God’s grace is necessary for salvation.

Man is sinful innately. It is, in a way, to put it unnaturally and harshly. Hereditary sin has wrought this disaster in man. Its consequence is that every man is bound to sin, from which God’s grace frees us. Our Heavenly Father loves us infinitely and does not want even one of His little ones to perish. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).

Many terms are used in the dictionary to describe the term grace, but surely among the most familiar is the word mercy. Thus, we can say that our Heavenly Father has compassion on us so that we may be able to attain salvation. Against the weakness of human nature, the only remedy is the grace of God. Man can do nothing by himself, and therefore he is compelled to depend upon the Lord if he wishes to be saved. Freedom was sufficient for a man to sin, but to return to the sphere of righteousness, he needs the help of grace, which he receives from the mercy of God. In His infinite love, God gives us two principal graces in the struggle against sin: a helping grace and a sanctifying grace. All of us know St. Augustine, the zealous teacher of the doctrine of grace. He often stressed the nature of grace, saying: “Grace is free; it does not depend on our merits; it was already before our merits. And it is even when it is offered to us as a consequence of our actions.” Nevertheless, you will surely grant me that grace is a gift of God, for we do our actions at God’s prompting. It is not only God’s gift to man, but it is God’s undeserved gift to man, who does not value it so much. Grace itself, helping or sanctifying, is meant to perfect man. To build up in him a more excellent resistance to sin. Enabling grace comes from the very act of man. It consists of God allowing a man to enlighten his reason for the knowledge of his supernatural focus. Simply put, God will enable man to know his direction for eternity. Sanctifying grace rests on participation in God’s wisdom and love. Simply put, God reveals His perfection and mercy.

Man has his full significance only in the Creator. He creates man for Himself so that man may find in his Creator his perfection in the image of God. God’s love for us is great to offer us His grace out of God’s motive. We are sinful, and sinfulness closes our perception of God. Man’s sinfulness is his essential tragedy. Why? In such a condition, man finds most often a substitute in temporality. Only God can lift man to Himself. Lift him from the dust of his wretchedness and sinfulness so that that man may be an active child of God. What makes a child? Indeed, you will grant me that it is undoubtedly innocence. Innocence consists in trusting in God to the utmost. A man in no way earns the status of a child of God. Why? By his sin, he has lost God’s affection. We can say that man in the position of a child of God is from the side of God. God is infinitely gracious and merciful. He has no interest in a man being outside his heavenly homeland. All supernatural good is a gift of God’s grace. St. Augustine says: “The first parents, before they acted against the will of God, pleased God, and God pleased them.” Even though our first parents had an animal body, they did not feel anything in it against themselves that would disobey them. Despite this human perfection, the man sold himself to sin. This selling out to sin has far-reaching consequences for humanity. Man has forfeited the graces that come from the Heavenly Father. But the sacrifice of Jesus Christ has won all graces back for us. He has redeemed us and secured the plan of our salvation, which is already half fulfilled. It is up to us how we handle our sinfulness. It is just that we deserve God’s just punishment for sin. Thanks to God’s grace, we humans will only gain righteousness by overcoming sin. St. Augustine sacrificed his whole life for the doctrine of grace and its defense. He was concerned that men should not fall into error and begin to justify their mistaken actions. Every Christian must ask God for grace. Only a person who is no stranger to mercy is entitled to ask God for graces.

At the end of the civil war of the North against the South in America, the fate of South America was being decided. President Abraham Lincoln’s advisors urged him to punish the Southerners for all the bloodshed they had caused and suggested various punishments. The President listened attentively to them, and when they had finished speaking, he said in a modest voice: “Is it possible to annihilate my enemies when I intend to make them my friends?” The President replied, who made a generous reconstruction plan instead of revenge.

Indeed, this example has its flaws, but it seeks to point to an unconventional way of getting rid of enemies. Every child of God should naturally go around dispensing grace lovingly and selflessly. No one is entitled to ask grace and mercy from the Heavenly Father, who cannot be gracious himself. Let us strive to conform our lives to God’s will. God’s will represents living according to the Gospel. We have reason and free will at our disposal. But we must also consider our weakness, which manifests itself in our sinfulness. Our God offers us weapons against sin, despite our ingratitude. A very effective weapon is resistance to evil. Resistance must be nourished by prayer and honesty with God. God’s grace is needed to enable us to have resistance to sin. After all, we all want to attain salvation. I wish you to be open to the action of God’s grace and to have sufficient resistance to sin cultivated in you.