Grace of God: Means to Perfection

I believe that God in his goodness … can infuse in me such an abundance of sanctifying grace that I will be able to [attain] … highest degrees of sanctity and perfection. … Jesus always knows how to make great saints out of men who, like myself, are great sinners. (OOCC, X, pp. 84, 86; STA, 81)

St. Vincent Pallotti, though he recognized the importance of personal effort in the attainment of perfection, also acknowledged the value of the grace of God. He knew that despite the great efforts he put in building up his spiritual life, he often found himself standing before the presence of God empty-handed with broken promises, failed good intentions and the like. Hence, he realized the value of the grace of God to fill in what was lacking in the personal effort he had expended. He believed that God in his goodness could infuse in him an abundance of grace, which in turn would help him to attain the highest degree of perfection which his human effort alone was never able to achieve. Similarly, he was convinced that God was so great that he could make a great saint out of him, though he was a sinner of the first rank. Thus, St. Vincent had unshakable confidence in God who by his grace was capable of raising him to the highest degree of perfection. This unconditional faith and trust in God’s providence, coupled with the personal efforts he put in to make himself rich before God, helped St. Vincent Pallotti to become a great saint as we know him.

Do I recognize the value of the grace of God in my spiritual life? Do I believe in God’s power to make great thing happen in my life? Do I have unshakable  confidence  and  unconditional  faith  and  trust  in  God’s providence?

To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you. (II Thes. 1:11 –12)