'Hail Mary, full of
grace', goes the prayer. Grace, gracious, graceful – like a polite
swan gliding along a river – the associations with the word are
positive, but not numinous. Amazing Grace – maybe a little
more so.
So what in the world is
grace? A state of mind (or indeed soul?) Fr. Tischner compares it
trust, trust between two people; he compares it to participation, a
ball, dance music is playing, a man looking at a woman, we are
talking, jesting, and yet we move in time with the music... Well –
sort of. More significantly, he puts the concept of grace in
opposition to the ancient Greek concept of deterministic fate, fatum.
I've read this section and I'm none the wiser. [A little look at this article on Wikipedia is helpful.]
Jacek Żakowski asks
whether, bearing in mind the idea of human life being the Great Trial
We All Face, is it fair that we must all merit salvation, but that
only some people – those gifted with God's grace – have a chance
of salvation?
Fr. Tischner explains
that the concept of Grace was devised by the Church in the second or
third Century, which may explain its absence from the Gospels. He
describes the theological arguments concerning grace between St Augustine – who deemed that only those basking in God's grace would
be redeemed (the rest being massa damnata), and Pelagius
– who was more open-minded when it came to dividing mankind into
sheep and goats. [I think to this day, there's a biological mindset
differentiating conservatives and liberals – the former being more
pessimistic about mankind's capacity for good.]
The question of who is
deemed to be blessed with grace and who isn't is crucial. It harks
back to earlier chapters in which Fr. Tischner says that the new
catechism looks more favourably on those souls seeking faith through
understanding, rather than unthinkingly following dogma.
Żakowski asks:
“Where's the border in our lives between blind chance, merit and
God's will?”
Fr. Tischner replies: “This is a great mystery, the zone of human lack of knowledge, that even the catechism cannot solve. In it, it says that those, 'who through no fault of their own, not knowing the Gospel of Christ nor the Church of Christ, yet sincerely seek God and His will by following their conscience, are striving under the influence of grace, can attain eternal salvation.' So there can be goodness and salvation outside of the Church.”
Fr. Tischner replies: “This is a great mystery, the zone of human lack of knowledge, that even the catechism cannot solve. In it, it says that those, 'who through no fault of their own, not knowing the Gospel of Christ nor the Church of Christ, yet sincerely seek God and His will by following their conscience, are striving under the influence of grace, can attain eternal salvation.' So there can be goodness and salvation outside of the Church.”
Well, that's good to
know.
This time last year:
This time two years ago:
Cycling and recycling
This time three years ago:
Winter clings on to the forest
This time four years ago:
Toyota launches the iQ
[Can't say I've seen many on Poland's roads since!]
This time five years ago:
Old school Łódź
Cycling and recycling
This time three years ago:
Winter clings on to the forest
This time four years ago:
Toyota launches the iQ
[Can't say I've seen many on Poland's roads since!]
This time five years ago:
Old school Łódź
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