Rm 12, 9-15 Be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord

(Rm 12, 9-15) Be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord

[9] Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; [10] love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. [11] Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. [12] Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. [13] Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. [14] Bless those who persecute (you), bless and do not curse them. [15] Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

(CCC 1971) To the Lord's Sermon on the Mount it is fitting to add the moral catechesis of the apostolic teachings, such as Romans 12-15, 1 Corinthians 12-13, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-5, etc. This doctrine hands on the Lord's teaching with the authority of the apostles, particularly in the presentation of the virtues that flow from faith in Christ and are animated by charity, the principal gift of the Holy Spirit. "Let charity be genuine.... Love one another with brotherly affection.... Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality" (Rom 12:9-13). This catechesis also teaches us to deal with cases of conscience in the light of our relationship to Christ and to the Church (Cf. Rom 14; 1 Cor 5-10). (CCC 1969) The New Law practices the acts of religion: almsgiving, prayer and fasting, directing them to the "Father who sees in secret," in contrast with the desire to "be seen by men" (Cf. Mt 6:1-6; 16-18). Its prayer is the Our Father (Cf. Mt 6:9-13; Lk 11:2-4).

Rm 12, 6-8 We have gifts that differ

(Rm 12, 6-8) We have gifts that differ

[6] Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; [7] if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; [8] if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

(CCC 2004) Among the special graces ought to be mentioned the graces of state that accompany the exercise of the responsibilities of the Christian life and of the ministries within the Church: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness (Rom 12:6-8). (CCC 2039) Ministries should be exercised in a spirit of fraternal service and dedication to the Church, in the name of the Lord (Cf. Rom 12:8, 11). At the same time the conscience of each person should avoid confining itself to individualistic considerations in its moral judgments of the person's own acts. As far as possible conscience should take account of the good of all, as expressed in the moral law, natural and revealed, and consequently in the law of the Church and in the authoritative teaching of the Magisterium on moral questions. Personal conscience and reason should not be set in opposition to the moral law or the Magisterium of the Church.

Rm 12, 3-5 We are one body in Christ

(Rm 12, 3-5) We are one body in Christ

[3] For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than one ought to think, but to think soberly, each according to the measure of faith that God has apportioned. [4] For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, [5] so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another.

(CCC 1142) But "the members do not all have the same function" (Rom 12:4). Certain members are called by God, in and through the Church, to a special service of the community. These servants are chosen and consecrated by the sacrament of Holy Orders, by which the Holy Spirit enables them to act in the person of Christ the head, for the service of all the members of the Church (Cf. PO 2; 15). The ordained minister is, as it were, an "icon" of Christ the priest. Since it is in the Eucharist that the sacrament of the Church is made fully visible, it is in his presiding at the Eucharist that the bishop's ministry is most evident, as well as, in communion with him, the ministry of priests and deacons. (CCC 1372) St. Augustine admirably summed up this doctrine that moves us to an ever more complete participation in our Redeemer's sacrifice which we celebrate in the Eucharist: This wholly redeemed city, the assembly and society of the saints, is offered to God as a universal sacrifice by the high priest who in the form of a slave went so far as to offer himself for us in his Passion, to make us the Body of so great a head.... Such is the sacrifice of Christians: "we who are many are one Body in Christ" the Church continues to reproduce this sacrifice in the sacrament of the altar so well-known to believers wherein it is evident to them that in what she offers she herself is offered (St. Augustine, De civ. Dei, 10, 6: PL 41, 283; cf. Rom 12:5).

Rm 12, 2 Do not conform yourselves to this age

(Rm 12, 2) Do not conform yourselves to this age

[2] Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

(CCC 2826) By prayer we can discern "what is the will of God" and obtain the endurance to do it (Rom 12:2; cf. Eph 5:17; cf. Heb 10:36). Jesus teaches us that one enters the kingdom of heaven not by speaking words, but by doing "the will of my Father in heaven" (Mt 7:21). (CCC 2520) Baptism confers on its recipient the grace of purification from all sins. But the baptized must continue to struggle against concupiscence of the flesh and disordered desires. With God's grace he will prevail - by the virtue and gift of chastity, for chastity lets us love with upright and undivided heart; - by purity of intention which consists in seeking the true end of man: with simplicity of vision, the baptized person seeks to find and to fulfill God's will in everything (Cf. Rom 12:2; Col 1:10); - by purity of vision, external and internal; by discipline of feelings and imagination; by refusing all complicity in impure thoughts that incline us to turn aside from the path of God's commandments: "Appearance arouses yearning in fools" (Wis 15:5); - by prayer: I thought that continence arose from one's own powers, which I did not recognize in myself. I was foolish enough not to know… that no one can be continent unless you grant it. For you would surely have granted it if my inner groaning had reached your ears and I with firm faith had cast my cares on you (St. Augustine, Conf. 6, 11, 20: PL 32, 729-730).

Rm 12, 1 To offer your bodies as a living sacrifice

Romans 12

(Rm 12, 1) To offer your bodies as a living sacrifice

[1] I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.

(CCC 2031) The moral life is spiritual worship. We "present [our] bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God" (Rom 12:1), within the Body of Christ that we form and in communion with the offering of his Eucharist. In the liturgy and the celebration of the sacraments, prayer and teaching are conjoined with the grace of Christ to enlighten and nourish Christian activity. As does the whole of the Christian life, the moral life finds its source and summit in the Eucharistic sacrifice. (CCC 1368) The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ's sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering. In the catacombs the Church is often represented as a woman in prayer, arms outstretched in the praying position. Like Christ who stretched out his arms on the cross, through him, with him, and in him, she offers herself and intercedes for all men.

Rm 11, 30-36 But have now received mercy

(Rm 11, 30-36) But have now received mercy

[30] Just as you once disobeyed God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, [31] so they have now disobeyed in order that, by virtue of the mercy shown to you, they too may (now) receive mercy. [32] For God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all. [33] Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! [34] "For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor?" [35] "Or who has given him anything that he may be repaid?" [36] For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

(CCC 840) And when one considers the future, God's People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or the return) of the Messiah. But one awaits the return of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognized as Lord and Son of God; the other awaits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus. (CCC 778) The Church is both the means and the goal of God's plan: prefigured in creation, prepared for in the Old Covenant, founded by the words and actions of Jesus Christ, fulfilled by his redeeming cross and his Resurrection, the Church has been manifested as the mystery of salvation by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. She will be perfected in the glory of heaven as the assembly of all the redeemed of the earth (cf. Rev 14:4).

Rm 11, 25-29 And thus all Israel will be saved

(Rm 11, 25-29) And thus all Israel will be saved

[25] I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise (in) your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, [26] and thus all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come out of Zion, he will turn away godlessness from Jacob; [27] and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." [28] In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. [29] For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

(CCC 1870) "God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all" (Rom 11:32). (CCC 839) "Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways" (LG 16). The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People. When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, the People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People (Cf. NA 4), "the first to hear the Word of God" (Roman Missal, Good Friday 13: General Intercessions, VI). The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ" (Rom 9:4-5), "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rom 11:29).