“There is a moment in every great story in which the presence of grace can be felt as it waits to be accepted or rejected » (“Mystery and Manners”). This is a truly intense quote from Flannery O'Connor; it essentially states that whatever the circumstances, grace can always be found; but it is a matter of finding it and, even more, of accepting it as a grace or rejecting it. Dictionary.com defines the term “grace” as “mercy; clemency; sorry." I think this can be applied to O'Connor's stories, because whether it's Asbury, Mrs. Turpin, or each of the three main characters in "The Lame Shall Enter First" (Sheppard , Rufus and Norton), the characters have a certain kind of internal debate about grace, its existence and its presence in everything that may be happening in their lives, she says. the following: "In my own experience trying to make stories 'work', I have found that what is needed is a totally unexpected, but totally believable action...and often it is a action in which the devil was the unwitting instrument of grace O'Connor wants to represent the action of God's grace in the world, a world which is "enemy territory" and with characters who reject His grace, but ultimately surrender to it; this is precisely what Asbury does in "Enduring Chill" (O'Reilly). Overall, I believe God can bring us to Himself, even using our "faulty will." . I advocate that Dr. Block and Fr. Finn does not know the partners in the "divine plan" for Asbury. Father Finn tells Asbury exactly what he needs to hear: “The Holy Spirit will only come when you see yourself for what you are: a lazy, ignorant, vain youth. » The interaction between Father Finn and Asbury are in the middle of paper......22/the-lame-will-go-in-first/>.O'Connor, Flannery. Everything that goes up must converge. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1965. Print. O'Connor, Flannery and Sally Fitzgerald. Mystery and manners. New York: Farrar:, 1969. Print.O'Reilly, Paul J.. "Flannery O'Connor and 'The Enduring Chill'." Thomas Aquinas College. Np, October 15, 2011. Web. April 4, 2014. Pearson, Cliff. "The Theme of Grace in Flannery O'Connor's Revelation." Yahoo Contributor Network. Np, August 21, 2008. Web. April 13, 2014. .Shannon, Lisa. "Religion and Irony in the Writing of Flannery O'Connor." Yahoo Contributor Network. Np, July 13, 2006. Web. April 3. 2014. .