Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Galatians 1:6-12; Luke 10:25-37)
In today’s first reading from the beginning of his Letter to
the Galatians, St. Paul is obviously irritated.
He has been informed that the Galatians have begun accepting the
practice of circumcision and other works of piety as the way of salvation. Paul had taught them that these customs are inconsequential
as ways to sanctity. More likely, he
indicates, they lead to arrogance.
Paul will stress in the letter that humans are saved through
faith in Christ. He will stress that pious
practices count little. It is faith in Christ’s
death that brings about forgiveness of sins and belief in his resurrection that
finds eternal favor with God. By “faith”
Paul does not mean lip service. He will
say toward the end of the letter that faith must be manifest through love.
We may sometimes think like the Galatians. We wonder if it is really necessary to
cultivate holiness through discipline of soul and body. Some adopt the position that going to church when
it is convenient and donating to charity when it is opportune is sufficient for
salvation. No, sporadic church
attendance and marginal charity hardly constitute a following of Christ who
gave himself completely to God, His Father.
