“The teaching of the Church has always been that the Grace of Christ is the only path to salvation. Please see... Luke 23:32-43”
That’s what the RCC claims, but they speak out of both sides of their mouth:
From the Catechism:
2010 Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God’s wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.
Either salvation is all of grace, or it is by merit. It cannot be both, nor can you receive grace as a reward for merit, as Augustine notes:
“For who makes thee to differ, and what has thou that thou hast not received?” (1 Cor. iv. 7). Our merits therefore do not cause us to differ, but grace. For if it be merit, it is a debt; and if it be a debt, it is not gratuitous; and if it be not gratuitous, it is not grace. (Augustine, Sermon 293)
And from the scripture:
Rom_4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Rom_11:6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
Would Augusting made the argument that he could have continued to sin and carry on with the mantra of ‘give me chastity, but not yet’ and been OK?
The same Augustine you quote also said, "When God crowns our merits, he crowns nothing but his own gifts."