Grace is the gratuitous benevolence shown by God toward the human race, and it is an absolutely unmerited, free gift of God, made possible through the Jesus Christ our Redeemer and His atoning death on the cross. CCC 1996, 1998-1999, 2001

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.