Grace & Types of Grace PDF

The Concept of Grace  Imagine for a moment … You are watching a kid’s superhero TV show with a small child you are babysitting called Loving-Kindness Man! He is loving, compassionate, and kind. He is from another universe - without any suffering or death. He also has incredible, limitless po...

The Concept of Grace  Imagine for a moment … You are watching a kid’s superhero TV show with a small child you are babysitting called Loving-Kindness Man! He is loving, compassionate, and kind. He is from another universe - without any suffering or death. He also has incredible, limitless power. You can probably predict some things about the actions of this superhero character because you know his nature. 2 You might predict that … He will want to reach out and give: He is not going to be able to keep his actions private, because it would go against his nature & personality. His most important value will be relationships with others (since his main personality trait is loving-kindness) People that are impacted by him would benefit in ways that are life-giving, healing, & helpful 3 The episode starts… and the immortal superhero Loving-Kindness Man sees a human who who is about to die. He flies down to the suffering man and says, “I will give you a gift”. 4  What is in the gift? Perhaps he will …. Give some of his power or life so the person doesn’t die Bring the person to his universe where there is eternal life Invite people to become part of his family (since his family can not die) Use his power to defeat death entirely When God gives a gift of himself to humanity in order to end death & bring us into to eternal life, we call this gift: “Sanctifying Grace” 5 The episode continues… Loving-Kindness Man sees a woman who is having a hard time in daily life. He flies down to the suffering woman and says, “I will give you a gift”. 6 What is in the gift? Perhaps …. He will Intervene directly, helping that person specifically where they are are struggling He gives her strength so she doesn’t struggle as much in the future. He helps her work towards a goal of goodness & holiness so she is more fulfilled in her everyday life When God gives a gift of himself to humanity in order to strengthen us in our daily lives as Christians, , we call this gift: “Actual Grace” 7 In the next scene… Loving-Kindness Man sees a young man who is struggling in his marriage. He flies down to the struggling young man and says, “I will give you a gift”. 8 What is in the gift? Perhaps …. He increases character traits and values he needs to be successful in his relationship & vocation Give him strength when he is first starting out in his marriage so he doesn’t get to this point Give him support to stay true to his marriage promises When God gives a gift of himself to humanity in order to strengthen us in our vocational calls, we call this gift ”Charism” 9 Like our superhero metaphor, God’s nature is Loving-Kindness. Who is God? Because of who God is, God takes action to become involved in human life & the human world To some degree, we can predict God. We know how God will respond to us, due to his nature. We shouldn’t be surprised by God’s involvement in the world and in our lives. 10 The saying “God is Love” is a simple but profound understanding of God’s nature. It shows we understand God is active and reaching out to us in goodness. 11 The term grace is used to describe any way in which God takes action or works to become involved with humanity. It is the “free and undeserved help that God gives us”. What is God’s Grace is: Involvement Divine influence: The work of the Trinity in our lives. with Us Called? We benefit from our relationship with God ○ Benefits: life-giving, healing, helpful ○ He favors us (blesses us) ○ He provides spiritual nourishment & growth Grace is the place where the divine intersects with the mortal: ○ Salvation History: God interacts with human history & timeline ○ Personal Salvation: Your self/soul is touched & impacted by God’s self 12 One of the most important effects of grace = What are Grace is what saves humanity from permanent death. the vitally Grace is what connects us into eternal life with God. Important Humans are mortal, meaning we suffer from death. Effect of God is immortal. Grace? God shares his power and life with humanity in an outpouring of grace. We participate in the life of God 13 The saying “God Saves” is a simple but profound understanding of grace. It shows who is doing the work, and what is being accomplished. 14 Grace is a “gift” because it is: Why is grace 1. Free - not payment or exchange for anything you did always called 2. Undeserved - it comes from God’s goodness not ours a gift? 3. Not earned - it’s not a reward you get 4. Not owed - God chooses to do this (he does not need to) Grace is God’s saving action, directed towards us. 15 Like any gift we can Choose to unwrap and “accept” the gift - or refuse Disregard or forget about it, even after we open it. How do we Throw away, ruin, or damage the gift. respond to Hate & despise it or love & rejoice in it. grace? We have free will in this. We can not bring about our own salvation; however we do choose to accept salvation or not. While grace is the work of God, we have to respond to it & participate with it in the way we live. And we need continue to live in God’s grace all the days of our lives. It’s not a gift you open and think about once. Baptism enters us into the life of grace, but this is only the initiation. 16 Overall, our response to grace comes from the soul, the core of our being. To accept the gift we need the right disposition within ourselves. We need: 1) have a desire to receive grace & the effects of grace 2)to be properly prepared for it (including understand it) Disposition means we have no obstacles in the way of receiving grace. Each sacrament requires us to want the specific grace (& effects of grace) that comes through that particular sacrament and to properly prepare & understand it. 17 What inside of “the gift”? God gift of himself to us: ○ An invitation to share in God’s divine life What happens An offer to become children of God if you accept ○ To be co-heirs (siblings) with the Son the gift of How does this impact us? grace? Transforms, impact, and change who you are ○ at the core, in your soul ○ Spiritual transformation -> Life transformation What changes in us, when we receive grace? We become God’s adopted children We share in the divine life of God 18 Four Types of Grace  4 Types of Grace 1. Actual Grace What are the 2. Sanctifying Grace different types of grace? 3. Charisms 4. Sacramental Grace Grace is a general idea of participation in the life of God and receiving his favor. But sometimes, we mean something specific when we are talking about grace. 20 1. “Actual Grace” is: Intervention, support, and strength in our daily lives Additional help to sanctify each individual person ○ For our particular circumstances, in difficult times ○ Help to live out our discipleship within our context. Actual Grace is what we are asking for when we pray “please guide me… strengthen me… be with me…” etc We ordinary means in which we receive include, prayer, the spiritual disciplines, hearing the Word, discipleship, and the Church’s care Also through Sacramental means especially reception of Eucharist. To Remember: Actual Grace helps us act as Christians in our actual lives 21 2, What is Sanctifying Grace? Sanctifying grace is a gift of God’s own life given to us. We receive this supernatural life as if it is infused into our soul. The character of our soul changes. This is done by the Holy Spirit. This is the state where we can share in God’s eternal life, called The State of Grace. A person can fall from the State of Grace, but it is possible to regain after reconciling with God. 4 effects of the State of Grace 1. Make people holy 2. Save people (eternal life) 3. Open hearts to welcome God 4. Shape people to be more Christ-like 22 Sanctifying Grace is first given to someone by the Holy Spirit at their Baptism. This is why it is the door to the other Sacraments. What happens? The character of the soul changes in a permanent way to allow for a connection to God’s life. We call this permanent change to the soul an indelible mark or indelible seal. ○ Indelible: Permanent - Can’t be undone. ○ Still present through sin (We were still part of the Church even if don’t receive salvation.) What does the change do? Changes the soul so it can receive grace; AKA - Puts the person in a state where they can now share in God’s life: the State of Grace. 23 What does the change mean for us? 1. When we are in the State of Grace we have a permanent disposition at the level of our spirit that helps us in our faith and discipleship Orients us & guides us to God Enables us to live according to the Gospel Helps us to answer God’s call to us 2,. We are transformed to have a new life that is eternal Our soul is connected to God’s eternal life. We share in God’s life & family as adopted children - siblings to Jesus our brother Now it is possible to share in eternal life; we are heirs to heaven 24 3. Charisms ○ Charisms are specific graces -that act like gifts and talents ○ These help an individual to build up God’s community, the Church ○ Charisms enable us to do specific activities of service. For example: Spread the good news to increase the Church Raise the next generation of Christians Be a leader or minister in the Church ○ Charisms are the grace to support our specific states of life & vocations (married, single, religious order, priest,etc). Example: Different gifts & talents needed for priest than fatherhood God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. 25 4. Sacramental Grace Sacramental Grace is not a specific type of grace; it is the varied way grace works through the each one of the sacraments. Every sacrament has a purpose and bring specific graces to the soul. Each sacrament is efficacious in a different way, but all have a real impact on the soul. In addition, all sacraments bring us further towards Salvation (Sacramental Grace) and help us in our earthly life (Actual Grace) 26