Year II. From this week until Thursday next week, we read from Ephesians, which is perhaps not written directly by Paul. Today’s reading is a long “blessing’ in the Jewish style, a thanksgiving for our salvation in Christ. God has chosen us and destined us to be adopted through Jesus Christ, who is to become […]
Year II. Christ has liberated those who believe in him from the Jewish law, but that does not mean that they can do just anything. Freedom is not licentiousness, for that would make them slaves again, of what Paul calls “the works of the flesh.” They are now free and urged to do the good
Year II. Paul insists that our freedom comes from our faith in Christ and we should never again give away that freedom. The only thing that matters is faith working through love. Gospel. In today’s gospel, Jesus reacts against pious Jews who stress the observance of the externals – laws, rules, customs – without inspiration
Year II. In a rather difficult passage, Paul speaks to us today of freedom: We are born free as Christians, as people of the New Testament. Now that Christ has set us free, we should see to it that we are never enslaved again. Paul himself is a striking example of this “liberating freedom”: he
Greeting (See First Reading) The Lord has prepared for all people a feast of rich food, a banquet of fine wines. He will wipe away the tears from every cheek. May the Lord of our joy be always with you. R/ And also with you. Introduction by the Celebrant 1. Feasting With The Lord Happy
Year II. The disciplinarian of whom Paul speaks was the slave in charge of the education of the young. That was the role of the Jewish law. But now that Christ has come, that educator is no longer needed. Faith has come and has made us children of God, whether we are Jews or pagans,
Year II. Abraham, our Father in the faith, was a man who lived according to the gospel before Jesus proclaimed his Good News. He trusted God; he followed God’s call without questioning God and demanding proofs. All he got was a promise to believe in, and of that promise he himself – as God told him – would never
Year II. Like the Galatians, we fall easily prey to the perpetual temptation to create our own righteousness, to try to save ourselves by rites and practices. These give us a feeling of security. And then comes the thought, usually disguised: If I am above reproach, if I have done my duty, I am safe.
Year II. Though he had received his mission from Jesus and worked mainly among pagans, Paul was in union with those who worked among the Jews; they approved of his work, but asked him to help the poor Christians of Jewish origin. Paul tells the Galatians also how he stood up to Peter the time
Year II. Paul asserts that he has the right to speak in the name of Christ because Jesus Christ himself has given him the good news to speak it. Gospel. A hospitable family or person makes guests feel at home and gives them the best available. But if we are truly hospitable, we are also
