I’ve covered before the difference between sanctifying grace and actual grace. Actual grace is gratuitous grace from God that helps us grow closer to Him, come back to Him, learn about him even in the state of mortal sin. But if we are in the state of mortal sin, we cannot have God’s own life, that is sanctifying grace, in our souls and are doomed to hell, to eternal death, eternal punishment, eternal torment without it. About the only way to get sanctifying grace is through, Christs own sacraments, through his church, the Catholic Church’s sacraments. I say about the only way to get it is through his church, there are only 2 people we know who had sanctifying grace without Jesus Christ’s church at the time of his birth (I say that because Adam and Eve had it before their fall) and that was the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ himself since He was God’s only begotten Son, He also had God’s own life.
Other’s may have received it because sanctifying grace is God’s gift to give but only if that person’s will is perfectly aligned with God’s own will. God’s will if we have knowledge of the Catholic Church, is to worship Him in it, because it was his Sons own will, having died on the cross for us, that we worship His Father, and by extension, Jesus Christ, in the church He started and not by the heresy’s and justifications of priests from his own church, like Martin Luther (originally a Catholic priest) started. It is my opinion, based on Romans 13:8-10 and Jesus Christs own words in John 15:13 that some one that chooses to die in Jesus Christ’s name, like, as I understand, a young lady at the Colombine High School shooting, has done what was needed to merit the judgement that she was willing to follow Christ in anyway He wanted, despite her possible ignorance of that path. God does not require of us more that we can possibly give, and if we do the very best we possibly can, according to His own yard stick, I think we can be saved!
Now, those under the Old Testament law, children of Isreal, whose lives were aligned with God’s received that sanctifying grace, in the time between when Christ died on the cross, personally given by Him, as the Messiah promised to save them, when He descended into hell to “rescue” them, and when He arose from the dead – on Easter morning.
We first received the sanctifying grace from baptism. Can only a Catholic priest or Catholic baptize someone else, including a baby? No, any human being with the intent of giving that gift to another person can. If that occurs then all of that person’s sins are forgiven and assuming he or she did not commit a mortal sin for the rest of their lives they would be destined for heaven, possibly with some time in purgatory. A child of less than 5 would likely be destined for heaven, If baptized prior to his or her death.
For more indepth information on the Sacraments and their relations with Sanctifying Grace I suggest reading “Of Sacraments and Sacrifice.” by Clifford Howell, S.J.
Traditional Thomistic Catholic 