Sanctifying Grace

"What is sanctifying grace and how do we receive it?"

3 Scripture passages2 objections answered2 Church Father quotes

The Short Answer

Sanctifying grace is the supernatural gift by which God dwells in our souls, making us partakers of His divine nature. It is the very life of God in us, making us holy and pleasing to Him.

Quick Overview

Think of sanctifying grace as God's life in your soul. When you were baptized, something real happened—God came to live in you, making you His child. You became a new creation, sharing in God's own nature. This isn't just God looking at you differently; it's God transforming you from within. Mortal sin destroys this grace (that's why it's so serious), but Confession restores it. Growing in holiness means this grace becoming stronger and deeper. The goal of the Christian life is to let sanctifying grace transform us completely into Christ's image.

Biblical Evidence

What the Scriptures say

2 Peter 1:4

"By whom he hath given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature."

Why This Matters

Through grace, we actually participate in God's own nature—this is sanctifying grace, the divine life within us.

John 1:12-13

"But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God... who are born, not of blood... but of God."

Why This Matters

We become God's children through a new birth—sanctifying grace makes us part of God's family.

Romans 5:5

"The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us."

Why This Matters

The Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts—this indwelling is sanctifying grace at work.

What the Church Teaches

Official Catholic doctrine

The Catechism teaches that sanctifying grace is 'the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it' (CCC 1999). It is received through the sacraments, especially Baptism.

Common Objections

Questions answered

Early Church Fathers

What the first Christians believed

St. Athanasius

c. 318 AD

"God became man so that man might become God."

— On the Incarnation, 54

St. Thomas Aquinas

c. 1270 AD

"Grace is nothing else than a participated likeness of the Divine Nature."

— Summa Theologica, I-II, Q.110, A.3

Deacons

Actual Grace

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