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The state of grace is not only the principle of a true and very holy interior life, but it is the germ of eternal life. St Thomas says, "The good of grace in one is greater than the good of nature in the whole universe." For grace is the germ of eternal life, incomparably superior to the natural life of the soul or to that of angels.
We Need to Know the Value of Grace
The value of a seed can be known only if we have some idea of what should grow from it. For example, in the order of nature, "to know the value of the seed contained in the acorn, we must have seen a fully developed oak." In the human order, to know the value of the rational soul, which still slumbers in a little child, we must know the normal possibilities of the human soul in one who has reached full development. Likewise, we cannot know the value of sanctifying grace, which is in the soul of every baptized infant and in all the just, unless we have considered, at least imperfectly, what the full development of this grace will be in the life of eternity.
In the preaching of Jesus, everything is directed immediately toward eternal life. He speaks with absolute assurance not only of a future life, but of eternal life superior to the past, the present, and the future, an entirely supernatural life.
Christ tells us that the way leading to eternal life is narrow,
and that to obtain that life we must turn away from sin and order our lives by the commandments of God. He says, "Whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life" (John 5:24). That is, he who believes in Jesus, the Son of God, with a living faith united to charity and the practice of the commandments, has eternal life begun.
Sanctifying grace, which is a sharing in God's own life,
has been referred to as "a graft made on a wild shrub to enable it to bear fruit." It is a divinely produced quality or perfection of the human soul that enables it to share in the very life of God. It elevates our nature to the level of the divine, giving us a participation in God's own life and orienting us to our spiritual eternal end.
Sanctifying Grace and Actual Grace- Both are Necessary
Sanctifying Grace is that grace which confers on our souls a new life. That is, a sharing in the life of God himself. This grace is called Habitual Grace because we possess this divine gift as a habit of the soul, that is, as something permanent. Sanctifying grace is lost only through a serious or mortal sin.
The Chief Effects of This Sanctifying Grace are:
-it makes us holy and pleasing to God;
-it makes us adopted children of God;
-it makes us temples of the Holy Spirit;
-it gives us a right to heaven.
Sanctifying grace is necessary for salvation, because it alone enables us to attain the supernatural happiness of heaven. Anyone who gets to heaven has the gift of Sanctifying grace; that includes people of other faiths. It has not been revealed to us at what point people of other faiths receive this gift. Christ, by his death, merited sufficient grace for all to be saved.
Actual Grace
Actual grace is necessary because without it we cannot resist the power of temptation or perform actions that merit a reward in heaven. Persons in mortal sin cannot gain sanctifying grace without the help of God through actual grace.
We can resist grace because of our free will.
God does not force us to accept grace. Although God wills the salvation of all, we must cooperate freely with his grace. All of the events of our life can be seen as graces, for example: good parents, a good Christian home, and even sickness and trials, can be accepted as grace-filled moments.
Grace and Merit
We receive an increase in sanctifying grace through the Sacraments, especially the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist. We can make our most ordinary actions merit a heavenly reward by doing them for love of God. We can merit only when we are in the state of grace and perform good works freely with God's grace.
God wants each of us to attain to the degree of glory he has prepared for us in his Kingdom. If we are mindful to do for love of God, the small actions of daily living, the bigger things will fall into place. Jesus said that "a cup of cold water given in my name" will be rewarded. We can make up our own little prayers that will help us unite with Jesus and fullfill his request to do everything with love and so grow in grace, e.g., "Jesus, it is for love of you, please help --- in her pain." The idea is to do our small actions consciously and with love. It"s acceptable to think of others as we make our intention. That often means doing the very best we can, for God, even if no one sees or knows but God himself.It raises the quality of the dialogue we engage in all day, with ourselves, to include Jesus and so we grow in the habit of prayer
To summarize: Sanctifying grace is a precious, free gift from God. It is a participation in God's own life.