Day 262: Habitual and Actual Grace

The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself. CCC 1999

In today's reading, the Catechism discusses habitual and actual grace. In short, what grace is, especially in relation to justification. Grace is a free gift from God, given to us not because we earn or deserve it (Eph 2:8-19), but comes from the loving and sacrificial redemption of Christ at Calvary (Gal 1:4). It precedes, prepares and justifies us, inviting our free response in cooperating with the grace given to us (1 Cor 15:10). Grace does not merely forgive but transforms us to live more like Christ (2 Pet 1:3-4). 

The Catechism Compendium gives a summary of what is the grace that justifies and other kinds of graces:

That grace is the gratuitous gift that God gives us to make us participants in his trinitarian life and able to act by his love. It is called habitual, sanctifying, or deifying grace because it sanctifies and divinizes us. It is supernatural because it depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative and surpasses the abilities of the intellect and the powers of human beings. It therefore escapes our experience. (#423)

The Catechism Companion Vol III notes:

In Baptism, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given sanctifying grace, and that changed us to be a new creation. That change perfects the soul and enables us to live with God. With Baptism, we will never not be a child of God. We can choose to live apart from our Father, but we will always be marked by Baptism. God wants every one of His beloved creatures to say yes to his grace... Before we make any move toward the Lord, he has already moved toward us... God always initiates, and we just respond. (p. 40)

Finally, Dr. Brant Pitre has a good video on how grace saves us: