Fr Ben Garren

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Do you know whether you are in God’s grace? This question is not a riddle but, at least in the Middle Ages, it was a trick question. To answer in the affirmative, to be certain one was in God’s Grace, was to engage in heresy. Which might seem odd to us today when so much of Christian Evangelism hinges on getting people to state with all certainty that they are saved and on their way to heaven. Medieval Christians desired a more inquisitive faith than we generally experience today, a humbler faith, where one did not go about life with such certainty in being amidst God’s favor.

To answer in the negative, however, was equally problematic. It is a direct confession of guilt, of purposely going about life so that one is not in God’s favor. For someone to clearly state that they were not in God’s favor was to claim that they had set their goal to be out of such. It was expected for people to be unsure about being amidst God’s grace, to be humble about the reality of their salvation, to be open to a deeper relationship with God than what they had at the moment.

While many famous answers to this question exist the one we should ponder today is that of Joan of Arc, whose martyrdom we remember today. When asked if she knew she was in God’s Grace, if she knew she was saved, she answered “If I am not, may God put me there; and if I am, may God so keep me.” I think this day, and any time this type of question confronts us internally or from some inquisitive Christian, Joan’s answer is one to fully meditate upon in prayer.

Pax,

—Ben