After a break during vacation (from Romans, not from prayer), I’m back to the Letter of the Romans in my morning prayer. The line that grabbed me this morning was Paul’s explanation in the 15th chapter of Romans that in his preaching to the Gentiles “I will not venture fo speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me.”
Paul’s statement is a good description of how we should approach our call to proclaim the Gospel. Far too many people equate proclaiming the Gospel with simply telling others what they must believe and how they must act.
Paul, however, understood that the most important aspect of preaching the Gospel is sharing God’s work in our own lives – speaking of what God has done with and through us. That is what St. Ignatius did in the Spiritual Exercises – he didn’t sit down and come up with the Exercises by reading books, he shared what was his experience with God. That is what all the mystics to in their writing – share what God has done through them.
In the words of a devotional commentary to this passage, “The reality of God’s work in our lives will give credibility to our words.” If we do no speak as Paul did, there is no power or credibility in our words.
Creo en Dios! 