Index to Grace -
A Gift from God the Holy Spirit


Descent of the Holy Spirit upon Mary and the Apostles on Pentecost - by TIZIANO Vecellio - from Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
The Role of Sanctification of all Angels and Men is attributed to the Holy Spirit, by means of His Holy Grace  

 

Grace is from God (Person of the Holy Spirit), and works in the depth of the Soul whose Powers it employs. It is a Light which issues forth to do service under the Guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Divine Light permeates the Soul, and lifts it above the Turmoil of Temporal Things to rest in God.

Meister Johannes Eckhart, Dominican Mystic

 

Index to Grace -
A Gift from God the Holy Spirit

from various Sources

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Grace (Gratia, Charis), in general, is a Supernatural Gift of God to Intellectual Creatures (Men, Angels) for their Eternal Salvation, whether the latter be furthered and attained through Salutary Acts or a State of Holiness. Eternal Salvation itself consists in Heavenly Bliss resulting from the Intuitive Knowledge of the Triune God, Who to the one not endowed with Grace "inhabiteth light inaccessible" (1Timothy 6:16). Christian Grace is a fundamental idea of the Christian Religion, the Pillar on which, by a special ordination of God, the Majestic Edifice of Christianity rests in its entirety. Among the Three (3) Fundamental Ideas -- Sin, Redemption, and Grace -- Grace plays the part of the Means, Indispensable and Divinely Ordained, to effect the Redemption from Sin through Christ and to lead Men to their Eternal Destiny in Heaven.

Grace is a Gift from God
Sanctifying Graces
Actual
Grace
(Transient, comes and goes) 		Sanctifying
Grace
(Permanent, lives in Soul, lost by Mortal Sin)

Supernatural Graces and Gifts of the Holy Spirit reside within the Essence of Man's Natural Soul.

Before the Council of Trent, the Schoolmen seldom used the term Gratia Actualis, preferring Auxilium Speciale, Motio Divina, and similar designations; nor did they formally distinguish Actual Grace from Sanctifying Grace. But, in consequence of modern controversies regarding Grace, it has become usual and necessary in Theology to draw a sharper distinction between the Transient Help-to-Act (Actual Grace) and the Permanent State-of-Grace (Sanctifying Grace). For this reason we adopt this distinction as our Principle of Division in our exposition of the Catholic Doctrine.

Since the End and Aim of all Efficacious Grace is directed to the Production of Sanctifying Grace where it does not already exist, or to Retain and Increase it where it is already present, its Excellence, Dignity, and Importance become immediately apparent; for Holiness and the Sonship of God depend solely upon the Possession of Sanctifying Grace, wherefore it is frequently called simply Grace without any qualifying word to accompany it as, for instance, in the phrases "to live in Grace" or "to fall from Grace".

 

Grace - What it is and What it does

Actual Grace - by Father Paul Duffner, O.P.

Sanctifying Grace - by Father Paul Duffner, O.P.

Grace - Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, River of Grace - by Saint Ambrose

Grace and Justification - From the Catholic Catechism

Sanctifying Grace - by Father Jordan Aumann, O.P.