Saints LightWhat Is Grace?
Grace is God's free gift of His own life and help. Sanctifying grace makes us His children and lives in the soul; actual grace is His help in each moment to do good.
What this lesson teaches
- Grace is God's free, undeserved gift of His own life and help.
- Sanctifying grace is the lasting life of God in the soul, first given in Baptism.
- Actual grace is God's help in specific moments to see the good and choose it.
- Grace heals our freedom rather than overriding it, and it is known by faith more than by feeling.
Catechism paragraphs this lesson cites
- CCC 1996-1999
- CCC 2000-2002
- CCC 2005
CCC means the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Saints Light teaches it in its own words and never quotes it. Look up any paragraph in a printed copy or at vatican.va. See every lesson by paragraph in the Catechism index.
Scripture read in this lesson: 2 Peter 1:4; John 15:5; 2 Corinthians 12:9.
A sample question from this lesson
What is sanctifying grace?
- A good feeling during prayer
- A reward for doing enough good works
- The lasting gift of God's life in the soul, first given in Baptism
- A grace given only to priests and religious
Show the answer
The lasting gift of God's life in the soul, first given in Baptism. Sanctifying grace is a habitual, stable gift that makes the soul holy and lets it live with God (CCC 2000).
The lesson in the app has three questions, each with an explanation.
Words to know
- Grace
- God's free and undeserved gift of His own life and help.
- State of grace
- Having sanctifying grace in the soul, that is, not being separated from God by unrepented mortal sin.
More terms in the Catholic glossary. More passages in the Scripture index.
Read the full lesson in the app
"What Is Grace?" is lesson 1 of Grace, Virtue and Sin. In Saints Light you get the whole teaching, the Scripture quoted in full, all three questions and a step to live it this week.
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Related lessons
- The Holy Spirit and Grace (Start Here, free)
- Are Catholics Saved by Works? (Hard Questions)