Grace: Freely Given, But How Is It Received?

 

    Here in the original draft of Michelangelo's "God Creates Adam" found on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, we see the dialog concerning Grace. 

    One of the reasons why Grace is so important is that Grace is fundamentally how God operates. In laymen's terms grace is a gift freely given from God to man, not because God owes it to us nor because we have earned it by some meritorious act of prayer, or even an act of faith. But Grace is so much more than that. Grace can be thought of in numerous categories of working, or interaction with Man. 

    The two main categories are natural and supernatural graces. Simply put they are graces pertaining to the body, and to the soul, respectively. Natural Grace is akin to Creation and bodily health. Supernatural Graces are akin to what leads a rational being to salvation. One occurs in our lives without the need of cooperation, but the need of stewardship is there. Such as, you're given a body, and now must maintain your body through proper nutrition and exercise. Supernatural Graces require our cooperation in order to receive and benefit from it. That is due to the form and being in which those graces are associated with. For example, a person who denies the Incarnation of the Word, Son of God, as the Person Jesus Christ, who is hypostatically united with His fullness of God and fullness of Human cannot receive the graces associated with belief in the Incarnation due to their rejection of it. 

    The main reason you can accept some of His graces, the natural kind, without the movement of your will to His, and that you must be in alignment with His will for the supernatural graces can be seen in the following manner. 

    With the diagram above we see that from God comes all Grace, and Christ is instrumental to the dispersion of graces, and the primary intent is to Glorify Him. Why is the redemption of Man not His primary goal? Well this is because He gives graces to everyone, sufficient enough that they may seek salvation in Him, but they refuse His grace in one way or another. He is still glorified for that, even though they refused Him. It is also because graces are for the ultimate good, the summum bonum of all, that is God Himself. The graces are to bring us to Him as He is the summum bonum. 

    The interaction of our will and His graces are something along the lines of our actions, and the graces are inherently associated simply due to their relation to God Himself. A contrite person will seek absolution in the Sacrament of Confession, or Reconciliation, but if they are not contrite for their sins, they will not have absolution of their sins, they will not have the graces associated with Confession.

This is why there subsequent categories of Grace, see below.

• Gratia Externa (external grace) [#1]
• A deed by God for the salvation of Man; happens externally to man's efforts, affects man morally. E.g., The Liturgy, Sacraments, or Revelation
• Gratia Interna (internal grace) [#2]
• Affects the soul directly, and physically. Examples are Sanctifying Grace, Infusion of Virtues, and Actual grace
• Gratia Gratis Data (grace freely given) [#3]
• A gift of God such for the salvation of other people. God ordains his Priests so that the Priests can bring people to Him.
• Gratia Gratum Faciens (grace of sanctification) [#4]
• The grace that sanctifies the person who receives this particular gift of grace. 

    These divisions are important as they set up an economy of sorts for the dispersion of grace. For example, we have Billy who wishes to grow in the grace of God. This desire to grow in His grace is an act of Actual Grace [#2]. Actual grace is a grace where God directly intervenes in your life. This grace can still be ignored through habitual acts where you're mired in sin and choose not to follow the "Holy Nudges" God gives you. So, Billy goes to his local Catholic Parish, and attends Mass. Here in the Mass [#1] there are external graces that bring about a moral change in the person. The Priest [#3] who celebrates the Mass [#1] is an intermediate cause to the dispension of the [#1] graces, and Billy has an internal change [#2] due to the closeness of God at the Mass. The Priest who is celebrating the masses receives the graces [#1], [#2], [#3] and [#4] during this event because the Priest is being sanctified, and as St. Paul said "I was saved, I am being saved, and I hope to be saved" (paraphrased from the following: Romans 8:24, Ephesians 2:5-8, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 2:15, Philippians 2:12, Romans 5:9-10, 1 Corinthians 3:12-15, Philippians 2:12, Romans 5:2, 2 Timothy 2:11-13). Billy on the other hand receives the [#1], [#2], and [#4] graces during this event because he is not an ordained person bringing others to Him. However, he could bring others to Christ, just not in the same manner as an ordained Priest could or would.

Source: Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Book 4, Subsection 3 by Ludwig Ott