Father Callan’s Commentary on Romans 8:14-17 for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

This post contains Fr. Callan’s brief summary of Romans 8:14-30, followed by his notes on today’s reading. Words in red are my additions.

THE CHILDREN OF GOD ARE HEIRS OF FUTURE GLORY

A Summary of Romans 8:14-30~In this section the Apostle considers the qualities of Christians, who are the adopted sons of God. If we are sons of God, we are heirs with Christ, and therefore heirs of future glory (verses 14-18). The certainty of this future glory is proved: (a) from the desire of irrational creatures (verses 19-22); (b) from the desire of the faithful (verses 23-25); (c) from the desire of the Holy Ghost dwelling in us (verses 26, 27); (d) from the designs of God Himself (verses 28-30).

14. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Whosoever are led, etc., i.e., those who are governed by the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, and who, consequently, repress and control the desires of the flesh, are the sons of God, because sanctifying grace, communicated to them by the Holy Ghost, unites them to Christ, and makes them members of His mystical body and His brothers. To be a son of God, therefore, it is necessary not only to have received the Holy Ghost, but to be also governed by Him.

15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father).

This and the following verse constitute a kind of parenthesis in which the Apostle shows why Christians are truly the adopted sons of God. He does not say that formerly they received the spirit of servitude, but only that the spirit they now have is unlike that which used to move them. Hence παλιν (“again”) is
to be joined to εις φοβον (“in fear”), and not to ελαβετε (“received”).

You have not received, etc., in Baptism the spirit of bondage or slavery which in Judaism you possessed, and which made you serve God without affection and from fear, as an unwilling slave would serve his master. Such a spirit could not come from God, or be pleasing to God.

The pagans served their divinities in this servile manner, being always moved by the fear of chastisement. The Jewish Law also was called the law of fear, because it did not exclude all servility. To secure its observance it had no power to confer grace (Rom 9:3; Gal 3:12, Gal 3:21), but was forced to hold out threats of chastisement or promises of temporal reward (Heb 8:66; Heb 9:15). A spirit like this, says the Apostle, the Christians have not received. On the contrary, they have received the spirit of adoption of sons, i.e., a disposition of mind and soul which enables them to serve God out of love, as a good son would serve his father.

The spirit, therefore, which the Christians have received, and which is here in question, is not the Holy Ghost (verse 16), nor a supernatural principle of their actions, but a disposition of mind given by God, and as such, supernatural, similar to the spirit of wisdom spoken of in the Old Testament (Isa 11:2-3; Isa 28:6). Cf. Lagrange, h. 1. This spirit is a characteristic mark of a Christian, whereby he is known to be of the adopted sons of God; and of a filial disposition of soul which makes him freely choose to serve God not out of fear, but out of love. To this spirit of piety which the Christian possesses the Holy Ghost also bears witness (verse 16) that the faithful are the sons of God.

Abba is an Aramaic word which the Apostle here tells us means Father (cf. Mark 14:36; Gal 4:6). Some think the term pertained to an official prayer, but more probably it was only an expression of tenderness toward God, the Father.

The in timore of the Vulgate ought to be in timorem.

16. For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.

This verse completes the previous one and shows still more clearly that we are the sons of God. For the Spirit himself giveth testimony, etc., i.e., the Holy Ghost joins our spirit (verse 15) in bearing witness that we are truly the adopted children of God, because it is by the impulse of this Holy Spirit, together with our own, that we,  with filial love, invoke God by the name of Father (Gal 4:6). Here, however, we must observe that short of a special divine revelation we can never be absolutely certain that we are in a state of grace and are the sons of God; and that, consequently, the testimony which seems to come from the Holy Spirit may not be a deception of our own minds or of the evil one (cf. Conc. Trid., Sess. VI. de Justif., cap. 9. can. 14, 15). Moral certitude
in such matters is all we can hope for.

Lagrange holds that our spirit of the present verse is not the same as the spirit spoken of in the second part of the preceding verse, but is rather a more complete gift of God, coming from an outpouring of love from the Holy Ghost, who dwells in our souls and is the principle of our good actions.

That we are (οτι εσμεν) refers to the Christians who are the sons of God. The term τεκνα (“sons”) here is used in the same sense as υιοι. υιοι was used in verse 14: For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons (υιοι) of God.  There are some who would dispute this, claiming that τεκνα denotes a natural relationship while υιοι denotes a legal or ethical one. But the two words are often used in the same sense.  τεκνα can mean natural relations, children, sons, etc., but it can also be used in reference to underlings in one employment, servants, pupils etc. υιοι can refer to one’s agent, a king’s ambassador, etc., but it can also denote children in the proper sense.

17. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint-heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him.

St. Paul now alludes to the Roman law which recognized the same rights to inheritance in adopted sons as in natural ones (Gal 4:1 ff.); and he concludes that since we are the adopted children of God, we shall be heirs together with Christ of God’s life and glory (verses 13, 18). It is by reason of our union with Christ that we have a right to share in the eternal goods which are His by nature. But we shall be glorified with Christ only on condition that here below we suffer in union with Him. As He only through humiliation, sufferings and death entered into His glory; so we also must bear our sufferings and crosses in union with Him, in a disposition akin to His, if we wish to have part in His life and glory hereafter.

Yet so. The conjunction ειπερ may be translated, as in the Vulgate, by si tamen; or by si quidem, as many moderns prefer. The sense is nearly the same, except for the meaning which ινα (“that”) receives in these two interpretations. According to the first, suffering with Christ in order to be glorified with Him is a matter of free choice; but if we choose so to suffer, it is with the intention (eo fine ut) that we shall be glorified with Him. According to the second interpretation, suffering with Christ is looked upon more as a fact of our present existence, the natural outcome of which is that we shall be glorified with Christ hereafter. This latter interpretation establishes a natural connection between suffering with Christ and reigning with Him, without this expressed intention on our part, which the former interpretation does not seem to recognize.

Bernardin de Piconio on Romans 8:14-17 for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

14. For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear: but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons, in which we cry, Abba (Father).

14. Those who have the Spirit of God dwelling within then are acted on, guided, led, and directed, by that Spirit. Christ was led by the Spirit into the desert, and the devil asked him if he was the Son of God (Matt 4:1, 3). The Ethiopic version reads: Whoever do those things which belong to the Spirit of God: that is, as in the last verse, mortify the deeds of the flesh . These are truly and really sons of God, having a heavenly nature. On a certain day the sons of God came to stand before the Lord, Job 1:6. We cannot, says Saint Chrysostom, dispose of our own lives, but should give ourselves up, soul and body, to the guidance of the Spirit of God, our helmsman, and our charioteer. But this control and guidance of the Spirit of God is not coercive or forcible. It implies the motion and, in a passive sense, inclination of our will, such as does not exclude freedom of action. To be led by the Spirit of God is to consent to his leading, and give it our voluntary obedience, confident that it must lead us to increase of grace and justice, and to life eternal.

15. You have not received the spirit of bondage again. Again, because the spirit of the law of Moses was a spirit of servitude and fear. Holy men under the old law were sons of God only in an imperfect manner, and in a lesser degree, like slaves, differing in nothing from servants, Gal 4:1. What you have received is the spirit of sonship or adoption, entitling you to say with Christ, and with all confidence, Our Father. As the divine Word gave himself to Christ, the Man, so that the Man named Christ, is the Son of God: so in proportion the Holy Spirit is given us in Baptism in such way as to make us Sons of God. Cornel, a Lap. in loc.

The Apostle contrasts the spirit of bondage not with the spirit of freedom, but the spirit of adoption; not merely free, but free as sons.

He does not say, we say Abba, but we cry; boldly, loudly, confidently, publicly. Instructed by holy precepts, and formed by divine institution, we venture to say, OurFather. Abba is the Hebrew or Syriac word for father, and to it he joins the Greek word with the same meaning, to signify that Jews and Gentiles are together called to the adoption of the sons of God. Saint Augustine, lib. de Spiritu et litcra, 32 de Cons. Evan. 4.

It is also possible that Saint Paul refers to the prayer of our Lord in the garden, Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; as an encouragement to address him by the same title, with the same confidence in his affection, under similar circumstances of trouble or despondency.

Before the coming of Christ the people of God were undoubtedly entitled in a certain sense to speak of God as their father, but only in a metaphorical sense, and on the ground of creation. “Now, Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our Maker” (Isa 64:8. In some translations, 64:7). This is clearly applicable to all the race of men. And on the ground of providence: “Thy Providence, Father, governs the world” (Wis 14:3). But not on the ground and by right of adoption, an honour reserved for those who are sons of God in Christ, and which is expressed in the formula of the Apostle, Abba, Father.

16. For the Spirit itself gives testimony to our spirit, that we are sons of God.
17. And if sons, also heirs: heirs indeed of God, and co-heirs with Christ: if we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him.

16. The Spirit himself gives testimony. The cry of our hearts, inasmuch as it proceeds from the Spirit of God, is a testimony of our divine adoption. The giving to us the Spirit, is itself a testimony of this; for he is the Spirit of the Son, and God gives the Spirit of his Son to those only whom he would have for sons. The Apostle may possibly also include a reference in his mind to exterior testimonies, as in miracle or prophecy, more frequent in his days than in ours. Horror of sin, love of God, readiness to obey his commands, and to follow the motions of the Holy Spirit, peace and tranquility of conscience, troubled by no grave and conscious sin, are interior testimonies of the Spirit of God, with our spirit, that we are sons of God. We should not, however, with the heretics, come to regard this interior testimony as certain with the certitude of faith. Such testimony, in so far as it proceeds from the Holy Spirit, is certain and infallible in itself, but as presented to our consciousness it is certain only conjecturally and morally, because we are not sure whether it proceeds from the Holy Spirit, or from an evil spirit, transfiguring himself into an angel of light.

17. If sons, also heirs. God does not die, and his inheritance is not a succession. He is himself the inheritance. Heirs of God. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, Ps 15:5. To the enjoyment of this inheritance, his adopted sons are admitted, in the Beatific Vision. An inheritance not diminished by the number of the sons, or reduced by division among many claimants, says St. Anselm.

Co-heirs with Christ, if we suffer with him. We are heirs of a living God, co-heirs with a man who died. Sharing his death, on our own cross, we shall be glorified with him in his inheritance. Without participation of the cross, there is no participation of glory; but the expectation of the promised beatitude is sure and certain, where there is participation in the Passion of the Lord. St. Leo, Serm., 9 de Quad.

Father Callan’s Commentary on Romans 6:3-11

This post includes Father Callan’s brief summary of Romans 6:1-11, the notes on today’s reading follow.

THE CHRISTIAN, DEAD TO SIN AND LIVING TO CHRIST THROUGH BAPTISM, SHOULD LIVE HENCEFORTH UNTO GOD

A Summary of Romans 6:1-11~The Apostle discusses in this chapter the second fruit of justification, which consists in dominion over sin and freedom from its tyranny. The Christian, dead to sin, and reborn in Christ through Baptism, lives a new life, in which sin should have no part. There is, therefore, something yet more beautiful than justification through faith, and it is to live in Christ for God. St. Paul was the more anxious to treat this subject, because there was danger that his doctrine of justification without the works of the Law might be misunderstood. It might be so interpreted as to make people indifferent to the moral life, or even as an invitation to sin, so that the grace of God might abound (cf. Lagr., h. 1.).

3. Know you not that all we, who are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized in his death?

The Apostle here recalls to the minds of his readers something they very well knew. Baptism in the early Church was generally administered by immersion; and this form of giving the Sacrament quite aptly represented the death, burial and Resurrection of Christ. The complete plunge into the water was at once an image of Christ’s death and burial, and of the Christian’s death to sin; while the emersion from the water signified the Resurrection of Jesus and the Christian’s birth to the new spiritual life of grace.

To be baptized in Christ Jesus means to be consecrated to Christ, to become His property and members of His mystical body through the Sacrament of Baptism. To be baptized in his death means not only to represent through Baptism Christ’s death, burial and Resurrection by dying and being buried to sin, and rising to the spiritual life of grace; but also to be intimately united with Christ in His death (2 Tim 2:11), in his burial (Rom 5:4; Col 2:12), in His Resurrection (Eph 2:5; Col 2:13) and in the life of grace (Rom 5:8; 2 Tim 2:12).

4. For we are buried together with him by baptism into death; that as Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life.

For is therefore (ουν) in all the Greek MSS. The Apostle is treating of a consequence and hence therefore is the proper connective here. Through Baptism we are dead and buried to sin, as Christ died and was buried to this world. The total immersion of the Christian in the baptismal waters was a fitting representation of Christ’s envelopment in the tomb. But as Christ died and was buried, only to be raised from the dead by the power of His father; so we are immersed in the waters of Baptism only to emerge and rise to the new spiritual life of sanctifying grace, and to continue in that new life as Christ continues in His glorious risen life.

Is risen. Rather, was raised (ηγερθη) from the dead.

By the glory of the Father, i.e., by the glorious power of the Father. The Resurrection is usually attributed to the power of the Father (Rom 4:24; 2 Cor 13:4; Eph 1:19; Col 2:12), and this power is here called “glory”; id est per virtutem Patris ex qua ipse Pater glorificatur (St. Thomas).

5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

For (γαρ) indicates a continuation of the thought already expressed in the preceding verse, which supposes that Baptism effects a real, mystical resurrection (Col 2:12; Eph 2:5).

Planted (συμφυτοι) conveys the idea of being united and growing together, after the manner of a graft on a tree, so as to form one plant or growth with the tree. Hence, the sense is: if we, through Baptism, have become participants in Christ’s death by dying spiritually to sin, as He died physically to the world, we shall also have a mystical part in His Resurrection by rising spiritually to a new life of sanctity as He rose to a new and glorified physical life.

We shall (εσομεθα) refers to the future spiritual life we shall live after rising from our death to sin, in mystical imitation of Christ’s Resurrection.

St. Chrysostom, St. Thomas and others think St. Paul is alluding to our future glorious resurrection from the dead; but this seems hardly possible since the Apostle here throughout is concerned with the actual present life of Christians.

In English “then also” should precede the last clause, “we shall be,” etc.

6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin may be destroyed, to the end that we may serve sin no longer.

St. Paul reminds the Christians that they know, as a matter of fact, that through Baptism our old man, i.e., our corrupt and sinful nature which we inherited from the old Adam and which made us slaves to sin, has been nailed to the cross with Christ, the new Adam, to the end that we may live a new life of sanctity and serve sin no longer.

The Apostle distinguishes in us two men, the old (Eph 4:22; Col 3:9) and the new (Eph 4:24); or rather two different states, one in which we were slaves to sin, by reason of the moral corruption we inherited from Adam, the other in which we live according to God.

Our old man was crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20), because of our sins. “Christ was made a malediction” (Deut 21:23), and died on the cross in order to destroy the dominion of sin over us; Christ took upon Himself our sins and died in our stead, and through Baptism the merits of His Passion and death are applied to our souls.

The body of sin means our body, inasmuch as it is an instrument of sin and concupiscence, or as subjected to sin and concupiscence. It is contrary to the thought of St. Paul to say that “body of sin” here means the ensemble of our sins (Lagr.).

7. For he that is dead is justified from sin.

Is justified, i.e., is acquitted, freed. There is question here of liberation from the servitude of sin (Cornely). As he that is dead is freed from the servitude of sin, i.e., is not any longer in danger of committing it, so also we, who, as said before, are dead with Christ, should no longer have any doings with sin. “If you are dead in Baptism, remain dead; for no dead man can sin any more” (St. Chrysostom). Of course we always retain liberty, and consequently the power of overturning the effects of Baptism and reverting to sin.

8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall live also together with Christ

In verse 5 the Apostle spoke of union with Christ’s death and Resurrection, and in verses 6 and 7 he insisted on union with the Saviour’s death. Now he passes on to consider our union with the risen, living Christ (Cornely, Lagrange, etc.).

If we be mystically dead with Christ we believe, i.e., we firmly trust (Cornely) that we shall also live with Him by a life of grace in this world and of glory hereafter. There is question here of the new life of Christians through grace, and not of our future resurrection, except in so far as this latter is the natural sequel to our present spiritual life with Christ. Verse 11 shows that St. Paul has always in view present moral renovation, rather than future glory (Lagrange).

9. Knowing that Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, death shall no more have dominion over him.

Christ having risen from the dead, having conquered death, shall live forever, and hence we, now through grace living in union with our risen, immortal Saviour, have part in His eternal and immortal life. The life of grace is a participation in Christ’s life, because grace is a participation of the divine nature of Christ.

Shall no more have dominion, etc. Better, “Hath no more dominion,” etc.

10. For in that he died to sin, he died once ; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God:

Christ died to sin, i.e., He died for our sins, to redeem us all from the slavery of sin (Gal 3:13; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24); He died to a world in which sin was dominant. And since Christ’s death was of infinite expiatory value He needed to die only once to pay the debt of our sins (Heb 7:27; Heb 9:12, Heb 9:26, Heb 9:28; Heb 10:10). Death, therefore, has no longer any dominion over Him; it has freed Him from the obligation which He had contracted in our behalf. Henceforth He liveth unto God, i.e., in God and for God.

In the Vulgate the comma should be after mortuus est, and not after peccato. Corresponding punctuation should be observed in the English.

11. So do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Applying the foregoing to Christians St. Paul reminds them that through Baptism they have died to sin and risen again to the life of grace; and through this mystic death and resurrection they have become participants in Christ’s death and Resurrection, and ought henceforth to live only for God “in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Our Lord (Vulg., Domino nostro) is not in the Greek. The Christian is a new creature in Christ, and Christ liveth in him (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 2:20).

Father Callan’s Commentary on Romans 8:31-34

THE LOVE OF GOD FOR US

A Summary of Romans 8:31-39~The certainty of the Christians’ future glory being proved, St. Paul now terminates the second section of the Dogmatic Part of this Epistle with a hymn of praise and triumph, moved by the evidence of the love of God and of Christ which the reasons for our hope have inspired. He shows that the faithful have nothing to fear, and that nothing can separate them from the charity of Christ.

31. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who is against us?

What shall we, etc., i.e., what conclusions are we Christians to draw from the arguments we have just finished considering?

To these things (προς ταυτα), i.e., about the arguments we have just given.

If God be for us,—as He evidently is from the preceding verses—who is there that we should fear? Surely no one, is the implied response.

32. He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things?

The Apostle here gives a most undeniable proof that God is for us, and that He has provided us with all things necessary to conquer our enemies.

He that (ος γε), i.e., the God, indeed, that spared not, etc. If God has given us so immense a benefit as His only Son to suffer and to die for us, what other lesser good can He refuse us? The words του ιδιου υιου (“his own Son”) show the difference between God’s own natural Son and His sons by adoption. This is the only instance in the New Testament where γε is used with the relative.

The donavit of the Vulgate should be donabit, in conformity with the Greek.

33. Who shall accuse against the elect of God? God that justifieth.
34. Who is he that shall condemn? Christ Jesus that died, yea that is risen also again; who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

In these verses St. Paul shows the absurdity of the Christians thinking or feeling that anyone can be against them (verse 31).

Who shall accuse against the elect of God, i.e., against the Christians? Certainly no one, because it is God that has justified them, absolving them of all guilt. In the face of God’s acquittal, the condemnation of the world counts for nothing.

Who shall condemn them? Certainly not Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead (Rom 2:16; 2 Cor 5:10); for it is Christ that has died for our sins and risen again for our justification (Rom 4:25), and that now sits at the right hand of God (1 Cor 15:24) to make intercession for us (1 John 2:1). Therefore no one shall be able to oppose us Christians. The context shows that the Apostle is speaking not alone of the future judgment, but of the general condition of the Christians, present and future. It is disputed whether the clauses, God that justifieth and Christ Jesus that died, etc., should be read as affirmations (CoRNely, Kuhl, etc.), or as interrogations (St. Aug., Toussaint, Weiss, etc.). The sense is the same in either case, and the responses in reality are certainly negative.

Bernardin de Piconio on Romans 13:8-10 for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany

Actually, this post is on verses 7-10. Piconio’s commentary on all of Romans can be found here.

7. Render, therefore, to all their due: to whom tribute, tribute: to whom taxes, taxes: to whom fear, fear: to whom honour, honour.
8. Owe nothing to any man, except to love one another: for who loveth his neighbour, has fulfilled the law.
9. For, thou shalt not commit adultery: thou shalt not kill: thou shalt not steal: thou shalt not give false testimony: thou shalt not covet: and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10. Love of our neighbour worketh no ill. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.

To all orders and ranks of civil society, into which you are brought into any relation, render what is their due. Christ, the Creator of the world, did not intend to throw human society into uproar and confusion, but to preserve it in good order, tranquillity and peace, for the sake of higher ends than these.

Tribute is an impost on persons, or on real property; taxes, vectigal (i.e., tribute, revenue), on personal property. Fear is due caution not to offend the law. Honour, the respect due to every person in his several office or station.

Owe no man anything. Do not get into debt. But there is one debt which is never paid. If we love our neighbor we shall never wrong him, in his goods, his reputation, his person, or his honor. To love our neighbor therefore includes all the commandments of the Second Table. This is in effect the statement of our Lord in Matt 22:39-40.

As thyself. Not in an equal degree. Saint Thomas says, for in the order of charity every man ought to love himself more than his neighbour; but in a similar manner, 1. As regards the reason, for God’s sake: 2. As to form, with sincerity, not for gain or covetousness: 3. As regards the effect, by seeking his good and relieving his wants as if they were your own. Virtue, Saint
Augustine says, may be briefly defined to be, ordo amoris, the regulation of affection. Love and do what you will. If you are silent, be silent for love. If you exclaim, exclaim for love. If you reprove, reprove for love. If you spare, spare for love. Let there be the root of love within, and from that root nothing but good will grow.

The same Father writes, I gladly pay the debt of mutual charity, and joyfully receive it. What I receive I continue to claim: What I pay, I continue to owe. Ep. 62, ad Coelestin.

Aquinas’ Homily Notes on Pride and Covetousness for the Third Sunday After Epiphany (Rom 12:16)

These sermon notes were probably not prepared by St Thomas preparatory to his preaching; rather, they are most likely notes taken by first year students as he preached.  This was an important training exercise for young students to help them acquire the ability to recognize the structure of oral and written works. The outlining of  sermons was a basic starting point for this. these sermon notes can be used for homily ideas, or for points of meditation or further study.

PRIDE AND COVETOUSNESS
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
“Be not wise in your own conceits.”
Rom 12:16

IN these words, according to a twofold exposition, two sins are prohibited the sins of pride and avarice. The text is then explained thus: “Be not wise in your own conceits;” that is, deeming yourselves to be wise and prudent, which would be an effect of pride: “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes” (Isa 5:21. Another explanation is “Be not wise,” &c.: hold not your wisdom for yourself alone, but also communicate it to others; hence the Gloss., exercise your wisdom not for yourself only, but rather for the benefit of your neighbour.

Three things ought chiefly to dissuade us from the sin of pride firstly, it disorders a man towards God; secondly, towards his neighbour; thirdly, towards himself.

I. On the first  head it is to be noted that by pride a man is disaffected toward God in three ways:

(1) By falling away from Him “The beginning of the pride of man is to fall off from God” (Sirach 10:12).

(2) By fighting against Him: The pride of them that hate Thee ascendeth continually”(Ps 74:23).

(3) By exalting himself against Him: He hath run against Him with his neck raised up” (Job 15:26 Vulg).  Therefore is the Lord ever armed that He may resist the proud: “God resisteth the proud” (St James 4:6).

II. On the second head it is to be noted that by pride a man is disaffected towards his neighbour in three ways:

(1) By disturbing him with injuries “By pride cometh contention” (Prov 13:10).

(2) By vexing him with malice:  “The Lord hath broken the staff of the
wicked” (Isa 14:5).

(3) By condemning and despising him: “I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and He answereth him” (Job 12:4).

III. On the third head it is to be noted that by pride a man is disaffected towards himself in three ways:

(1) By deceiving himself:  “Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart” (Jer 49:16).

(2) By rendering himself foolish: “The proud and the arrogant is called ignorant” (Prov 21:24 Vulg.).

(3) By confounding himself:  “When pride cometh, then cometh shame” (Prov 11:2).

Of Covetousness. Against the sin of avarice the Creator, the creature, and Nature alike warn us:

(1) The Creator warns us by prohibiting it: “Take heed and beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15).

(2) The creature warns us in giving itself and its possessions:  S. Austin says, “It is a great sign of Divine goodness that every creature thinks to give somewhat of its own nature.”

(3) Nature warns us by restraining it: “See thou never do to another what thou would hate to have done thee by another” (Tobit 4:16).

Of the two sick that are healed in the Gospel for the day (i.e., Matt 8:1-13), the leprous is a proud and the paralytic is an avaricious man. They are cured for two reasons, which the Apostle unfolds in this Epistle (i.e., Rom 12:16-21):

(1)Rom 12:18~ “Live peaceably with all men,” which prohibits pride, the great
destroyer of peace.

(2)Rom 12:17~ “Provide things honest,” which prohibits avarice.

St Thomas Aquinas’ Homily Notes on Romans 12:13 for the Second Sunday After Epiphany

The reader may find the following useful for homily suggestions or for points of meditation or further study. These notes were probably not produced by St Thomas himself, rather, they were probably produced by a student as he sat listening to the preaching. Aquinas’ Lectures on the Epistle to the Romans has been translated into English and can be read here.

THE LAW OF HOSPITALITY.
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY.
(FROM THE EPISTLE.)
Given to hospitality
Rom 12:13.

IN this Epistle, which is altogether full of moral precepts, we are exhorted to great hospitality, to which four motives ought chiefly to move us. Firstly, the command of the Lord. Secondly, the example of the saints. Thirdly, the loss which is sustained by not exercising hospitality. Fourthly, the manifold advantage in its exercise.

I. On the first head it is to be noted that the Lord enjoined hospitality by a threefold law-the law of nature, the old and the new law.

• (1) He commanded, by the law of nature, that as we desire to receive hospitality from others, so we should shew it to others S. Matt 7:12, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
• (2) By the old law Isa 58:7, “Is it not to deal My bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house ?” Deut 26:12, “The stranger, the fatherless, the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled.”
• (3) By the new law Heb 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.”

II. On the second head it is to be noted that the example of the saints teach us three things about hospitality

• (1) That we should constrain strangers to ” come in unto us.” S. Luke 24:29, “They constrained them, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.”
• (2) That we should protect our guests from harm Gen 19:7, 8, “I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly; with these men do nothing, for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof;” whence we may learn that it was a patriarchal custom to protect guests from violence
• (3) That with joy and gladness we should minister abundantly to their necessities Gen 18:3, 6, 7, “Pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant. And Abraham said, Make ready quickly these measures of fine meal; and Abraham ran unto the herd:” this history teaches us how with joy and gladness we ought abundantly to minister unto strangers.

III. On the third head it is to be noted that three evils are incurred by those who are unwilling to exercise hospitality.

• (1) They are here punished by the Lord Wisdom 19:13-16, “Others, indeed, received not strangers unknown to them, but these brought their guests into bondage that had deserved well of them. And not only so, but in another respect also they were wise; for the others against their will received strangers, but these grievously afflicted them whom they had received with joy. But they were struck with blindness.”
• (2) They shall be confounded in the judgment S. Matt 25:43, “I was a stranger, and ye took me not in.”
• (3) They shall be shut up in an evil habitation S. Matt 25:4, “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”

IV. On the fourth head it is to be noted that for three reasons we ought to be given to hospitality.

• (1) By doing this we gain grace, as the woman of Samaria who talked with Christ.
• (2) By doing this we frequently entertain saints and angels Heb 13:1, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
• (3) By doing this, we shall be received into an eternal, heavenly, and glorious habitation S. Matt 25:33, 34, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in Come, ye blessed children of My Father, inherit the Kingdom,” &c.

Father Callan’s Commentary on Romans 16:25-27

This post contains Father Callan’s brief summary of the passage followed by his notes.

THE FINAL DOXOLOGY

A Summary of Romans 16:25-27~From verse 22 we gather that the whole Epistle, up to the present section, was dictated by St. Paul to Tertius, his secretary. At this point the Apostle very probably took the pen in his own hand and wrote the doxology by way of solemn conclusion and signature (see 2 Thess 3:17; 1 Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11).

The doxology sums up briefly, yet completely, the whole doctrine of the Epistle, reproducing its most significant language, and extolling the omnipotence of God which alone is able to confirm the neophytes in the faith they have received.

25. Now to him that is able to establish you, according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret from eternity,

To him that is able, etc., supposes, as its complement, “glory,” as in verse 27, ω η δοξα (“to whom be the glory”). A similar formula of praise the Apostle often made use of in other Epistles (Gal 1:1; Eph 3:21; Philip 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 13:20).

To establish, etc. When he would be in Rome the Apostle hoped to confirm the Romans in the faith they had received (1:11), and meanwhile he prays that the grace of God, without which nothing can be accomplished, will stabilize and hold them fast in their faith.

According to my gospel, i.e., according to the Gospel which St. Paul preached everywhere (cf. 2:16; 11:28; 2 Tim 2:8), and which was the doctrine of Jesus Christ as also preached by the other Apostles. Although St. Paul in his preaching laid stress on the universality of salvation for all, Jews and Gentiles, and the gratuitousness of this salvation through faith alone, independently of antecedent personal merits or the works of the Law; and while the scope of his Gospel thus differed naturally to some extent from that of the other Apostles, since he was in particular the Apostle of the Gentiles, he was, nevertheless, like the others, always teaching the one Gospel of Christ, else how could he ask God to confirm the Romans, to whom he had never preached, in his Gospel, if it were something distinct from and contrary to the teaching of those others?

The preaching of Jesus Christ, i.e., the doctrine which Christ had announced to the world and had commanded the Apostle to preach; or, according to others, the doctrine which has for its object Jesus Christ, dead and raised again to life (Cornely, Kuhl, etc.).

According to the revelation. This phrase is to be coordinated with the previous one, “according to my gospel,” etc.; and the meaning is that this Gospel, this preaching, is the revelation of a mystery, namely, the universality of salvation for all men, Jews and Gentiles, through faith in Jesus Christ. This great mystery God had decreed from all eternity, but had kept secret, until it was made manifest in the appearance of Christ, in His life and Resurrection and the preaching of the Apostles (Lagrange).

26. (Which now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets,
according to the precept of the eternal God. for the obedience of faith), known among all nations;

Which now, i.e., by the corporal presence of Christ in this world, is made manifest, better, “hath been made manifest,” God’s eternal secret in the Person and life of Christ, His Only-begotten Son.

By the scriptures, etc., i.e., by the ancient prophetic writings, through which Christ and the Gospel were foreshadowed and announced, and of which the Apostles made use in their preaching and writing in confirmation of their teaching (1:2; 3:21; 9:25-26; 10:13, 15, 18, 20; 15:9-12; Eph 3:21; Acts 2:17-21,
25-28; 13:47; 15:16, etc.).

For the obedience, etc., i.e., that the Gospel might be accepted, that men might believe in Jesus Christ—this was the aim and object of the revelation of the great mystery spoken of in the preceding verse, which was for all nations, Gentiles as well as Jews.

27. To God the only wise, through Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

By a prayer of praise to the wisdom of God the Apostle terminates his sublime Epistle to the Romans.

The only wise, i.e., whose infinite wisdom alone was able to guard His eternal secret and prepare His revelation for the redemption of man through Jesus Christ, His Only-begotten Son.

Honour (Vulg., honor) is not represented in the Greek. The construction of the verse is made irregular by the relative ω (“to whom”) which, however, seems to be undoubtedly authentic, as being found in the best MSS., and, which, by referring back to God rather than to Jesus Christ, serves somewhat to complete the sentence begun in verse 25.

 

Bernardin de Piconio’s Commentary on Romans 16:25-27

For Piconio’s Commentary on Romans see here.

25. And to him, who is able to confirm you according to my Gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden in eternal time;
26. (Which is now opened through the Scriptures of the Prophets, according to the command of the eternal God, who has made himself known for the obedience of all nations.)
27. To God only wise, through Jesus Christ, to whom be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

These verses are placed by Saint Chrysostom, Thcodoret, and Theoplylact, at the end of Chapter 14, and all these writers conclude the Epistle with verse 24 of this chapter. All the Latin writers, including Ambrose, the Greek text as we have it now, and Origen, give the words as they are placed in the Vulgate, as above. The Syriac version places the doxology where we have it, but omits verse 24 altogether, and adds at the end the words, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. In this doxology the words to whom in verse 27 are redundant, by a well-known Hebrew idiom. The passage may be paraphrased as follows :

To God, who is able to establish and bring you to eternal life, according to the Gospel I preach, and the proclamaiont of mercy to a lost world which Jesus Christ brought down from heaven, a mystery kept secret from the beginning of time, but which is now revealed in the writings of the Hebrew Prophets, as interpreted by the Apostles, to whom Christ opened the Scriptures, showing the fulfilment of the prophecy in the event, for the conviction of the Jews: and by command of the Eternal now made known to all nations of men for their faith and obedience: to God only wise, through Jesus Christ, be honour and glory for ever.

Bernardin de Piconio’s Commentary on Romans 10:9-18

This post includes comments on verses 9-21. Piconio’s commentary on all of chapter 10 can be found here.

9. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and in thy heart believe that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Moses wrote Lev 18:5, keep my laws andjudgments, which the man who does shall live in them. The lawyer said to Christ, Luke 10:27, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. This was the summary of the law. Christ answered, Thou hast answered right: do this and thou shall live. He acknowledged that he was convicted from his own mouth: for who has ever done this? Perfect obedience to the law of God, such as will obtain justice in God’s sight, is unattainable by human nature. All stand in need of the remission of sin, the justice which is of faith. And this is not laborious or difficult. It is not necessary to ascend to heaven, or go down to hell (cross the seas) in search of it, Deut 30:12. Christ will come down from heaven, re-ascend from hell. What we have to do to obtain the justice which comes from faith, is to believe. This is the word faith which we proclaim; near thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart (Deut 30:14). With thy mouth confess the Lord Jesus Christ, with thy heart believe his incarnation, passion, resurrection—all which briefly are summed up in the belief that God has raised him from the dead—and thou shall be saved.

10. For with the heart is belief to justice: but with the mouth confession is made to salvation.

10. Confession is made unto salvation. Who shall confess me before men, him will I confess. Matt 10:32.

The facility of faith, and its reasonableness, are stated by Tertullian in the words: Credible, because incredible; not to be ashamed of, because shameful. That is, if the mysteries of God are far above our intelligence, this is what we should expect, and a reason for accepting them. And if they are ridiculed by a wicked and thoughtless world, this a reason to honour and reverence them. Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, Luke 9:26. Who is ashamed of Christ as unworthy to serve him, much less reign with him.

11. For the Scripture saith: Every one who believeth in him, shall not be confounded.
12. For there is no distinction of Jew or Greek: for the same Lord of all, is rich to all who invoke him.
13. For every one, whosoever shall have called upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.

11. The Scripture saith: Is 28:16. Vulgate, who believes need not make haste. He who believes in Christ and perseveres in faith is sure of salvation, and need not be in solicitude and anxiety, for his hope will not be disappointed or confounded, as in ch. 5:5, Hope does not confound. The statement of the ancient Prophet is universal and comprehensive. He makes no limitations or
distinctions. Every one who believes, Jew or Greek. God is the Creator of all men, of all nations, and therefore is abundant in kindness and mercy to all the race of man, if they believe him, trust him, and invoke his mercy. God is rich as he is just; not only in himself, but in the communication to man of the true justice and the true riches.

13. Every one whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. The words are quoted from Joel 2:32. Ask and you shall receive. It is, however, to be understood that the invocation of the name of God must be accompanied with real faith, hope, contrition, and charity. Turks, heretics, ungodly Christians, often call on the name of God, yet they are not thereby saved, because they have not these indispensable conditions.

Prayer includes faith, hope, charity, and all religion. Faith prays, says Saint Augustine.

14. How, therefore, shall they invoke him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe in him, whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15. But how shall they preach unless they are sent? as it is written: how beautiful are the feet of them that evangelize peace, that evangelize good things!
16. But not all obey the Gospel. For Isaias says: Lord, who has believed our report?

14. How, therefore, shall they invoke him? This appears to be an objection urged in excuse of the incredulity of the Jews, to whom the whole of this chapter is intended especially to apply. If the invocation of Christ is the means God has appointed for salvation, how shall the Jews, now scattered over all the regions of the world, benefit by this means, if they have not believed in Christ, nor heard his teaching, which was confined to Judea and
Galilee, and no one has been sent to instruct them? For it would seem that it was then only recently that the Apostles, who mostly remained together at Jerusalem for fifteen years after the Ascension of Christ, separated to carry the Gospel to distant lands. The Apostle replies to this in verse 18, but he first observes that the fault is in great measure with the Jews themselves. The message was one they ought to have received with joy. Remission of sins, reconciliation with God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, eternal glory, were offered them by Christ and the Apostles, in accordance with the prediction of Isaias 52:7. How beautiful are the feet of them that evangelize peace, that announce good tidings ! Yet the Jews in Christ’s own land did not all obey the Gospel, though he announced it himself, and still less those who heard it from
the mouth of the Apostles. Is 52:1. Lord, who hath believed our report? literally our hearing; our report of the things we have heard from the lips of Christ.

17. Therefore faith is of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
18. But I say: Have they not heard? And indeed their sound went out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.
19. But I say: Did Israel not know? First Moses says: I will send you for emulation among not a nation, into a foolish nation I will send you in wrath.
20. And Isaias is bold, and says: I have been found by those who sought me not: I appeared openly to those who interrogated me not.
21. But to Israel he says: All day I have held out my hands to a people unbelieving and contradicting.

17. Faith is of hearing. Occasionalitcr. Faith is a gift of God; but is ordinarily communicated, at least to adults, by hearing the word of Christ explained and taught. The Greek text has the Word of God, and so has the Syriac version. No doubt it is true, that to believe, the Jews must hear. But, have they not heard? What does the Prophet David say, Ps 18:5. Their sound went forth, like the thunder, over all the land, their words to the end of the earth. This magnificent prophecy has since been fulfilled on a larger scale, and with grander results; but even in the days of Saint Paul, when this Epistle was written, it was so far true that during the twenty years, or more, that had elapsed since the Ascension of Christ, and the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, the Jews at least, in all accessible parts of the world, must have heard the teaching of the Apostles, and learned the coming of Christ.

Saint Thomas, referring to this prophecy of David, considers the question what opinion we ought to hold of those who have never heard the Gospel of Christ? His answer is, that they are excusable up to a certain point from the charge of infidelity; but that they are damned on account of original sin and the other sins which they have added. But he proceeds to say that if they had
done what was within their power and knowledge, God would, in his mercy, have provided for them by sending them a preacher, as he sent Saint Peter to Cornelius, Saint Paul to the Macedonians. At the same time the grace to do what was already in their power itself, proceeded from God, who moved their hearts.

10. But I say: Did not Israel know? Certainly they knew, from the very fact that they saw the Gentiles all around them accepting the faith of Christ, from which in their obstinacy they excluded themselves. Moses and Isaias both foretold this long ago. Moses first Deut 32:21, as in the text~” I will urge you to jealousy by that which was no nation; I will provoke you to wrath by a
foolish people”: the Gentiles, namely, whom the Jews regarded as foolish, and who were not of the race of Abraham. Isaias exhibited great courage when he faced the prejudices of his own nation, in very difficult times, and boldly predicted the conversion of the Gentiles. He speaks in the person of Christ: I was found by them that sought me not, I appeared to them who did not interrogate me, but consulted instead their own augurs, oracles, and false divinities. But if the Gentiles, or multitudes among them, joyfully accepted salvation in Christ, the Jews remained incredulous, obstinate, cavilling. Is 65:2~”All day long—all the time of my mortal life—I stretched forth my hands, in earnest persuasion. All the day, one day, I stretched them out on the cross: but they contradicted and blasphemed.

Doctrinal Corollary.
Saint John Chrysostom observes at the conclusion of this chapter that Saint Paul has given a perfectly clear solution of the objections proposed to him, or which he foresaw might probably be offered to his argument, and proved that the infidelity of the Jews was the consequence of their obstinacy alone, and that no valid excuse can be offered for them. A father will sometimes call his child, and the child will not come; but if another listens to the call, emulation will effect what obedience wonld not, and he will then run to his father’s presence. Thus God, having in vain called upon the Jews, with outstretched arms, all day, provoked them at length to emulation by calling the Gentiles, whom they despised and looked down upon, and brought these into his Holy
Catholic Church. Alas! this failed too. The Jews still remained obstinate. What excuse can they find?

The cause of the rejection of the Jews, as assigned by the Apostle, is solely and entirely their own obstinacy and malice; not any reprobating decree of God: to which he makes no allusion, and which, if it existed, would render his argument irrelevant.

The Gentiles, called by God, and sought, came and were found. I appeared; the grace of prevention and vocation. I was found: the co-operation of the Gentiles with the grace of faith.