Power of Grace

Brethren of Jesus Christ … remember that now that you are alive, you can do with God’s grace more than the saints have done. Imagine, therefore, that the Lord has given you … all those graces necessary to arrive at a very high degree of perfection. (OOCC, X, p. 49; STA, 221)

Grace is a special blessing the Lord bestows on his chosen ones, in order that they would be able to do marvelous things in his name. The effectiveness of a person’s efficient planning and hard work in executing his plan gets increased many times when assisted by the grace of God. A person, open to God’s grace, can accomplish much more than his abilities and talents can achieve. Such is the power of God’s grace. St. Vincent Pallotti was certain that he could attain a great deal when the grace of God and his hard work combined together in an effective manner. He said that as long as we are living in this world, we would be able to do more than all the saints have done together when we cooperate with the grace of God. Hence, he believed that God gives all the necessary graces to do great things for God and his people, and to arrive at a high degree of perfection, as and when one is in need of them. It is up to each person to open himself to the power of God’s grace and cooperate with it to accomplish the will of God for him in his life here on earth.

Do I believe that God’s grace is freely available to me to assist me in doing what he wants of me in my life? Do I believe that I can accomplish God’s plan for me most perfectly when assisted by God’s grace? Am I willing to cooperate with the grace of God in my daily life?

But whatever I am now it is because God poured out such kindness and grace upon me – and not without results: for I have worked harder than all the apostles, yet I wasn’t doing it, but God working in me, to bless me. (I Cor. 15: 10)