Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Experience of Christ
(By H.H. Pope Benedict XVI)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis today we continue our reflection on the Apostle Paul and his dramatic conversion to Christ. As a result of this experience, Christ became Paul’s very life and the inspiration of all his apostolic labours. By his words and example, Paul teaches us that through faith we are made righteous before God; we encounter his merciful justice, enter into fellowship with him and are enabled to build a more authentic relationship with others. Our justification is pure grace, an unmerited gift of God’s radical love manifested in the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. Like Abraham, whose faith in God was credited to him as righteousness (cf. Rom 4:3), we are justified by grace and not by our own works; hence, our only boast must be in the Lord! Through faith and Baptism, we share in the Lord’s death and rising to new life; we now live in Christ, just as he lives in us, in a mystical union which does not dissolve the distinction between him and us. Saint Paul’s example shows us that faith must be expressed in a daily life marked by humble adoration and praise of God, constant gratitude for his mercy, and a spirit of joyful trust in his gracious love, revealed to the world in Christ Jesus his Son.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis today we continue our reflection on the Apostle Paul and his dramatic conversion to Christ. As a result of this experience, Christ became Paul’s very life and the inspiration of all his apostolic labours. By his words and example, Paul teaches us that through faith we are made righteous before God; we encounter his merciful justice, enter into fellowship with him and are enabled to build a more authentic relationship with others. Our justification is pure grace, an unmerited gift of God’s radical love manifested in the Cross and Resurrection of Christ. Like Abraham, whose faith in God was credited to him as righteousness (cf. Rom 4:3), we are justified by grace and not by our own works; hence, our only boast must be in the Lord! Through faith and Baptism, we share in the Lord’s death and rising to new life; we now live in Christ, just as he lives in us, in a mystical union which does not dissolve the distinction between him and us. Saint Paul’s example shows us that faith must be expressed in a daily life marked by humble adoration and praise of God, constant gratitude for his mercy, and a spirit of joyful trust in his gracious love, revealed to the world in Christ Jesus his Son.
Labels: Holy Father, Homily
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