Romans is the longest and most systematic unfolding of the apostle’s thought, expounding the gospel of God’s righteousness that saves all who believe; it reflects a universal outlook, with special implications for Israel’s relation to the church. Yet, like all Paul’s letters, Romans too arose out of a specific situation, when the apostle wrote from Greece, likely Corinth, between A.D. 56 and 58. Paul at that time was about to leave for Jerusalem with a collection of funds for the impoverished Jewish Christian believers there, taken up from his predominantly Gentile congregations. He planned then to travel on to Rome and to enlist support there for a mission to Spain. Such a journey had long been on his mind. Now, with much missionary preaching successfully accomplished in the East, he sought new opportunities in the West, in order to complete the divine plan of evangelization in the Roman world. Yet he recognized that the visit to Jerusalem would be hazardous, and we know from Acts that Paul was arrested there and came to Rome only in chains, as a prisoner. The existence of a Christian community in Rome antedates Paul’s letter there. When it arose, likely within the sizable Jewish population at Rome. The Roman historian Suetonius mentions an edict of the Emperor Claudius about A.D. 49 ordering the expulsion of Jews from Rome in connection with a certain “Chrestus,” probably involving a dispute in the Jewish community over Jesus as the Messiah (“Christus”). Aquila and Priscilla (or Prisca, as in Rom 16:3) were among those driven out; from them, in Corinth, Paul may have learned about conditions in the church at Rome. Opinions vary as to whether Jewish or Gentile Christians predominated in the house churches in the capital city of the empire at the time Paul wrote. Perhaps already by then Gentile Christians were in the majority. Paul speaks in Romans of both Jews and Gentiles. The letter also refers to those “weak in faith” and those “who are strong”; this terminology may reflect not so much differences between believers of Jewish and of Gentile background, respectively, as an ascetic tendency in some converts combined with Jewish laws about clean and unclean foods. The issues were similar to problems that Paul had faced in Corinth. In any case, Paul writes to introduce himself and his message to the Christians at Rome, seeking to enlist their support for the proposed mission to Spain. The gospel Paul presents is meant to be a familiar one to those in Rome, even though they heard it first from other preachers. This gospel of Paul finds its center in salvation and justification through faith in Christ.
While God’s wrath is revealed against all sin and wickedness
of Gentile and Jew alike, God’s power to save by divine righteous or justifying
action in Christ is also revealed. The consequences and implications for those
who believe are set forth, as are results for those in Israel who, to Paul’s
great sorrow, disbelieve. The apostle’s hope is that, just as rejection of the
gospel by some in Israel has led to a ministry of salvation for non-Jews, so
one day, in God’s mercy, “all Israel” will be saved. The fuller ethical
response of believers is also drawn out, both with reference to life in
Christ’s body and with regard to the world. Others have viewed Romans the
relationship between Judaism and Christianity, a topic judged to be much in the
minds of the Roman Christians. Each of these religious faiths claimed to be the
way of salvation based upon a covenant between God and a people chosen and made
the beneficiary of divine gifts. But Christianity regarded itself as the
prophetic development and fulfillment of the faith of the Old Testament,
declaring that the preparatory Mosaic covenant must now give way to the new and
more perfect covenant in Jesus Christ. Paul himself had been the implacable
advocate of freedom of Gentiles from the laws of the Mosaic covenant and,
especially in Galatia, had refused to allow attempts to impose them on Gentile
converts to the gospel. He had witnessed the personal hostilities that developed
between the adherents of the two faiths and had written his strongly worded
Letter to the Galatians against those Jewish Christians who were seeking to
persuade Gentile Christians to adopt the religious practices of Judaism. For
him, the purity of the religious understanding of Jesus as the source of
salvation would be seriously impaired if Gentile Christians were obligated to
amalgamate the two religious faiths. Still others find the theme of Israel and
the church as to be the heart of Romans. Then the implication of Paul’s
exposition of justification by faith rather than by means of law is that the
divine plan of salvation works itself out on a broad theological plane to
include the whole of humanity, despite the differences in the content of the given
religious system to which a human culture is heir. Romans presents a plan of
salvation stretching from Adam through Abraham and Moses to Christ and on to
the future revelation at Christ’s parousia. Its outlook is universal. Paul’s
Letter to the Romans is a powerful exposition of the doctrine of the supremacy
of Christ and of faith in Christ as the source of salvation. It is an implicit
plea to the Christians at Rome, and to all Christians, to hold fast to that
faith. They are to resist any pressure put on them to accept a doctrine of
salvation through works of the law. At the same time, they are not to
exaggerate Christian freedom as an abdication of responsibility for others or
as a repudiation of God’s law and will.
Vinny’s Corner
· Always fight with the deep conviction that I am with you. Christians are to fight against all demonic tactics—resist!
· Saturday Litany of the Hours Invoking the Aid of Mother Mary
· Bucket Item trip: Pilgrimage-Jakobswege in Brandenburg
· Foodie: Wagyu on German Grill
· Tomorrow is the Feast of the Sacred Heart
o 83. To all fathers and mothers, let your children see that devotion to the Eucharist in adoration is an essential, life-giving part of your schedule! As every parent knows, children learn from consistent actions more than words. When I was a boy, I was deeply impressed by the sight of my father genuflecting before the tabernacle. His humble and straight-forward witness communicated more to me about the truth of the Eucharist than even the best of catechists. When it comes to the Eucharist, every child’s heart secretly asks:
§ does Dad believe it? Does Mom believe it?
· Tell them you do! But above all, show them you do. Eucharistic adoration does this in a powerful way. It is never too late to start this practice, no matter the age of your children.
· Enthrone the Sacred Heart in your home.
JUNE 21 Saturday Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
Romans,
Chapter 3, verse 10-18
10 “There is no one just, not one, 11 there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have gone astray; all alike are worthless; there is not one who does good, [there is not] even one. 13 Their throats are open graves; they deceive with their tongues; the venom of asps is on their lips; 14 their mouths are full of bitter cursing. 15 Their feet are quick to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery are in their ways, 17 and the way of peace they know not. 18 There is NO FEAR of God before their eyes.”
There is no hope except in Christ; all are broken vessels. Yet, by the gift of fortitude we endure; seeking Him who is our salvation.
As we read in the gospel: Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home, and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16:31-33)
Copilot:
Romans 3 teaches that fear rooted in guilt or self-righteousness is overcome by trusting in God's mercy and grace. From a Catholic perspective, this chapter emphasizes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), but we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus (v. 24).
The lesson?
We don’t need to fear condemnation if we humbly acknowledge our sin and open ourselves to God’s mercy. The Catholic Church teaches that justification is not earned by works of the law but begins with grace—received especially through the sacraments, like Baptism and Reconciliation. Fear is transformed into hope when we realize that salvation is a gift, not a performance.
As
the Haydock
Commentary notes, even human unfaithfulness cannot cancel out God’s
faithfulness. That’s a powerful antidote to fear: God remains true, even
when we falter.
Saint Aloysius
Gonzaga’s Story[2]
The Lord
can make saints anywhere, even amid the brutality and license of Renaissance
life. Florence was the “mother of piety” for Aloysius Gonzaga despite his
exposure to a “society of fraud, dagger, poison, and lust.” As a son of a
princely family, he grew up in royal courts and army camps. His father wanted
Aloysius to be a military hero.
At age 7 Aloysius experienced a profound spiritual
quickening. His prayers included the Office of Mary, the psalms, and other
devotions. At age 9 he came from his hometown of Castiglione to Florence to be
educated; by age 11 he was teaching catechism to poor children, fasting three
days a week, and practicing great austerities. When he was 13 years old, he
traveled with his parents and the Empress of Austria to Spain and acted as a
page in the court of Philip II. The more Aloysius saw of court life, the more
disillusioned he became, seeking relief in learning about the lives of saints.
A book about the experience of Jesuit missionaries
in India suggested to him the idea of entering the Society of Jesus, and in
Spain his decision became final. Now began a four-year contest with his father.
Eminent churchmen and laypeople were pressed into service to persuade Aloysius
to remain in his “normal” vocation. Finally, he prevailed, was allowed to
renounce his right to succession, and was received into the Jesuit novitiate.
Like other seminarians, Aloysius was faced with a
new kind of penance—that of accepting different ideas about the exact nature of
penance. He was obliged to eat more, and to take recreation with the other
students. He was forbidden to pray except at stated times. He spent four years
studying philosophy and had Saint Robert Bellarmine as his spiritual adviser.
In 1591,
a plague struck Rome. The Jesuits opened a hospital of their own. The superior
general himself and many other Jesuits rendered personal service. Because he
nursed patients, washing them and making their beds, Aloysius caught the
disease. A fever persisted after his recovery, and he was so weak he could
scarcely rise from bed. Yet, he maintained his great discipline of prayer,
knowing that he would die within the octave of Corpus Christi, three months
later, at the age of 23.
Bible
in a Year-Day 5
Today we read about the descendants of Noah, and the story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 10-11, as well as Psalm 2. Fr. Mike reveals the errors of these characters, and how we also can fall into the same traps.
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Growth
of Catholic Families and Households
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
I believe Heaven Listens
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