“There was a man who lived on the Great Blasker island off the coast of Kerry, Ireland, who worked from dawn to dusk every day of the week. He owned a small flock of sheep. He was short of help, and his family being young, he had no time to check his sheep except on Sundays. So, instead of going across to the mainland to attend Mass with the other islanders, he would take his stick and his dog and go up the hill to check on his sheep. It wasn’t that he had no faith . . . It was just that he was a stubborn man who always did what suited himself.
“His wife often tried to get him to change his ways. She told him that he was not setting a good example for his children. Why couldn’t he check on his sheep after returning from Mass, as his neighbors did? But he ignored her.
“One Sunday, when all the islanders had gone to Dunquin to Mass, he went up the hill as usual. Since the wind was from the south, he went to the north side of the island, expecting to find the sheep there. But there wasn’t a sheep to be found. Puzzled, he then went to the south side, and to his surprise found the sheep there. He was amazed to see them gathered into one spot, a marvelous beam of light shining down on them through a break in the clouds.
“This simple scene made a deep impression on him. The result was that the following Sunday, he was the first to arrive on the pier to get the boat to Dunquin for Mass. And he never again missed Mass on a Sunday.” – Flor McCarthy, SDB
This story beautifully illustrates a potent example of the effects of supernatural grace. Supernatural grace is quite different from natural grace. Before we look at its supernatural meaning, let us glance at natural grace.
Natural grace has many definitions found within the boundaries of the temporal realm, which means they are transitory, within time and place as we understand it, in the here and now of our existence on this earth. A few interpretations of natural grace are associated with attributes of certain people. Grace is connected with courtesy, good manners, style, elegance or poise. Grace is beauty or charm found in form, composition, movement, or expression. A woman can dance or move gracefully. A girl is named Grace, from the Latin gratia, meaning gracious. Ernest Hemingway said, “Courage is grace under pressure.” In their song “Richard Cory,” taking from the poem, Simon and Garfunkel sang, “He had everything a man could want: power, grace and style.” Gifts of any kind can be referred to as grace, as when John Updike said, “Rain is grace, rain is the sky descending to the earth, without rain there would be no life.” Natural grace can be found even in small and simple things:
The Bustard is a fine fowl,
With minimal reason to growl.
He escaped what would be
Illegitimacy
By the grace of a fortunate vowel.
Whatever the meaning, natural grace, like life and everything that is related to it on this earth, comes to an end.
As Supernatural
Supernatural grace connects us with God and increases our realization of his presence within us. We may not notice it at first, but as time passes this grace will be acknowledged and appreciated, sometimes beyond words. Grace can range from a sudden illumination of conscience with immediate recognition, to a slow unfolding that gradually becomes real to us. Whatever the time frame, it enlightens the mind, and helps us to see more clearly what God expects us to believe and how he wants us to live, thus strengthening our desire to conform our actions and behavior according to God’s plan. Change toward God is a genuine response to supernatural grace because it involves a positive action toward the life and love of God.
God’s grace is also defined as an undeserved favor freely given by him. Grace cannot be earned. God assists us unexpectedly, or when we ask for his help, and he bestows grace on us through the merits of Jesus Christ for our salvation. Grace builds on nature by transforming it so that it functions at a level that matches the strength of our love for God and renews our determination to stay on the road to heaven. It surpasses the abilities of our intellect, human powers, and personal experiences.
How is supernatural grace revealed to us? The ways are countless. Grace is any impulse that we believe comes from God, and prompts us to avoid what is wrong and do what is right. Supernatural grace comes to us through inspiration by the Holy Spirit who breathes life and light into us. It can be gleaned through examples from the life of Jesus, pages from Sacred Scriptures or other Christian books, sacramentals, the lives of holy people, earnest prayer, and especially through the major channels of grace: the sacraments. Supernatural grace can be a gentle nudge that changes a misguided thought or a strong push that changes the course of our life. We find grace in a thought, word, or deed that moves us nearer to God. Evidence of growth in grace is to see God in everything with a thankful heart.
Without our cooperation, there can be no spiritual growth or fruit from grace. We can resist the force of grace. Grace is also lost through serious sin, which destroys the supernatural life within us. We are very fortunate to have the sacrament of reconciliation where grace repairs the effects of sin on the soul. Through sincere sorrow, and worthy reception of this sacrament, we regain our state of grace that not only inspires us to do good, but also shields us from temptations to do harm. Blessed is the grace that gives a stronger resistance against giving in to sinful temptation.
In Catholic teaching there are additional definitions of grace, to distinguish the different ways in which God gives his grace to us. Actual grace is a desire given by God that encourages us to avoid what is wrong and do what is right. It is also special graces given for certain occasions such as doing a specific task rightly. Actual graces clarify what God expects us to believe and how he wants us to live. Through actual grace our will is strengthened, our mind is enlightened, our vision is sharpened, and our thoughts refined to conform to what God desires of us. Actual grace is passing. Sanctifying grace, on the other hand, is an enduring gift from God and remains with us unless it is lost by committing mortal sin. It gives us a new and supernatural state of life beginning with our baptism. We become adopted sons and daughters of God and, as time passes, share and grow in his life and love. Other sacraments increase or revive our supernatural life by making us holy and pleasing to God.
Fulton Sheen counsels us, “Grace makes man a new creature, infinitely higher than his former condition, more than an animal would be if it spoke with the wisdom of Socrates. There is nothing in all creation like that gift by which God calls man a son, and man calls God ‘Father.’” He goes on to say, “Grace does not work like a penny in a slot machine. Grace will move you only when you want it to move you, and only when you let it move you. The supernatural order supposes the freedom of the natural order, but it does not destroy it.”
Acceptance of grace is not inert. It requires a relinquishing of something from us. Grace works in us only to the degree that we allow God to transform us. Fulton Sheen wrote, “The acceptance of grace is not a passive thing, it demands a surrender of something, even if it is only our pride. . . . Pride manifests itself in many forms: atheism, which is a denial of our dependence on God, our Creator and our final end; intellectual vanity, which makes minds unteachable because they think they know all there is to know; superficiality, which judges others by their clothes, their accent, and their bank account; snobbery, which sneers at inferiors as the earmark of its own superiority.”
Thomas Aquinas sums up supernatural grace very well: “Grace has five effects in us: First, our soul is healed; second, we will good; third, we work effectively for it; fourth, we persevere; fifth, we break through to glory.” If our interior life is robust, it constructs on the life of Jesus Christ and is in concert with Christian virtue. Faith in God is the greatest gift of grace. When we open and accept this gift, we are ever awestruck by its ineffable treasures, and are eternally grateful for our salvation through Jesus Christ. With the help of grace from the Holy Spirit, we respond to this gift with every choice we make each day of our lives. How do our choices reflect our faith in God? How does our lifestyle resonate with the attributes of Jesus? We must live what we believe.
Body and Soul
The body and soul live on what they are fed. Both need appropriate nourishment, exercise, cleanliness, and right stimulation. We should not deny or avoid what we need to maintain physical or spiritual well-being. We take good care of our bodies, but they only last for a certain amount of time. Grace helps us take good care of our souls that will last for eternity. Each must receive appropriate care without neglecting the other. Too much focus on the body can lead to an obsession about a magnificent physique and soul denial. Too much focus on the soul can lead to excessive forms of piety and physical neglect or abuse of the body.
Prayer opens the door to welcome and receive the graces of God. Grace and prayer control appetites of the body and refresh the soul. A well-developed conscience is a control for unruly passions that harm the body and a sound guide for the soul. Respect for, and harmony in, the body and soul are necessary for a Christ-centered life. It is important to keep one’s feet on the ground and head out of the clouds. The Jesuit William Dych wrote, “The more one keeps both feet solidly on the ground, the better one can find God. To try to keep one foot in heaven and one foot on earth is to run the risk of being painfully pulled apart.” When our feet are firmly planted on the ground, we can see better how everything is interwoven and connected to God.
Fulgentius of Ruspe, a bishop and theologian of the early Church, offers a wise reflection on human beings as soul and body united, worth reflecting on in full:
“The relationship between our soul and body affords a good comparison with the working of God’s grace. Just as by itself the body has no life, but receives life from the soul, so we cannot have faith unless we receive it as a gift from God. And just as the soul is the one thing the body needs to live, so also grace is the one thing we must have in order to believe. As the body can do nothing if the soul ceases to give it life, so our wills are incapable of choosing what is right if the help of grace is withdrawn from us. Thus the body relies upon the life-giving presence of the soul, enabling it to live and work, and we are continually assisted by life giving grace, enabling us to want and do what is right. There is, however, a difference, for when our body is given life by the soul, it receives the power to do evil as well as good, but when grace gives us life, it enables us only to will and do what is right.”
Grace and Discernment
When we get a good idea, how do we know if it is a grace from God or a product of our own imagination? The simple answer is we do not. We do not know and that is why we need to practice discernment. Not every idea, thought, or product of the imagination is our own or the Holy Spirit’s. The devil can also suggest ideas, thoughts, and images. In Ignatian prayer or contemplation, we are invited to use our imagination to enter into and actually become part of the scenes in the Gospel stories. Is that prayer? Is that pure fantasy? Hopefully, as we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in our prayer, it is from the Holy Spirit. There is no hard and fast distinction between grace and the products of our imagination. However, God’s grace is more present than we think. We often receive ideas while we are doing routine chores or in the night when we cannot sleep.
Imagination that enhances the ego can be subdued by grace. Unclear grace can be clarified by research and wise counsel. Then we thank God for the idea and ask him to enlighten us: Is it good in itself? Does it benefit others? Does it give glory to God? If the answers are affirmative, we would ask him how to proceed. It seems God uses our imagination and all our other gifts to communicate with us. So, perhaps it is a grace from God given to us through our imagination. Something good that pops up in our imagination, taken to quiet prayer, can be a gift from our Lord.
Perhaps grace and imagination work together. Discernment is the key here. Discernment is unfolding insight, with prudent judgment, that searches to obtain spiritual guidance and understanding. With prayer and help from the Holy Spirit, we seek to grasp and comprehend what is obscure. The grace we receive through prayer clears our vision and helps us to see better what can be done in the situations that come our way. Graced prayer gives us inspiration to get up and start doing what we can instead of only thinking about a problem.
Grace in Pain
It is easy enough to be pleasant,
when life flows by like a song.
But the man worthwhile is the one who will smile,
when everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble,
and it always comes with the years.
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth,
is the smile that shines through the tears.
– E. Wheeler Wilcox
Take up the cross, the Savior said. As Christians, we anticipate the cross. However, it is a gift to note the graces as much as the difficulties. Supernatural grace can have disagreeable and even horrible wrappings. Smiling on the outside while crying on the inside is not uncommon. The worst suffering is often not the most visible, nor would we want many people to know about it. The smile that shines through tears is a response to God’s grace of wisdom and divine strength through an inner, Christ-centered change of heart and mind that is beyond pain. St. John of the Cross reminds us, “In all the events of life, however untoward they may be, the wise man encourages us to rejoice instead of giving way to sadness. In so doing we will not lose the greater good, peace of mind in both prosperity and adversity.” Even though we may be overcome by grief externally, deep down inside us, beyond the agony, there is peace. God’s special grace is the tough stuff that holds us together in the depths of suffering. It helps us smile and gives us the grit to take the next good step.
By experiencing life at its depths, we connect others and ourselves with God’s love as we acknowledge the mystical workings of grace in humanity. Grace directs our heart to see beyond our times of gloom, pain, and misfortune. Grace is a necessity for traveling on the rocky holiness trail, for getting to heaven and for helping others to get to heaven. Being receptive to God’s grace guards us against being totally overcome by grief, or ruminating about the miseries of life. There is light at the end of the tunnel. To give some examples: Catherine has a long stay as a patient in a rehabilitation center. She garners needed information that makes daily living activities easier and makes a new, good and lasting friend. The Johnsons started a charitable foundation born from the tragic loss of their son. In spite of the hostility she received, Sally takes a stand on the sanctity of life, and her service for that cause is rewarding. Tom can no longer enjoy the physical challenge of playing tennis. Now he delights in the mental challenge of playing chess.
Faith, animated by grace, is a sanctuary of peace on a wayfarer’s journey. In his book He Leadeth Me, Walter Ciszek, S.J. wrote: “Only by a lively faith can a man learn to live in peace among the tensions of this world, secure in his ability (with God’s help) to weather the crises of life, whenever they come and whatever they may be, for he knows that God is with him. In the midst of suffering or failure, or even sin, when he feels lost or overwhelmed by danger or temptation, his faith still reminds him of God. By faith, he has learned to lift himself above the circumstances of this life and to keep his eyes fixed upon God, from whom he expects the grace and the help he needs, no matter how unworthy he may feel. Faith, then, is the fulcrum of our moral and spiritual balance. The problems of evil or of sin, of injustice, of sufferings, even of death, cannot upset the man of faith or shake his trust and confidence in God. His powerlessness to solve such problems will not be a cause of despair or despondency for him, no matter how strong his concern and anxiety may be for himself and for those around him. At the core of his being there exists an unshakable confidence that God will provide, in the mysterious ways of his own Divine Providence.”
Everywhere
We can be conduits of God’s grace for others by the little things we do and the minor words we say that elevate the routine of an average day. They help us to value our temporal blessings as well as to keep in mind our eternal destination. We find grace within us, around us, and through surprises. Thérèse of Lisieux said, “Everything is grace.” This does not mean everything is easy. It means we have confidence in God when, and especially if, we do not feel it. Feelings easily change. Life has its share of sorrows, trials, and vicissitudes; however, we persevere and let God draw out of them some greater good.
Our receptivity to God working within us is measured by the graces that flow to and from us in unplanned and unexpected ways through what we do and experience. Small aspects of God’s ineffable being permeate society through us. Graces from us may be: Our kindness to another soothes his or her troubled heart. Our positive sense of humor defuses a hostile situation. We tell someone we will keep them in prayer and that is just what they needed to hear. Graces to us may be: A coworker tells us our disappointment is the shadow of God’s protective wings. A friend remembers a happy memory about a loved one for whom we grieve. A smile from a healthcare professional calms our high anxiety.
Grace is all around us. A final quote shows how something as ordinary as a birdsong can lift us out of the doldrums and toward heavenly things. “One day during my last term at school, I walked out alone in the evening, and heard the birds singing in the full chorus of song, which can only be heard at that time of the year at dawn or at sunset. I remember now, the shock of surprise with which the sound broke on my ears. It seemed to me that I had never heard the birds singing before, and I wondered whether they sang like this all the year round and I had never noticed it. As I walked on I came upon some hawthorn trees in full bloom, and again I thought that I had never seen such a sight or experienced such sweetness before. If I had been brought suddenly among the trees of the Garden of Paradise and heard a choir of angels singing, I could not have been more surprised. I came then to where the sun was setting over the playing fields. A lark then rose suddenly from the ground beside the tree where I was standing and poured out its song above my head, and then sank still singing to rest. Everything then grew still as the sunset faded, and the veil of dark began to cover the earth. I remember now the feeling of awe which came over me. I felt inclined to kneel on the ground, as though I had been standing in the presence of an angel, and I hardly dared to look on the face of the sky because it seemed as though it was but of a veil before the face of God. . . . Up to that time I had lived the life of a normal schoolboy, quite content with the world as I found it. Now I was suddenly made aware of another world of beauty and mystery such as I had never imagined to exist, except in poetry. It was as though I had begun to see and smell and hear for the first time. . . . These are the moments when we really come face to face with reality. In the language of theology they are moments of grace. We see our life for a moment in its true perspective in relation to eternity. We are freed from the flux of time and see something of the eternal order which underlies it. We are no longer isolated individuals in conflict with our surroundings; we are parts of a whole, elements in a universal harmony.” Bede Griffiths, OSB Cam.
About Carolyn Humphreys, OCDS
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