There but for the Grace of God

“O wonder of your humble care for us! O love, O charity beyond all telling.” Exultet

One of the four Americans mentioned by Pope Francis in his address to the joint session of Congress on September 15, 2015 was Thomas Merton. Thomas Merton arrived at the Abbey of Our Lady of the Gethsemani in Kentucky in 1941 when he was accepted as a postulant. A Czech priest-psychotherapist reports that the last words which Thomas Merton spoke before his death in 1968 in Thailand were: “What we are asked to do today is not so much to speak about Christ as to let him live in us so that people may find him by feeling how he lives in us.”¹

Merton’s words recall the passage in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. After encouraging the early Christians to remain steadfast in their faith, he reminds them of “that for which Christ took hold of me” (Phil 3:12). The translation of this passage in Italian in the Jerusalem Bible seems even stronger where it says in Paul’s voice, “sono stato conquistato da Gesu Cristo.” These thoughts of Paul, of course, reach a crescendo in his words to the Galatians when he writes, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)

The spiritual journey of every Christian is a story of the life of Christ growing within us. The advice of one priest in addressing the concern of another cleric rings true here: “You have to leave room for the grace of God.” The esteemed Spanish mystic of the 1500s, Ignatius of Loyola, seems a good example of one who recognized how in his life he was “drawn by God” (John 6:44) and “taught by God” (John 6:46) through all his years. His classic “The Spiritual Exercises” remains a record of the working of grace through the consolations and desolations in one’s journey of faith.

In our own ministry as priests, I think of the importance of these truths as we prepare homilies, counsel seekers, and interact in multiple ways with the people whom God puts in our path. If, like Paul, we accept that we are vessel(s) of election, “chosen instrument(s) of [the Lord]” (Acts 9:15), then surely it behooves us to draw strength from the fountain of grace in Christ.²

Pope Francis’ exhortation to live as “a courageous and steadfast example” in a Church that is “bruised, hurting and soiled” from being on the streets raises the bar for us. Pope Francis’ challenge goes further when he quotes the words of Jesus addressing His disciples in front of the multitude where Jesus says: “Give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37).³

No one gives what he does not have. There are two passages that spur us on here. The first, again from Paul, reminds us that “God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The second is taken from a parable found in one of the earliest documents of Christian history, the Shepherd of Hermas. The parable recounts the building of a tower which is identified as the Church. The tower is left incomplete by the workers. “Hermas asks, ‘Why have the workmen left the tower incomplete? The answer: ‘It cannot be brought to completion until the Lord comes . . .’”⁴