Collect taken from Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time.
Collect: O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…
“O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path“
– This is Salvation History: the story of God showing His light to those who’ve gone astray (all of humanity) so that they can return to the right path. That right path is knowledge, love, and worship of the God who created them for precisely that purpose.
“give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honor.”
– A person is accounted a Christian based on the faith they profess, not their heritage or family ties. These people, those who profess the faith, need the help of God to recognize and follow the demands that faith makes upon them. That include avoiding sin and hypocrisy (whatever is contrary to Christ) and growing in holiness and love of neighbor (all that honors Christ’s name).
Questions & Advice: Why do you think that God has spent so much time guiding humanity to knowledge of himself through Jesus Christ? Are you a Christian by faith or simply because that’s what you’ve always done? Is your primary concern to avoid sin or to make positive steps in holiness?
Read about the importance of integrity and the danger of scandal in the Catechism (2284-87). Spend some of your prayer time asking for the courage to not only profess the faith, but to actively give honor to the God you believe in.
