The Apostle Paul begins by making it very clear that he has a thankful heart and that thankfulness is something to be proclaimed. His first order of thankfulness is expressed toward God for allowing him to have a relationship with the believers in Rome. Paul is specific in that he mentioned what he is thankful for in this relationship with the Romans. Paul is clearly thankful for their faith because it is visible and active and worthy of praise and proclamation. Active faith is a necessary ingredient in the life of a believer and active faith shows that one does have a relationship with the Lord. James tells us that faith without works is dead, James 5:17. We are also reminded that one who is a serious servant of the Lord is a committed person as he or she prays without ceasing as Paul mentions in verse nine of this chapter. This does not mean that we should be walking around in public as one who is talking out loud or to themselves. What is meant is that we should have a consciousness of the meaning of prayer and actively pray in our spirit as an ongoing pattern of our normal thought processes. St. Paul writes to the Philippians on what to think about throughout the course of the day. "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, it there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil. 4:8)
St. Paul reveals a tender and appreciative side of his character as he offers up to God how thankful he is for the Christians at Rome. The primary reason for this thankfulness is the level of their faith. First century Rome is like the capital of the world, much like Manhattan in our day. When something happens in New York it is heard about all over the world. The Roman Christians had such an outstanding faith that it was not kept a secret. Therefore Paul's first order of business is to commend them and thank God for them. Thankfulness begins with appreciating the extent of God's love toward us and placing Him in the drivers seat of our life. Because of what Paul saw among the believers in Rome it committed him to pray even more for them and their well being. Paul is sold out to God and has dedicated himself to pray for them without ceasing. Paul was conveying to them that nothing would deter him from praying for them. The beauty of the Catholic church is that it teaches that the saints such as Paul are still praying for us even after they have gone on to be with the Lord. When one prays in such away they remove self from the equation of earthly happenings and depend solely on Christ to bring about His sovereign will in the lives of people and in the church.
It was Pauls desire to impart some gift to the people in Rome to better equip them for the work of the ministry. Paul speaks of five offices of the church that involve people who are gifted for this task. Paul says, "And His gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God." (Eph.4:11-13)
Although Paul was an apostle and had many of these gifts working in his life it was his desire to impart as much to those that he could for the ultimate edification of the believer. While doing this he also experienced the mutual encouragement that is developed between teacher/mentor and disciple. This cooperative learning and experiencing of the things of God is the kind of team spirit that brings about the community and unity that is so needed in the church today as much as it was then. Perhaps as St. Paul is praying for us along with all the saints and Jesus Himself we could learn to pray without ceasing for one another. Paul reveals the kind of attitude that we should all exemplify; that is love, unceasing prayer, commitment, and a desire to spend one's self for God.
His servants and yours,
Gerard & Yolanda Cleffi Directors
Oratory of Divine Love
The great truths that must flood the mind of man with light are the limitless perfection of God and the perfectibility of man. The enticements that must captivate the heart of man are the divine goodness of God and man's gratuitously given capacity to share that divine life, to begin to possess that divine goodness even as he walks among the things of earth. The truths are not less certain because they are too clear for our eyes. The task before our heart is not to hold a fickle lover but to spend itself.
Walter Farrell, O.P., S.T.M., Martin J. Healy, S.T.D., My Way of Life, Brooklyn, NY, Confraternity of the Precious Blood, Pg.2
My Jesus, so many people recommend patience and admire it with their lips, but so few are willing to exercise it in their daily life . Please do not allow me to be a theoretical follower of Yours, but an active one. I desire to be generous with You in real life. You deserve so much more than I can ever offer You. It is little enough that I have to suffer when compared with the cross which You embraced for love of me, or compared with what Your saints did for Your sake. Let me at least find joy in embracing, for love of You, the trials, contradictions, disappointments, and labors of this day. I hope to rise higher than this later on, by wishing to suffer more than my ordinary share of daily tasks and trials. All this let me do for Your sake, my all-deserving Savior. Amen.
Anthony J. Paone, S.J. My Daily Bread, Brooklyn, N.Y. Confraternity Of The Precious Blood, Pgs.343-344