Salvation & Justification
We
Do Not Stand Alone
Todd von Kampen
From
the Editor
Marcus Grodi
Returning
Home
Rick Ricciardi
One
Saving Action
Dwight Longnecker
A
Voice From A Catholic Pulpit
Fr. Michael DeTemple, O.P.
How
ARE Catholics Saved?
Catechism
The
Early Church Fathers on Salvation
Chris Erickson
Did
Paul Teach Justification by Faith ALONE?
Robert Sungenis
Not
By Faith Alone
James Akin
Or
Is There Something Else?
Marcus Grodi
Justification
By Faith
Dr. William Marshner
Before
You Object...
Fr. Ray Ryland
Other Journals
A Voice From a Catholic Pulpit
Fr. Michael DeTemple, O.P.
Sadly, a common misconception held by thousands of non-Catholics is not only the presumption that Catholics do not know the Scriptures or the Gospel and therefore are not saved, but that the gospel message is rarely preached from Catholic pulpits. Then on Trinity Sunday a month ago, as I was in the midst of compiling the articles for this edition of the CHJournal, my family heard the following homily proclaimed with great conviction and energy by Fr. Mike DeTemple, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinus Parish in Zanesville, Ohio. When he was done I wanted to stand up and shout, "Amen!", not just in affirmation of what he proclaimed, but to say as a convert to the Catholic Church, "See! This IS what we believe!"
I’m not including this homily because it is the best sermon I ever heard (please, no offense Fr. DeTemple). Rather I include it because I believe it is representative of what is heard from sincere, faithful Catholic priests all over the world.
Please remember as you read the Scripture Readings for Trinity Sunday followed by Fr. DeTemple’s homily, that these readings were read and heard from Catholic pulpits in over 220,117 parishes (churches) by over 404,461 priests and 3,267 bishops to potentially over 1 billion registered Catholics in nearly every language on earth. "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2.14).
—Editor
Reading One: Isaiah 6.1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"
Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven." And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."
Reading Two: Romans 8.12-17
So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Gospel: John 3.1-17
Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicode’mus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him."
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicode’mus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, `You must be born anew.’ The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit."
Nicode’mus said to him, "How can this be?"
Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand this? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen; but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life."
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.
Homily for Trinity Sunday:
Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Do you remember how it felt? How you wanted to be with that other person all the time; how you wanted to find out all about that other person, know everything there is to know about him or her; do everything you could to please that person; forego anything to be with that person; spend everything you had for the sake of that other person? Sacrifice seemed natural. Commitment was easy. Do you remember this?
This is what we celebrate on Trinity Sunday. Only, we are not those who love. We are the Beloved. This is how God looks upon us. This is how God feels about us and the Gospel today gives us a glimpse.
John 3:16—Have you seen the banners at sporting events? It refers to the pinnacle verse in today’s Gospel, which contains the heart of the Good News: God so loved the world (the motive) that He gave (a sheer gift) His only Son (Jesus is the gift that was given) so that everyone who believes (the role of faith) in Him might not perish (what we fear), but might have eternal life (the goal).
I remember the first time I read this passage on my own and really understood/discovered its meaning. I was stunned. It was as if I had never heard it before. Up to that point in my life, I had put the cart before the horse and I didn’t know it. I had believed that if I kept the 10 commandments as perfectly as possible, if I did all the things Jesus tells us to do in the Gospel, then God would love me and at the end of my life, presuming my sins didn’t outweigh my good deeds, I would be saved. God would allow me to enter heaven.
This view of the Christian life puts all the emphasis on our efforts and very little on God’s grace. It’s actually very ego-centric and arrogant, even though it sounds very good. In fact, it’s a heresy known as Pelagianism. "We can save ourselves, thank you!" In my own life, when the turmoil of adolescence arrived, I began to have little hope of being saved. The cart was now careening downhill fast and the horse was nowhere to be found!
But what Jesus says very clearly in this passage is something very different: salvation is a gift. It is not something we can earn. Jesus has won it for us. I repeat: salvation is a gift. It is not something we can earn. Jesus has won it for us. The horse must come before the cart: God’s love has to come before any response on our part. If we, by our will power or virtue, could earn God’s love, then Jesus died on the cross for nothing. In fact, He came to earth for nothing. If we can earn salvation, there is no need for Jesus at all.
Of course, the truth is, we cannot save ourselves. That’s why God, out of his great love for us, gave us His only Son. He was a gift—and like any gift, we can either accept it or reject it. That is to say, we can believe this good news of God’s unconditional love for us, open our hearts to it, and allow it to transform our lives, or we can continue the weary and futile struggle of trying to justify ourselves before God. One path leads to everlasting life, the other to death. God’s love and gift must come first. Everything we do is in response! And even our response comes to life and is sustained in us by God: by the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts.
Once we fully understand and appreciate this tremendous gift of love in Jesus, we naturally want to spend the rest of our lives loving God in return. We want to do only what He desires, we want to be with Him, to do all that He has commanded us to do, to fulfill His will, to seek His forgiveness when we fail, to live as Jesus did, embracing His teachings and following His example. Our entire life becomes a response, prompted and empowered by the Holy Spirit, to the lavish and unconditional love God has so generously given in Jesus. Of course, we know we can never do enough to repay God, but in gratitude and love, we try to do all we can.
We are reminded of this truth every year on Trinity Sunday. God is a community of persons, expressed in relationship, and united in love. He wants us to be the same: a community of persons, expressed in relationships and united in love and by His grace, this is possible. That is why St. Paul often began or ended his letters with these words: "May the grace (gift) of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love (motive) of God and the fellowship (companionship) of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!"
The Trinity! Love—Gift—Companion.
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