Grace is so much more than a prayer before meals or a womans name or a state of physical elegance and motion. Grace, personally but prayerfully defined, is something that God gives us, without deserving it, that makes us better people. Compared to the wordy and lengthy definitions found in the Catechism, when you put it like that, it actually sounds pretty simple, huh? But, without meaning to diminish its importance or reduce its nature, you also need to know that when its put under the lens of a microscope or a magnifying glass, grace can get pretty complicated. If we were splitting hair, we could subdivide grace into its component parts: sanctifying grace, sufficient grace, habitual grace, actual grace, and prevenient grace, and those are just the few that instantly come to mind. There are many more. But in order to understand the Mariology of the Church and the doctrine and Feast of the Immaculate Conception that we recognize and celebrate today, were going to have to spend a little time focusing on the concept of grace, in all its shapes, sizes, and forms. Because grace is the action of God that permeates everything today is about. Grace defines Mary, our Blessed Lady and Mother. If God is love, Mary is grace. She is nothing without grace. In fact, none of us are. And the bigger problem besides its complexity is where and how to begin. The role and doctrines of Mary cause enough conflict and consternation without adding to the mix. The description of grace has to be presented in a very logical and systemic way so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding. Ive thought about it and what you are about to hear is what I feel is the best approach. I hope so. Sorry if it isnt. My intentions are good. But, in the first place, there is that strange word, that concept of prevenient grace that youll hear mentioned in the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer. I think I mentioned at last years Feast of IC, how amazed I was when the current Roman Missal was still new to us, how many of my fellow priests didnt even know what it meant. Where did they go to seminary? Havent they done any personal, spiritual reading? Dont they know anything about Mary? Ive known for years that prevenient grace is what God gave to Mary at the moment of her conception that kept her free from original and actual sin her entire life. Prevenient grace is the cause of what we celebrate; the cause of her Immaculate Conception. Without it, there would be no Immaculate Mary. No, Our Lady of Grace. This might help. Its absolutely the most perfect explanation that Ive ever heard. I wish Id thought of it myself. God sees omnisciently. Meaning that since He knows everything, He sees all the events of human history from creation to Second Coming, as if they overlapped and were happening all at one time. God sees from above, with a birds eye view, vertically. So, while they are horizontal and chronological to us, from Gods divine vantage point, the Crucifixion of His Son was simultaneous with the Immaculate Conception of Mary in her mothers womb. And so were the graces of forgiveness and redemption and salvation. Since they were simultaneous events for Him, God applied the graces of forgiveness and redemption and salvation that Christ won for us on the Cross to Mary in the womb. As the Scriptures attest and the prayers of the Rosary continue to proclaim, God made her full of grace, from the very first moment of her existence. Thats called prevenient grace: with the prefix, pre, grace that comes before. And then, as Ive already noted, from Gods gift of prevenient grace, all subsequent graces flowed. Mary received sanctifying grace: the grace that, through the sacrament of baptism, reunites us with God but while we receive it subsequent to birth, she received it antecedently or preveniently. God turned His gift of prevenient, sanctifying grace to Mary into actual grace, in that her every action - get it, actual grace/action: forms of the same word - was gracefull and sinless. And her prevenient, sanctifying, actual grace became so second nature to her, so much just a part of who she was, almost without consciousness, habit forming if you will, that it was habitual grace. And looking back on Marys life, she certainly was going to need every ounce of grace that the good Lord could provide for her. A teenager, unmarried, pregnant. Simeons words of prophecy and warning: A sword shall pierce your heart. Her words of frustration upon finding Jesus in the temple: Son, didnt you know that your father and I were looking everywhere for you.? Standing at the foot of the Cross as her only beloved Son suffered and died the absolutely most horrible of all deaths. Its often said that no mother should live to see the death of her children. And of course, the image of Michelangelos famous sculpture, the Pieta, when Christs beaten, bruised, and broken body was taken down from the Cross and placed in her arms. So, God allowed that her prevenient, sanctifying, actual, habitual grace be enough, sufficient, for her. Sufficient grace is the amount that any one person needs. And its directly related to and contingent on the spiritual needs of that particular person. How many milligrams of a particular medicine do you need? You and I may have the same physical ailment but because of the level of mediocrity or severity, one of us may require a higher dosage than the other. Mary needed an extra special dose to courageously endure the many agonies of her Sons life. Thus, again, full of grace. By todays standards of social justice, many of us would credit or blame the unequal distribution of sufficient grace on an unfair God. That if God were fair, He would dole out to everyone of us the same amount of grace. Divide the total amount of grace by the worlds population. But how do you even begin to measure or weigh or count the total amount of grace that comes from a boundless, infinite God? Its just there when its needed. Its an endless supply. So God provides each with the amount that is necessary for them, with what is sufficient for them. To each according to his need. It may make us jealous but remember the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. When the late comers received the same amount of pay as the early risers, the latter sounded a lot like some of us. Thats unfair. And the employer replied, Are you envious because I am generous? Am I not free to do what I want with my own money? I promised to take care of you and I have. Are we envious that God is generous enough to provide Mary with the fullness of grace? Isnt God free to do what He wants with the gifts He gives? Is He taking care of your spiritual needs? If so, whats your beef? Whats the problem? Why do we want more of something if we dont really need it and its only going to sit around and gather dust or go to waste, when there is someone else who could use the surplus we have? Instead, we should quote and live the Scriptures, II Corinthians 12:9, which says, Your grace is sufficient for me. For years, Mary has bore the title of Our Lady of Grace. There is even that statue and devotion to her. And much more recently, Mary as the Mediatrix of Grace has surfaced and been discussed and debated, although there is no concrete, clear cut, concise Vatican or papal approbation as yet. I have to admit, coming from a non-Catholic background, that although I adopted well the basic Mariology of the Church, I didnt understand or appreciate Marys role as Mediatrix because it sounds like it takes away from the role of Mediator between God and man that is exclusive to Jesus, or that she is equal to Him in that mediation. But, now, having prepared and preached this sermon, and going through the graces of Mary with you, I think it makes some sense. Ill leave the official details and promulgation to the magisterium - thats not for me to decide - but still, there is a lot that Mary could teach us about grace. You can turn green with envy if you want or you can realize that we have the same opportunities and potential for grace as she did. Maybe not in the same order, maybe subsequently rather than preveniently, maybe after instead of before, but what matters more? The when or the what? Its not an I got here first way of thinking. Its not a competition. Weve been sanctified by Christ too. Mary needed her Sons salvation just as much as we do. The only difference is that she was given it prior to birth, we receive it after. She was among the early risers, were the late comers but everyone got the same in the end. And once sanctified, our response to grace should automatically translate into action, into actual grace, whereby we ought to be reaching out to others with good works and love. Until we get to the point and the day, when we finally wake up and realize that our graces have become so much a part of us, so much a part of what we do, that were acting on our graces without even a conscious awareness, that theyve become good, habitual graces. What more could you ask for? What more do you need?
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 12:09:32 +0000