May the peace of Christ be with you as we continue our reflection on Saint Paul’s beautiful Letter to the Romans, a letter he had sent in anticipation of his visit to this center of the Roman Empire. We read about how he juxtaposes the two figures of Adam and Christ: Adam, through whom sin came into the world, and Christ, through whom all grace is given to us. And he compares how the one is greater than the other.
Obviously, initially Adam brought death into the world. Jesus brings life into the world. But he’s making the point that Adam was merely a man. Jesus was a man, but he was also God — true God and true man. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father, as we proclaim on Sundays through the Nicene Creed. And just as sin affected all of us, God’s grace is greater and extends to all who accept it.
But we need to accept it. We need to live in a state of vigilance and readiness for the Master when he should return. And so the Gospel today also speaks of being close to the source of all grace, and that is Jesus Himself. For Jesus Himself has told us repeatedly that He has gone to prepare a place for us, and He will return and bring us to that place if we but respond to His invitation to get to know Him and to help others to do the same.
So, my brothers and sisters, on this beautiful Tuesday, I wish that God’s grace fills your hearts, fills your families, fills your homes with peace, joy, strength, and all that is beautiful. And I ask all of this through the intercession of the Mother of God, who was full of grace, she who totally cooperated with the movings and the promptings of the Holy Spirit in her heart.
And may God bless you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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