Scripture:
Galatians 3:22-29
Luke 11:27-28
Reflection:
We are Blessed Because of Our Faith
As a child I always thought that being connected with the church makes you holy and justified to be a child of God. Go to church on Sunday, become an altar server, lector, hospitality minister, parish council member or join a church committee and you will automatically go to heaven, be blessed, and become a child of God. If you did anything associated with the church, you were a child of God, blessed, and you were going to heaven. Mary being the mother of God was automatic, right? But scripture tells us that just being the mother of God did not make Mary blessed. Yes, she was born full of grace, but she was justified through her faith and with her yes to God’s will.
A woman called Jesus’ mother blest in the Gospel, because her womb bore Jesus and her breasts nursed Him. Jesus corrected the woman by saying that we are blest when we hear the Word of God and keep it (Luke 11:27-28). When we hear the word of God and keep it, it is called faith. It is through faith that we can be called a child of God. It is through faith that we can ascend to heaven to partake of his divinity and of his glory. We are blest because we hear the Word of God and keep it. We are blest not because of our connections with Jesus but because of our commitment to Him. The Lord is calling us not to be merely connected with Him but totally committed to Him. He is totally committed to us and calls us to be totally committed to Him.
Deacon Peter Smith serves at St. Mary’s/Holy Family Parish in Alabama, a retired Theology teacher from Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High School in Birmingham, a retired soldier from the US Air Force, and a member of our Passionist Family.