Bootstrapping the Interior Life: Grace

Pursuing the interior life—a life of holiness—is not easy, but fortunately God doesn’t leave us to our own resources. As I noted a couple of weeks ago, when we think of God that means that God’s calling us. More than that, He gives us the help we need in the form of grace…which term basically means “the help that we need that God gives us.”

To put it another way, you can’t get to know God on your own; He’s got to be part of the process.

God is free to give grace to anyone He pleases, and He does; if he didn’t, no unbelievers would ever come to Him. But for those of us in the Church He provides special means of grace that we should be eager to take advantage of: the sacraments. It’s not that we can force Him to give us grace; it’s that He has promised that if we make use of the sacraments, He will always give it to us. And not only will He give it to us, because of His promise we can know for sure that we’re getting it.

There’s a small catch. I gather (I am not a professional theologian) that to receive the full benefit you need to expect to receive His grace, and to make use of it. Cooperation is key. (But that’s a post for another day.) So be eager to attend mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist; and be just as eager to go to confession on a regular basis; and expect it to make a difference.