“He gave his life as a ransom.” But to whom was the ransom paid? (…)
This question was illuminated for me by considering what people addicted to drugs experience. A person using drugs is simultaneously their own executioner and prisoner. Likewise, a person is also the first victim of their sin, which is fundamentally the desire to be (isn't it ridiculous?) the owner of oneself. A sinner, like a person addicted to drugs, is the first victim of their mistakes. I understand redemption like this: we have estranged ourselves from God, we have fled from Him, after which the one who lost His property – God – goes after the thief (after us) and says: “I will pay you to return. I will give you myself as a ransom so that you will leave that black market and no longer sell the supreme work of art, which is humanity, below value; instead, return to where you belong.” Love itself made itself a servant and offered itself to the thief.
(Abbé Pierre /Henri Grouès, 1912–2007/, Testament)
