Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 19, 2013 - Saturday in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rom 4:13, 16-18 and Luke 12:8-12]It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith. For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us.....
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2013 ST. JOHN DE BREBEUF, ST. ISAAC JOGUES - JESUIT MARTYRS AND COMPANIONS
We share a spiritual ancestry with Jews and Moslems. We all claim Abraham as a common "founder in faith." In St. Paul's case, before his conversion, he would have looked primarily to Moses and the Sinai covenant, the one written on tablets of stone. After his conversion, he looked to the "promise" made to Abraham who accepted God's revelation to him and put his faith in God's promise! This meant that Paul no longer saw adherence to external observances as the means of salvation, but rather fidelity to one's relationship with God.
This distinction seems to be playing a role in Pope Francis' daily preaching and other addresses. He is emphasizing the personal relationship of love and mercy as the foundation of our faith, rather than the structural one of rituals, law and rules. The latter have their place, but they are not the starting point of faith. If one reads the encyclical, LUMEN FIDEI, which Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote together, the line of discussion starts with the revelation of God's love which draws the human person to faith. It then points to faith's acceptance of certain truths about God, Jesus and creation. It is then that the expression of faith through a community, the Body of Christ, comes into the picture. In short, the church makes no sense at all if one does not experience first the love and mercy of God which can bring us to truth. If we cannot get beyond ritual to the encounter with Christ in sacramental life, we are engaging in a pageantry which may be aesthetically pleasing on a liturgical level but miss the relationship which began with Abraham. Pope Francis is showing us that we have a lot of "recovering" to do! AMEN