Divine Grace
Through His obedient death on the cross, His perfect act of love, Jesus won for humanity the gift of grace. Grace is by definition a gift that is freely given, not earned or deserved. But what is this gift? The nature of the great gift of grace should inspire wonder and awe in us, for the gift of grace is a share in the very Divine Life of the Holy Trinity.
To put it in terms we have been using so far, grace gives the human being a new nature (in Biblical terms, it creates a “new man”). Recall that animal nature builds on the vegetative nature, and that human nature builds on animal nature. So too, the Divine Nature that is infused into the human soul by grace builds on human nature. This divine nature offers to the human soul the potential for true intimacy with God. It offers the potential to become participants in the very life of the Holy Trinity by uniting us to Christ as He offers Himself totally to the Father and the Spirit and as He in return receives them totally as they offer themselves to Him as a gift of love. The gift of grace is therefore a participation in Divine Love.
To put it more simply, the new nature infused into the human soul by grace divinizes humanity in order to make us truly children of God. True, Saint Paul calls us adopted children of God to show that we are not turned into Gods in the same way that Jesus Christ is eternally God. Rather, we are “grafted into” the Divine Nature by being united to Jesus Christ. However, the divine nature of grace is really a divine nature – making each person who receives it into a new creation.
As I said, grace builds on human nature. Grace also builds on each person’s individual personality. A large part of our personality is our character, and character is formed by virtues and vices. A human being who is living according to the natural law as well as he is able will grow in natural virtue. These virtues will allow him to readily and easily order his life to be more human and to attain the Good, the True and the Beautiful. Divine Grace builds upon these virtues, imbuing them with supernatural quality. Supernatural virtues help a Christian to enter into a living relationship with the Source of the Good, the True and the Beautiful – with Goodness, Truth and Beauty Himself. Whereas the natural virtue of temperance keeps a man form giving in to animalistic desires so that his use of created goods may become rational and healthful, the gift of supernatural temperance adds to the use of created goods the deep realization that these goods are an expression of God’s love, that the Giver is more important than the Gift, and that to love God means to share His love (and therefore the physical goods that are signs of that love) with others.
The life of grace normally begins in the sacramental life. While grace is surely active in every inspiration to move closer to Him, even before baptism, it is normally the sacramental grace given by Christ in baptism that infuses into the soul the share of Divine Nature. This grace first cleanses the soul of Original Sin, which damaged human nature. The damage caused by Original Sin would make it impossible for the Divine Nature to be realized in human nature. So sanctifying grace must first heal broken and fallen human nature. It then instills into healed human nature a share of Divine Nature. From baptism, grace is constantly at work in us, strengthening our Divine Nature – our relationship with God. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist strengthens the Divine Nature in us, giving us incredible intimacy with Christ. The Eucharist is Christ, who enters into our body and spirit as food entering our bodies, but also as a lover uniting intimately to His beloved. Just as grace can transform our natural virtues into supernatural virtues, so it can give supernatural value to all our actions. Actual grace inspires and empowers us to perform acts of supernatural love, and to perform our natural human acts with supernatural love. Like sanctifying grace God can give us actual grace in many ways. The sacrament of Confirmation is a special mode through which we are empowered to live the Divine Life.
God also gives us increased shares of grace when we act in grace. The term for this mode of receiving grace is merit. The concept of merit is often misunderstood as earning grace. If grace is a gift, it cannot be earned. However, this misunderstanding is cleared up when we remember that grace is not a commodity – it is a relationship. God gives us the power (grace) to live the Divine Life of love – to participate in an intimate relationship with the Holy Trinity. When we participate in that relationship, the relationship is strengthened. God responds to our response to Him by offering more of Himself to us, by giving us more grace. Love grows by being practiced.
Just as human beings can freely choose to be more human or to forsake their human nature and live more like animals, so we can also choose to embrace the Divine Nature of grace and grow in our love for God and neighbor or we can choose to neglect God’s gift and – directly (sins of commission) or indirectly (sins of omission) turn our backs on His love. We can choose to be more divine or forsake our divine nature to live merely human (secular) lives. Sin is mainly the neglect or the direct rejection of God’s love. It is also the choice to neglect or directly reject our natures – human and divine. Furthermore, grace does not immediately undo all of the effects of Original Sin. Until we have the Beatific Vision in heaven we have the capacity & temptation to sin.
Of course, God’s grace does not end when we sin. The Sacrament of Reconciliation presents God’s healing grace to bring us back into covenant with Him. Christ not only forgives us in this sacrament, He restores us to relationship with Him.
Our covenantal relationship with God is not isolated – it’s not just “me and Jesus.” God is creating a family (remember – a covenant is defined as a sacred family bond). That family is most perfectly reflected in the Church. So, one would expect an element of God’s gift of grace to benefit the entire family. This aspect of grace is called charismatic grace. The sacraments of Confirmation, marriage and Holy Orders all empower us to serve the family. Confirmation gives us the gifts and strength to bring the Gospel into the world and to transform the
culture. The sacrament of marriage empowers us to make the Gospel a reality within the domestic Church, helping the family of the Church to grow through the begetting and the education of children. Holy Orders provides for the family of the Church in a parental way. Deacons, priests and (especially) bishops bring God’s grace and care to the People of God as parents provide for their children. These sacraments offer charismatic grace to empower us to serve the Church and the world, and in so doing to participate in God’s care for others.
The gift of grace should indeed strike us with awe and wonder. Grace actually builds upon and elevates our very nature to actually make us divine. This new nature makes it possible for us to love God and be loved by Him, to become part of His covenantal family. As part of this family we actually participate in the Divine Life of the Holy Trinity. In other words, God’s gift of grace is the expression of His desire to live in incredible intimacy with us. It is our choice to embrace this great love or to reject it.