Theological Foundations new file

99 The Role of the Holy Spirit grace, we can truly do nothing in matters of our salvation, sometimes in spite of the many great talents which we may possess. Therefore, St. Paul admonishes us: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trem- bling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2, 12-13). And so, we cannot even want anything, we cannot even think pious thoughts without the help of God’s grace. “Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God” (2 Cor 3, 5). We are not even able to ask for anything good without the help of grace. “For we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Rom 8, 26). Everything depends on God and not on our will: “So [being chosen] depends not upon man’s will or exertion, but upon God’s mercy” (Rom 9, 16). God precedes our will, our every thought, request and sigh with His grace. Since we alone are not capa- ble of anything, the Church prays and encourages us to pray to the Holy Spirit for various graces. “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev 3, 17). 7 Father Matulaitis-Matulewicz remarks that even if man had remained in the state of the original innocence, he, too, would have needed grace. He needs it all the more now that he has fallen. Without keeping God in mind, we cannot make progress on the path to Christian perfection or live according to its requirements. We are dispersed like children, the earth attracts us, the passions and the world make us stray from the correct path. Even if we remember about God at such moments, we are not at all inclined to act according to His will. Human nature and God’s grace are often at odds and it is only grace through Christ Jesus that can save us. Just as Christ had once been the longing of nations, so today, His grace and the Holy Spirit are our longing. St. Thomas reminds us that the thing on which our entire Christian life depends is the grace of the Holy Spirit given by Christ’s faith and it is first and foremost this grace that is the new light. 8