Explains What Makes Grace Hard to Accept
He illustrated today what sets Christianity apart from other religions.
"Christianity does not begin by telling man what he must do, but what God has done for him," he said. "Jesus did not begin to preach saying: 'Repent and believe in the Gospel so that the Kingdom will come to you'; he began by saying: 'The Kingdom of God is among you: repent and believe in the Gospel.' Not conversion first and then salvation, but salvation first and then conversion."
This seems ok, in so far as God tells us what He has done for us, and prompts us to respond. He does so not because He is needy, but because of the weakness of our intellect. Salvation is not effected completely for the individual until he converts.
And it is not hard to understand why grace is a difficult concept for modern man, Father Cantalamessa contended.
He explained: "To be saved 'by grace' means to recognize someone's dependence and this is the most difficult thing. Noteworthy is Marx's affirmation: 'A being does not appear independent unless and only in so far as he is lord of himself, and he is not lord of himself unless and only in so far as he owes his existence to himself. A man who lives by the "grace" of another is considered a dependent being [...]. But I would live completely by the grace of another, if he had created my life, if he was the source of my life and the latter was not my own creation.'
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