The first reading is chosen as a commentary on today’s gospel. It presents two cases: the first case concerns someone who chooses an evil path and never turns back. The second case is about someone who first goes an evil way and then reforms. It’s somewhat like the two sons in the gospel parable. The moral seems to be it’s never too late to renounce our evil ways and reform.
In the second reading, most commentators think that St Paul is really quoting the words of an early Christian hymn. We don’t have the music, just the words that Paul has passed on to us. If that’s true, then this hymn must have been the most profound ever written because it so well expresses what has come to be called “the paschal mystery of Christ.” It’s all about the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection as the source of all grace.
—Walter Modrys SJ
This week’s readings can be found on the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website.
believe. teach. practice. 