Fratres: I write this commentary in the hope of building up the Body of Christ, so that in all things glory may be given to our God Who reigns forever. The Epistle to the Romans of the Divine Apostle Paul is a treasure trove of spiritual delights, sufficient to raise the souls of all men, whether clergy, religious or laity, learned or simple to the Truth Who is Christ Jesus, Our Lord. I undertake this study of this Sacred Writing so I may participate in closer union with our Divine Redeemer through His Mystical Body suffering on this earth in the hope of coming face to face with Him Whom I read about. I call upon the intercession of the glorious Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and of all Hearts that I may explain, as far I have been given the capacity, this heavenly doctrine concerning the Descent of the Logos and the exaltation in principle of man with humility and faith.
Many homilies, commentaries and expositions have been commended to paper on this Epistle yet for my sake; I believe it to be pertinent that I write so that I may understand more fully. If there is contained within this work anything contrary to the Faith, I sincerely apologise for negligence, but it will not be out of bad faith that such errors are proclaimed. My plan is to reproduce this commentary in the form of a ‘sermon’ if you will, or each chapter for Filioque each week. I ask for initial good will before I commence and urge for you to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Chapter 1.
For us Catholic Christians, the Letter to the Romans especially concerning the doctrine of justification by faith set forth by Paul is often troubling. In the past one hundred years, such a sublime teaching of the gratuitous mercy of the Good Lord has been gravely distorted by Protestantism that so many of us approach it with scepticism at the very least. Yet with the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit, the Soul of the Church, we may be led into all truth (Jn 16.13), by remaining faithfully united to His Mystical Body, who is the pillar and foundation of that message (1. Tim 3:15). With this in mind, let us proceed according to the regula fidei that we may be preserved from such deviation.
The Holy Apostle declares that he ‘is not ashamed of the Good News’, even though this kerygma was a source of ‘stumbling’ for the Jews and a message of ‘foolishness’ for the erudite and cultured Greeks (1. Cor 1:23). Lacking this sophistication of the world, the Apostle remains faithful to his calling, calling to mind the words of Our Blessed Lord Who did say, ‘If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’(Lk 9:26).The scandal of the Cross, His Supreme Immolation for our ransom was an affront to the human assumption that such a termination of a mission was a resounding failure. Even though the Suffering Servant was set forth as the propitiation to remove the guilt and to bind up the wounds of the people of Israel (cf. Isaiah 53), the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of the Father and His utter humiliation on the Cross as a common criminal was more than they could honestly bear. It verily surpasses the hopes of all men. When our Master prophesied that He would be handed over to the scribes and Pharisees, the Prince of the Apostles answered with the expected human reaction of astonishment and fear at such a fate (Mt 16.21-23). The expectation of the Jews was frustrated, and they received a kingdom not of this world, which was incomprehensible to their uncircumcised hearts of stone. No man could ever have conceived of the complete condescension of the Lord Who sent forth in love, His Beloved, Sole-Begotten Son so that whosoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but receive eternal life (Jn 3.16) and be crowned with righteousness (2. Tim 4:8) before the host of angels. He acknowledges the ‘power of God’ which manifests itself in the foolishness of the Cross, for the mockery and scorn of men. Yet for Paul and the member of the Body of Christ, the Cross far from being dead, dry wood, becomes the Tree of Life for us, through which the fruits of sanctity blossom and give delight to passersby, who wish to taste and see that the Lord is good. This Faith was not merely taught to the lost sheep of the House of Israel or the Gentiles, but that intimate union with the Redeemer was urged to be accepted by mankind, so that they may inherit the’ kingdom prepared for (them )before the foundation of the world’ (Mt 25:34). An aversion to the wood of the Cross on which is hung our Salvation, is sign of the reprobate who fails to acknowledge the universal sinfulness of humanity and the necessity of grace and the divine mercy. Paul states elsewhere, ‘For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.’ (1 Cor 1:18). It is imperative to state however, in whatever manner the ‘economic’ Trinity operates, we see a reflection of the immanent life of the Deity. With the risk of proclaiming subordinationism (which I reject), we can realise how in the ivine communion of love, the Eternal Son of the Father is in some sense dependent upon the First Person (although fully God by nature) as He receives His essence from the Source of the Godhead. In the Incarnation, brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit through the cooperation of Mary, the Mediatrix of all Graces, the Logos comes to do the will of Him who sent Him (Jn 6:38) into the world to save sinners and grant them abundant life (Jn 10:10). He submits to the eternal plan of His Father even to the point of death (Phil 2:8) and is raised in great glory and given the Name above all Names (Phil 2:9). By His humble submission to the divine will, He reverses the sin of Adam, our First Parent who fell through pride. God does not merely ‘stoop down to look’ (Ps 113:6), but He unites Himself hypostatically, that is truly in the harmony of one Person, the whole nature of humanity so that we may be healed. As Athanasius said, “He became what we are that we might
become what He is.”
The ‘justice of God’ was a phrase that haunted Martin Luther, through which all he saw initially was his innumerable weaknesses and imperfections which were due to be punished by the just decree of God. In his failure to comprehend this divine mystery, he distorted the truth to fit human sensibilities and claimed his innovation of sola fide as a safeguard for the grace of God in Christ. However, the Council of Trent against such error declared that the ‘formal cause’ of our justification consists of the ‘justice of God, not that whereby He Himself is just, but that whereby He maketh us just, that, to wit, with which we being endowed by Him, are renewed in the spirit of our mind, and we are not only reputed, but are truly called, and are, just, receiving justice within us, each one according to his own measure, which the Holy Ghost distributes to everyone as He wills, and according to each one's proper disposition and co-operation ‘ (6, 6). The Good Lord elects through an inscrutable decree some of His sinful creatures to share in the divine nature whereby they are conformed to the image of His Son, Who is blessed forever. He desires them to be animated by charity, which reflects the Essence of God Who is Love (1 Jn 3:16). He chooses to make them righteous in His sight as He knows the secret desires of the heart and is not fooled by the appearances of men.
Much more must be written, but I need a bit more time to collect my thoughts on such a sublime mystery. But here it is so far...
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