Jesus is present in non-Catholics and non-Christians. Many people think that Jesus is among us, but all these other people are outside. But Jesus is present in every human being who is open to Grace, open to Love. Many Catholics and many Protestants today say that you cannot be saved unless you believe in Jesus Christ. Obviously, it doesn't make sense because the vast majority of humanity has always been completely outside of the Church, they've never heard of Jesus Christ. Australian Aboriginals have been in Australia for 40,000 years and what was God doing with them all this time? They never heard of Jesus Christ until about 100 years ago. Jesus died for all humanity and the Grace of Christ and the Holy Spirit is offered to every human being from the beginning to the end of the world. Even if you have no religion, wherever there is love, kindness, altruism, friendship, these things are the effects of divine grace on you. And whether you have a religion, Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim or whatever, the grace of God in Christ is coming to you in the Holy Spirit in that religion. We all share this grace of God, and a Christian would say that it is precisely Christ's death and resurrection, his sacrifice of total love for the world, that allows this grace to be present to all humanity. But that grace can be totally invisible.
~Bede Griffiths
(part of the text on the Eucharist published in Shantivanam)
via Marcos Monteiro
