Week 39: Passages 1987 - 2051

Article 2: Grace and Justification

I. Justification

Justification has been merited for us by Christ's Passion and conferred through baptism. Justification detaches man from sin and is the acceptance of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus. With justification we gain faith hope and charity, and obedience to the divine will.

"Justification is the most excellent work of God's love made manifest in
Jesus Christ and granted by the Holy Spirit." (CCC 1994)

II. Grace

Grace is free and undeserved help from God. There are several types:

• habitual grace


• actual grace


• sacramental grace


• special graces (charisms)


• graces of state

Grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except through faith.

III. Merit

The merit of man comes from God. God has freely chosen to allow us to share in the work of his grace. Through this filial adoption we become co-heirs with Christ. No one can merit the initial grace of conversion, but once moved by the Holy Spirit we can then merit graces for ourselves and others. The charity of Christ is the source of all our merits.

IV. Christian Holiness

All Christian are called to holiness and the perfection of charity. Spiritual progress leads to a more intimate union with Christ.

"The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no
holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress
entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace
and joy of the Beatitudes." (CCC 2015)

Article 3: The Church, Mother and Teacher

I loved this paragraph:

"It is in the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that the
Christian fulfills his vocation. From the Church he receives the Word of
God containing the teachings of 'the law of Christ.' From the Church he
receives the grace of the sacraments that sustain him on the 'way.' From
the Church he learns the example of holiness and recognizes its model and source
in the all-holy Virgin Mary; he discerns it in the authentic witness of those
who live it; he discovers it in the spiritual tradition and the long history of
the saints who have gone before him and whom the litrugy celebrates inthe
rhythms of the sanctoral cycle." (CCC 2030)

I. Moral Life and the Magisterium of the Church

The Church is the pillar of truth. The charism of infallibility of the Magisterium ensures that Revelation, doctrine and morals can be preserved, explained and observed. The authority of the Magisterium also extends to matters of the natural law.

II. The Precepts of the Church

These are meant to garauntee the faithful the very minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort:

• attend Mass on Sundays and holy days


• confession at least once a year


• recieve the Eucharist at least once during the Easter season


• observe days of fasting and abstinence established by the church


• help provide for the needs of the church

III. Moral Life and Missionary Witness

Christians are members of the body of Christ and contribute to building up the church. The witness of a Christian life of good works done in a supernatural spirit have greta power to draw others to God.

"By living with the mind of Christ, Christians hasten the coming of the
reign of God, 'a kingdom of justice, love, and peace.'" (CCC 2046)

Questions for Reflection

• Do we appreciate the graces we receive? Can you think of a specific example of a time where you were given grace?


• Do you appreciate the role of the Church in your life, as mother and teacher?


• Are you doing your part to build up the kingdom through Christian witness, and encouraging your children to do the same?

For the next eight weeks the readings will focus on the 10 Commandments. This would be a good time to start reading again if you haven't kept up! Or to start if you haven't begun!