Cooperating with the Divine: An Analysis of Grace

One of the most significant and controversial teachings of Catholic theology involves the relationship between grace and salvation.

For too long, the Catholic Church has been accused of promoting a “work-based” doctrine of soteriology. Part of the reason for this charge is the unique stress Catholic theology places on human cooperation with divine grace. In this paper, I will elucidate the Church’s actual teaching on salvation by placing it in dialogue with the parable of talents.  

Catholic Soteriology

Catholic soteriology refers to the Catholic Church’s doctrine on salvation. Owing to the effects of original sin, all of humanity lives in a fallen state. This fallen state means that human beings are not in communion with God and are in danger of being eternally separated from God by whom and for whom we have been made.

One can say that the biblical narrative tells the story of man’s fall from grace and of God’s efforts to reconcile Himself with man. Catholic soteriology identifies four fundamental acts by which human salvation is accomplished.

First, God accomplishes our redemption through Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. By this act, God reconciles Himself with mankind and makes our salvation possible (but not certain or guaranteed).

The second act entails justification. Catholicism asserts that while justification is a lifelong process, it begins in baptism.

The third act is sanctification. To be sanctified is to be made holy. Like justification, it is an ongoing process. During sanctification, the Holy Spirit works in and through the individual. Fueled by the Eucharist and good works, the person grows in holiness.

Because human beings are prone to sin, the fourth act is the forgiveness of sins. This is initially obtained at baptism and maintained through the sacrament of reconciliation and penance.

One of the main themes of Catholic soteriology is that our salvation is a process, not a one-time event. It is important to recognize that the four actions mentioned are not necessarily chronological or linear. An example of this is to see justification as the beginning of sanctification.

With the exception of baptism, which occurs only once, justification, sanctification, and the forgiveness of sins are events that take place progressively over one’s lifetime.

In articulating the relationship between grace and works, it can be said that works serve as the external evidence and organic fruit of the internal increase of grace. As was His custom, Christ taught this point in parables.

Parable Of The Talents

I want to suggest that one such parable – the parable of the talents – can be understood as an exposition of the nature of grace and the need for humans to cooperate with it. In Matthew’s Gospel (25:13-30), we see the use of parables as a form of divine pedagogy.

The parable tells of a man of great wealth and power who goes on a long journey. Before departing, he entrusts three of his servants with differing amounts of money according to the perceived abilities of each person.

The first two servants invest the money and make a profit. The third servant, however, hides the money given to him. We read that “After a long time, the Master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward, bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’

His Master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your Master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His Master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your Master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His Master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvested where I had not planted and gathered where I had not scattered? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.”

In the story, God is depicted as the Master, and human beings as the servants. In the ancient world, a “talent” was a rather large sum of money, roughly equivalent to six thousand days’ wages for a worker. As we will see, the term ‘talent’ is used metaphorically to mean ‘grace’.

How can the Parable of Talents be understood in light of the Catholic teaching on salvation?

Cooperating With Grace

The Parable of Talents can be seen as vindicating the Catholic position that salvation is a process. A careful analysis of the parable should make this clear.

The Master (God) imparts talents to his servants (human beings). The talents represent divine grace, given to everyone in varying degrees. The servants who invest their talents (make use of the grace imparted to them) are commended for their active cooperation, which allows grace to grow. The nature of divine grace is that the more we expend it in accordance with God’s will, the more the grace multiplies. Divine grace increases through works of love and service.

The fact that the Master demands an accounting suggests that humans are answerable for how they live out their faith.

We also see the result of failing to use the gifts given to us. The third servant, who buries his talent, represents those who fail to cooperate with grace. This failure demonstrates that saving faith is active, and neglect can result in the loss of that grace.

Nevertheless, the parable should not be interpreted as suggesting a salvation by works theology. Catholic teaching interprets this not as earning heaven through human effort alone, but as the consequence of cooperating with the grace that God himself provides.

The multiplying of talents is not one of a change in the relational status between the Master and the servants. Instead, it should be understood as ontological. It is a transformative change in the nature of the servants vie-a-vie the Master.

Catholics should view the parable as serving as a warning that receiving grace is only the beginning of a process. The final judgment centers on whether one has used the gifts of God’s love and mercy to serve others, thereby increasing the grace given to them. As Christ states, “To anyone who has [grace], more will be given; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 13:12).

Understanding the parable this way makes clear the Catholic Church’s teaching that sanctification is a progressive, lifelong journey.

Conclusion

Understanding is often evident in great relief when two things are compared. Salvation in the Catholic tradition is ontological; in the Protestant tradition, it is relational. That is, Catholic soteriology holds that salvation entails a change of being and that this change is a process undertaken over the course of one’s life.

This ontological process of salvation is, of course, predicated on the gift of God’s grace. However, as evidenced by the Parable of Talents, we are intended to use that grace to bring about the Kingdom of God.