“... it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead ...” (Romans 4:24.)
Origen of Alexandria (part 2 of Pope Benedict’s reflections on Origen) comments on this verse from the First Reading proclaimed at Mass today:
“Note that Paul does not speak of those who believe that God is supreme, or of those who believe that he made heaven and earth, or of those who believe that he made the angels and the other hosts of the heavenly glory. Rather, he speaks of those who believe in the God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Did Abraham believe in this God even before he had raised Jesus? Abraham’s faith contained within it the form and image of this great mystery. For when he was ordered to sacrifice his only son, he believed that God could raise him up from the dead.23 Moreover, he did not believe this of Isaac only but also of his seed, which is Chris..” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans)
Collect
O God,
Who chose to manifest the blessed hope
of Your eternal Kingdom
by the toil of Saints John de Brébeuf,
Isaac Jogues and their companions and
by the shedding of their blood,
graciously grant that through their intercession
the faith of Christians
may be strengthened day by day.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Who chose to manifest the blessed hope
of Your eternal Kingdom
by the toil of Saints John de Brébeuf,
Isaac Jogues and their companions and
by the shedding of their blood,
graciously grant that through their intercession
the faith of Christians
may be strengthened day by day.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Glory to the Father and to
the Son and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen
