Would it be wrong to pray for grace/merit?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nanotwerp
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
N

Nanotwerp

Guest
I want to “see” and be closer to God in Heaven as much as humanly possible, and I understand that I need a lot of merit to do this. Is there anything wrong with praying to Him to achieve this? I understand that this would cause a lot of suffering in my earthly life, but it will be worth it infinitely times more in the end. I know this question may sound really weird, but do any of you have any answers?
 
Not only is there nothing wrong with it; we ought to pray on a regular basis for growth in grace, virtue, and sanctity. And sure, merit. Just doing a quick search, I found at least one official prayer asking for growth in merit:

Almighty ever-living God, by whose decree all things are founded, look with favor on our prayers and in your kindness protect the Pope chosen for us, that, under him, the Christian people,governed by you their maker, may grow in merit by reason of their faith. Through Christ our Lord. (from the Good Friday liturgy)

It is even more perfect to offer up our merits for someone else, or to whomever God chooses to give them. This act in itself can make us closer to God, because it is very Christ-like.

But the most important thing for seeing God and enjoying him in heaven is charity. We should ask for that a lot, and practice it. We get merit as a consequence of this, but it is charity that unites us to God and to our neighbor.
 
Nanotwerp said:
I want to “see” and be closer to God in Heaven as much as humanly possible, and I understand that I need a lot of merit to do this. Is there anything wrong with praying to Him to achieve this? I understand that this would cause a lot of suffering in my earthly life, but it will be worth it infinitely times more in the end. I know this question may sound really weird, but do any of you have any answers?
Click to expand...
How would this cause suffering in this earthly life?

Grace falls on us - we don’t have to ask for it, it’s already ours.
 
frangiuliano115 said:
Grace falls on us - we don’t have to ask for it, it’s already ours.
Click to expand...
That is not exactly true. We must cooperate in our sanctification. Granted, God gives us some graces without our asking, but other graces only come through prayer, acts of virtue, the use of the sacraments, etc. Merely being in the state of grace is not enough; we must persevere in grace, and in order to persevere we should ask for the grace to do so. The Mass, especially in the propers, is full of prayers asking for grace, perseverance, etc.

And hopefully we don’t just want to “make it to Heaven,” hopefully we want to love God as much as we can, to be as conformed to his will as we can, to give him the greatest glory we can. Enduring suffering patiently for Christ’s sake is indeed one of the most effective means of growth in sanctity. This is partly because of our fallen nature, which tends to seek the easiest way; but in the spiritual life, the easy way is not the path to salvation. Also because sacrifice is the greatest proof of love.

So yes, we should be prepared to suffer. At the same time, that doesn’t mean we have to be miserable in this life. Joy is not incompatible with suffering, and the saints and spiritual writers tell us that ardent love for God makes our sufferings sweet, because we are happy to endure them for God, and because we know they help unite us to him and bring him glory.
 
Nanotwerp said:
I thought that the ultimate way of obtaining it is by suffering in the earth? Am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Well, ask yourself this:

If someone loves God but they aren’t sick and they have money and seem to be doing okay - does this mean that they DON’T have God’s grace??

The ultimate way of obtaining grace is to thank God every day that you know Him. I used to teach that the most important thing we can do on this earth is to know, love and serve the Lord.

There’s no need to suffer. God created the universe. There’s NOTHING we could do for Him except give Him our heart and follow Him through our life. Jesus didn’t come here to teach us to suffer - He came to give us a life, and a life more abundant.

Study the beatitudes. When going to Mass we add our daily hardships and our daily sacrifices to the gift of the sacrifice of the Mass. The priest says these words at every Mass - accept OUR sacrifices.

But it doesn’t mean you have to suffer to receive God’s grace. He loves you and wants to see you happy.

Ad Orientem is also right in that we should accept what comes our way with patience and resignation. We could offer up our daily sacrifices to God every morning or evening.

Also, try to learn the difference between being happy and being joyful. You’re happy when you get a new car. That new car smell is so nice. But it only lasts a few days and then the feeling of happiness goes away.

Joy is felt because you know the creator of the universe. Because you can speak to Him about your troubles. You feel joy even when you’re in the hospital right after an operation. Joy never leaves you.

Get a book on grace too. It’s a really big concept in christianity and one that we cannot fully grasp.

God Bless
Fran
 
Nanotwerp said:
I thought that the ultimate way of obtaining it is by suffering in the earth? Am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Just as flowers wilt and die, suffering is part of life. We will all suffer. I don’t believe that it is suffering that brings about grace. I believe that it how we deal with suffering that merit’s grace. For instance: by caring for those who suffer or by offering our own suffering up to Christ.
 
I pray all the time ,for graces from Mary ,Jesus and God, so that I will be able too enter the Kingdom of God.
 
We shouldn’t really desire extraordinary spiritual gifts as such. To want to see like in the beatitudes, that is something different. To pray for grace and merit is, not necessarily an evil thing at all, but we should do something more along the lines of what the Church teaches on how we acquire that merit, for example, praying for the Holy Souls in purgatory, and gaining the indulgences this day that we and applying it to their sufferings, in so far as our duty of our state of life would permit us to.
 
=Nanotwerp;13457633]I want to “see” and be closer to God in Heaven as much as humanly possible, and I understand that I need a lot of merit to do this. Is there anything wrong with praying to Him to achieve this? I understand that this would cause a lot of suffering in my earthly life, but it will be worth it infinitely times more in the end. I know this question may sound really weird, but do any of you have any answers?
Click to expand...
Here’s the way to do what you want:

KNOW WELL our Catholic Faith

Be able to explain and share it when God gives you the opportunity to do so

Defend it with clarity [facts] and always charity

Live our faith fully, humbly, obediently and publicly: be the light on the hillside

Mt 5: 11-15
"11] Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for my sake: [12] Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets that were before you. [13] You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. [14] You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. [15] Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. [16**] So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven

And practice extreme charity.

Do this, avoid Mortal sin and your place in heaven is assured.👍

God Bless you,
Patrick
 
No it,s not wrong too pray for graces either from God Jesus ,or Mary.
 
Nanotwerp said:
I thought that the ultimate way of obtaining it is by suffering in the earth? Am I wrong?
Click to expand...
Grace is grace. Suffering is suffering. Grace is God’s free gift.

We can cooperate with grace by suffering faithfully, but suffering is not a condition or price of grace. It’s not a transaction. We don’t receive grace because we suffer, we are receptive to it when we suffer faithfully.

Just like when we live faithfully in the midst of happiness, we are open to grace.
For some people prosperity and good health close us off to grace.
 
The ultimate way to grow in grace is to love. Suffering happens to be a frequent tool in Divine Providence because of our susceptibility to pride and/or complacency without it. It’s the reason, St Paul explains, why he had his thorn. Suffering in of itself is amoral and can be used towards sanctification or the breaking down of a person depending on how they respond to it. It is also infallibly connected to love (just as joy is) because as you grow in charity, you burn for the conversion of hearts all the more, and it is painful. Christ described to St Faustina his desire to bestow his graces as a clamoring fire.

Every prayer we pray is tied towards our destiny of eternal Beatitude with God, otherwise it isn’t a prayer at all. Anytime we ask for spiritual or mental or material things, they’re all tied towards sanctification of the self and of others. Anything that doesn’t lead to this is benevolently denied, since God is incapable of participating in the harm of his children. Only the forces of hell, other people, or ourselves can offer things that do us harm. God is exceedingly violent towards us since offering us anything less than the ultimate good of Himself, even if it is an exceedingly good thing, is unconscionable and intolerable.
 
It so happens that the current book I’m reading through, “Francis: Pope of a New World”, recently addressed this subject. So, here is a little further insight on the thought of suffering in it:

“Suffering,” Bergoglio explained in the book El Jesuita, “is not a virtue in itself, but the way in which it is experienced can be virtuous. We are called to the fullness of happiness, and in this search, suffering is a limit. Therefore you truly understand the meaning of suffering through the suffering of the God-made-man, Jesus Christ.”
…]
Bergoglio maintains that the Church, too, in some moments of her history, has exaggerated the theme of suffering. And he recalls, in this connection, that his favorite film is Babette’s Feast, released in 1987, written and directed by Gabriel Axel, based on a story with the same title by Karen Blixen.

“Here we see a typical case of the exaggeration of limits and prohibitions. The protagonists are persons who live a Puritan Calvinism, exaggerated to the point where redemption by Christ is experienced as a denial of the things of this world. Then come the freshness of freedom, the squandering of a fortune for a dinner, and they all end up being transformed. This community did not really know what happiness was. Its life was crushed by sorrow. It was tied to a life that had paled. It was afraid of love.”

Perhaps for this reason, too, the new pope mentions the White Crucifixion by Chagall as a painting he especially likes: “It is not cruel; it is full of hope. It depicts sorrow with serenity. In my judgement, it is one of the most beautiful things Chagall painted.”

(“Francis: Pope of a New World”, by Andrea Tornielli. Ignatius Press. 2013. pg 84 & 85-86)
 
What is merit?

It means that a person in the state of sanctifying grace does something to please God. And as a child of God, merits an increase of sanctifying grace, which is a participation in the life of God. So it means we are growing in the likeness of God.

We can merit thru praying, thru acts of charity, thru work, thru suffering, thru joys, thru everyday activies, if they are aimed at pleasing and loving God. We can merit without being conscience of it as long as we have the intention to please God. And so, we have the morning offering prayer which does this very thing which expresses this intention to please God in all that we do at the start of each new day.
 
Nanotwerp said:
I want to “see” and be closer to God in Heaven as much as humanly possible, and I understand that I need a lot of merit to do this. Is there anything wrong with praying to Him to achieve this? I understand that this would cause a lot of suffering in my earthly life, but it will be worth it infinitely times more in the end. I know this question may sound really weird, but do any of you have any answers?
Click to expand...
I don’t feel like it would be
 
The_Apostolate said:
Yes,threw Mary we receive all the Grace obtain from God .Right?. Amen
Click to expand...
You know. I get accused of not being Catholic.
But here’s why I say the following: I’m concerned for people reading along who are not catholic. No wonder we seem like a funny bunch to them.

I mean, HOW did God ever get along in the O.T. before Mary?
Was there no grace back then?
Is God incapable of handing out some grace unless it’s through Mary?

Fran

BTW, The O:P: should read the CCC starting with the following and continuing.

Grace

1996 Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.46

1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.

1998 This vocation to eternal life is supernatural. It depends entirely on God’s gratuitous initiative, for he alone can reveal and give himself. It surpasses the power of human intellect and will, as that of every other creature.47

1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification:48

Therefore if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.49

2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.

2001 The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace. This latter is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification through faith, and in sanctification through charity. God brings to completion in us what he has begun, "since he who completes his work by cooperating with our will began by working so that we might will it:"50

Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God: for without him we can do nothing.51

2002 God’s free initiative demands man’s free response, for God has created man in his image by conferring on him, along with freedom, the power to know him and love him. the soul only enters freely into the communion of love. God immediately touches and directly moves the heart of man. He has placed in man a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy. the promises of “eternal life” respond, beyond all hope, to this desire:

If at the end of your very good works . . ., you rested on the seventh day, it was to foretell by the voice of your book that at the end of our works, which are indeed “very good” since you have given them to us, we shall also rest in you on the sabbath of eternal life.52

2003 Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning “favor,” “gratuitous gift,” "benefit."53 Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.54

2004 Among the special graces ought to be mentioned the graces of state that accompany the exercise of the responsibilities of the Christian life and of the ministries within the Church:

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.55

2005 Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved.56 However, according to the Lord’s words "Thus you will know them by their fruits"57 - reflection on God’s blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

A pleasing illustration of this attitude is found in the reply of St. Joan of Arc to a question posed as a trap by her ecclesiastical judges: "Asked if she knew that she was in God’s grace, she replied: ‘If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.’"58
 
TK421 said:
It so happens that the current book I’m reading through, “Francis: Pope of a New World”, recently addressed this subject. So, here is a little further insight on the thought of suffering in it:

“Suffering,” Bergoglio explained in the book El Jesuita, “is not a virtue in itself, but the way in which it is experienced can be virtuous. We are called to the fullness of happiness, and in this search, suffering is a limit. Therefore you truly understand the meaning of suffering through the suffering of the God-made-man, Jesus Christ.”
…]
Bergoglio maintains that the Church, too, in some moments of her history, has exaggerated the theme of suffering. And he recalls, in this connection, that his favorite film is Babette’s Feast, released in 1987, written and directed by Gabriel Axel, based on a story with the same title by Karen Blixen.

“Here we see a typical case of the exaggeration of limits and prohibitions. The protagonists are persons who live a Puritan Calvinism, exaggerated to the point where redemption by Christ is experienced as a denial of the things of this world. Then come the freshness of freedom, the squandering of a fortune for a dinner, and they all end up being transformed. This community did not really know what happiness was. Its life was crushed by sorrow. It was tied to a life that had paled. It was afraid of love.”

Perhaps for this reason, too, the new pope mentions the White Crucifixion by Chagall as a painting he especially likes: “It is not cruel; it is full of hope. It depicts sorrow with serenity. In my judgement, it is one of the most beautiful things Chagall painted.”

(“Francis: Pope of a New World”, by Andrea Tornielli. Ignatius Press. 2013. pg 84 & 85-86)
Click to expand...
TK421

Every now and then I come across a post I really like. Like yours above, for instance.

In one sentence you explain about suffering. Okay, so you took the idea from the Pope! I’m sure you knew it even before… 🙂

Babette’s Feast happens to be one of my favorite movies. it’s not easy to watch by today’s standards. Moves really slowly and not a lot happens. But the mood it creates is wonderful and it really brings you into the story. That’s all I could say since it’s exactly as you describe it above.

Which is important for the O.P.
It’s good to pray for grace, but God freely gives grace to us at every moment. How could our heart beat without it?
And merit. We merit to be far from Him, but He took care of that too! By faith in the O.T. and through Jesus Christ from then on.

Fran
I guess I could add that the persons in the film knew ABOUT grace, but the one doing the cooking was LIVING the grace God gave her and wanted to share her joy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top