Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Romans 6:23

23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

What strikes me most today

I remember the first time I thought about this verse: my college roommate in Kansas City had a brother, Moises, who had a gray t-shirt that read "Raise the wages of sin." Moises was an older brother, very cool (he was 21 before we were), and so I wondered why this verse was important enough to him that he would wear it for the world to see. I think at the time it had to do with raising taxes on cigarettes (ironic since his brother later became a Pulmonologist, fighting to prevent tobacco-related morbidity and mortality - but that's another story). The phrase "wages of sin" intrigued me. So I went to the Bible to look up Romans 6:23. It took me a while to think it over, but I eventually understood it, and it's been important to me for over 25 years now. Sin leading to death is described as "the wages of sin;" it's what we deserve. However, eternal life is not "owed" to us and certainly not what we deserve or have "earned" like wages - it is a gift of God. Sure, we need good works so we are divided with the sheep and not with the goats, but we know it is through the grace of God that we even have a chance of reaching Eternity in Heaven with Christ.
I don't know if Moises ever knew that he performed a great work of evangelization with this act of witness, and I wonder how many others were touched by it. He actually motivated a college student living away from home to open his Bible! Perhaps small actions or choices each of us makes positively affect others in ways we can't even imagine until the next life. I do know that I am eternally grateful for the strong witness of faith and family that Moises and his brothers and parents have been for me in my life (I'll save other great examples for future blogs!)
God knows what He's doing when He sends families like that into our lives!

What strikes you most today?
Click on "COMMENTS" below to share your thoughts.

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1 comment:

  1. AnonymousAugust 9, 2011 at 4:33 PM

    This is my favorite verse because even though we all sin, and we deserve death because of it, God sent his son to die for us and give us eternal life. Free of charge. All we have to do is accept Christ in our hearts, and through his Grace we are saved from an eternity in Hell.

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Why?

Why a blog? Why St. Paul? Why do I think I have any business doing this?
We are all on a spiritual journey. We all want that journey to lead us to heaven, to eternity with God. For this journey, we need one another.
The journey so far has led me to read and learn about so many forms of authentic Catholic spirituality - Ignatian, Benedictine, Carmelite, Dominican, Franciscan, etc. My biggest problem was that I came to love each one tremendously. I began reading more and more, spending more and more time at the Daughters of St. Paul bookstore on Watson Road here in St. Louis. Who would have thought my greatest conversion story would take place in a bookstore? Mine was not quite as sudden or dramatic as St. Paul on the road to Damascus, but getting to know the Daughters of St. Paul affected me no less significantly.
The sisters are Eucharistic by nature. The first time I entered the chapel in their bookstore, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and one of the sisters was on her knees, gazing at Christ, with an indescribably beautiful smile on her face. I had a glimpse of heaven. I knelt at one of the other kneelers and noticed on the wall behind the monstrance the words: "Fear not, I am with you. From here I want to enlighten. Atone for sin." I had that brief moment of absolute certainty that I was on the right path.
Over the last several years I have worked my way through as many books, CD's, DVD's and conversations with the Daughters of St. Paul that time has allowed. Time is at such a premium for all of us. Years ago we were told that with advances in technology we would have much more free time on our hands. We all know this has not been the case. Our lives are busier and more hectic than ever. Even if we are unable to find time to read good books, see enlightening movies or attend lectures and discussions, maybe we could all spend a little time on the internet supporting one another on our faith journeys. Many of you know more about many aspects of Catholic spirituality than I do.
Pope John Paul the Great called us all to a New Evangelization, to share the Gospel with the world. I am hoping we can all be St. Paul in this blog space by sharing Christ with one another and with others. St. Paul travelled to many foreign and often hostile regions to evangelize the world; we are fortunate to be able to use the internet to reach even farther and more quickly.
The idea of using today's means of social communication to spread the Gospel was given to Blessed James Alberione on the night between the centuries (December 31, 1900 - January 1, 1901). He was a 16 year-old seminary student adoring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament when a special light came to him from the Host. Following this, Blessed James Alberione became the founder of the Society of St. Paul priests, the Daughters of St. Paul, the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, Sisters of the Queen of Apostles, and numerous institutes that are also part of the Pauline family.
So what is Pauline spirituality? In my experience, Pauline spirituality encompasses all the teachings of Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and love of all the other spiritualities and Saints of the Church. It is the members of the Pauline family who are the happiest people I know! It is loving God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all our hearts and souls, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and St. Paul.
So why St. Paul? I can relate to St. Paul. We first meet him in the New Testament as a sinner. He has a thorn in his side that God decides is best not to take away. I sometimes wish I knew what that thorn was, but it's probably better I don't know. I like to pretend it is one of my many weaknesses or faults. If St. Paul could go from persecuting Christ and His Church to becoming the person responsible for spreading the Gospel and establishing the Church in foreign lands, the least I can do is start a blog. I have been especially inspired by my two favorite bloggers, Sr. Margaret Charles Kerry, fsp, and a Pauline Cooperator named Rae Stabosz. I believe Sr. Margaret and Rae are doing just what St. Paul and Blessed James Alberione would be doing with the internet.
In future blogs (which will be shorter than this first post!), I would like to share writings of St. Paul, Blessed James Alberione, and many others. I look forward to others sharing writings from other Catholic spiritualities and writers. An especially Pauline way of sharing is to point out to one another what aspects particularly speak to each of us.
Another Pauline trait is to pray for one another. My prayer is that we support one another on our path to holiness. Our goal is to glorify God in all that we do - so let's do it!