abilities God has given us (Luke 19:11-27).
Pride is a huge obstacle. Oh, my goodness. Pride brought Satan down. Pride is generally at the center of most sin. We don’t want to look bad or vulnerable. So, we attempt to change the narrative or manage expectations focusing attention on ourselves rather than giving honor and glory to God (Matt. 6:5-8).
Unforgiveness toward God or others is an obstacle. This is huge! We minimize and conveniently forget our transgressions but we remember the mean people way back in high school. If we do not forgive, we cannot be forgiven (Matt. 6:9-15). We all know that forgiveness is not the same as forgetting, but we also must admit that we are holding a grudge or two.
In addition to our relationship with God obstacles to grace also include our relationship with others. You might look at the Ten Commandments and think I can still get a 90% on this test. I haven’t killed anyone YET. But, again, broadening the definition of murder can mean murdering a person’s reputation. I know she deserved it, but that doesn’t make it right. We can also wound our neighbors seriously psychologically or emotionally or even spiritually. Are we jealous of what others might have and sometimes do the yes, but? He might have a lot of money yes…but he doesn’t get along with his family.
Read the Commandments and while you are at it the Beatitudes and look for ways, we can be more loving.
Get creative, and use the mysteries of the rosary to examine your conscience. When have you left Jesus praying alone in the garden while you busied yourself with other things? We are not all trying to be monks, but we are looking intently for the obstacles we place in the path of God’s Grace. Think of God's Grace as a flowing brook. We are the ones that place boulders in the water to divert or stop the flow. Let God’s Grace flow freely. Search for the boulders you have placed in the way of the current.
LEARNING TO BE OBEDIENT
What is it about “the childlike” that Jesus prizes? Jesus came to us as a child. The God of the universe needed to be fed, nurtured, and cared for by his parents. He lived in an attitude of receptivity, taking in all that the Father had given him. His was a life of obedience. This is what it means to be a little child: to have an attitude of receptivity that allows you to be moved by God and by God’s ways.
The problem with “the wise and the learned” is not that they’re educated, but that they are trying to govern and run their own lives on their terms rather than living in obedience to God. The truly wise are those who are like Christ, little children concerning God.
What is it that makes our lives heavy and weighed down? Precisely the burden of our egos, the weight of one’s self. When I am puffing myself up with my self-importance, I’m laboring under all that weight. Jesus is saying, "Become a child. Take that weight off your shoulders and put on the weight of my yoke, the yoke of my obedience to the Father."
When calling His apostles Jesus said, "I will make you fishers of men." This is one of the best one-liners in Scripture. Notice the first part of the phrase: "I will make you . . ." This is counter to the culture’s prevailing view that we’re self-made, that we invent and define our reality. Jesus puts this lie to bed. We learn from Him that it’s God who acts, and if we give ourselves to His creative power, He will make us into something far better than we ever could.
Another tool is to find yourself in the Bible readings. When you hear the Word find yourself in the story. I can certainly identify with the jealous brother who resents the father showering gifts on the prodigal son. Look at me being all good and you make a fuss over my brother who squandered his life?
Sometimes when reading the scriptures I am the main character and sometimes I am in the crowd. Sometimes I am one of the sheep left behind wondering why the shepherd goes looking for the one sheep out of one hundred that wandered away. If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?" Well, of course not! No self-respecting shepherd would ever think of doing that. If you were a shepherd, you’d cut your losses. That sheep is probably dead anyway if it wandered far enough away.
But, we need to get it into our heads, and humbly understand, that God is like that kooky shepherd. God’s love throws caution to the wind to seek out the lost sheep. God loves irrationally, exuberantly risking it all to find the one who wandered away. God is searching for us. What good news: God does not love according to a strict justice on our terms, but loves in his extravagant way. He wants to shower us with His Grace. God is crazy in love with us. When reading or listening to scripture look for ways to allow God’s Grace to flow in and through you.
FIINDING GRACE
Catholics do a good job of introspection. We are aware of the barriers we place in the way of God’s Grace, the obstacles. In 1970 a comic strip called Pogo, he came up with a quip “we have met the enemy and he is us”. We are aware of the obstacles of addiction and abuse, lying, gossip or slander, coveting, laziness, lack of love and the list goes on and on.
But remember the good part. Through and with Jesus Christ we can overcome the obstacles to grace. God is actively searching for us. His Grace is flowing all around us.
Remember our reconciliation. If you place your hands together in the praying posture, they look like the space shuttle. Do you know what they call it when they correct the course of the shuttle? NASA says they are correcting its attitude. A small adjustment at the proper time avoids a big miss up in space. Use the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently to make the adjustments to stay on the right path and have the right attitude. Jesus’ ministry began with the call to repentance, the offer of forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life (Mark 1:14-15).
Remember our baptism. Recover our identity as children of God. We center our faith in the cross of Jesus Christ because it stands as the most powerful witness to the central message of the Bible: God created us, God loves us,
and God gave his only Son that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). Receive the Grace to walk in the Spirit.
The Catholic Christian life is possible if we accept the life of Jesus as our model and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us in our relationship with God.
Resist evil and renounce the forces of the evil one (James 4:7-8).
In Christ we come to know and love our true selves; therefore, we are reconciled to ourselves. In Christ we become reconciled to our neighbors; therefore, we can love one another, live in peace, and seek justice together.
Pope Francis tells us to look for God. "God is hidden in our life," Pope Francis explained; "he is concealed in the most common and most ordinary situations in our life."
Our Christian life is a daily decision to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:24-26). It is a life lived in the shape of the cross, with appropriate attention given to our relationship with God and our relationships with others. There is always more grace in God than there is sin in us (Rom. 5:20-21). Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31, 38-39). In Christ, we can overcome every obstacle to grace.
The primary means to overcome the obstacles to grace can be seen on the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, we can overcome every obstacle to grace. In Christ, we find the grace and power to worship God in spirit and truth. In Christ, we find the help we need for remaining faithful in all our relationships. In the cross of Christ, we can find restoration for every relationship and the beginning of the renewal of all creation. Our spiritual life and growth in Christ are possible because grace overcomes sin.
LEARNING OBEDIENCE
We are aware of the barriers we place in the way of God’s grace, the obstacles. In 1970 a comic strip called Pogo came up with a quip, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” We are aware of the obstacles of addiction and abuse, lying, gossip or slander, coveting, laziness, lack of love, and the list goes on and on.
But remember the good part: Through and with Jesus Christ we can overcome the obstacles to grace. God is actively searching for us. His grace is flowing all around us.
Remember our reconciliation. If you place your hands together in the praying posture they look like the space shuttle. Do you know what they call it when they correct the course of the shuttle? NASA says they are correcting its attitude. A small adjustment at the proper time avoids a big miss, up in space. Use the Sacrament of Reconciliation frequently to make the adjustments to stay on the right path and have the right attitude. Jesus’ ministry began with the call to repentance, the offer of forgiveness, and the promise of eternal life (Mark 1:14-15).
Remember our baptism. Recover our identity as children of God. We need to center our faith in the cross of Jesus Christ because it stands as the most powerful witness to the central message of the Bible: God created us, God loves us, and God gave his only Son that we might have eternal life (John 3:16). Receive the grace to walk in the Spirit.
The Catholic Christian life is possible if we accept the life of Jesus as our model and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us in our relationship with God.
Resist evil and renounce the forces of the evil one (James 4:7-8).
In Christ we come to know and love our true selves; therefore, we are reconciled to ourselves. In Christ we become reconciled to our neighbors; therefore, we can love one another, live in peace, and seek justice together.
Pope Francis tells us to look for God. "God is hidden in our life," Pope Francis explained, "He is concealed in the most common and most ordinary situations in our life."
Our Christian life is a daily decision to take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:24-26). It is a life lived in the shape of the cross, with appropriate attention given to our relationship with God and our relationships with others. There is always more grace in God than there is sin in us (Rom. 5:20-21). Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:31, 38-39). In Christ, we can overcome every obstacle to grace.
The primary means to overcome the obstacles to grace can be seen on the cross of Jesus Christ. On the cross, we can overcome every obstacle to grace. In Christ, we find the grace and power to worship God in spirit and truth. In Christ we find the help we need for remaining faithful in all our relationships. In the cross of Christ, we can find restoration for every relationship and the beginning of the renewal of all creation. Our spiritual life and growth in Christ are possible because grace overcomes sin.