We must not think that we only need a clear knowledge of our duty, and shall then necessarily accomplish it. To think that would be to lose sight of human weakness, and the strife of human passions. We need strength to do the right, and to obey God; and so much the more strength, since, by reason of original sin, tumult and disorder lay waste the heart of man, which ever inclines to evil rather than to good.
This necessary strength to live as a good Christian to avoid sin, and to practice Christian virtues, is given to us by God through Jesus Christ our Saviour, and it is this strength which we call grace. Without it, we could neither do right nor avoid wrong, but with its help we are capable of doing all things and suffering all things in order to accomplish the will of God. Grace is to the soul what light is to the eyes; without the light we cannot see, but with the light we are enabled to perceive even dim and distant objects.
Grace is the internal and spiritual union of the soul with Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the indwelling of Jesus Christ in the soul, and the indwelling of the soul in Him. From the inmost recesses of our soul, as from the inmost recesses of His temple and His sanctuary, the Son of God gives to us the continual assistance of His Holy Spirit to enable us to repulse the attacks of the devil, our enemy and His, and to help us to observe all the commandments of God. He never abandons us to our own weakness; He never refuses us His grace; and when we sin, we alone are guilty of turning willfully and deliberately away from God.
This union of the soul with Jesus Christ constitutes the true life of the soul. The life of the body springs from its union with Jesus Christ, its Saviour and its God. And this life of the soul need never end, since, in heaven, we are destined to enjoy an eternal union with God, if we will but make the noblest use of our free-will while here on earth and constantly endeavor to preserve the grace of God. And next, let us ask, in what manner is this grace bestowed upon us? And how is the mystical union of the soul with Jesus Christ accomplished? By prayer and the holy sacraments.
“The Faith That Never Dies or the Priest of God in the Catholic Home” ~ Imprimatur 1900
This necessary strength to live as a good Christian to avoid sin, and to practice Christian virtues, is given to us by God through Jesus Christ our Saviour, and it is this strength which we call grace. Without it, we could neither do right nor avoid wrong, but with its help we are capable of doing all things and suffering all things in order to accomplish the will of God. Grace is to the soul what light is to the eyes; without the light we cannot see, but with the light we are enabled to perceive even dim and distant objects.
Grace is the internal and spiritual union of the soul with Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the indwelling of Jesus Christ in the soul, and the indwelling of the soul in Him. From the inmost recesses of our soul, as from the inmost recesses of His temple and His sanctuary, the Son of God gives to us the continual assistance of His Holy Spirit to enable us to repulse the attacks of the devil, our enemy and His, and to help us to observe all the commandments of God. He never abandons us to our own weakness; He never refuses us His grace; and when we sin, we alone are guilty of turning willfully and deliberately away from God.
This union of the soul with Jesus Christ constitutes the true life of the soul. The life of the body springs from its union with Jesus Christ, its Saviour and its God. And this life of the soul need never end, since, in heaven, we are destined to enjoy an eternal union with God, if we will but make the noblest use of our free-will while here on earth and constantly endeavor to preserve the grace of God. And next, let us ask, in what manner is this grace bestowed upon us? And how is the mystical union of the soul with Jesus Christ accomplished? By prayer and the holy sacraments.
“The Faith That Never Dies or the Priest of God in the Catholic Home” ~ Imprimatur 1900
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