Tag: Righteousness

Grace & Righteousness

The Eleventh Day of Christmas!

“Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the Devil…. In this way, the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.” (NAB, 1JN 3:7-8, 10) Our righteousness is interior, flowing from the heart as a result of God’s abundant grace. Our actions and good works result from the desires and gifts which God has already given us through his salvific grace. Thus, our cooperation, our “yes” to God, and the assent of our will are not particularly exclusive to us as individuals, but are rather ultimately and fundamentally from the Creator himself. All that is good is from God, and the righteousness of his people is the glorification of his grace acting in love.

We are children of the Covenant of Love. Our redemption and salvation are a result of that same love, a deep and incomprehensible love according to which God sent his Only Son into the world, to complete His Passion so that we might receive mercy and forgiveness, atonement for our sins. It is the Love of God, a love like none other, that redeems us and continuously calls us to conversion and unity with him. We are to love our neighbor as Christ, to see Jesus in each other. True righteousness is revealed as we are conformed through his Law of Love and his Covenant of Communion to be Christ in our world, to be his act of love.

Lord, you love me with an unfailing love. All that I do, all of my gifts, and all of my good desires come from you through your grace. Thank you for choosing me, who is unworthy, but is made worthy by you. Allow me to see you in those around me, in my family and friends, in my coworkers and neighbors, and in the suffering, marginalized, and rejected of this world. I want to live your Law of Love; give me your grace. Amen.

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Child of God

The Tenth Day of Christmas!

Not only was Jesus born into an earthly family to Mary and Joseph, he established, through his eternal saving act of redemption in the sacrificial paschal mystery, the very family of the Almighty, the Body of Christ, whose head he is. We are members of that same Family: “If you consider that God is righteous, you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness is begotten by him. See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” (NAB, 1JN 2:29-3:1)

We are truly brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, through him and in him, and thus we are begotten of God and are rightly called his children. This family of God is also the Body of Christ, his Church, which remains united with Jesus as one. Thus, the Church and Christ are one in unity, a unity in which we participate imperfectly as we grow in sanctity toward our final perfection, our heavenly reward. Unfortunately, we are plagued by the sins of humans, the Body of Christ suffers, just as any family is afflicted by the unloving behavior of its members. Yet, we still remain as children of Almighty God and are compelled to treat each other as brothers and sisters in the most intimate sense, united in one Lord and Savior, willing to sacrifice ourselves for each other in accordance with Covenant of Love.

Heavenly Father, I am your child and you love me beyond my comprehension. Whatever happens to me on my daily journey are providential opportunities for me to grow closer to you, to grow in holiness and perfection, and to be more like your Son, Jesus. Give me guidance and strength to help my brother and sister who is in need. When they fail or when they hurt, the whole Body suffers. Make me resolute in reaching out in faithful love to those whom you put in my path, that your will may be done and your Son glorified. Amen.

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