RBWords

     In reading the letters of St. Paul, it is important to remember that before his conversion he was a Pharisee and had received thorough formation in the Mosaic law.  At the center of his conversion experience is the person of Jesus Christ, who Paul experienced on the road to Damascus.  This experience led Paul to reject the Law of Moses as a means of religious salvation and to put faith in Jesus Christ at the center of his life.  The passage from Galatians that we read today shows how Paul's thought  developed about the revelation he received.  He finds the roots of faith not in the teachings of Moses but in the experience of Abraham as a person of faith, which precedes the traditions of Moses.  So, salvation does not consist, for Paul, in behavioral observance of external precepts, but in the personal relationship with Jesus Christ.in faith.

     As Catholics we are part of a very large tradition with many rules and precepts and customs.  These are part of our religious expression and the vocabulary of faith, but they do not constitute faith itself.  This is important because for many, any change in the expressions, particularly in liturgical or ritual matters, can create difficulties because faith becomes entangled with its expression.  The expression is important, as the Latin phrase Lex orandi, lex credendi (the law of praying is the law of believing) reminds us.  A community needs a uniting way of expressing itself.  That is why the sacramental rituals of the church are composed in texts and gestures and those must be respected.  But St. Thomas Aquinas reminds us that the "new law of Christ is nothing other than the Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith."  All external expressions of faith must be seen in that light.  St. Paul's fear that imposing Mosaic law would draw attention away from Christ was well-founded.  We need to remember that concern in our own sacramental and personal devotion.  AMEN