Grace in the midst of turmoil

"Actual graces are acts of the divine will; it will be enough, therefore, for God, in order to manifest these graces to souls, to make use of the means through which His will is known to us, namely, Divine Providence.

It could be objected that not all that happens within the scope of Providence is an actual grace, at least for the reason that many things are simply the permissive will of God, while grace involves the will of good pleasure. However, the bottom falls out of the objection if we consider that the acceptance of all of Providence is something desired by God as obligatory for us.

This acceptance by us is, then, what God desires of us, and on our part there results a filial obligation. However, God does not impose any obligation upon us without offering us the grace to fulfill it. From this it follows that every event, even though it only be permitted by Divine Providence, is for us a real and objective offer of actual grace. Here, finally, we begin to see the full richness of the bold assertion of St Therese of the Child Jesus: Everything is a grace.

This is also the thought of St Paul: 'And we know that to them that love God all things work together unto good;' and St Thomas, commenting on the words of the Apostle adds the note: 'even sin.' This may seem disconcerting, but even short reflections shows that it is not, if one considers the mysterious wisdom with which God permits us to be cast down that so we may be brought to humility and prayer. In this soil His grace will bring perfection and love to full flower."

-- Everything is a Grace by Fr Anastasius of the Holy Rosary, ocd