What Grace is this?

When someone says that you are graceful we all think that they mean that they move like a ballerina, very fluid and beautiful. But what about when the Angle Gabrielle came to Mary and said "full of grace"? I doubt he meant that she moved beautifully. And then there's the phrase "by the grace of God". What is this grace? What does it mean?

This question is has so many answers that, while I will try and get everything there isn't enough time in the day to type or to read that much from someone so unqualified as myself. As always I am not the final line of truth when it comes to these teachings, but I'm not just making stuff up! I do research and try and answer the questions that come to mind.

So here we go! Into the throngs of Gods grace!

To start things off lets look at the Catechism's definition of grace: "grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life"

How cool is that! I mean seriously! This is THE main reason that we pray so hard for Gods grace to come into our lives, so that we may have his favor and help to respond to the call that God has given all of us in our lives! This also explains what the angle says to Mary during the Annunciation. How could she not be full of grace? She accepted the will of God while being absolutely terrified of what it would bring. I say terrified because she and Jesus were the only ones who knew what was going to happen in the sense of Jesus's destiny to die on Calvary. This is why during the Wedding at Canna when Jesus asked Mary "What does this have to do with me", he was not being rude to his mother but asking her if she was sure that this was the time to start his public ministry because she knew where that road would lead.

The Catechisms definition also explains the phrase "by the grace of God", because it is by his will that what you are about to say happened. The best examples are all of the amazing miracles that have occurred through the intersession of our Blessed Mother in Lourdes. If you ever get the chance to go there, go, nothing can beat the amazing experience of bathing in the water there. You may not need physical healing but there is always something that you need help with. I went into the waters about 4 years ago and while I prayed that my knee would be healed I was granted a spiritual healing that I did not even realize that I needed! When I came out of the freezing water I wasn't cold (I knew it was cold because when I got in I was fully aware of it!), I felt warm inside and that it was emanating from my heart and mind. It was almost like that feeling of coming in from a bitter cold day and sitting down with a hot cup of tea, you just feel like everything is right with the world and nothing could go wrong; like snuggling up in your favorite blanket and feeling completely safe and content. I had never really felt that way before in my life and I had no idea what I was missing! It was by the grace of God that I was granted a glimpse into what Heaven will be like and until the day I die I will never forget that experience.

Pray for his grace to flow through your lives and may He bless you now and forever,

Clara