WHAT IS GRACE?

Amazing Grace, so sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved. How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares we have already come. T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far and Grace will lead us home.

The Lord has promised good to me His word my hope secures. He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease, I shall possess within the veil, a life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise then when we've first begun."

So what is grace, and how do we get more of it? We are very lucky in the Catholic Church because our priests dispense sanctifying grace each and every day to the faithful in the sacraments, especially Holy Communion and Confession.

In this very busy and lustful world that we live in today, there is a need for more and more grace in our lives if we want to overcome the evil one and get to heaven. Grace is an absolute necessity in our day-to-day activities. But how many people realize that?

How many people live out their existence and never even once ask God to send more grace?

Grace is a free gift from God to man. There is nothing man can do to merit grace, because it is a gift, after all. Faith is also a free gift AND a response to grace - From the Catechism:

#162: Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man.

#166: "Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself."

In the Bible, St. Paul is struggling with personal sin, in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10:

"And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

From the above statement of Paul, we see that God gives each one us sufficient grace to overcome sin, even when it seems like we are struggling with overcoming sin. And when we are the weakest, that is when we are the strongest, because that's when God's power is made perfect in us. How many people, when things get so bad in their lives, fall down on their knees in tears and ask God to fix things?

A lot, and that is exactly what God means when he says "my power is made perfect in weakness." The acknowledgment of God as our loving Father over our own strength and power is the beginning of our relationship with God, and the beginning of the end of our pride. The prideful and strong who are always in charge of their affairs never do this, so God can't work in them as powerfully as someone who is humble and acknowledges God in their distress.

MORE GRACE!!