The Bible contains a love story between God, who bestows boundless grace and love, and His people, who come to understand that love. Hearing the cries of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt, God delivered them from bondage through Moses. Through Moses, the Israelites entered into a covenant with God at Mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments. These commandments were not merely obligations to be followed, but a way of life to be lived as God's redeemed people.
The New Testament is no different. To save humanity groaning under the yoke of sin, evil, and death, God Himself sent His Son to liberate people from that bondage and set them on the path of salvation.
While preparing the commemorative collection for a monsignor's 60th anniversary of priestly ordination and pondering a title, I learned that the phrase the monsignor cherished most was the closing line from French writer Bernanos' Diary of a Country Priest: “Tout est grâce”. Everything is grace. This was also an expression I often heard from believers during my studies in France.
Indeed, everything is grace, and our lives are filled with grace. Grace is not something we deserve based on our abilities, rights, or merits; it is solely a gift bestowed by God out of His goodness and favor. We have received our very existence as a gift, and throughout our lives, we live receiving everything we need from God.
Is our life not a process of realizing that everything is grace? When young and foolish, we complain about what we lack or what is inconvenient, but as we grow, we come to understand how much God loves us and how much He has bestowed upon us. Those who know how to accept everything as a gift of grace seek God's will even in sickness or trials. Of course, this is not easy. We are fragile beings, easily swayed by the slightest breeze.
Yet God's grace does not cease even in times of trial. He supports us, encouraging us to find courage and move forward through our trials, waiting to welcome us ahead.
Our life is a school where we learn to recognize God's grace and cultivate a grateful heart. That grace is conveyed through all things in the world, especially the love of parents and family, and the love and concern of fellow believers. They are the angels, family, friends, and benefactors God has sent to us.
Perhaps someone might ask, “Why am I given only trials and suffering instead of grace?” For such a person, what is needed is a neighbor who stays by their side, offering encouragement, support, prayer, and unwavering cheers. If there is no one to approach those in trials, to pray with them, cheer them on, and encourage them—if there is no one to share God's love—then we cannot say everything is grace. As time passes and trials and hardships become things of the past, we will come to realize together that the Lord used even those trials and hardships as opportunities for grace to help us grow.
Even now, there are those around us who eagerly await the gift of grace. Approaching them, telling them that God is love and gives everything without reserve, praying for them and cheering them on so they can entrust themselves to Him and place their hope in Him—this is the calling entrusted to us.
