9781644135945

The Time After Pentecost
without which we cannot do anything which has value for eternity. “No man can come to Me
except the Father . . . draw him” ( Jn 6:44) through grace. Without the help of grace there can be
no perfect contrition, no pardon for sins, no improvement of life, no good thoughts pleasing to
God; no works, prayers, or sufferings that can have any value. All depend on the help of grace
and the mercy of God; for man of himself can do nothing. Even the greatest talents and the most
perfect knowledge have no value in themselves for eternal salvation. God gives His grace out
of pure mercy and charity; we can never have a just claim to it because of our merits or efforts.
How insignificant indeed is man!
“Let Thy grace, we beseech Thee, O Lord, ever go before us and follow us” (Collect). His
grace comes first, not our will. Our will is, in a sense, sleeping and dead. It must be awakened
by His helping grace, which moves our will that it may turn to God. If God’s grace is not first
given, then our will cannot move. If the will is awakened and aroused, it moves freely but under
the inspiration of grace. Even when the work has been begun, the will still needs the help of
grace. Grace accompanies our work and permeates it, making it supernatural and meritorious;
that is, worthy of eternal reward. Thus the grace works in a twofold way: it precedes our will
and helps us to determine the act; when we have begun to act, it follows our will and our act,
continually supporting us so that we will and act, pray, and suffer in a way that is conducive
to our salvation. God works in us the will and work; we are incapable of either by ourselves.
“Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Ps 126:1). By ourselves alone
we are incapable of good and have only the ability to commit sin. From God alone we have the
power to think, to will, to do good.
How insignificant and ineffectual are man’s efforts! After God has given us the fullness of supernatural
riches, He must still give us aid every moment; otherwise we cannot accomplish
anything with all these riches; we can only lose them.
We are children of God, branches of Christ the vine, through sanctifying grace. But Christ,
says the Council of Trent, pours this power into the just, as the head into the members and the
vine into the branches; this power continually precedes their good works, accompanies them,
and follows them, and gives them a value without which they cannot be pleasing to God and
without which they are not meritorious (Sess. VI, chap. 16). Helping grace comes more readily
to us who possess the divine life through sanctifying grace. It is given to us as a staff in our hands;
it will not be taken away unless we throw it away ourselves. It surrounds us continually as the
light of the sun surrounds our eyes and does not vanish unless the eye is closed. Grace continually
knocks at our heart to entice us to do good; it speaks to us to teach us; it admonishes us
to what is good and keeps us out of sin; it strengthens us in danger, and supports us if we have
sanctifying grace. “Now all good things came to me together with her, and innumerable riches
through her hands” (Ws 7:11). How poor, how unfortunate we are if we lose sanctifying grace!
How many graces the Lord has given us, at the hour of baptism, during childhood, in the
years of our youth, during our manhood! How many each day, each hour! How holy we would
now be if we had only valued these graces and used them!
Prayer
Let Thy grace, we beseech Thee, O Lord, ever go before us and follow us, and may it make us to
be continually zealous in doing good works. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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