Everything is undeserved grace, says Pope Francis

God's grace is not something we deserve, but he gives it to us nonetheless, Pope Francis said Sunday during his weekly Angelus address.

“God's action is more than just, in the sense that it goes beyond justice and manifests itself in grace,” the Pope said on September 20. “Everything is grace. Our salvation is grace. Our holiness is grace. By giving us grace, he gives us more than we deserve ”.

Speaking from a window of the apostolic palace, Pope Francis told those present in St. Peter's Square that "God always pays the maximum".

“It doesn't stay half-payment. Pay for everything, ”he said.

In his message, the Pope reflected on the reading of the Gospel of the day from St. Matthew, in which Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who hires workers to work in his vineyard.

The master hires workers at different hours, but at the end of the day he pays each the same wages, upsetting whoever started working first, Francis explained.

"And here", the pope said, "we understand that Jesus is not talking about work and only wages, which is another problem, but about the Kingdom of God and the goodness of the heavenly Father who continually comes out to invite and pay the maximum to all. "

In the parable, the landowner tells the unhappy laborers: “Didn't you agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what's yours and go. What if you want to give the latter the same as you? Or am I not free to do what I want with my money? Are you envious because I am generous? "

At the end of the parable, Jesus said to his disciples: "Thus, the last will be the first and the first will be the last".

Pope Francis explained that "those who think with human logic, that is, that of merits acquired with their own ability, are the first to find themselves last".

He pointed to the example of the good thief, one of the criminals crucified next to Jesus, who converted on the cross.

The good thief "stole" heaven at the last moment of his life: this is grace, this is how God acts. Even with all of us, "Francis said.

“On the other hand, those who try to think about their own merits fail; whoever humbly entrusts himself to the Father's mercy, in the end - like the good thief - finds himself first, ”he said.

“May Mary Most Holy help us to feel every day the joy and the amazement of being called by God to work for him, in his field which is the world, in his vineyard which is the Church. And to have his love, the friendship of Jesus, as the only reward ”, he prayed.

The pope said that another lesson the parable teaches is the attitude of the teacher towards the call.

The landowner goes out to the square five times to call people to work for him. This image of an owner looking for workers for his vineyard "is moving," he noted.

He explained that the “teacher represents God who calls everyone and always calls, at any moment. God acts like this today too: he continues to call anyone, at any moment, to invite him to work in his Kingdom “.

And Catholics are called to accept and imitate him, he stressed. God is constantly looking for us "because he does not want anyone excluded from his plan of love".

This is what the Church must do, he said, “always go out; and when the Church does not go out, she falls ill with so many evils we have in the Church “.

“And why these diseases in the Church? Because it's not coming out. It is true that when you leave there is the danger of an accident. But a damaged Church that goes out to proclaim the Gospel is better than a sick Church due to closure ”, he added.

“God always goes out, because he is Father, because he loves. The Church must do the same: always go out “.