Got Grace?
GOT GRACE?
BY BRIAN JOHN SCHUETTLER
COPYRIGHT © 2004
EDITOR:
JOHN R. B. SCHUETTLER
For whose insight, help, and support I am eternally grateful!
Dedicated to Our Lady of Grace, Mary Most Holy!
I appreciate the inspiration of my friend in Christ, Saint Augustine, Doctor of Grace.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
I. WHAT IS GRACE…WHERE DOES GRACE COME FROM?
II. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GRACE
III. HOW DO I RECOGNIZE GRACE?
IV. HOW DO I COMMUNICATE WITH GRACE?
V. DEFEATING EVIL IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE – THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE
VI. APPENDIX
PRAYERS TO INSPIRE GRACE
GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
INTRODUCTION
Quite some time ago, when I was attending college, an inspiration came to me seemingly out of nowhere that I should write something about the theological assertion of Free Will. This seemed rather strange to me since I was a history major, not a theology or divinity major….and besides…..why??? Where did this inspiration come from, and why was it given to me? I was attending a small liberal arts college that required taking Bible courses from a minister who emphasized Calvinism and therefore a doctrine of Predestination. At the very core of my being I sensed intuitively that such a doctrine which stressed that certain individuals are chosen from birth to be “saved” and others are, of necessity, chosen obviously NOT to be “saved” would imply that God sent them to Hell Himself, from the beginning, just arbitrarily creating a soul and then throwing that soul into Hell. If the assertion of Saint John the Evangelist in his 1st Letter chapter 4 be accepted as truth that GOD IS LOVE, then it is essentially impossible to also accept this doctrine of Predestination! This would be in total contradiction to a sense of human dignity, and what I consider to be the God-given privilege to obtain Heaven through faith combined with the assent of my own free will. This is an important distinction, because I came to realize over time that the teaching of Predestination was an affront to my understanding of the Christian revelation of love and mercy. Why would God play games by creating lives that are nothing but robots for Him, creatures of an unloving Creator who wants to have nothing to do with us? If something is programmed to love without choice, the love is not complete and is not, in fact, love at all. How much more is it that something would CHOOSE TO LOVE! This doctrine implied that God is, at the very least, profoundly bored and, at the very worst, rather cruel to boot! This image of God may fit very well into the mythology of ancient Greece, but it certainly did not portray the Judeo-Christian God that so many of us were raised to believe in. As I thought about this I decided to follow the inspiration, an inspiration that surely must have come from God. So I went and sat down on a quiet afternoon in the college library with a blank notebook in front of me and proceeded to write….NOTHING! I expected that the inspiration would continue and do all the “work,” to perform some sort of miraculous automatic writing that I was reading so much about during those first days of the so-called “New Age.” After all, this wasn’t my idea, so certainly I deserved to be the inspired instrument! Well, to make a long story short, I never did write that assertion of Free Will and refutation of Predestination because I was too ignorant of my role in this effort and too ignorant of the subject matter and the role I must play in cooperation with the “work of creation.” I didn’t see the irony then, but I came to realize over time that, in a sense, the vast majority of humans, whether we admit it or not, have a firm belief in the doctrine of Predestination. Why do I say this? I say it because so many of us think that if God intends us to be anything other than what we are, then certainly He will make all the effort and do all the “work” to change our lives, sort of like winning the Eternal Lottery. The temptation so many of us feel is to act as if we are truly the robots of chance that are acted upon in an anxious and sometimes cruel world. This also allows a person the opportunity to blame God for all our personal problems and misfortunes, and then, by extension, we can even blame Him for all suffering in the entire world.
What I was asked to do is to cooperate with God’s Will by putting my effort into the work at hand and together. That is to say, by combining my free will with the Will of God, as a joint effort, to accomplish and finish the work that He was calling me to do. But my lack of desire for teamwork with God, referred to in the Bible as “yoking myself” with God and pulling together, virtually guaranteed that the work would never be done. This brings us to the main subject at hand: GRACE! After all these many years I was prompted not long ago once again to “yoke myself” and write. I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to write a book about the central role of grace in our lives, a book which would help other people to come to know, during these possible End Times, what I have been given the grace to know, so that they may joyfully live their lives and live them, as John 10:10 says, more abundantly. No matter who you are, rich or poor, no matter what race or religion, in the end there is only God, and everything else in this earthly existence is, by comparison, nothing. I am not a trained theologian, nor am I an authority on the subject of grace. I am a layman who was called by God to do something in his own very small way with the sincere hope that at least one person will read this little book and join with me on their own journey to Grace.
I. WHAT IS GRACE…WHERE DOES GRACE COME FROM?
We live in a world composed of matter that is situated in a vast material universe. We, as human beings, are also composed of matter. We are born and live a life that can be either short or long or somewhere between the two. We now live in what has been called a “post Christian” era where people go about their business without any reference whatsoever to God. We have taken Him out of our schools, out of our government, and out of our social life.
We no longer, as a society, protect the dignity of human life of the most vulnerable among us; be they children in the womb, the poor and broken “wounded ones” of an uncaring government, or the elderly who face the end of their lives alone and unloved and often in despair. We hide our guilt and the fear of our future behind unending hours of more and more perverse so-called “Reality TV,” although I have yet to have anyone tell me whose “reality” this is! People who deliberately degrade themselves before millions of viewers are certainly not real to the vast majority of families in our society. We have created new gods: more and more expensive houses, cars, adult toys, and lavish vacations.
We are running, always running, away from God, who the poet Francis Thompson called “The Hound of Heaven.”
“I fled Him down the nights and down the days
I fled Him down the arches of the years
I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind, and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped and shot precipitated
Adown titanic glooms of chasm-ed fears
From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.
But with unhurrying chase and unperturb-ed pace,
Deliberate speed, majestic instancy,
They beat–and a Voice beat,
More instant than the feet:
“All things betray thee who betrayest Me”
All the things of this world that become like gods to us in fact do betray us. They betray us because they take us away from our one true love and the answer to the meaning of life. “Yet the people saw and did not understand, not take such a thing to heart, that God’s Grace and Mercy are with His elect, and He watches over His holy ones” (Wisdom 4:15).
When we speak of grace there is a tendency to jump quickly to the New Testament, the “New Covenant,” and associate grace with the presence of Jesus and the fulfillment of His Ministry. But grace had been given by God to Mankind going all the way back to Adam. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created in a state of grace. They were created by God in a state of being that participated fully in their humanity, their physical realm, and simultaneously in the spiritual realm of God and His Angels. The Book of Genesis tells us that God created Man “in His image and likeness”; in other words, God created Man with an immortal soul and the grace of the indwelling of the Trinity. With the tragic Fall of Man into sin and spiritual pride, Man then lost the precious grace of the indwelling of the Trinity but continued to maintain an immortal soul. So we see that the gift, sanctifying grace, had existed from the beginning but was lost through free will’s desertion of God. Never having had the human experience of sanctifying grace in its original manifestation, we must ponder for a moment what it was actually like for our first parents. There was no struggle constantly going on between their reason and their passions. Their rational will was in control and dominated their human physical nature in a way that we cannot comprehend. Adam and Eve had a dominion over all of creation, as God had promised them, and exercised that dominion without need of any labor or to struggle. Alas, all of this was lost when the Serpent’s temptation was accepted and sin entered the world. This first manifestation of sanctifying grace was gone, and the full and complete power of this grace would never again be seen upon the earth.
As Cardinal Journet states in his treatise The Meaning of Grace:
“Original grace exhibited a power grace no longer has in the present state of things. It exercised virtualities that now lie dormant within it. By its use of preternatural gifts it transformed, in some degree, the state of via or pilgrimage. Because of this character of power, we may say that the age of Adam’s grace was the age of the Father. For we attribute omnipotence primarily to the first Person of the Trinity, the Father: ‘I believe in God the Father almighty, creator . . . (wisdom is attributed primarily to the second Person and love to the third, although power, wisdom, and love belong to the divine essence and are possessed communally and inseparably by all three Persons). Besides this character of power, original grace had a character of virginity. It had no previous sin to expiate or repair; it was, as it were, young, fresh, entirely new—nothing preceded it. Now the Father in the Trinity is the first Person; from him the Word is begotten and the Holy Spirit proceeds. Nothing then is anterior to him. Because of this second resemblance it may be said, once again, that the age of original grace is the age of the Father.”
Grace would enter the world in two essential forms after this original period. Grace would exist either by “anticipation” before the coming of the Messiah and then the grace of “presence” that began when Our Lord came into the world as a man. We will discuss in a deeper way these existential states of grace in chapter 5.
The word grace is used many times in the New Testament1 and obviously had specific meaning for the inspired writers. The word grace is a translation from the Greek word “charis” and is generally defined as an unearned, undeserved gift from God to man. It is closely akin, etymologically, to the Greek word for joy, “chara.” Thus, we can say that the supernatural intervention in a person’s life can be called grace, and it brings with it many gifts and fruits, one of the most obvious being a sense of joy.
There is no Hebrew word that translates directly into the word “grace” in English, and therefore you will find no use of the word in the Hebrew and Aramaic translations of the Old Testament. However, the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, and in use during the time that Jesus walked upon the Earth, generally translated the Hebrew word “hen” as charis to denote favor or goodwill. However, the words “rahamin” and “hesed” from Hebrew are also translated as charis to denote God’s mercy, compassion, and covenant relationship with the His Chosen People. What is fascinating is that eventually this sense of relationship which God conveys to His people promises that if they, collectively and most importantly individually, keep their covenant with Him then He will give His Blessing, “beraka,” what can only be described as gifts and fruits of grace: joy, strength, fullness of life, and a special relationship to God and interior effects, especially wisdom.2
In the New Testament, the word charis never occurs in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Luke only uses it 8 times. The sense of grace in these Gospels is again very indicative of “covenant orientation” in that man is invited to belong to “His Kingdom” and to be the children of the New Covenant. John’s Gospel and Letters come closer to teaching on grace in the sense that John uses the metaphors of light and truth and the abundant sharing in Our Lord’s life as being the effects of grace. He also brings in the central aspect of the theology of grace by saying that the manifestation of grace is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. “This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us, that he has given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).
It is impossible to talk or write about grace without bringing Saint Paul into the discussion. The writings of Saint Paul are a fundamental biblical source for much of the development of the doctrine of Grace in the Church. I am going to use one Letter of Paul as the central focus of his exposition of the essential nature of grace as being the connection between God and Man. That Letter is Paul’s great Letter to the Romans. The Letter to the Romans is a brilliant theological masterpiece that centers on a plea to all those who think that being a good person, an “ethical” person, is sufficient to be justified before God. It simply is not. Paul demonstrates that justification can only be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ. This is a faith that is essential to salvation and yet does not in any way deny the need for responsibility for one’s individual actions. Hence faith and good works (responsible actions in life) are both essential. In this Letter, Paul goes into a profound discussion of the doctrine of salvation through grace. Paul points out that it is in the very rejection of grace by denial of Jesus as the Messiah that the Jews cut themselves off from the mercy of God. Paul speaks as a Jew trained in the Pharisaical tradition and so is very conscious of the consequences of his language. You must take this man at his word because he is only interested in expressing the true teaching of his Messianic King. At the very beginning of his Letter, in chapter 1 verse 7, Paul says to the Christian community at Rome, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is calling these people to become holy by responding to the grace that they have been given. Again in 3:24 Paul says, “They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus.” This is a clear enunciation of what has come to be called “Paul’s Gospel,” the good news that we are all redeemed by the grace we receive through Our Lord’s death and Resurrection. A beautiful summary of Paul’s teaching on Grace can be found in chapter 5 of Romans verses 15 through 21.
Romans 5:15
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
Paul demonstrates powerfully here that the grace that we receive individually by and through the merit of the Cross of Christ is far greater than the sin and evil brought to the world by the fall of Adam and Eve. So grace then is all the greater because it gives a benefit that exceeds both original sin and also the actual sins committed by men subsequent to the original fall. All men and women who cooperate with this grace become the sons and daughters of God the Father and brothers and sisters to Jesus.
Romans 5:16
The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
Romans 5:17
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:18
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
Romans 5:19
For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
Romans 5:20
The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
Romans 5:21
so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul is not saying, obviously, that the Law of Moses came so that sin would increase, rather this is to be understood to mean that as individuals became more knowledgeable of the Law their responsibility, their culpability, became all the more manifest. The grace obtained by all Mankind through the Redemption of Jesus Christ thereby transcends the Law, just as the supernatural nature of grace cooperates with but nevertheless transcends the natural law.
This should give a sufficient example within the context of our discussion of grace to demonstrate the value of Paul’s writings to later Christian writers, especially Saint Augustine. A tragedy of some future interpreters of Paul, especially Martin Luther and John Calvin, is the misunderstood use of Paul’s Letters to deny the existence of free will by taking verses out of context.
The overall theme in the New Testament is one of inclusiveness in God’s Plan of Salvation. If one has faith in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, then sufficient grace will be given to a person to accept the means by which he can persevere in covenant relationship. The great Christian writer and scholar C.S. Lewis, in his book The Great Divorce, used the metaphor of softened grass which was previously rock-like as being the power that grace has to soften our minds, hearts, and will toward God. “He loves all, including sinners (Mt 5:45), even the greatest sinners (Mt 18:23-25; Lk 15:12-32; 18:13-14). He searches for sinners (Lk 15:3-9). He is not content merely with doing good to men, but, like a man whose intensity of love leads him to bind himself by a vow, the Father wills to bind Himself by a new and eternal covenant in the blood of His Son, for the “many” (Mt 26:28).3 Many biblical scholars believe that Our Lord, at the Last Supper, due to the solemnity of the Passover meal, probably spoke in Hebrew. The Hebrew word He probably used for “many” is the word “rabbim,” which translates into English as “the all who are many.” There is a general misunderstanding of the use of the word “all” in the Roman Mass of Paul the Sixth. The meaning is that even though Jesus died for all, giving all the opportunity of eternal salvation, nevertheless there will be some who will not freely accept this grace of Redemption. It does not, as some assert, mean that there is a “universal salvation” of all people. Although He really does not owe anything to man, He does owe it to Himself to keep His covenant.
Probably the most widely known use of the word grace in the entire Bible is “Hail, FULL OF GRACE, the Lord is with thee!” (Luke 1:28). The Angel Gabriel called Mary by her spiritual name, Full Of Grace, to show the greatest honor by a member of one realm of being, Angel, a messenger of God, to another realm of being, a woman named Mary. The words “Ave Maria,” “Hail Mary” in Latin, make reference to Mary being the second Eve, the “new” Eve. Eve lost grace by being sinful and gave birth to the cursed man Cain and so the “New Eve,” who is without sin and therefore “full of grace,” will give birth to the “New Adam”: Jesus (1st Corinthians 11:45, Romans 5). So we see that the greatest honor a human being can be given is to be referred to as “full of grace” or as some disputed translations say “highly favored,”4 a translation which does not conform to the essence of Angel Gabriel’s statement of truth. This issue of the translation of Gabriel’s greeting to Mary has been in recent times problematic. For over fifteen hundred years the Latin translation of Saint Jerome from the original Greek “Kecharitomene” had been “Full of Grace” or “Filled with Grace,” since it is rendered in passive participle form. Very recent translations, including the Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible, have used “Highly Favored One.”
Even God’s intervention into history was not done by force, but accepted by the Virgin in freedom. Mary’s “Fiat” must not be reduced to a pious platitude; it is fundamental to God’s revelation that man’s freedom is integral to his nature and dignity. Father Keefe argues that if Mary’s “Fiat” was “less than integrally free,” then “God could only be present among his people as a despot, overcoming freedom forcibly, suppressing their alienation. To be so present would establish not a covenant, but all the pagan dichotomies and antagonisms.”5
GRACE THEN IS A CORRESPONDING SPIRITUAL REALITY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND MANKIND. GRACE IS THE ACTION OF MEANS BY WHICH GOD ACTS THOUGH HUMANS TO DO HIS WILL.
You can see then why the world is in such a sorry and sordid state. The God who loves and cares personally for each and every individual is offering a solution to our lives and so many of us have shut ourselves off from His love and concern. Why? Because so many of us have ignored His grace and have chosen a different path, a path leading to destruction and death. But some may say: I don’t know what you are talking about! I have no memory of God ever making me aware of this idea you call grace, nor do I remember rejecting it. Now you are telling me that my life and the lives of countless millions of men and women are on a road to disaster. I find this insulting and ridiculous. Where did you get these ideas?
I will quote to you something that Moses told the Chosen People just before his removal from their sight and prior to their entering into the Promised Land:
“Only be careful and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them” (Deuteronomy 4:9).
But during that same final speech of Moses to his people as recorded in the Torah:
“After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time-if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey Him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which He confirmed to them by oath” (Deuteronomy 4:25-31).
So one may ask: Where does this knowledge come from? I answer that this knowledge comes from God through grace. But as the above passage foretells, there will be times throughout history when people will forget the sacred teachings given to them and they will seek gods in strange places. Sound familiar? Look at our secular, neo-pagan society today and the debased “entertainment” and “life styles” which become more and more perverse and demeaning to human dignity each year and drag our society down and down into the pit. Where will it end? I think we know the answer to that and we also know that something must be done both in our individual lives and in our society. The Power of God freely gives us everything that we need in life if we indeed accept His presence.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:3-8).
The great writers of the doctrine of Grace have accepted Peter’s basic definition of Grace as being, as he says in verse 4 above, essentially a PARTICIPATION IN THE DIVINE NATURE.
See then how beautifully Peter demonstrates a spiraling upward to God by this participation, going from faith to goodness, goodness to knowledge, knowledge to self-control (self-discipline), from discipline to perseverance and then to a closer and closer relationship with God, which leads to kindness and love. All of this is ours for the asking. Our Lord is knocking at the door of your heart, and if you but open the door He promises to dwell with you. That is the power of grace! If you will start a dialogue with God, then He will use His grace to live with you “24/7” and give you His peace and joy, a peace and a joy which this world is indeed incapable of giving. We may well understand, therefore, how St. Thomas Aquinas could write in his great Summa some of the most consoling and insightful words as quoted in THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE:
“The lowest degree of grace in a soul, for example in that of a small child after its baptism, is of greater value than the natural goodness of the whole universe. This grace alone is worth more than all created natures together, including even the angelic natures. For the angels, too, stood in need, not of redemption, but of the gratuitous gift of grace in order to tend to the supernatural beatitude to which God called them. St. Augustine says that when God created the nature of the angels He also gave them the gift of grace;
and he maintains that ‘the justification of the ungodly is something greater than the creation of heaven and earth, greater even than the creation of the angels.’”
St. Thomas adds: “The justification of the sinner is proportionately more precious than the glorification of the just; because the gift of grace more greatly transcends the state of the sinner, who is deserving of punishment, than the gift of glory transcends the state of the just man, who, by reason of his justification, is worthy of the gift of glory.” THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE (Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange –“The Importance of True Conversion”)
This is the way that Our Lord intended it to be, and it is the only way that will bring us true joy and peace in this life. There are so many things calling us away from God in this culture of death, things that will kill our soul and anesthetize our brains, and the assault becomes more and more intense with each passing year. We cannot surrender to these temptations of money and sex and possessions that enslave us and draw us away from our true desire, the “true desire of our heart”: to be filled with the love, the joy, and the peace of the Lord. Nothing in this world can fulfill this desire except Him. I hope that you are now ready to continue our journey of discovery and talk about how we “recognize” grace in ourselves and in others. But before we do that, let us go on a little tour of the fundamentals of grace so that we can have a better understanding of the foundation upon which we will continue our discussion.
II. THE FUNDAMENTALS OF GRACE
So you see that grace has always been present to us, there for the asking. All we need do is ask or “cooperate” with God. There is a theological term for this experience of grace and it is called “justification.” Justification signifies the act, initiated by God through grace, whereby an individual moves from a state of sinfulness to a “state of grace.” Therefore, this movement from sin to justice constitutes a new state of being, a state of holiness, if you will, whereby we are justified before the Lord. When we take that first step then we are like children taking our first steps toward our Father who is waiting to pull us into His arms and then start a life together, a journey of life and a journey of love. The great Doctor of Grace, Saint Augustine, so named because he was so influential in the development of the doctrine of grace, tells us that the God who created us without our participation in that creation nevertheless requires our participation in our own justification through the exercise of our free will. This essential foundation of grace has been affirmed down through the centuries and has been further developed by the great Doctors of the Church, including Saint Thomas Aquinas. This doctrine of grace has, of course, been challenged by certain individuals, the most notable of which was a heretical priest named Pelagius who was born the same year as Augustine and who argued the primacy of human action as the driving force of grace. Of course, the greatest attack on the orthodox doctrine of grace came from Martin Luther who, in many ways, represented the opposing argument to Pelagius by ascribing the action of grace exclusively to God and opening the door to the denial of free will and the attorney-turned-theologian John Calvin’s articulation of Predestination.
It eventually came to be accepted doctrinally that the one exception to personal justification by an act of the will involves the newly born and youngsters who have not entered yet into the age of reason, that is to say, the capacity to recognize objective truth. They obtain by the Mercy of God the life of grace without their personal participation through baptism. So we see that God always calls us first and He is always the Great Initiator of grace. He will allow us to see how very unhappy we are without Him, even though our life may seem to be just fine. We sense that something is not quite right and feel perhaps a bit down or mildly depressed. Sometimes God even lets us hit rock bottom just so we can wake up to His reality. God wants us to move to faith in Him, a faith which finally gives meaning to our lives and for the first time allows us to feel whole and at peace. That is why, in the knowledge of gracious action, it is understood that faith precedes justification. Once we are in relationship with the Lord, He uses grace to guide us step by step, first by our fear of separation from God through our tendency toward sin and then slowly to a love of Him that finally gives us the freedom to have total confidence and trust in Him. For some the journey is very quick, and there are individuals such as Saint Therese who are so in love with the Lord that they are allowed to do wonderful things in their short lives. For some, such as myself, the journey is long and arduous, and one must pray for that most precious grace of perseverance. For many do not persevere and even become presumptuous of salvation, a very dangerous spiritual state! However, if we are true to grace and always humbly accept the prior action of God in our souls, then we will obtain grace after grace until we become what He intended us to be in this world: first lovers of Him and then of each other through Him.
The call of the Apostle Paul to consider ourselves as “God’s fellow workers” (I Cor 3, 9) makes us understand that it is always He who is the first real “worker.” Precisely in reference to the mission, John Paul II wrote: “The Holy Spirit precedes, accompanies and follows” the commitment of evangelization. In the first place, therefore, we are invited to cooperate with God: we owe him an unconditional supremacy! The dual meaning of the Latin term labor, moreover, makes it possible to verify how our “work” is also a “toil” that has to engage those who have been called. Therefore, while he calls to cooperation and gives his grace, the Lord invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy” (Novo Millennio ineunte, n. 38) without abandoning anything that we are and without forgetting that without him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15, 5).6
There are those who confuse acts of charity in the natural order as being synonymous with works of charity done through the love of God. They are not. One belongs to the natural order and the other to the supernatural. God IS love, as Saint John the Evangelist tells us, and all authentic acts of love can only be done through His grace. Therefore we always have the primacy of grace thus transcending the natural order and thereby giving it dignity and meaning. This understanding of human effort in the overall scheme of things as a function of Divine primacy is probably the greatest doctrine enunciated by Augustine and formally adopted by the Church at the Council of Orange, which stated: “If anyone says that increase of faith comes from God, but denies that the very beginning of the act of faith and the first act of trust in God is already a gift of God, and the effect in us of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who converts our will from infidelity to faith, from impiety to piety, he contradicts the Apostle, who says: I have confidence that he who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1. 6)—for unto you it is given [i.e., a grace] for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him (Phil. 1.29); and again: What have you that you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you glory as if you have not received it? (1st Cor. 4.7).”
The only “secondary” act that man is capable of after being offered grace is to refuse it. As Jesus told His apostles: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Justification is therefore that moment in the life of an individual when the Holy Spirit comes to purify and dwell in his soul and make His home there. Just as another speaks for an infant at baptism and states that the child rejects Satan and chooses to love God, so the mature person now does the same and therefore it has been pondered by Aquinas whether the justification of a soul is possibly the greatest of God’s works. The Angelic Doctor even goes so far as to suggest that the justification of one soul is a greater work of God than the creation of the material universe since the material universe will pass away while the justified soul is eternal.7 Although justification is a great mystery and is indeed beyond our full human comprehension, nevertheless it is not a miracle in the truest sense. Aquinas points out that there is an essential difference between, say, the gratuitous justification of a living soul and the raising of a dead body to life.
“Now, since the soul is spiritual, the image of God, although it certainly cannot claim it has a right to grace, yet it has the wholly passive capacity of receiving it. As distinct from resurrection, which goes against the laws of life, the grace of justification comes to a soul, not as contrary to, but as superior to its nature. In this aspect, justification is not a miracle in the sense in which the raising of Lazarus was” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet ).
Justification is therefore, says Saint Thomas, the “ordinary course of divine goodness.” This does not mean that there are not extraordinary instances of divine intervention in an individual’s life that must be considered as miraculous. The perfect example of this phenomenon, as recorded in the Book of Acts, would be the sudden and shocking conversion experience of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus. It is for this reason that it is so very important to pray for the conversion of sinners and for their acceptance of grace through their free will. In this sense our prayers contribute to the work of God in the salvation of the human race.
At this point of the spiritual journey a great temptation may arise. The temptation is a form of pride but now it is a “spiritual” pride. Now that we have accepted God into our lives and hopefully at the center of our existence, many individuals experience a feeling that sin is no longer part of their lives. This is a lie! As the beloved disciple said in his first letter: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). Although we may have reached the place where we do not offend God in a very serious way, nevertheless we still have our daily faults and failings, things we shouldn’t do but do, things we should do but don’t. It is very essential that we daily ask the Father for forgiveness of these sins, what the Catholic Church calls “venial sins.” So it is good to remember that venial sin does not remove the indwelling of the Spirit of God but it does cloud our capacity to allow the Spirit to act within us as our most precious Guide and Councilor.
Now let us talk about the relationship between grace and what has come to be called in the doctrine of grace the “doctrine of merit.” This is, shall we say, a “testy” area of discussion simply because there is a dichotomy between orthodox Catholic teaching of this doctrine and the Protestant view. Let us begin with a basic definition of Merit. The doctrine of Merit basically states that we, after accepting God’s grace and being in the “state of grace” can then conform ourselves as members of the Kingdom to perform acts of grace and love. As extensions of Him we are, as Our Lord said, branches of a vine. We obtain the capacity to bear fruit through our adoption as sons and daughters through the Redemption of the Cross. So when we obtain the Heavenly prize we can say, in this sense, we merited it. “ So that our very merits are the gifts of God. Hence the saying of St Augustine: ‘When God crowns our merits, he crowns his own gifts’” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet).
The orthodox Catholic position is therefore that God is “first cause” of merit and then we, as individuals, play a “supporting role,” if you will, a beautiful display of our assent of free will in responding to His action. It is not my intention here to get into the counter claims to the meaning of merit as expounded by Protestant theologians such as John Calvin and others. I am attempting in my humble way, relying upon the Holy Spirit for guidance, to help people to understand the most important truth and meaning in their life and that is a personal relationship with God. Everything else is quite secondary.8 Grace is therefore a pre-existent requirement for the glory of Heaven. Another way of saying this is: the reward i.e. “the glory” of Heaven is the fruit of grace. The perfect example of this connection is given to us by Saint Paul in his second letter to Timothy in chapter 4 where he says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day; and not only to me, but to them also who love his coming.” There is nothing inherently wrong or distorted in desiring to satisfy the hungry (spiritual) heart, and so I can only say to those who believe that they are saved by faith alone that I would expect that they appreciate that this desire, a desire whose fulfillment is promised by Jesus in scripture, cannot be a bad thing.9 Saint Paul tells us in I Corinthians 2:9 that “We shall see Him face to face” and “crowned with glory,” not hiding from Him forever in eternity!
That is one of the reasons that we can pray for our own justification and just as importantly we can pray for others as an appeal to the mercy of God. As I will discuss later in this book, prayer itself is a grace and a connection by communication that allows God to love us and forgive us and to love and forgive others for whom we pray.
Another question that comes up quite often is whether it is appropriate to pray for material possessions, that is to say, wealth and material well being. This has become quite popular in certain quarters since the publication of a small book by Bruce Wilkinson entitled The Prayer of Jabez. Using a relatively obscure verse from the Old Testament, Mr. Wilkinson attempts to prove that there is a so-called “prosperity gospel.” To a certain extent he is correct. There is nothing inherently wrong in praying for material goods so long as the things we are praying for are conducive to our eternal salvation. God can just as easily allow suffering and pain in our lives if they are also conducive to our eternal salvation. Anyone who lives long enough on this earth comes to know through simple observation that wealth and possessions come to both the just and the unjust and there is absolutely no connection to anything in the New Testament Gospels or the writing of Saint Paul or others. Quite the contrary, Jesus preached the Way of the Cross and of following Him in his suffering and death. It is He who gives meaning for the first time to suffering and death. I find it very suspicious when a Christian pastor must ignore the entire New Covenant and look for his source in that which is closed and fulfilled through the birth of the Messiah. My point is this: Everything that comes to us in our life, good or bad, is an opportunity to correspond to grace. This is the power of grace and the redemptive power of free will that is exercised in the direction of the Lord.
“In his commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, St Thomas makes the terrible statement that continuous success in temporal affairs may, in some cases, be a sign of reprobation. It seems, in those cases, as if God wishes to reward in this life acts that are valueless for heaven. Speaking of the virtues of Cyrus and Alexander, St Augustine considers that God raised up these men ‘for the adornment of this present age. There have been numbers of great artists and geniuses who have worked for the world of culture and neglected the warnings given by love. St Augustine held that they have received their reward in this life, a reward that was futile, as they were futile. Soren Kierkegaard’s terrible remark: ‘God is so great a Lord that, far from making it difficult, he makes it exceedingly easy to deceive him; he goes so far as to give his prizes to the deceivers and to reward them with all the goods of the earth. Though time may redeem the work of a poet, as Shelley said, and remove its poison, it does not redeem his soul” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet).
Hoping for salvation at the end of their journey upon this earth is the legitimate prerogative of every person who accepts the grace of God in their lives. I, myself, throughout the day will say many “Hail Marys” to ask the great Mother of God for her intercession in obtaining for me the grace of final perseverance. The first prophecy referring to Mary is found in the very opening chapters of the Book of Genesis (3:15): “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; he shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for his heel.” Mary’s Divine Motherhood is based on the teaching of the Gospels, on the writings of the Fathers, and on the express definition of the Church. St. Matthew (1:25) testifies that Mary “brought forth her first-born son” and that He was called Jesus. According to St. John (1:15), Jesus is the Word made flesh, the Word Who assumed human nature in the womb of Mary. As Mary was truly the mother of Jesus, and as Jesus was truly God from the first moment of His conception, Mary is truly the mother of God. Even the earliest Church Fathers did not hesitate to draw this conclusion as may be seen in the writings of St. Ignatius, St. Irenaeus, and Tertullian.
This means that I am asking Our Lady to intercede for me to obtain the grace of eternal life. If anyone asks for the mercy of God in good conscience and with full sincerity then that grace will not be taken from him in achieving that glorious end. However, this does not lead inevitably to the doctrine of predestination as formulated by John Calvin. That is to say, this sincere desire of the heart for final perseverance and salvation does not guarantee nor does it promise a certainty of attaining Heaven. If I were to think in such a manner then I would be guilty of the sin of presumption. The very rare occurrence known theologically as “confirmation in grace” is possible but would involve a special act of God in relation with a very special and holy individual and such a discussion should be left to a book on mystical phenomena. Certainty implies a full and complete apprehension, and in this life we are not privileged to see in such a dazzling way. With these matters we must always put ourselves totally in the loving and merciful hands of God. Just so that I do not push anyone toward a sense of despair or sadness, let me now point out some of the “practical indications” of being in a state of grace. First and foremost, you may have an awareness of the presence of God in your life and a sense that He is working in you. You may experience a willing surrender of your ego and openness to allowing the Spirit to prepare you for being an instrument of His Will. You believe that only God can satisfy your legitimate desires. You lose interest in the things of the world and abandon sensual pleasure as an end in itself and realize that all aspects of your life must be in relationship with Him. According to the writings of some Christian mystical writers, one of the most telling indications of the presence of grace is the development of a very strong devotion to the Mother of God. In some there is also a feeling of “falling in love” with God and a humble appreciation for the complete and total dependence upon His grace in all matters. The mystery of human nature is solved when one realizes with the great certainty of faith that we are all, every one of us, totally dependent upon God’s mercy. No one could ever withstand His judgment. We must live from moment to moment aware of our need for grace and forever trusting in the work of grace regardless of what circumstances we are in. We must be ever vigilant against the temptations of Satanic forces that desire to pull us away from grace and the Source of grace! Pray constantly to Our Lord and through His saints for the great grace of perseverance.
“The conclusion to be drawn is contained in the words of St John of the Cross, ‘Fear, but with confidence’. Fear, for you may not be in grace; but not with a fear that would prevent your acting, make you ask: what is the use? or stifle all your good impulses. That is how the devil sets about using your uncertainty to make you destroy yourself. But do not have, either, a presumptuous confidence, a comfortable self-assurance. No, indeed, you must be on the cross. I am afraid, because I am well aware that if God were to exact a strict account I should be lost; but I know too that he loves me with a love of which I can have no idea in this life. In this way I veer between my wretchedness and his love; but my faith keeps on telling me: God’s love will be victorious, for it is greater than my wretchedness. That is the state of the Christian. Even the poorest Christian has his moments of joy and optimism; then it is as if Paradise had come down into his heart. He needs such moments. Then comes a time of trial and he does not know in the least how he stands. The apostles themselves experienced these alternations. At the moment of the Transfiguration, the cloud came upon them and the glory of Jesus enveloped them. Peter, James and John felt as if they were on the threshold of Paradise: ‘Lord, let us make three tabernacles….’ They wanted to stay there for good. But what was the reason for the Transfiguration? Because afterwards the agony would come, when the same three apostles would see Jesus—who wanted to save the world—seemingly overcome by the forces of evil. If the memory of the Transfiguration had not upheld them at that moment, they would have lost their faith. God controls these alternations. All we can do is to say with the poet: ‘My soul in thy hands is no mere toy, and thy prudence is infinite’” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet).
III. HOW DO I RECOGNIZE GRACE?
If grace is, as St. Peter says, a participation in the Divine nature, then it follows that the existence of grace can be recognized in us by coming to appreciate our relationship with the Divine. How do we do that? We start with faith. If we have faith in Our Lord already then we can proceed from there. If we do not as yet have faith then we must PRAY FOR FAITH! Ask Our Lord to come into your heart and dwell there. Ask Him to listen to your concerns and fears, your sorrows and anxieties and then surrender yourself to a sense of peace and let Our Lord speak to your heart. Remember, the Holy Spirit speaks in a whisper and so, in order to hear Him, you must be very still and quiet and open to His voice. You will know it is the Spirit because you will obtain peace and joy, two of the many “fruits” of the Spirit. I have included in the Appendix a prayer to the Holy Spirit that may be helpful for you to meditate upon.
“It is always God who makes the first step towards us, in that initial good will which is the beginning of salvation. For this purpose, by His grace and by the trials to which He subjects the soul, He, as it were, ’tills’ the ground of the soul before sowing the divine seed within it; He drives a first furrow therein, a furrow upon which He will later return, to dig more deeply still and to eradicate the weeds which remain; much as the vine-tender cares for the vine when it has already grown , to free it from all that may retard its development.” THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE (Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange –Chapter 1 “The Importance of True Conversion”)
“In the case of the very young, Original sin , within which they are born, is transmitted to them by way of generation, without any personal culpability on their part. Consequently, God does not require of them any personal act for justification. Their parents, through no act of their own will, give them natural life; baptism, without any act of will of theirs, gives them the life of grace” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet - Part I, Section IV).
Remember, if we have received a “Trinitarian” baptism,10 then we have also received promises that confer the supernatural gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love, the three Theological Virtues. By Trinitarian Baptism it is meant that you were baptized using the formula “I baptize thee in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). This is biblical teaching and comes from Matthew 28:19 wherein Jesus Himself declared to the Apostles that they must go into the world and proclaim the Good News (Gospel means Good News). “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” All true followers of Christ have this formulaic Baptism in common. If you are then baptized, even if you are an infant, you already have a participation in the Divine life and are worthy of eternal salvation regardless of whether you are conscious of it or not. However, we must remain a “worthy” participant in the Divine nature by being in a “state of grace.” This means that we make a conscious effort to get to know what God expects of us and how we are in relationship with Him. He expects us to be faithful to His commandments and His teachings as expressed in the Bible and in His Church and he also expects that we live a life in accordance with that teaching. If we make the effort to do these things, then we will be corresponding with grace and it will be abundantly available to us so that we have the strength to persevere. Always remember, without grace we can do nothing. With grace all things are possible!
“God’s grace always comes beforehand to prompt me. How does he knock at the door of my heart? If I am in a state of sin, he starts by trying to move me to an act of faith: I begin to grasp the extent of the gulf between the misery of my state and the holiness of God. That is why we say that faith is the root of justification. Then comes the fear of God: if I were to die now, I would be separated from him forever. This is not mere servile fear, for there is already in it a beginning of hope. Further, in this hope, there is not yet charity, but already a beginning of love. If I do not disrupt these successive movements of God—as the hail destroys the fruit in the flower—one grace calls up another, then another, and so on” (THE MEANING OF GRACE – Cardinal Charles Journet).
This gets into the Christian doctrine of what the Church calls Actual Grace, in which we choose of our own free will to participate in the Divine action in our soul. Saint Augustine referred to Actual Grace as a “light that enlightens and moves the sinner.” Actual graces may be obtained by our willing cooperation with Our Lord’s Will by performance of good works such as praying, fasting, and by giving to the poor our time and money. For a Christian the attendance at Sunday worship and for a Jew at Sabbath services is a sure sign of gracious cooperation. It is evidenced by a change of heart, a metanoia, as we start to change our attitudes toward life and death and on meditating upon our relationship with God and the end of things. It is very dangerous to begin thinking that we can “earn” graces! That is impossible, because otherwise it would not be grace. As Saint Paul says in his letter to Titus in chapter 3 verse 5, God saves us not out of the works we have done but out of His Divine Mercy. Yet the performance of good works is necessary.
The Letter of Saint James, an inspired Book of the New Testament, speaks so powerfully about the importance, and indeed the necessity of, our “work” as cooperation with grace. “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no works? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have works.”
Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without works is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (Letter of Saint James 2:14-25).
In fact, the Letter of Saint James was so antithetical to Martin Luther’s “new interpretation” of the meaning of grace that Luther even attempted to go so far as to remove the Letter of James from the Canon of the Bible! Imagine the arrogance of a man who makes himself such an authority that he thinks he has the power to add or remove Biblical Books from a Canon (meaning Collection) that was definitively established and codified since 397 at the Council of Carthage. From the time of the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven until the Councils of Hippo and Carthage at the very end of the fourth century there was no such thing as what we now call the Bible. There were individual books that were in circulation independently of each other, but it wasn’t until the Church Fathers came together in North Africa in 394 and again in 397 that the authentic and 73 truly inspired Books were bound together into one volume. These were the 46 Old Testament Books of the Septuagint and the 27 New Testament Books agreed to as being inspired by the greatest scholars of the Post Apostolic Age. Regardless of what Christian denomination that you belong to, this is why you should thank the Roman Catholic Church for giving you the Bible. One of the great sorrows of the Protestant Reformation is that it cut off so many followers of Christ from the great teachers of the early centuries of the Church and their authentic and inspiring writings. These writers give living witness to the true teaching of the Apostles as given to them from Jesus Himself. For instance, one of the early martyrs, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who was executed by the Romans in 110 A.D. was taught by Saint Polycarp, who in turn was taught by Saint John the Apostle, who in turn was one of the original twelve Apostles taught by Jesus Christ. Aren’t you interested in hearing what someone with such an authentic knowledge of Our Lord’s teaching has to say to us today?
As Saint Augustine, one of the great Fathers of the Church said, “God, who created us without our cooperation will not save us without our cooperation.” We must always remember that grace is always a gift from God and we cannot earn it. However, having said that, I also must insist that we never forget that we have our part to play in this drama of individual salvation. We must respond with our mind, our heart, indeed with our very being to this grace and truly make it our own by acting upon it. This is an exercise of our free will and just as we have on the natural level our rational, thinking nature, on the supernatural level we have the supreme gift to human beings: the gift of free will. Why is this the supreme gift? It is the treasure of our being because free will separates us from all other creatures that dwell upon the Earth. This is the purest evidence of our spiritual nature; it is indeed the crown jewel of human existence. Never forget, ONLY HUMAN BEINGS ARE CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF GOD! His greatest gift to us is the ability to transcend our genetic nature and to will things and circumstances into being. Such power is indeed an act of God and therefore the clearest indication that we share His nature. He is so pleased with our nature, being an image of His, that He actually became a human being! He chose by His Divine Will to share completely in our nature and became a man and dwelt in the physical universe that He created. God became the SON OF MAN and entered into space and time. He was not content to simply communicate through other men who live and die in time, but His desire to communicate Himself was so profound, profound beyond understanding, that He chose to do it Himself. He wanted so much that we get it right. How gracious is Our Lord! If we therefore do the Will of God, as He personally taught it to us, as it is communicated to us through faith, then we will be transformed spiritually and we will be fulfilling our true destiny! When we cooperate with “actual grace,” then we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our soul as evidence of our living relationship and indeed friendship with God.
The indwelling in the soul of the Spirit is called “sanctifying grace” because we have now entered upon the road to sanctity, the road to holiness. It is also very important to realize and meditate upon the fact that when the Holy Spirit dwells within us, then there is present also the Father and the Son. Why? This is the Trinity and the three Divine Persons of the Trinity are always substantially present in unity. That is why Saint Paul could say in his Letter to the Galatians 2:20: “I live, now not I; but Christ lives in me.”
“This beginning of eternal life, as we have called it, is a complete spiritual organism, which has to grow and develop until we enter heaven. The root principle of this undying organism is sanctifying grace, received in the very essence of the soul; and
This grace would last forever, were it not that sin, a radical disorder in the soul, sometimes destroys it. From sanctifying grace, which is the germ of glory, proceed the infused virtues. First, the theological virtues, the greatest of which, love, is
destined to last for ever- ‘Love never falls away,’ says St. Paul, … ‘Now there remain faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.’ Love will remain for ever, after faith has disappeared to make room for the everlasting possession of God, seen face to face. ‘ Then,’ says the Lord, ‘having recognized the grievousness of its sin and repented of it, the soul begins to weep, for fear of punishment; then it rises to the consideration of my mercy, in which it finds satisfaction and comfort. But it is, I say, still imperfect, and in order to draw it on to perfection… I withdraw from it, not in grace but in feeling. This I do in order to humiliate that soul, and cause it to seek Me in truth… without thought of self and with lively faith and with hatred of its own sensuality.’ And just as Peter compensated for his threefold denial by three acts of pure and devoted love, so the enlightened soul must do in like manner. If we saw the Church as she is in the most generous souls who live most truly the life of the Church, she would appear most beautiful in our sight, despite the human imperfections that are mingled with the activity of her children. We rightly lament certain blots, but let us not forget that if there is sometimes mud in the valley at the foot of the mountains, on the summits there is always snow of dazzling whiteness, air of great purity, and a wonderful view that ever leads the eye to God.”
THE THREE WAYS OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE (Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange –Chapter 1 “The Importance of True Conversion”)
What are the effects of Sanctifying Grace?
First, the most profound effect of the Spirit’s gift of sanctifying grace is to cleanse us of our sins and help us fight against our natural tendency toward sin. Just as metal is melted and molded into a desired image, so are we purified by the fire and molded into the image of God by the Holy Spirit. Our natural tendency toward sin will remain with us until we die, and we must therefore wage “spiritual combat” with the world, the flesh, and the Devil (Satan). As Saint Paul says in his Letter to the Romans 7:18: “I know that there dwells not in me, that is to say, in my flesh, that which is good.”
Second, the Spirit unites us with Christ and we become temples of God. We become the branches of the vine, the true “Vine,” Jesus Christ (John 15:5).11 I like very much the quote from Saint Augustine: “The Holy Spirit dwells primarily in the soul, and gives it true life; and since the soul is in the body, the Holy Spirit dwells therefore in our bodies.” Again, Augustine states a beautiful truth: “Our Father who art in Heaven; the heaven is the just man on earth, because God dwells in him.”
Thirdly, the Spirit illuminates our mind and strengthens our will. The “light of faith and strength of a good will” mentioned by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:6. We therefore receive the effect of the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love which we were given rights to when we were baptized. The Spirit gives us at this stage the willingness and indeed the ability to cooperate with His gracious virtues.
Let us pause now for a moment and get a sense of what we are talking about. Let us meditate for a bit on what is happening to us when we reach the point in our lives where we begin to “surrender” to the Spirit of God, and we start allowing Him to act within us as our counselor or advocate. Just as a very good lawyer advises his client in regard to a host of legal issues with which he may be confronted during his earthly natural existence, so the Holy Spirit can become, if we allow Him to be, our lawyer, our counselor “par excellence!” Here is what the Spirit can give you in your daily life:
True Peace
Saint Paul in his letter to the Philippians 4:7 says that through the power of God’s Spirit man acquires the peace “which surpasses all understanding.” Each day this peace allows you to face whatever may come with an inner light and sense of harmony but most especially a confidence and trust that God is with you throughout the day and night. He is guiding you in His ways and advising you in your actions and decisions. There is nothing and there is no one in the entire world who can give you this peace, only God.
Instructor and Guide Along the Way
Remember, you are no longer alone. Now you will receive the teaching, true teaching, which is different from all other knowledge. Instead of some New Age Gnostic heresy composed of so much mumbo jumbo, which can only lead to despair and confusion, this teaching will give you a joy and an exuberance that is beyond understanding. If you live in the grace of God then, as Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives within me.”
We Live a Better Life and Want to Do Good Things
The Holy Spirit is ever active and elevates our human actions from the natural to the supernatural, and consequently we begin to bear fruit on that supernatural level. Everything we do takes on a new meaning, for now we endow our actions with an elemental power that they didn’t have before. Suffering and weakness especially now take on meaning because for the first time suffering and weakness have power, the power of the Cross of Christ. As Saint Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” Again, in Colossians 1:24 Paul writes, “Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the Church.” Of course, there was nothing lacking or wanting in Jesus Christ’s suffering because we know that He Himself said from the Cross, “It is accomplished”(John 19:30). So what does Paul mean by this mysterious and very misunderstood verse? Paul was referring to the fact that the Church which Jesus founded is His Body on earth and the members of this Body, all true followers of Christ, are called upon to participate in the suffering of Jesus, the Head of the Body. This verse is the foundation stone for the beautiful doctrine of redemptive suffering. We, as human beings, are so loved by God that He became a human being and now has transformed human suffering into a positive manifestation of Himself. Before His coming into the world, suffering was considered to be the plague of existence and the bad fruit of the fall of our original parents. To suffer was to be cursed, and disease was considered to be a judgment of sinfulness. Jesus changed all that, and after His death and Resurrection, the sting of suffering and death would have value; instead of being a curse, it was now an opportunity to participate in the Divine Nature.
We Become the “Children of God”
The Holy Spirit leads us by grace to be the adopted sons and daughters of the Father and we therefore get to call Him “Daddy” (Abba). “Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:14-17). Isn’t it wonderful to think that we can wake up in the morning and know with certainty that God is at the center of our existence, at the very core of our being? So close is He, in fact, that he dwells within us and considers us to be His own relation. What more could we ask for?
“If God wants you to be as weak and powerless as a child then resign yourself to stumbling at every step. To falling even. Love your powerlessness and your soul will benefit more from it than if, aided by grace, you were to behave with enthusiastic heroism and fill your soul with self satisfaction and pride” (Collected Letters of St. Therese of Lisieux – F.J. Sheed – page 253).
In this state of sanctifying grace, we now are guided by the Spirit to live more and more for God and less for ourselves. We become less ego-driven, selfish, and materialistic, the great evil of our time, and we now want to love God and please Him.
So we begin to grow spiritually, and just as children surrender their toys and games, we as spiritually maturing new “children of God” surrender our ego-driven toys and games and move forward, guided by the Holy Spirit toward our new authentic life of love.
Now that we recognize ourselves as being the “children of grace,” the sons and daughters of Our Father in Heaven, how do we communicate this grace to the people we meet and deal with each day of our lives? Let’s take a look!
IV. HOW DO I COMMUNICATE WITH GRACE?
Communication is one of the greatest gifts given to us by God. Can you imagine going throughout life without the means or capacity to communicate with other persons? The consequences would be both painful and devastating. Nearly everyone is aware of the story of Helen Keller as presented in both the stage and movie renditions of The Miracle Worker, which is the dramatic true life of a person totally cut off from the world by the absence of the ability to see and hear. Through the inspiring work of a wonderful teacher and mentor, Anne Sullivan, Helen comes through a long and painful process of overcoming this profound lack of communication. We all can thank God for these gifts of grace, these gifts of communications that we so often take for granted. The freedom to talk to each other “live” or on phones, the freedom to listen to music and to watch a beautiful sunset or a show on television is a fundamental freedom that we feel is a right that we have as part of our lives. But where does this “right” originate? It originates with the One who gave it to us and so our primary daily communication should and indeed must be with Him.
The beginning of our communication with God is an active prayer life. This is a fast-paced and mind-numbing new millennium, a “new age,” in which we attempt to survive, literally, from day to day. We must take advantage of a resource available to us, and that resource is the quiet time of prayer. We have lost sight of the tremendous value of “quiet time.” When is the last time that you turned off stimulants of sight and sound, went to a room by yourself (this could also be your car or truck), and just listened to the silence? Try it. Just sit there for a few minutes with your eyes closed and think about all the “positive things” happening to you in your life. We have become rather good at feeling sorry for ourselves and having “pity parties,” but we are definitely, in general, not very good at dwelling upon the good things we have in our life. Is your life so bad that you cannot think of any good things happening to you? Here are some suggestions…
I woke up this morning….thank You, Lord! I am breathing the air that You created….thank You, Lord! I have loving and giving people in my life who care for me and You gave them existence….thank You, Lord! I have food to eat and water to drink….thank You, Lord! I could go on and on, but do you see how many people, places, and things that we take for granted? What do they all have in common? These were all, without exception, created by God. Nothing has existence except through Him. So, after meditating a few minutes upon this marvelous reality, why not begin your prayer life and just thank God for all of these gifts. It can be very simple, such as “Thank You, Lord, for the air that I breathe, the sun that I feel upon my face, and all the little things that I take for granted.” This form of prayer is called a Prayer of Thanksgiving and is very pleasing to God. It is very pleasing to Him because you have recognized that you have a relationship with Him, and want to then communicate with Him about it. THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF YOUR RESPONSE TO GRACE. Not the “ New Age” approach to the transcendent with all its dangers and obstacles, but rather a truly Judeo-Christian personal relationship, one on one, with Our Lord, the Lord of the Universe. I have included in the Appendix some prayers to get you started, prayers which have been a great help to me as I continue along my own personal journey of loving union with Our Lord which culminates at the moment of death when we, by and through His grace, enter into His Kingdom. There are, as I mentioned, various forms of prayer. There is the prayer of Thanksgiving to the All-Powerful Father for all He has given to us.
There is also the prayer of Petition, the greatest example of which was taught by Jesus when he was asked how to pray. Notice how the Our Father actually starts with another fundamental form of prayer, the prayer of Adoration. Jesus begins His beautiful prayer to the Father by saying: “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy Name, thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!” So Jesus teaches us to start our own prayer life with adoration of God the Father of us all and to tell Him in a very straightforward way that we desire with all our hearts that His Will be done everywhere, not just in Heaven. The implications of that statement are absolutely awesome! Think about it. Jesus is instructing us to desire that each and every person alive at this moment upon the face of the earth cooperate with God’s Will and to do it, not our own. The union of our individual free will with the Will of God! Ponder, if you will, how this would change the world as we know it in a powerful and superbly beautiful way. All people would be charitable towards each other. There would be no stealing, no murder. Wars would cease because we would not want to covet or take from our neighbors their possessions or property. People would open their hearts to reconciliation with both God and neighbor. Does this all sound like fantasy? It is not fantasy…it is the Will of God, and Jesus told us so in the very beginning of His prayer to the Father.
Then Jesus turns our minds and hearts to a prayer of Petition, actually a series of petitions. He continues with “Give us”….and proceeds with a short list of the essential needs of our human lives. Our Bread…our daily sustenance which we need for energy, our food for the journey. What is more basic than this? Therefore it is the very first thing that Jesus tells us to ask the Father for.12 For a Christian, if you do not have Jesus then, indeed, you have nothing! Then Jesus reminds us that we must petition the Father for Mercy: Forgive us our trespasses….We ask Our dear and loving Father to not remember our sins and to think of us, His creation, His creatures as children who run to their daddy and He takes them in His arms and tells them how much He loves them. But in appreciation for this great love which we obtain through grace we in turn are duty bound to love each other and also forgive. Saint John the Evangelist was always telling his disciples that if you call yourself a Christian, that is to say, a follower of Jesus the Christ, but you do not love, then you are a liar.
There has always been some confusion about the next petition. Lead us not into temptation. Does God lead us into temptation? Of course He doesn’t! By this Jesus is telling us that we must ask the Father to sustain us in sanctifying grace so that we may cooperate with those graces and persevere against the snares of the Evil One. We are always given sufficient graces to obtain salvation, that is to say, the Kingdom of God. However, we always have the free will to refuse those graces and thereby fall into sin. Therefore, the final petition is equally essential to our natural and our supernatural life. Deliver us from the Evil One, deliver us from Satan, who seeks, as Peter says in his First letter, to devour us like a lion would devour his prey. We certainly do not want to be the “willing prey of Satan”!
So we can summarize this section by repeating that the beginning of communication with God is an active prayer life. Prayer must become part of your daily activity in the same manner as you take care of your body each and every day. You would not begin each day without caring for and cleaning your body, and it follows that what is done naturally must also be done supernaturally. Keep your soul clean! Pray and obtain graces which then give you the peace and the joy of spirit which can’t come from the longest shower or the cleanest teeth. Morning prayer is especially efficacious, because it prepares you for the day and you are spiritually armed for whatever may transpire, much of it not under your personal control. Here are some biblical references to the incredible power of prayer!
And the LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before me; I have consecrated this house which you have built, and put my name there for ever; my eyes and my heart will be there for all time (1 Kings 9:3).
Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2).
And the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects (James 5:15-16).
For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those that do evil (1 Peter 3:12).
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours! (Mark 11:24).
V. DEFEATING EVIL IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE – THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE
We have discussed in the previous chapters the cause and effect of grace on souls who are already Christians, be they Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics, Greek or Russian Orthodox, or any of the now thousands of denominational Protestants. The Revolt of Luther from the Apostolic and Magisterial Teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and, more importantly, in the historical context of sixteenth-century Germany, the opportunity it gave to certain nobles and lords to confiscate church property, has led to a continual and seemingly never-ending deconstruction of Christian unity. Once true Authority was overthrown, then every person was theoretically capable of claiming their own authority and the floodgates of Christian disunion were open. As a consequence of this historical development there are presently many thousands of Protestant sects worldwide, and this number grows each year!
In this chapter we will be talking about the effect of grace upon everyone in this world who is not a member of the Body of Christ, either in the fullness of that meaning or having some grasp of that fullness.
When our dear Lord came into time and space He brought with Him salvation for ALL MEN AND WOMEN, from the beginning of the world until the end, and this had always been the desire of the Triune God, even from the creation of the world. After His death and just prior to His Ascension into Heaven, and even as Our Lord was instructing His Apostles to go forth and preach the Good News to all the earth, He gave them the consolation that He would be with them until the end of time (Matthew 28).
But something went amiss. Even as the Apostles were being sent forth with the truth and light of love, at that same moment of human history the drums were pounding and the forces of Satan were being summoned in opposition to the new freedom obtained through Christ’s great sacrifice at Calvary. The gathering forces of error, hatred, and what we would call in our age “disinformation,” the perversion of truth by half-truth, which is synonymous with heresy.
The Betrayers
One of the great mysteries of evil is the story of how Judas betrayed his Lord after spending three years with Him, all that time with Grace Himself and having the privilege of His living example and listening to all His sacred teachings. We have had, through the centuries, new Judases who continue to betray the Kingdom and the King.13 It would be impossible for me to talk about betrayal without briefly mentioning that the most damaging and painful example of this is when a Minister of Christ who has taken binding holy orders is a source of scandal by openly teaching his own agenda in defiance of his duty to defend true teaching (Orthodoxy). By their actions they willfully abandon not only the Truth which they should defend with their lives, but they also mislead the “little ones” who were given to their protection. Jesus said that unless they repent their punishment shall be great. The one thing that all these men and all their movements have in common is that Satan either directly or indirectly influenced and continues to influence their activity. How do we know this? We know this because Jesus promised that He would be with His one true Church, even to the end of the world (John 16:13). He also promised on the eve of His crucifixion that He would send the Paraclete, the Consoler, the Holy Spirit to guide His Church (John 14:26). He also promised the apostles that the gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18 and following). This is all biblical and no one should feel scandalized by the Truth. Now, having said that, it follows that if heresies develop either within the Church or from without then these denials of the Truth must be, unless you call Jesus Christ a liar, and I repeat, MUST BE, from a source other than the Holy Spirit. Jesus called Satan “a liar from the beginning and the father of lies.” It is Satan who whispers into the ear of heretics and those who seek discord and conflict over the Truth. Over the centuries Satan has used everything at his disposal, allowed to him by God, to frustrate or overthrow the Kingdom of God here on this earth. Even though he knows that he cannot ultimately succeed in his evil work, nevertheless, he so despises and hates all of mankind that he will continue to hate us even to the very return of the King in majesty. At that time Satan and all the evil spirits (fallen angels) will be thrown into Hell eternally and all human beings will be judged according to how we individually responded to the grace given to us. This will be without exception. The rich and the poor, the prince and the pauper, the powerful and the weak will all be judged on the merits of our own lives and our relationship with God through grace. This is why Satan will struggle to defeat your journey toward grace and the indwelling of the Spirit within you. He knows that then you are making a decision, a choice of movement toward the Light, toward the Truth, toward Love. So therefore let us make a choice not to be one of the Betrayers. Let us choose life!
The Unknowing
Now let us turn to those who, for whatever reason, have never known or heard of grace.
Just as Satan and his minions were attempting to thwart the efforts of the Apostles as they ventured into new territories preaching the Good News, these same evil forces were active in those places where the Gospel, for whatever reason, would not be taught. It must be remembered that Christ Himself commanded that the Gospel be preached to all the earth! Not just certain places where it would be readily received but the WHOLE EARTH, and therefore we know that this has always been the intention of God. Consequently, grace is available to all men and women regardless of whether they ever actually come into contact with Christian teaching. God, in His infinite mercy, accomplishes His goal by sending His grace, in the words of Father Charles Journet, “at a distance” in an “abnormal, uncovenanted way” as a sign of His infinite desire for their salvation. This area of the developed doctrine of grace is very mysterious and yet also very beautiful in its revelation of God’s love for each and every individual. It is mysterious in the sense that these graces are given outside of the Church, and in that sense they also exist outside of the Church. However, those individuals who accept and correspond to the graces given to them are by their actions establishing a spiritual connection with the Mystical Body of Christ and are therefore in some imperfect way “spiritual Christians” even if they are still members of another religion. By allowing grace to work through their soul, they will begin to become illuminated by Truth, and their thoughts and actions will start to project the truth regardless of who they are and in whatever time or culture they exist. Christ therefore completes the mission Himself even though His own missionaries have failed. God never fails, and His Will is always done despite the weakness and frailties of His followers! Father Journet, in his treatise THE MEANING OF GRACE, gives examples of individuals who are outside the Church and yet reflect the work of grace in their lives:
I recall the processions of pilgrims in South India who go year by year to the sanctuary of the god Vishnu, whose statue the priests anoint with oil and perfume. A few years ago, the hymns of these pilgrims were translated into English, and parts of them into French as well. They were written by a man of humble rank, in the middle of the seventeenth century of our era. They are superb:
How can our minds grasp him of whose light the sun and moon are but a reflection? This God is our God, soul of souls, close beside us, in us and around us…. This God of love can be reached only by love. . . . We have fashioned a Vishnu of stone, but the stone is not Vishnu; adoration is given to Vishnu, and the stone remains in the stone figure. . . . It is your glory, O God, to be called the Saviour of sinners…. The saints call you the Lord of those who despair; and when I heard it, my heart took courage.
Among these pilgrims there are, doubtless, some who dwell mainly on the words of the hymns and who perform the traditional rites and sacrifices simply as a matter of custom, and others who pay little attention to the meaning of the hymns and whose main concern is with the idolatrous practices. The former, unlike the latter, belong spiritually to Christ and the Church.
Another example is furnished by Judaism. ‘As concerning the gospel, indeed, they are enemies for your sake; but as touching the election, they are most dear for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance’ (Rom. xi. 28-29). The day will come when God will bring them into the Church. In the errant course they are now pursuing, divine grace never ceases to try to stir their hearts, and wc find among them great examples of holiness. Such were the Hassidim—the word means ‘pious’—who lived in Polish ghettos at the beginning of the eighteenth century, at times in extreme poverty. De Menasce gives an excellent account of them in his book, “Quand Israel aime Dieu.” Some of them even arrived at the idea of co-redeeming love, an idea foreign to Judaism. Though they never spoke of Christ, their utterances have a distinctly Christian resonance.
So you see that grace is manifested by God as a source of connection with Him and is a reflection of His indescribable love and mercy. Christ Jesus had no need of a Church while He was present physically upon this earth. But Our Lord, in His infinite wisdom, knew that other “sons of man,” that is to say, other human beings, must be His successors and lead His Church until He comes again. The Old Covenant had been fulfilled, and the New Age, the authentic NEW AGE, of the Kingdom and of what we may call the Age of the Holy Spirit, was and is at hand. Once the Church came into being at Pentecost, grace became available to the entire world through the power of the Cross, the Resurrection of Jesus, and the descent of the Holy Spirit. That is why the Lord told His Apostles on that first Holy Thursday that it is a good thing that He go. Can you imagine Our Lord saying this and how difficult it was for His followers to understand this saying! But He went on to state that upon His leaving the world would then receive the Holy Spirit, the Spirit that will dwell in each and every heart, if that heart will welcome Him. Christ promised that the Spirit will guide the Mystical Body, His Church, until Jesus comes again at the end of time.
But didn’t grace, as a spiritual benefit, connect people with their Creator before the Son of God came into the world and took on human flesh as the “Son of Man”? What about all those holy saints we read about in the Old Testament, what about Abraham, Moses, the Prophets, and King David? The answer to that is that grace was indeed dispensed by God to those people. Grace was dispensed directly by God through what has become known as “Christian grace by anticipation.” Because God exists outside of space and time He is free to demonstrate His mercy and love to humans who do exist within space and time prior to the advent of Jesus. Therefore, in anticipation of the merits of the Cross of Christ necessary graces were made available to the servants of God at all times and in all places.
So then a profound truth is revealed to us by meditating upon this mystery of grace. What is this truth? It is: ALL GRACES (BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER HIS MANIFESTATION UPON THE EARTH) COME THROUGH JESUS AS THE ONE TRUE MEDIATOR OF GRACE. Jesus, in His human nature, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day and thereby became the ransom for and the Lamb of Sacrifice for the Honor of God, for the Justice of God. Sin and death were destroyed forever. Life and love were restored forever.
So the King, long anticipated, came into His Kingdom, and His Kingdom knew Him not. But despite the rejection of His own people, He, nevertheless, was and is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the long-awaited Christ of the world! So we come to a new understanding of salvation history and so now there is no longer an “anticipation of grace.” There is now a presence of grace among men and when Jesus was upon the earth grace literally came out of Him (Luke 8:46 and following)! And at that point in human history, we have Grace Itself present and existential. His grace, WHO IS GRACE, existed for Jews and now also for the Nations.
But let us return for a moment to this mystery of a person of grace existing in time and space. Let us ponder miracles. Our Lord performed them and let us consider how they were manifested. Some were a physical manifestation of Our Lord (Mark 7:32) (John 6:6). Many more were at a distance and probably the most famous of these is the healing of the Roman Centurion’s servant (Matthew 8:7 and following). Probably the most mysterious of all of Our Lord’s miracles was the bringing back to life of His friend Lazarus. It is not mysterious because Jesus brought him back to life. It is mysterious because of the circumstances described in the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John. Saint John the Apostle explains that Jesus had been warned that Lazarus had a sickness, but Jesus proclaimed that it was not a SICKNESS UNTO DEATH. Yet Jesus does not go to his friend until the illness had indeed become death. This is the miracle of Jesus whereby He shows Himself to be the King, the Ruler of Life, and the Liberator from death itself, and He does it at a distance! He does not touch Lazarus or in any way approach the body within the tomb. Rather He stands without the tomb and simply exclaims: “Lazarus, come forth!” This leads us to ponder a great mystery that many people have wondered about through the centuries. Is the capacity of God to achieve His ends in any way limited or diminished? Can The Evil One thwart the Will and Action of God in the world? Is God forced in any way to work exclusively through the senses? Of course not! But He does choose to do so, and this mystery will only be answered when we see God face to face. But we can use our human intellect to ponder this mystery and perhaps obtain some insight into the mind of God.
When God created Adam and Eve, there was no need for a physical contact, a contact of the senses. God communicated His graces directly to our first parents, before their fall from grace, as He does with the Angels. When Adam and Eve fell into sin and lost their original purity, and consequently lost their direct relationship with God, they henceforth principally lived in and by their senses. These senses, ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, become a source of temptation for all human beings. God forever takes the sources of temptations to sin and evil and transforms them into opportunities for salvation. Therefore, in the fullness of time, God became a man and ever thereafter the Person of Jesus would be the source of grace. At His Incarnation grace comes to all by “derivation,” not “anticipation.” God is now revealed to mankind through the senses, the humanity of Jesus, and that is why Jesus says in Matthew 11:11 that the least member of the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the greatest of all the Old Covenant prophets, John the Baptist. This is so because the New Covenant established by Our Lord Himself is the fulfillment of the Old, and membership in this New Covenant far surpasses and indeed fulfills that which existed prior to God coming into the world. Thus Jesus was able to say in Luke 10:23: “Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see. For, I say to you, many prophets and kings have desired to see the things that you see and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.”
Therefore the physical presence of Our Lord upon the earth some two thousand years ago was the demarcation of human history between anticipation of Redemption and its realization.
Upon the Resurrection of Jesus, this means of grace by visible and physical signs did not end, but rather continued and continues still through the Church He founded. These signs of grace manifested in both a supernatural and natural way simultaneously are called sacraments. It is the primary sacrament of Baptism that confers upon each individual the supernatural grace and virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity. Through baptism Jesus continues to stay with us by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who instructs and guides us in the knowledge of the Christ. Because Jesus established one true Church, it follows that the Church will be guided by the Spirit in a manner that will never allow Its teaching to be in error or to be without the brilliant light of Truth. Jesus told us that He is the Way, The Truth, and the Life, and no one can enter His Kingdom EXCEPT THROUGH HIM. It follows then that no one will enter the Kingdom outside of His Church. To say otherwise is to call Jesus a liar. The Church is never deceived but the individual who does not follow the Church and its Teachings, as guided by the Spirit of Christ, can easily be deceived by Satan and his demons. The essential teachings of Christ must be believed by Faith under the authority given by Jesus to His Church. The Truth cannot be understood by natural discernment outside of the action of grace.
We live in an age where there is great emphasis on individual freedom. We live, in fact, in a secular age that has abandoned objective truth as understood through natural law. All the forefathers of our nation accepted natural law and objective truth. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America are premised upon this philosophy. But we have wandered far from truth, and, as a consequence, we are descending into social chaos and despair. We are deconstructing into an abyss, a hole that has no bottom except Hell. This is an age of contradiction, an age of heterodoxy, a word that is translated from the Greek as two or more ways of understanding something. This is opposed or in contradiction to orthodoxy, a word that basically means the one and the true way of understanding something. This is why the Orthodox Jews and the Orthodox Churches use this term. They want a self-revealing identity. They are telling the world that they consider themselves as being holders of the truth. They believe that their faith system is the one and the true teaching of God. But, of course, there can be only ONE TRUE TEACHING OF GOD! How do we know the Truth? How do we choose wisely? Because it is through the voice of the Holy Spirit, the authentic and only voice of the Spirit, the Church speaks infallibly. This is what Saint Paul referred to at the beginning of his Letter to the Romans (1:5) as “the obedience of faith.” This is obedience, through faith, to the voice of the Spirit. It then follows that the teaching authority of Jesus, through the Spirit, is passed on to His Mystical Body, the Church. The authority that Jesus left to His Apostles was manifested, as Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit came upon them at Pentecost. At that moment the Church of the original and only Apostles, led by Peter, became the “Spouse of the Holy Spirit” (John 14:26)! So we must recognize that this entire discussion of grace has no meaning whatsoever without our understanding that grace can only be obtained within the context of faith in Jesus Christ. The one exception to this profound truth would be, as we discussed previously, “invincible ignorance,” an exception that has become more and more unlikely in the 21st century. This is a time, after all, when the message of Christ is being spread worldwide through the communicative powers of global networks of television, radio, short wave, and the Internet. Praised be Mother Angelica and EWTN! Add to this the work of men like Mel Gibson who use their brilliant talents to convey through cinema Grace Himself and His Passion.
If grace is indeed the manifestation of Jesus, through the Spirit, then it certainly makes a great deal of sense to say that the closer you are to Jesus in an “up close and personal” way, then the more His grace will be able to work in you by the exercise of your free will. I again turn to Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans (8:17): “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” And again Romans (8:29): “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” The presence of evil has always been in opposition to the salvation of Christ and throughout history the forces of Satan have been busy in the work of human destruction. The grace of God, however, has been the weapon that Satan cannot defeat. Grace raises us to supernatural dignity, and if we cooperate with it, then the Evil One can and will be defeated. There is only Jesus!
So we come to the end of our journey toward grace. I have attempted in a simple and straightforward way to discuss my journey and yours, my destiny and yours. The world today is so complex and full of spiritual pitfalls, and the Enemy is waiting at every moment to weave a web of evil and despair around each and every one of us. But we have available to us something that makes the Enemy run in fear, something that he knows that he cannot ultimately defeat. That something is a someone, and His name is Jesus the Christ. He also promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church and that He will be with us even to the end of the world. He left us a Church guided by the Holy Spirit, a Church that will dispense His Grace and His Sacraments to sustain us in love until the end.
VII. APPENDIX
PRAYERS TO INSPIRE GRACE
GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
PRAYERS TO INSPIRE GRACE
Pope John Paul II has written: “It is a beautiful and salutary thought that, wherever people are praying in the world, there the Holy Spirit is, the living breath of prayer.”
Whether it be done publicly in our liturgy or privately in those quiet moments of intimacy with God, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray and binds us to the Father and the Son in a deep communion of love. Through prayer offered to God in the Spirit, we find that peace which the Risen Lord gave to His Apostles, a peace which satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts. For this reason, the Church has, since ancient times, prayed to the Holy Spirit:
COME, HOLY SPIRIT
“Come, O Holy Spirit, send from heaven a ray of your light. Come, O giver of graces; come, O light of hearts. You are rest in our labor, peace in difficulties and solace in our grief. O most holy Light! Fill the inmost being of the hearts of your faithful. Grant to your children trust in your seven holy gifts. Give them reward for virtue; give them salvation; give them everlasting joy!
To Mary, Spouse of the Holy Spirit:
THE HAIL MARY
Hail, Mary, full of grace, our Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
BREATHE IN ME
Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy, Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I may love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, that I may defend all that is holy.
Guard me, O Holy Spirit, that I may always be holy.
A Prayer of St. Augustine
PRAYER FOR THE SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, please grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul the work of Your grace and Your love.
Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal. The Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth. The Spirit on Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven. The Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation. The Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God, know myself, and grow perfect in the science of the Saints. The Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable. The Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.
PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRIT BY ST. ANTIOCHUS
O Holy Spirit, most merciful Comforter: You proceed from the Father in a manner beyond our understanding. Come, I beseech You, and take up you abode in my heart. Purify and cleanse me from all sin, and sanctify my soul. Cleanse it from every impurity, water its dryness, melt its coldness, and save it from sinful ways. Make me truly humble and resigned, that I may be pleasing to You, and that You abide with me forever. Most blessed Light, most amiable Light, enlighten me. O rapturous Joy of Paradise, Fount of purest delight, my God, give yourself to me, and kindle in my innermost soul the fire of your love. My Lord, please instruct, direct, and defend me in all things. Give me strength against all immoderate fears and against despondency. Bestow upon me a true faith, a firm hope, and a sincere and perfect love. Grant that I always do your most gracious will.
Amen.
SAINT PATRICK’S BREASTPLATE
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth and His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion and His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection and His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In obedience of angels,
In service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In preachings of the apostles,
In faiths of confessors,
In innocence of virgins,
In deeds of righteous men.
I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.
I arise today
Through God’s strength to pilot me;
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s hosts to save me
From snares of the devil,
From temptations of vices,
From every one who desires me ill,
Afar and anear,
Alone or in a multitude.
I summon today all these powers between me and evil,
Against every cruel merciless power that opposes my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of women and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul.
Christ shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that reward may come to me in abundance.
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through a confession of the Oneness
PRAYER TO THE HEART OF JESUS
Does our life become from day to day more painful, more oppressive, more replete with sufferings? Blessed be He a thousand times who desires it so. If life be harder, love makes it also stronger, and only this love, grounded on suffering, can carry the Cross of my Lord, Jesus Christ.”
“I believe, O Lord, but strengthen my faith… Heart of Jesus, I love Thee, but increase my love. Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee, but give greater vigor to my confidence.
Heart of Jesus, I give my heart to Thee, but so enclose it in Thee that it may never be separated from Thee. Heart of Jesus, I am all Thine, but take care of my promise so that I may be able to put it in practice even unto the complete sacrifice of my life.”
Prayer of Blessed Miguel Pro, Jesuit Priest, and Mexican Martyr Executed By Firing Squad
COME HOLY SPIRIT, CREATOR BLEST
Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest.
Come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.
O Comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above.
Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God’s hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue.
Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts overflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply.
Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside.
Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest.
Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven.
Amen.
GIFTS AND FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Let me begin this section by quoting directly from the Catechism of the Catholic Church as to what the Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit are:
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.
Let your good spirit lead me on a level path (Ps 143:10).
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (Rom 8:14, 17).
The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: “charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity” (Gal 5:22-23).
(Sections 1831, 1832- Catechism of the Catholic Church.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000 June 03, 2003 Copyright © by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit are the “seven virtues,” so to speak, that the soul receives which allows it to respond to the Spirit’s light and inspirations through Grace.
WISDOM
Wisdom, together with the three Gifts of Understanding, Knowledge, and Counsel, are the ones associated with the clarification of spiritual understanding. Wisdom particularly is sort of the crown jewel of the Gifts and the one that Solomon chose as the spiritual pearl, hence the phrase “pearls of wisdom.” Upon receiving this superlative gift, Solomon could say that all earthly wisdom and knowledge is totally empty. “Vanity…of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The powerful testimony of Saint Paul also addresses in a comparative way the things of the Spirit and the things of this earth in Philippians 3:8: “More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
UNDERSTANDING
This wonderful Gift of the Spirit enables us to appreciate and rest on the sound doctrines and the authentic teaching of Mother Church. This is not an intellectual gift but rather a spiritual one, in the true meaning of the word, because some of the greatest intellects in history that taught false doctrines were confused and humbled by simple teachers of Christian Truth. “Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute” (Luke 221:14-15).
KNOWLEDGE
This indispensable gift infuses a clear grasp of authentic teaching into the mind of the believer who is in the state of grace. This is done even without great study. Two of the most noteworthy examples of this gift in the New Testament are Luke 24:49: “And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high,” and Saint Paul’s description in 2nd Corinthians 12:3-4: “And I know that this person (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up into Paradise and heard ineffable things, which no one may utter.” Again, it is very important to draw the distinction between Spiritual Gifts and their secular meaning in our language. Therefore, do not confuse the everyday common meaning of the word “knowledge” with knowledge of supernatural Truth.
COUNSEL
Do you know what the Will of God intends for you at any given moment? Sometimes it may be obvious, for example, if you are performing your daily duties at work, at school or at home. But sometimes we are put in difficult conditions and circumstances and we do not know what we should do or perhaps know how to do it. This spiritual gift of Counsel allows us to know what the Will of God in our lives is and prepares us, through prayer, to respond to Him. “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12).
FORTITUDE
This gift is also sometimes known as the gift of Courage and for good reason because it enables us to bear the burden of doing the Will of God under difficult and life threatening circumstances. The first Book of the Old Testament, Genesis, gives us an example of Fortitude in its most splendid manifestation in the story of Abraham’s great faith and trust in the Lord and his willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac if it be the Will of Yahweh. Because of Abraham’s great faith and courage he has come down to us as “Our Father in Faith” until the end of time.
PIETY
This gift is most often associated with a tendency toward devotion to the Honor of God and all that entails. Piety is unfortunately under great attack today in our secular culture of death and also sadly within some quarters of the Church itself. That is why it is all the more important to pray for the Gift of Piety so that we may console Our Lord and His Honor in acts of love and devotion, especially to His Most Sacred Heart through Adoration and visits to the Blessed Sacrament. If that is impossible, then meditations on Our Lord’s Passion can be a great way of loving our Trinitarian God.
FEAR OF THE LORD
It is said that “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Therefore we come full circle in this seventh gift. The word fear here should be understood not in a servile way for we are not the slaves of God, as Moslems believe, but rather sons and daughters through adoption in love. Jesus suffered and died for all of us so that He could say, “But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (John 20:17). So we try as best we can, through prayer and the sacraments, to love the Lord in return and place His Will above our own and the passing pleasures of this temporary existence.
THE TWELVE FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
As stated previously, The Church has traditionally accepted “twelve fruits” of the Spirit whereby the Holy Spirit imbues or perfects the soul with certain attributes. These attributes are: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.
Their origin is in Saint Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5:22-23. Interestingly enough, the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible (Latin Vulgate) lists the twelve fruits. Later translations such as the Revised Standard Version and the New American Bible have only nine fruits, Long-Suffering being perceived as being synonymous with Patience, and Modesty and Chastity being encompassed within Self-Control.
What do we mean by these fruits? Fruits can be seen as good actions that have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and sustained in grace through our cooperative participation. It can be seen how the definition of grace that we talked about earlier in the book is intimately tied to these fruits. By the manifestation of these fruits a follower of Christ can be known and recognized.
Charity, also called Love, is listed as the first of the fruits and rightly so. As Saint Paul says, “Love is patient and is kind; love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud,
doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil, doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1st Corinthians13: 4-7).
When we submit our will to the Spirit then these attributes of love that are not possible to attain at the natural level become part of our being.
Joy, the second of the fruits can be thought of as experiencing the wonder of God in our lives. As Psalm 77 states, “I remembered God and was delighted!” It is impossible to be aware of God’s presence without also having an int