At the end of A Brief Catechesis on Nature and Grace, Henri de Lubac quotes Ratzinger, “a Christianity which offers man something less than making him God is too modest” (172). This bold and continuous refrain connects Christian thought and hope, from Ratzinger, through de Lubac, to early Church Fathers like Saint Athanasius, who wrote, “God became man that man might become God.” These statements reveal several points that de Lubac expands upon in his Catechesis. First, human nature is distinct from divine nature. Second, God infuses human nature with divine grace, transfiguring human nature to “supernatural.” Third, the Divine Nature, revealed in the Incarnation, offers salvation to humanity, and with grace, humanity may freely turn from sin toward the teleological end of unity with God in eternity.
