Full or partially full of grace

[JoeFreedom]

I was praying the rosary today and trying to contemplate all things heavenly, Mary, Jesus, my sins, purgatory, etc., and a thought came to me. We know that Mary was conceived without original sin and God gave Mary total grace, or in other words, she was full (completely) of grace. Thus, Mary did not sin. She could have, but being full of grace and without concupiscence, she was more easily able to chose God.

Now, each of us are obviously not born without original sin, and we do have concupiscence and thus struggle more to resist temptation and sin. I’ve heard that God provides us with enough grace to always choose Him in every thought, word and deed. But ultimately we are all sinners.

Does this mean that we are only partially full of grace, meaning we only have enough grace, but not full of grace? Or are we full of grace but because of original sin, are more easily led to sin? Or something else?

Thanks in advance.

 

[porthos11]

I was praying the rosary today and trying to contemplate all things heavenly, Mary, Jesus, my sins, purgatory, etc., and a thought came to me. We know that Mary was conceived without original sin and God gave Mary total grace, or in other words, she was full (completely) of grace. Thus, Mary did not sin. She could have, but being full of grace and without concupiscence, she was more easily able to chose God.

Now, each of us are obviously not born without original sin, and we do have concupiscence and thus struggle more to resist temptation and sin. I’ve heard that God provides us with enough grace to always choose Him in every thought, word and deed. But ultimately we are all sinners.

Does this mean that we are only partially full of grace, meaning we only have enough grace, but not full of grace? Or are we full of grace but because of original sin, are more easily led to sin? Or something else?

Thanks in advance.

“Full of grace” is so underwhelming when used to refer to Mary (just a tad better than “highly favoured”, but it’s not the panacea Latinistas would make it out to be).

The word “full” does not appear in the Greek text. That is from St. Jerome who chose “gratia plena” as a poor substitute for the powerful Greek word “kecharitomene”. So if you turn to the Greek, there is nothing about full, half-full or empty, so comparing that to us is pointless. “Kecharitomene” is effectively a title for Mary (the vocative case does that, as does the fact that the angel does not address her by name). “Full” approximates it, but does not quite match it. The Greek tells us that Mary is so infused with grace that it, so to speak, almost defines her. She is almost, as humanly possible, the embodiment of that grace, one who works perfectly with grace unblocked by sin or concupiscence.

So it’s not so much about an “amount” but it is about our own brokenness and woundedness. God gives us sufficient grace, but its efficacy is greatly affected by our own weakness due to original sin.

 

[Lee1]

Does this mean that we are only partially full of grace, meaning we only have enough grace, but not full of grace?

Since we can pray for graces it must be that we are not full of grace.

We could never be full of grace as Our Lady because we would never reach Her state of spirituality being the Mother Of God, impossible for us.

 

[LilyM]

A teaspoon that is full of water is just as full as a cup that is full of water - or for that matter a barrel that is full.

If we are using our capacity for grace to the utmost then we too will be full.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

Love this reply

 

[Vico]

…

With the Blessed Virgin Mary there was an exclusion of original sin, whereas we inherited it so require baptism. We grapple with concupiesience which was excluded from the Blessed Virgin Mary, although we receive sanctifying grace with baptism.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

405 Although it is proper to each individual,295 original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence". Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

Catholic Encyclopedia

… every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

Holweck, F. (1910). Immaculate Conception. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm

 

[JoeFreedom]

Thanks. Analogies make sense to me.