p. 155On Habitual Grace

Habitual grace is a supernatural quality, divinely infused into the soul, which renders it instantly the friend of God.

This grace, my children, is given and augmented by the Sacraments, and is also kept and increased by good works; it brings the sinner to life, from being dead; it cleanses him from all the stains of sin; it bestows on his soul a beauty surpassing all that can be seen in this world; from being poor and miserable, it renders him in a moment richer than all the kings of the earth; for see, my children, the least degree of grace is worth more than all the riches of the universe, since it is a participation of the Divinity itself. From being slaves of Satan, grace makes us children of God, heirs of heaven and coheirs with Jesus Christ. In the same way that where the king is, there is his court and kingdom, so where grace is, there is the court and kingdom of God.

Yes, my children, the kingdom of God is within us when we love Him, and are in a state of grace. Our heart is the throne where the good God reposes; our thoughts, our words, our actions, directed to His glory, are His crown. We place the sceptre in the hands of the good God when we consecrate our will to Him; the love that we have for Him is His purple, His royal mantle. … All the joys of our soul, the members of our body, are so many vassals.

“If any man shall hear My voice and open the door to Me, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”

The soul, my children, is not like a servant at this feast, but like a queen, the spouse of the great King, all brilliant with beauty. … A life passed thus is a foretaste of eternity.

St. Mary of Oignies, assisting once at the baptism of a little infant, perceived the Holy Ghost visibly descending into the soul of that little child, and an infinite number of angels surrounding it. What then passed visibly, my children, is done invisibly every time we receive any Sacrament. See, the angels are there, prostrate around us; they are full of admiration, they make a rampart for us of their bodies. It is said that St. Catherine of Siena went out of her house when she saw a preacher passing in the street, and went to kiss with devotion the place where he had trodden. What humility! what devotion! my children, that shows what it is to love the good God! This saint was asked one day why she did that; she answered, that our Lord had shown her the beauty of a soul which is in a state of grace, and that since then she had felt so much respect for those who consecrate themselves to the salvation of souls, that she thought it a happiness to place her lips where their feet had trod.

She used also to say, that if people could see the beauty, the ornaments of a soul in a state of grace, there would be no one who would not be ready to die a thousand times rather than lose the friendship of God by sin.

The soul enriched by grace becomes so beautiful, so pleasing to the good God, that He seems to have no eyes but to contemplate it, no ears but to hear its prayers, no mouth but to praise its beauty, no hands but to defend and support it, no arms but to caress it. …

What a happiness, my children, if we were already good Christians! the good God would be always with us, and we should be always with Him. … We could not leave Him, we should be always praying to Him in His churches, we should incessantly ask Him for His graces.

See, my children, the grace of the good God converts every thing into gold; all our actions, even the most indifferent of them, being animated by His Spirit, become works meritorious for eternal life.

A solitary one day feeling more fatigued than usual with the distance between his hut and the spring where he went to fetch water, made a resolution to bring his hut nearer to it, that he might have less trouble. As he was walking along and meditating on this project, he heard behind him a voice pronouncing these words: “One, two, three, four.” It was his guardian angel counting his steps. The solitary, ashamed, instead of bringing his cell nearer, put it, on the contrary, farther off, that he might have more merit. …