A couple of years ago, I compared the reactions to Jesus' crucifixion of some of the witnesses. I ended by saying, "It can also be assumed that Mary, the perfect disciple, never lost hope. She may have not fully understood what was going on around her, but she would have remain full of hope because she was full of grace (cf. Luke 1:28)." I received a comment regarding this statement from a non-Christian asking how "full of grace" could imply "full of hope." In my haste, and possibly even in arrogance, I simply said that she was so full of grace that there was no room for doubt. This answer is correct, but only if one has the correct definition of the word grace, which, as a non-Christian, the person I was corresponding with may not have had.
In the secular realm, the word grace has a few definitions: elegance, clemency, indulgence (in the non-theological sense), and exemption. It also has a couple of other definitions, such as an address for a duke or duchess, and a musical trill, but we will not concern ourselves with these.
In a Christian context, the word grace is defined as a prayer before or after a meal, and is also uses as an address for an archbishop, but we will not concern ourselves with these definitions either. The definition we will concern ourselves with is this: "Grace (gratia, Charis), in general, is a supernatural gift of God to intellectual creatures (men, angels) for their eternal salvation, whether the latter be furthered and attained through salutary acts or a state of holiness." (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Without a Christian background, one my equate "full of grace" with "full of elegance," which is nice, but incorrect. When talking of Mary, "full of grace" is defined as "full of a supernatural gift of God to her for her eternal salvation attained through a state of holiness."
It is not uncommon for a devout Christian to be in a state of grace, at least for a time. Attaining an indulgence, after all, actually requires one to be in a state of grace, which happens after making a good confession. The difference with Mary is that she was not in a state of grace for a time, but full of grace from the time of her conception.
I'm sure Mary was very elegant; however, being full of grace has nothing to do with mere elegance, but with being without sin.
