Can you guess what I'll be sharing today? No it's not about asking God for money or that guy / gal you like. These are more important than that. Most people don't even know about what you'll be reading.
These 3 are what people with lukewarm faith don't have a clue they could ask for! I too didn't know or think about these things until late last year.
Lately I think I learn about Catholic doctrines and get inspired to write only because of daily prayers, regular confession and occasionally going to weekday masses (on top of Sunday mass). Topics just pop out of my head! 😆 Clearly my life is really starting to change for the better. Haha.
Anyway if you already know and ask for these three even before reading, share your thoughts in the comments!
Are you ready?
Here we go!
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☝️ Graces from God
"Huh? What's that?" Yes folks there's such a thing we can ask from God to help us be better. It's called grace and we need it in order to be sanctified.
I had no idea about this until sometime in 2023. There's no mention of it in our family, not even from friends, work colleagues or strangers! Well I probably heard the word "grace" from some priest sermon over the years but maybe I simply ignored it as usual.
If we say "grace from God" usually the first things we think of are the blessings we get in the form of physical items. At least that's initially what I always thought of when I heard such words. Usually it's an answered prayer like money, passing the board exam, getting a house or car, getting cured from an illness, etc. Agree?
But obviously it means more than that. There's even a sanctifying and actual grace that nobody talks about. Have you ever heard of those before? I haven't until I did some online searching!
I've written the word in my previous posts since last year but nobody notices it of course. Haven't focused on it either. But now you're reading this and learning like me too.
A Depiction of The Annunciation of the Archangel Gabriel to the Blessed Virgin Mary | (image source)
👉 WHAT is it?
Grace comes directly from God and makes us holy and purified. Once sanctified we can finally enter Heaven. (Revelation 21:27)
It may or may not cause immediate change in us. The best example is what happened to St. Paul, fast or almost immediate and full conversion. For other saints it's gradual and takes years and decades before one is purified by the grace of God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) has more details on it.
👉 HOW to get it?
We can receive these by default but it's better if we also ask God for it. Our intent is the key. When we pray we have to have an intention, same as when we go to mass. Each time we participate in the mass we must offer up a reason or purpose when joining. (This is a topic for another day.)
Mama Mary told St. Catherine Laboure that not a lot of people ask for God's graces. She also informed the nun to have a Miraculous Medal made (formerly called Medal of the Immaculate Conception).
In 1830, Jesus' mother herself gave the sacramental design to her, a human being, so we will have proof that people can also ask for God's graces! (See how our Blessed Mother is always looking out for us and yet there are people who hate and blaspheme her. Oh the ungratefulness of humanity is saddening.) Mama Mary is full of the Lord's grace, of course she can help distribute it too!
♥️ Virtues
Okay, now let's go to this other important thing we all must have. Although for some reason I can't elaborate much on this. Haha. In a nutshell there are 3 Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Love. And of course everything in the Bible says the greatest of them all is Love. This topic can also be found in the CCC.
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There are also Four Cardinal Virtues and 7 Capital Virtues exist opposite the 7 Deadly Sins. But those are topics for another day. All I can say for now is, we must deliberately ask God for help to live a virtuous life everyday. To do that we still need to ask for graces whenever, wherever we can.
Having a lot of grace will make us grow in virtue! With virtues come knowledge and apparently it eventually leads to love (as stated in 2 Peter 1:5-7). I don't understand everything St. Peter said in those verses yet but I'll trust that it's the truth. The apostles of Jesus know more about it because they definitely lived and experienced it.
To me the reason love is the greatest is because it is also the hardest to fully embody. I should know because I struggle with it too. Love heals all wounds, as the saying goes. We can say we love God but if we can't love other people wholly then we're liars. (1 John 4:20) Imho our full sanctification cannot be attained with such a lie.
It's simple, just look at the world today and tell me if you can love everyone. And remember, saying is very different from doing. Actions speak louder than words, even to God. And so, again, we need to ask for grace and pray to acquire virtues.
🙏 Mercy
Lastly we come to not the least of all. We must not forget to ask for God's boundless mercy through His son Jesus Christ. Ask for His mercy and forgiveness and really mean it! Haha.
Yes, love and mercy go hand in hand especially when we're talking about the Holy Trinity. This is why we have Bible stories like The Prodigal Son or the entire 4 Gospels in the New Testament.
Because of this we humans still live on Earth until now. Without God's mercy and love, humanity could have ended a long, long time ago. It is the reason why we are still able to repent from our sins despite our sinful nature. It doesn't mean we won't be chastised or punished for our stubborn wickedness though.
But because He is eternally merciful and loving, He is very forgiving. This is also why Jesus became man and saved us all. But how can He give mercy to anyone if no one asks His forgiveness?
It is as Jesus said, we must forgive each other 70 x 7 times. (Matthew 18:21-35) Meaning, God is infinitely merciful and can forgive the sins of mankind so many times but we have to ASK for it! And who can better explain this than St. Faustina (b. 1905 - d. 1938), Jesus' chosen promoter of His Divine Mercy.
In her diary entry 300, Jesus said mercy is God's greatest attribute. This is corroborated by writings of the Fathers of the Church according to her confessor Fr. Sopocko who looked into the topic. Also in the same entry it says, "...Whoever shall come to the Fount of Life (blood and water from Jesus' wounded heart) on that day shall be granted full remission of sins and punishment." Oh wow! 😱
On a side note, somehow when I saw this image, I superimposed the words in the pic below to the song and the tune of Kelis' Milkshake, haha. 😆
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And while we're talking about this, you should also know about the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. Praying it will grant the person graces from God. (See how all three are related? Haha. That's an example of how we can receive graces by default - prayer is one of them.) Read or listen to the Diary of St. Faustina online to learn more. 😉
👉 Mark your calendars too! Divine Mercy Sunday is coming up on April 7 this year! Oh I'm so excited because it will be the first time I will be able to participate celebrating this church Feast. Why? Because to be forgiven by God and receive His mercy and graces are the best things in the world! Oh by the way, He said one must do deeds of mercy aside from praying too... 😅
Ahuh, yes folks, we gotta do everything to save our souls from hell. Asking for God's mercy is everyone's last resort! (Diary entry 965) Don't let it be the case of course! Start now and pile up riches in Heaven before it's too late.
Work towards sanctification starting now if you haven't started yet. The Sacrament of Confession is one of the best starting point. 😉👍
So now that we know what to ask for, let's get to it! 😆 Let's ask for all of 'em as much as we can and be millionaires in Heaven. 💪🙏✝️😍
Have you asked God for any of these before? I've only been asking for mercy the most. 😁 Followed by graces since I learned about it. As for virtues, I don't remember, but most likely only last year too. 🤔
How about you? Feel free to share thoughts and experiences in the comments.
XOXO,
