God´s Grace is God´s Help (I)
In one of the meditation books I found in the library, I came across a book called The Son Cannot Do Anything on His Own. I was first attracted to the cover of the book which depicts the great Trinity in one frame.
In addition, I was also very interested in the title of the book, The Son Cannot Do Anything on His Own. I found this title interesting because it features a crucified and humbled Christ. At the beginning of his opening, Don Giacomo explained the fundamental idea of this meditation book which is about the grace and simplicity of Christianity.
According to him, Christianity is a story of grace.
The history of salvation is also the history of grace descended and bestowed by God. It is grace that gives life and gives us the strength to continue living. Everything comes from the grace of God. Therefore, Don Giacomo said that Christianity is simple because everything comes from grace, from God. In fact, we don’t take much initiative from ourselves.
At the beginning, the book also bases the core idea of meditation on the famous words of one of the Church Fathers, St. Augustine.
“Omnia fiunt facilia caritati”(1) which means that everything becomes much easier and more ‘practical’ with love and with God’s gift of grace.
Love itself is the grace of God that has been engraved in our hearts. Love is grace. And that is why we are called to answer that love with prayer.
I. God’s initiative and the invitation to look to Him
To begin this meditation, this book invites readers to turn to the Gospel of John 4:6–7. In this Gospel passage, Christ is described as asking a woman for water. In fact, the woman was not even a descendant of Israel.
Starting from this Gospel, the book asserts that the woman knew of Jesus’ existence because she was called. She understood that someone was asking for water because Jesus first asked her.
If Jesus had not called her, she would not have understood who Jesus was. So, from here God shows His initiative to save, to call, and to seek His lost sheep (cf. John 10:11–15).
The author of the book also still departs from St. Augustine’s understanding that Christ was tired from His journey.
“Tibi fatigatus est Iesus, Fortitudo Chisti te creavit, Infirmitas Christi te recreavit” — Tiring up in search of you, the true God created you, but it was His weakness that recreated you. (2)
It was Christ who asked for water. It is Christ who is playing the role of a beggar. The Creator is begging to His creation. From this, we can understand that Christ wanted to be loved by man. As a God and Lord, He wants to keep looking for His lost sheep to love Him back.
God had to take the initiative.
God understood that He was the one who had to ‘move fast’ first. This is because man cannot do this. “Fugitivus Cordis Sui” — after original sin, the heart is far away, mankind is fugitive from its own heart.(3)
The first breakthrough to love always starts from God and because of God. Man cannot and does not understand how. It is Christ who pleads so He can touch another heart. It is because of the touch of God’s grace, because of God’s initiative, that our hearts can finally look to Him.
And once again our first response to God’s grace is prayer. In this first chapter, the book explains how God seeks, calls, seeks to be loved by man and to save man.
This seeking initiative of God is called grace. God’s first and foremost gift. And when Jesus has captured our hearts, we ourselves will feel happy and eager to reach out to Him.
“Parum est voluntate, etiam voluntate traheris” — God draws you not only in a way that you yourself want, but also in such a way that you enjoy being drawn.(4)
[1] St. Augustine, De Natura et Gratia, 69,83.
[2] St. Augustine, In Evangelium Ioannis XV, 6.
[3] St. Augustine, Ennarationes in Psalmos 57,1.
[4] St. Augustine, In Evangelium Ioannis XXVV, 4.
