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Today, Catholic Christians celebrate the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
On this day, we read some practical words from St. James about the spiritual life to which Christians are called. Specifically, we read:
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also, faith, of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
“Indeed, someone might say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (James 2: 14-18).
Does James mean we do works to earn salvation? No, we don’t “earn” salvation, for that is a gift from God. We do works because Jesus ordered us to do various Christian commandments: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive one’s enemies, pray for those who harm us, bury the dead, console those who mourn, give to the one who asks, welcome the stranger; and many more.
So, each of us needs to ask ourself, “How do I put my faith into action?”
In the above photo, we see a minister of the Church of Nuestra Señora de Candelaria in Curarén, F.M., Honduras, waiting for the procession to begin for Mass. Various ministers in that church wear special vests, like that shown in the photo, to indicate they are lectors, Eucharistic ministers, ushers, or whatever.
Today is also Independence Day in Honduras, so Happy Independence Day!
