14 October 2022 - Ephesians 1:11-14 - Friday of the 28th week of Ordinary Time

       In our first reading, we heard from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, as Paul stated that we were chosen in Christ, that we may exist for the praise of his glory.  How we praise his glory can vary according to our status in life, the gifts we are given by God, and the calling we receive from him.

     These last few weeks, we’ve been hearing from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.  Yesterday, in the first readings in daily Mass, we started hearing the opening passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  Paul had founded the Christian community in Ephesus on his second missionary journey.  He later returned to Ephesus, where he stayed approximately 3 years.  The letter to the Ephesians that we hear from was written to that community while Paul was in prison in Rome.  Scholars believe that in addition to Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon were also written while he was in prison. The importance of praising God is a main theme of this letter. Paul praises God who is in the person and work of Jesus Christ and in the Gospel message.  After a brief greeting, Paul’s first words in Ephesians begin,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.”   

      We are pilgrims on a pilgrimage through life. We are pilgrims here in Italy as well.  And being a pilgrim is very different from being a tourist.  Last month, I was reading a spiritual book written by Rachel Held Evans.  She quoted the American writer and conservationist Henry David Thoreau, who said: The most important thing is not what you look at; the most important thing is what you see.   A pilgrim can look at something and experience something and see something very different from what a tourist would see. A pilgrim sees things from the lens of faith.  It is by faith that we are on this pilgrimage in Rome and Italy. 

     May we praise God in our hearts, in our words, and in our actions as we continue on our pilgrimage.  May God open our eyes and our heart so that we may see things as a pilgrim, so that we may see things through the lens of faith.