Exhortation to spiritual service 1 I EXHORT you therefore, brethren, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto God, your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God.
Humility and concord 3 For I say, by the grace that is given me, to all that are among you, not to be more wise than it behooves to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety, and according as God has divided to every one the measure of faith. 4 For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office: 5 So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. 6 And having different gifts, according to the grace that is given us, either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith; 7 Or ministry, in ministering; or he that teaches, in doctrine; 8 He that exhorts, in exhorting; he that gives, with simplicity; he that rules, with carefulness; he that shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Fraternal charity 9 Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good. 10 Loving one another with the charity of brotherhood, with honour preventing one another. 11 In carefulness not slothful. In spirit fervent. Serving the Lord. 12 Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Instant in prayer. 13 Communicating to the necessities of the saints. Pursuing hospitality. 14 Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not. 15 Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep. 16 Being of one mind one towards another. Not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits. 17 To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing good things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. 18 If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men. 19 Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay (Dt 32:35), says the Lord . 20 But if your enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, you shall heap coals of fire upon his head. (Prov 25:21-22) 21 Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
Commentary on Romans 12
12:1 For when he had said sacrifice, to prevent any from thinking he bade them kill themselves, he immediately added living. Then to distinguish it from the Jewish, he calls it holy, acceptable to God, your reasonable service. For theirs was a material one, and not very acceptable either... And how is the body, it may be said, to become a sacrifice? Let the eye look upon no evil thing, and it has become a sacrifice; let your tongue speak nothing filthy, and it has become an offering; let your hand do no lawless deed, and it has become a whole burnt offering. Or rather this is not enough, but we must have good works also: let the hand do alms, the mouth bless them that cross one, and the hearing find leisure evermore for lections of Scripture. For sacrifice allows of no unclean thing: sacrifice is a first-fruit of the other actions. Let us then from our hands, and feet, and mouth, and all other members, yield a first-fruit unto God. (St. John Chrysostom)
12:2 to this world: By the figures of the present age he is referring to things like wealth and influence and other pomp and circumstance, implying future things are stable and lasting. (Theodoret of Cyrus) newness of your mind: that is, the conduct of the new person in Christ. (Interlinear Gloss) perfect will of God: The will of God is either the will itself that is in God whereby he wills, or it is that which he wills. Here it is understood as God’s will whereby he wills, which is always fulfilled… Further it is called his operation or his permission. (Glossa Ordinaria)
12:3 measure of faith: A charismatic power, which none but the faithful receive, is to be considered a measure of faith. (Pelagius) This was frequently bestowed, in the infancy of the Church, to some, in a greater degree, to others, in a lesser degree some, to be exercised for the good of the faithful. (Bishop John McEvilly)
12:4-5 Paul exhorts them to live in harmony by comparing them with the body, in case they are not roused at least by the fact that they have received different gifts. For they could not as individuals each have all the gifts, lest they became proud because they lacked none. Nor could they all have the same gift, in order that the likeness of the body of Christ may be evident among us. (Pelagius) The man who strives for more power than he has received tries to exceed the limitations placed on him. But the man who does not heed the limits of his capacity sets his foot on a precipice. We are instructed by our bodily posture, and it is most disgraceful not to imitate what we are. (William of St. Thierry)
12:6 prophecy: Strictly speaking, is that gift which was frequently given before Christ came, as well as in the Primitive church, but which now for the most part has ceased, and is only vouchsafed to a very few men, for a testimony to their exceptional holiness. The frequency of such gifts was miraculous, and came almost to an end with the Apostles; that is to say, they are not now given, as then, promiscuously, but to very few and very seldom. It was the purpose of the Lord that those miracles should shine forth brightly, to draw the attention of the heathen to the Gospel, and to convince them of its truth. Now, however, that the faith has been well grounded and the world converted, He withdraws them and bids the Church depend for her growth and perfection on the usual instruments of teaching and exhortation. (Cornelius Jansen Concordia 47) Or it is the gift of interpreting past prophecies, or of foretelling things to come. (Fr. Robert Witham) or the gift of explaining the Sacred Scriptures. (Bishop John McEvilly)
12:7-8 ministry: such as the bishop or priest who are called God’s ministers. (St. Thomas Aquinas) teaching: that is, instruction of divine truths. exhorting: that is, urging to virtue. gives: not looking after the good opinion of others. (Theodoret of Cyrus) rules: such as a prince. mercy: He who has the grace of helping or showing compassion to the oppressed. (Interlinear Gloss) |
12:9 hating that which is evil: For since many who don't do evil things still have a desire after them, therefore he says, hate. For what he wants is to purify the thoughts, and that we should have a mighty enmity, hatred and war against vice. (St. John Chrysostom)
12:11-12 That is, showing enthusiasm for the good… He bade enthusiasm give substance to it, like wood on fire… The one who is fervent in spirit serves the Lord with enthusiasm, looks forward to the enjoyment of the good things hoped for and proves superior to the onset of trials, pitting endurance against their assaults and calling unceasingly on divine grace for assistance. (Theodoret of Cyrus) With the joy of hope we can endure tribulation, knowing that the things which are promised to those who suffer are much greater. Prayer is essential, for if we are to survive tribulation we need prayer. (Ambrosiaster)
12:14 This shows that we must have good will even toward enemies and persecutors by desiring their welfare and praying for them: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" Mt 5:44. This directive can be interpreted in one way as a precept and in another as a counsel. For we are commanded to love our enemies in such a way as not to exclude them from our general love of neighbor and from the prayer one makes for all believers. We are also obliged to show the effect of this love of one’s enemies in particular cases of critical need. Hence it says in Ex 23:4: "If you meet your enemy‘s ox or ass going astray, rescue it." But for anyone to give his enemies the benefit of his help beyond cases of manifest need or to say special prayers and indicate a feeling of love in a special way pertains to the perfection of the counsels, because it shows that a person’s love of God is so advanced that it triumphs over all human hatred. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
12:16 being of one mind: That is, cultivate perfect concord, by not only entertaining the same feelings in common, but by having in common also the same judgments. (Bishop John McEvilly)
12:17 Our conscience we owe to God, to our neighbor our reputation. The fact that he says all men signifies that we owe good example even to those who are outside. (William of St. Thierry)
12:18 if possible: For sometimes other people’s malice prevents us from having peace with them, namely, because no peace is possible with them unless we consent to their malice. Such peace, of course, is illicit: "I came not to send peace but the sword" Mt 10:34. Another qualifier is added when he says: so far as it depends on you, that is, even if they act against peace, we should do all in our power to preserve peace with them. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
12:19 Paul warns us to avoid anger, especially because so often anger is the chief cause of sin. Someone who is motivated by wrath will demand more than the cause of the sin merits, or will put himself out to do more harm while seeking revenge if he tries to avenge the more serious sins when he is incompetent to do so. In the end he will destroy someone when he could have corrected and restored him instead. (Ambroisaster)
12:20 burning coals upon his head: This can be given a sinister interpretation, so that the sense would be: if you do good to him, your good will turn out evil for him, because from it he will incur eternal fire by his ingratitude. But this sense is opposed to charity, against which a person would be acting, if he helped someone, so that the help would turn out evilly for him. Therefore, it must be given a good sense, namely, by doing so, that is, helping them in time of need, burning coals, that is, the love of charity. (St. Thomas Aquinas) |
Catechism Cross-references
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