A spurious conceit informs the mantra of our age, drilled into our children at every turn, that you can do anything if you just try hard enough. The knowledge that I, from time to time, find myself teaching this foolish notion or some form of it to my own children leaves me abashed. My years of life cause me to hold few dogmas but I hold fast to this one, that this particular hubris commonly precedes sin.

Early youth and old age sustain a wisdom that the intervening years regretfully diminish, that to reach a goal one must often ask for help.

The saying goes that the hypocrite looks upon the sinner and thanks God that he is not like them. The saint looks upon the sinner and thanks God because he is like them. The saint knows that without grace, sin would be his lot. No amount of effort, no amount of hard work can keep us from sin. Try as we may, without grace, sin and its consequences would be all we know.
An unearned gift, grace is that help for which, too often in our pride, we do not ask. No amount of effort, no matter how well intentioned, can restore that which is lost through sin. Only God can do that. And here is the crazy thing, He has.

This is why the notion that some people have that Catholics believe …

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