Question – What does it mean to be full of grace?
To be “full of grace” means to be completely filled with sanctifying grace, the supernatural life of God in the soul. In Catholic theology, this expression signifies not merely God’s favor, but a stable, interior participation in the divine life, excluding the presence of sin.
1. Scriptural Meaning: Gratia Plena (Revealed Truth)
The phrase comes from the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to Blessed Virgin Mary:
“Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.”
— Luke 1:28, Douay-Rheims
The Greek kecharitōmenē indicates a completed and enduring state: Mary has been endowed with grace fully and permanently, not temporarily or partially. This is revealed truth (de fide) as it directly pertains to divine revelation concerning the Mother of God.
[Citation: Sacred Scripture • c. 1st century • Luke 1:28 • de fide]
2. Theological Meaning: Sanctifying Grace
According to the Roman Catechism and St. Thomas Aquinas, sanctifying grace is:
- A created participation in God’s own life
- That which makes the soul pleasing to God
- The principle of supernatural faith, hope, and charity
To be “full” of grace means:
- No absence of grace due to sin
- No resistance to God’s action
- A soul entirely ordered to God
In ordinary Christians, grace can increase or decrease. In Mary, grace was complete from the first instant of her existence, due to the Immaculate Conception (defined dogma, de fide).
[Citation: Roman Catechism • 1566 • Part I, Art. III • de fide]
3. What This Means for the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mary’s fullness of grace entails:
- Preservation from Original Sin (Immaculate Conception)
- Total conformity of her will to God
- Perfect charity toward God and neighbor
- Fitness to be the Mother of God (Theotokos)
St. Louis de Montfort explains that Mary received grace not for herself alone, but as a channel through which Christ would come to the world.
[Citation: St. Louis de Montfort • 1712 • True Devotion to Mary, §§10–13]
4. What It Means for Us (By Participation)
While no other creature is “full of grace” in the same absolute sense as Mary, Christians are called to:
- Live habitually in the state of grace
- Avoid mortal sin, which expels grace from the soul
- Increase grace through the sacraments, especially Confession and the Holy Eucharist
- Cooperate with actual graces through prayer and obedience
The Baltimore Catechism teaches that sanctifying grace makes us “friends of God and heirs of Heaven.”
[Citation: Baltimore Catechism • 1891 • Q. 127–129 • magisterial catechesis]
5. Summary
To be full of grace means:
- To possess the supernatural life of God in fullness
- To be free from sin and wholly united to God’s will
- In Mary: a unique, unrepeatable privilege (de fide)
- In us: a real calling, though imperfectly fulfilled, through Christ and the sacraments
Pastoral Note
Growth in grace requires humility, frequent confession, and perseverance in prayer. If questions arise about sin, grace, or conscience, seek counsel from a priest or spiritual director.
If you wish, I can also explain how the Church distinguishes actual grace vs. sanctifying grace, or how grace operates in the soul according to St. Thomas Aquinas.
Question – Why can only men be priests in the catholic church?
The Catholic Church teaches that only men can be ordained priests because this is not a disciplinary rule the Church can change, but a matter of divine constitution—how Christ Himself established the Sacrament of Holy Orders.
Below is a clear, traditional explanation grounded in Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and the Magisterium.
1. Christ Chose Only Men as Apostles (Revealed Truth)
Jesus Christ freely chose twelve men to be His Apostles, even though He acted counter-culturally in many other ways (speaking publicly with women, accepting women disciples, appearing first to women after the Resurrection).
The priesthood flows directly from the Apostles. Bishops and priests do not invent their authority; they receive it by succession from them.
“As my Father hath sent me, I also send you.”
— John 20:21 (Douay-Rheims)
The Church has always understood this apostolic choice as intentional and normative, not accidental or cultural.
Doctrinal weight: Definitively taught (de fide tenenda)
[Catechism of the Council of Trent • 1566 • Holy Orders]
2. The Priest Acts In Persona Christi (Theological & Sacramental Reason)
In the Mass and sacraments, the priest acts in persona Christi—in the person of Christ Himself, especially Christ as Bridegroom of the Church.
This is not symbolic poetry but sacramental realism. Sacraments require a natural resemblance between sign and reality (just as bread must be wheat, wine must be grape).
Christ became incarnate as a man, and the priest sacramentally represents Christ the Head and Bridegroom of the Church.
“The Church is subject to Christ… He is the saviour of the body.”
— Ephesians 5:23 (Douay-Rheims)
A woman cannot sacramentally represent Christ in this role, not because of inferiority, but because sacramental signs are objective, not interchangeable.
Doctrinal weight: Definitive doctrine
[St. Thomas Aquinas • Summa Theologiae III, q. 22]
3. The Constant and Universal Tradition of the Church
From the Apostolic Age until today:
- No woman has ever been ordained a priest
- No sacramental rite for female ordination has ever existed
- This practice is universal across East and West
This is decisive evidence of Apostolic Tradition, which Catholics hold as authoritative alongside Scripture.
“The Church acknowledges herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord Himself.”
— Ordinatio Sacerdotalis §2
Doctrinal weight: Definitively held; irreformable
[St. John Paul II • 1994 • Ordinatio Sacerdotalis]
4. The Church Has No Authority to Change This
The Church does not claim the power to ordain women—even if she wanted to.
“The Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women.”
— Ordinatio Sacerdotalis §4
This teaching was later confirmed as infallibly taught by the ordinary and universal Magisterium.
Doctrinal weight: Infallible teaching
[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith • 1995 • Responsum ad Dubium]
5. Equality of Dignity Does Not Mean Sameness of Role
Catholic teaching explicitly rejects the idea that priesthood implies superiority.
- The Blessed Virgin Mary is higher than all priests and bishops
- Holiness, not ordination, is the measure of greatness
- Men and women have equal dignity, but different sacramental roles
“There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
— Galatians 3:28 (Douay-Rheims)
Equality before God does not erase the created order or sacramental distinctions.
Doctrinal weight: Magisterial teaching
[Baltimore Catechism No. 3 • Q. 127]
Summary
Only men can be priests because:
- Christ instituted the priesthood through male Apostles
- The priest sacramentally represents Christ the Bridegroom
- The Church has always and everywhere taught this
- The Church lacks authority to change divine constitution
- This does not deny women’s dignity or holiness
This teaching is definitive, irreformable, and infallibly taught.
If this question connects to personal struggle or confusion, seek counsel from a priest or spiritual director. The Church desires clarity, not frustration, and truth is always ordered toward love.
If you wish, I can also explain:
- Why this is not discrimination
- Why early “deaconesses” were not ordained clergy
- How women exercise profound authority in the Church
- Common objections and how the Church answers them