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Saturday, July 14, 2018

Do what you can and ask for what you cannot



In #49 of Gaudete et Exsultatae, Pope Francis tells us: "Those who yield to this pelagian or semi-pelagian mindset...ultimately trust only in their own powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain intransigently faithful to a particular Catholic style....They fail to realize that not everyone can do everything, and that iin this life human weaknesses are not healed completely and once for all by grace....as St. Augustine taught, God commands you to do what you can and to ask for what you cannot, and indeed to pray to him humbly:'Grant what you command, and command what you will.'"

50. "Ultimately, the lack of a heartfelt and prayerful acknowledgment of our limitations prevents grace from working more effectively within us, for no room is left for bringing about the potential good that is part of a sincere and genuine journey of growth. Grace, precisely because it builds on nature, does not make us superhuman all at once. That kind of thinking would show too much confidence in our own abilities....Unless we can acknowledge our concrete and limited situation, we will not be able to see the real and possible steps that the Lord demands of us at every moment, once we are attracted and empowered by his gift. Grace acts in history; ordinarily it takes hold of us, and transforms us progressively...

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