‘Attain’ ... the critical CLUE that the mind is stuck on earning what God gives only by Grace. You don’t earn grace, but the Catholic religion mind is blind to that simplest of truths. The Catholic Org would lose its power if the adherents awoke to realize they cannot earn or ‘attain’ grace by their striving, for that ‘striving’ only empowers the ORG, not the striver.
Grace is not earned. It is strictly unearned.
What is earned (or *merited* as some prefer to say) is wages due.
If it’s in any way earned or merited, then it ceases to be grace.