God Ahead of Us: The Story of Divine Grace

by Paul O'Callaghan (Editor)

Overview

Pope Francis has stated that his own vocation as a Christian came to him as an awareness that God is ahead of us, that God thinks about us and looks after us before we even realize it. This is the essence of grace, a love story that begins with God. The present book is an introduction and exploration of that storyof the Christian life as not about humans looking for God but God seeking us out.

The story that unfolds demonstrates that grace is not something secondary or superficial but primary and constitutive, from crucial beginnings in election and creation to the divine actions of justification and renewal, fostering a life of virtue and obedience. Within this context, the book explores the issues of the relationship of grace and freedom, the dynamics of justification, the true meaning of merit, life as a son or daughter of God, the action of the Holy Spirit, the sacraments and the Church, the role of the ascetical life, and the eschatological horizon of the life of grace. In an accessible account, the author narrates the doctrine of grace as directed toward and explained by the fact that God has destined humans to spend eternity in communion with the Triune creator.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781451483147
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	11/07/2014
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Paul O'Callaghan is professor of Christian anthropology and director of the Department of Dogmatic Theology and of the Center for Priestly Training at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, as well as a member of the Governing Board of the Pontifical Academy of Theology. He is the author of Children of God in the World (2016), God Ahead of Us (Fortress Press, 2014), Christ Our Hope (2011), The Christological Assimilation of the Apocalypse (2004), and Fides Christi: The Justification Debate (1997), as well as other books and numerous articles. He has also been a participant in the Lutheran-Catholic dialogue on justification and was involved in the preperation of the 1999 doctrine on justification.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii

Abbreviations xi

Introduction 1

1 God's Plan of Grace and the Predestination of Humanity in Christ 15

2 Christian Vocation and the Universal Call to Holiness 25

3 The Justification of the Sinner and the Need for Grace 35

4 The Christian, Child of God in the Spirit 45

5 The Transformation of the Human Creature by Grace 65

6 The Theological Virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity 77

7 Divine Grace and Free Human Response 103

8 The Fullness and Ultimate Meaning of Divine 129

Grace

Glory and the Blessed Virgin

Suggested Further Reading 139

Bibliography 143

Index of Names 147