STATE OF GRACE
### I. DOCTRINE
The state of grace (S. di G.) signifies the permanent and supernatural condition or mode of being of the soul, cleansed of all mortal sin and adorned with grace. It entails sanctifying grace, an entitative habit or quality inherent to the essence of the soul, the virtues (operative habits), and the gifts of the Holy Spirit infused into the spiritual faculties.
The state of grace is acquired through the sacraments of the dead, namely Baptism and Penance, or through an act of perfect contrition (v.), explicitly or implicitly united with the desire for the sacrament, and is lost through grave sin. Indeed, the state of aversion to God induced by sin is incompatible with, and cannot coexist in the same subject with, the friendship and union with God brought about by grace. Venial sins do not cause the loss of the state of grace; however, if frequent and deliberate, they may dispose one to lose it through mortal sin, thereby diminishing fervor in the practice of good.
### II. NECESSITY
1. The state of grace, at the moment of death, is absolutely necessary for salvation as a means from which there is no substitute. Indeed, it is impossible for a soul that ends its state of pilgrimage in aversion and enmity with God to attain the beatific vision.
The state of grace is required for de condigno merit (cf. Council of Trent, sess. VI, can. 32), since to produce good fruits it is necessary to be united to Christ, as the branch to the vine (Jn 15:5), and only those who have attained, through grace, divine adoption have a right to eternal life. Moreover, since eternal life surpasses human nature, man cannot, by his natural powers alone, perform acts meritorious of II. Nor can one claim rights to the goods proper to God while remaining His enemy through sin.
2. The state of grace is not necessary for the validity of the sacraments (cf. Council of Trent, sess. VII, can. 12). This was clarified in the controversy over the repetition of sacraments (v.) administered by heretics. Against those who held such sacraments to be invalid, the holy Fathers, especially St. Augustine in his works against the Donatists, defended their validity by distinguishing between the ministerial cause and the principal cause, which is Christ. The scholastics later developed this doctrine, emphasizing the role of the minister, who, acting as an instrument of Christ, does not invalidate the sacrament even if he is in a state of sin. However, the state of grace is required for the licit administration of the sacraments (cf. Roman Ritual, tit. I, nn. 3-4), because sacred things must be handled in a holy manner, and especially because the minister represents Christ, acts in His name, and has been consecrated to this office. Nevertheless, moralists generally hold that the state of grace is required in the minister under grave obligation, at least when it concerns the solemn conferral and administration of a sacrament to which he is deputed by holy orders. Thus, a minister who is not in the state of grace sins gravely if he performs and administers a sacrament as a public minister of the Church in the prescribed rite, outside the case of necessity. It is debated whether the absence of any of these conditions still constitutes a grave sin. A minister who, while unworthy, confers a sacrament upon many simultaneously likely commits only one sin.
The state of grace required for the administration of the sacraments need not necessarily be acquired through confession; contrition is sufficient, except in the case of the celebration of the Mass (v.), for which, if the minister is in sin, he must put himself in the state of grace through confession, unless there is a necessity to celebrate and no confessor is available. In such a case, contrition suffices; however, the minister is bound to confess as soon as possible (cf. Council of Trent, sess. XIII, c. 7; CIC, can. 807). To receive the sacraments of the living licitly and fruitfully, the subject must be in the state of grace, which can be acquired through perfect contrition. For the Eucharist, however, confession is required by a special precept, unless there is a necessity to receive communion and no confessor is available (cf. Council of Trent, sess. XIII, c. 7, can. 11; CIC, can. 856 and V. EUCHARISTIC COMMUNION). Consciously receiving a sacrament of the living without being in the state of grace constitutes a grave sin of sacrilege (v.), as it profanes a sacred thing.
3. The state of grace is necessary in the subject for the gaining of indulgences (v. INDULGENCE), at least when the last prescribed work is performed. Indeed, there can be no remission if the state of grace is also required for indulgences to be gained on behalf of the dead.