The Church and sacramental grace

Of course, everyone is given grace by God, but in order to become perfect and to have a character like Our Lord’s, we need a lot of grace and we must be able to get it whenever we want it.  This is exactly what we can do when we belong to the God’s Church.

Let me give you an illustration.  All the corn and fruits in Egypt grow in that part of the land which is watered by the River Nile, and from space this part looks like a long, green ribbon stretching the whole length of the country. (2) But away from the river, apart from a few scattered oases which have a spring, there are no plants or palm trees at all – only small, dry bushes called scrub.  The reason is, of course, that the plants near the river can have water all the year round, but those out in the desert only when it happens to rain.

Now, just as the Nile supplies the land on either side of it with the life-giving water, so God the Holy Spirit supplies his people, the Church, with grace.  Those who belong to the Church can have all the grace they need; those who do not belong have only what happens to come to them at odd times, like the showers of rain in the desert.

How, then, can we get grace, this gift of the Holy Spirit of God, which can make us fit to live with him in Heaven?  Well, we are given grace when we pray and mean what we pray.  But God has also provided some special ways so that we can be sure of having grace when we particularly want it.  The land along the Nile is supplied by water by means of channels and canals which carry the water from the river itself to the plants in the fields.  So the Church is supplied with grace by means of special ways called Sacraments, like Baptism, Confirmation, Confession and Holy Communion, and these bring to its members the grace they need.