When a dancer was arrested for performing in a gold coat Emperor Constantius donated to the Jerusalem church, the dutiful Saint Cyril was accused of selling it and was put on trial. Cyril was a rebel determined to do what was right for his people. Previously he had already sold the sacristy’s treasures to alleviate hunger – an act manipulated by his enemies to depose him. He was inspired to write: “I gave my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to their blows and my face I did not shield from the shame of spitting … Before God's Grace was conferred on us, we weren’t sufficiently worthy of his name and were only on our way to becoming true Christians." Grace impelled Cyril into his spiritual vocation by directing him towards a conscientious Christian life. Grace empowered him to act by his beliefs, no matter the consequence and it became a shield for him, through the dangers and snares of his life.
Glossaries define Grace as ... a free and undeserved gift that God give us to become his adopted children ... a sanctifying grace that shares with us divine life and friendship ... a stable and supernatural disposition enabling the soul to live with God. Grace is the divine power to conform our lives to His will, living our Christian vocation no longer as servants, but as friends. When the mortal Jesus ascended to heaven as the immortal Christ, he completed the adoption of the human race into the divine family. As his brothers and sisters we enter into friendship with God by acting in his love, following his will, sharing his word and loving one another. Grace enables us to participate in the divine life through fellowship with the living God – an intimate friendship the Greeks called “koinonia” that is at the root of justice, mercy and faith. Furthermore, Grace is the love that binds us to Christ and through him, to God the Father.
Allow me to redefine Grace by calling it a FORCE, a term that captures the dynamic essence of a power that is vibrant, transformative, unifying and life-giving. Once accepted, it shouldn’t be shelved like a trophy or worn like a medal, but should be activated as a force multiplier: as Courage in moments of fear, Determination in times of doubt, Strength in affliction and Faith in the midst of uncertainty. This Force is a gift that demands to be first acknowledged, then trusted and deployed. It is the key to our union with God that on earth is expressed through our brothers – by assisting one another. It works persuasively inside us and brings God’s love to marvelous perfection in our heart. The Force’s mission is simple and enduring, yet it requires the change that the monk Thomas Kempis urged in his followers: “My sons and daughters, to the degree that you can leave yourself behind, to that degree will you be able to enter into God."
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem was bishop in the fourth century. He wrote about a God who was caring, compassionate and full of counsel. Cyril explained: "The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as the Spirit approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen and to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well (…) As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things until then undreamed of.”
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem was bishop in the fourth century. He wrote about a God who was caring, compassionate and full of counsel. Cyril explained: "The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for God is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as the Spirit approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen and to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well (…) As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things until then undreamed of.”
