Salvation is a gift from the Lord, it is not inherited. In the first reading (Galatians 4: 22-24; 26-27; 31-5: 1), Paul states that Christ has set us free from the bond of sin and death through his Paschal Mystery.
In the Gospel, Jesus warned of the spirit of complacency. He talks about the danger of presumption and entitlement. Jesus was with the people of his time, yet some asked for sign. Jesus said that he himself is a sign greater than Jonah and Solomon, yet they fail to notice Him. One thing is to see Jesus, another thing is to encounter him, to make Him the Lord of one’s life.
For instance, the Jews revered Abraham as their spiritual father. For Jews this makes them a physical descendant of Abraham, which means that they were in good standing with the Lord. If you could find Father Abraham somewhere in your family tree, then you were in God’s side. It was a matter of lineage, of heritage, of tracing your family tree. In reference to this, Paul says, “Not so!” God’s family is made up of those who have a relationship with him by faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a matter of faith, not your family tree. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
To the fact that one is baptized in a Catholic Church, or in a Baptist Church or in an Episcopalian Church does not guarantee eternal life. To the fact that a person is the child of a Baptist minister or of Lutheran heritage, do not put you in good with God. in the race to heaven there is not entitlement. I read somewhere that Joe Moakley, a former Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts, liked to joke that when a child is born into an Irish family in Boston, three things automatically happen. He is baptized into the Catholic Church, registered with the Democratic Party, and given a union card. Dear friends, you don’t go to heaven because you get credit for what your mother or father believed. That may help you on earth; it won’t make a dime’s worth of difference in eternity.
The call to holiness is for everyone, male and female, young and old. Holiness is not for special people. It is for everyone, even for ordinary people, you and I. We must strive for “the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). It is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’
Teresa of Avila says to grow in holiness is to bring our will into union with God’s will: love what He loves, hate what He hates. The only thing God hates is sin.
Therese of Lisieux defines holiness this way: Perfection consists in doing his will, and being what He wills us to be, resisting his grace in nothing.
I am attending the Canon Law Society of America’s Convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this week, please keep us in your prayers.
You, have a wonderful week
