Sanctifying Grace
There is another operation of God in the soul besides the transient and occasional impulse to the performance of good works. Graces of action do not accomplish all the work and bring man into close union with God. There is a further grace or rather a state of grace, or a permanent quality infused into the soul by God, or vesting it like a garment; its effect is to render the soul itself holy, just, pleasing, and the adopted son of God and heir to eternal life. It is not precisely the presence of God, although it involves that presence; it is not the moral perfection of the will; it is not virtue, although it conveys the facility or potentiality for certain virtues. It is a gift of God closely associated with Charity, or the state of loving God and being loved by Him. The same powers and effects are attributed to this grace as to Charity. "The charity of God is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given to us" (Rom. v. 5). It is called habitual, or justifying, or sanctifying grace, or the grace that makes us acceptable to God (gratum faciens). Some actual graces are always anterior to this. They are such as can be bestowed on a man in the state of sin, in order to lead him to the good work of repentance. When these have been accepted and carried into effect, the sinner attains to justification or the state of delivery from sin. Sanctifying grace is the gift by which God operates these effects. Ask God for grace to understand this gift, to value it, and to guard it safely.
