Faith and Works!

"Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works" (Ps.62). That phrase from our psalmist sums up the readings for today. As the caption from Saint Paul's letter to the Romans (2:1-11) states, "God will repay each according to his works, Jew first and then Greek." From another letter, Saint Paul will say, "Faith without works is dead." Both faith and works go hand-in-hand. Just like the Benedictine motto, "Ora et Labora," "Pray and Work." You need one with the other. To make sure our work is efficient we need to pray and we need to have faith. Jesus chides the Pharisees in the gospel, Luke 11:42-46, because they lord their authority over the people. They will tell the people what to do but do not lift a finger to help them or do their part. We cannot do that either because we are all on this journey of life and faith together. If we are going to tell someone what to do, we have to be willing to do the work as well. We are to rejoice because our reward will be great in heaven, but we have to get there and we need to do our part by living holy, faithful, prayerful, dedicated lives. We put our faith into action by the works that we do and the service we offer our brothers and sisters. Do not be afraid to live your faith. When we live our faith, we are doing the works that God will repay to each of us. Blessings to you!!!