G is for Graceful

One of my favorite feminine adjectives has to be the word graceful.  We use it all the time in dance to describe fluid, light-footed, elegant movement.  Similarly, we use it to illustrate a quality or style about some persons we know-- usually women.  In a quick Google-search of the term, I discovered the definition of graceful to be "characterized by beauty of movement, form, style or execution".

 Of course, grace is also a common word in our faith.  Mary was described as "full of grace" during the angelic salutation.  We are told that we should be in a state of grace to receive Holy Communion.  We receive Jesus's graces through all of the sacraments.  I could go on, but instead I decided to do a quick refresher study on what grace is exactly in Christianity.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that "Grace is favor, the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life" CCC 1996.  Grace is a "gift from the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us" CCC 2003.  There is sanctifying grace, which we receive at baptism and stays with us in our soul, enabling us to receive God and live with Him.  There are also actual grace, or favors, given to us by God to help us live our lives and attain sanctification.  Sacramental graces and special graces can be examples of ways that God enables us to collaborate in our salvation and that of those around us. 

I cannot help but wonder where the historic connection developed between these two similar words.  And why is it, that although grace is equivalently relevant to both men and women in a religious sense, graceful almost is exclusively used to positively describe women.  Could it be that in being feminine, or graceful, we most closely resemble she who was "full of grace"? 

Perhaps I need to spend some time in prayer over this matter, but I would also love to hear if any of you have any thoughts about this.  Why is a woman's feminine quality described as graceful? Does it have any relationship to being grace-filled?