Word of the Week

First Sunday in Lent: Grace

Grace: Gratia (L.): meaning “pleasing, good will, thanksgiving”, behind it stands a Greek term charis (ma) meaning “rejoicing, joy; beauty, pleasure, and sympathy.”

“Grace is the free and undeserved gift that God gives us to respond to our vocation to become his adopted children” (CCC 1996). Grace leads us into a participation of the inner-life of the Trinity and a sharing in the Pashal mystery (CCC 654). Principally, there are two kinds of Grace: Sanctifying and Actual. A s Sanctifying Grace , “God shares his divine life and friendship with us in a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that enables the soul to live with God, to act by his love” (CCC 2000). We receive this grace during Baptism (CCC 1999). As Actual Grace , God intervenes to aid us in conforming our lives to his will (CCC 2000). In addition, Sacramental graces are gifts given to us according to what is signified in the sacrament (CCC 2003). There are also special graces, or charisms, which are gifts of the Holy Spirit to actualize our state of life and help us live out our Christian vocation (CCC 2003).

Grace can be found in the New Testament 118 times. The NT authors often employ the term to mean what is highlight in the CCC, that divine gift from God that enables a deeper participation and conformity to the Father's will. We see this in a study of Acts (a datum of the early Christian Church), where the Apostles are strengthened to serve the Church (Acts 4:33, 6:8, 11:23, 13:43, 14:3, 26, 15:11, 40, 18:27, 20:24). Furthermore, St. John points out that grace is synonymous with Truth and Love itself (Jn.1:14, 17; 2 Jn.2:3). John characterizes grace to be the very love shared between God the father and God the Son--the Holy Spirit!

NT scholarship on grace reaches new heights with the great St. Paul of Tarsus . I cannot produce any lengthy commentary in this brief bulletin piece on grace, but I would like to note one thing of importance. St Paul transmits a subtle, yet prominent message, by offering every epistle the following salutation: “ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor.1:1; 2 Cor.1:1; Gal.1;3; Eph.1:2; Phil.1:2; Col.1:2; 1 Thes.1:1; 2 Thes.1:2; 1 Tim.1:1; 2 Tim.1:1; Tit.1:4; Phlm.1:3). Paul, by the very structure of his epistle, reminds us that to live in the grace of Christ is to live in peaceful covenant harmony. Paul does this strategically, so that the reader would see--to have the ears to hear and the eyes to see is to be in a grace covenant standing with God. Amen!

G race has all of its meaning come to a pinnacle in the Liturgy. During Mass, we
worship God in thanksgiving for the sacrifice Christ gave us on Calvary, in which
we experience the most authentic meaning of ‘joy, beauty, pleasure, and sympathy'
as we receive our Lord in the Eucharist. It is in this gift of grace that we receive our Lord and experience the very ‘gratuity' of God--His essence and being! We participate in God's divine nature (2 Peter 1.4) so that we might have the strength to share the love of God and His grace with others!  

“ All is grace”

--St. Bernard of Clairveaux

Primary Texts Consulted

• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.

 

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