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When I first knew about this assignment, I must admit I was intimidated by the book, Transformation in Christ. I do not follow my Roman Catholic faith as much as I should so I feared that I would not understand what Dietrich von Hildebrand was talking about. But, as I began reading, I found the book easy to interpret.
In chapter 1, I found myself disagreeing with von Hildebrand when he said, “He knows that no human force can heal that wound; that he is in need of redemption. He grasps the truth that repentance is powerless to remove the guilt of sin which separates him from God, that good will and natural moral endeavor will fail to restore him to the beauty of the paradisiac state (p. 4).” If repentance is powerless, then why do we do it? Repentance should be our way of letting God know that we are aware that we have done something wrong and we want to be forgiven. I think asking for forgiveness is an important part of transforming ourselves. The first step to changing is always admitting you have done something wrong.
Von Hildrebrand discusses transformation in men as they get older and states that, “We can no longer expect them to revise their mentality and to re-educate themselves, for they are already cast in a rigid mold (p. 14).” As people

age more, most become more comfortable with who they are and have learned to accept themselves for who they are. Maybe they are happy with the way they have lived their lives thus far and realize that everyday is one day closer to death so they do not want to change anything about themselves. A few paragraphs later in chapter one, I feel that von Hildebrand contradicts himself when he states, “The readiness to change, the waxlike perceptiveness towards Christ will tend not to vanish but to increase as man grows into a state of maturity
(p.15).” Depending on how you interpret that statement, it can mean either a young boy growing into a young man or a grown man just growing older....