Sunday Vigil
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Romans 4,13.16-18
For the promise to Abraham and his descendants that he should inherit the world was not through the Law, but through the uprightness of faith. That is why the promise is to faith, so that it comes as a free gift and is secure for all the descendants, not only those who rely on the Law but all those others who rely on the faith of Abraham, the ancestor of us all (as scripture says: I have made you the father of many nations). Abraham is our father in the eyes of God, in whom he put his faith, and who brings the dead to life and calls into existence what does not yet exist. Though there seemed no hope, he hoped and believed that he was to become father of many nations in fulfilment of the promise: Just so will your descendants be.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Paul affirms that from the beginning of history salvation has come through faith. And he recalls the book of Genesis, which narrates the conversion of Abraham. Later the apostle wrote, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Abraham's life gives witness to the strength that flows from faith. Indeed, he was justified by faith and not by the works he had performed. He entrusted himself to God completely, even though he did not have any clear or obvious assurances. This is why he is called righteous: God made him righteous through faith and saved him. Abraham therefore becomes the example of the believer justified by faith, precisely because he believed in the Word of God. Thus the apostle can say that Abraham "is the father of all of us," of all believers. Through faith, the holy patriarch knew a different destiny: by trusting entirely in the One who had called him, he was freed from the slavery of himself, his works, and his traditions. It was through faith, not through the clarity of his vision or the certainty of his own convictions, that Abraham left his land and set off towards a destiny that he did not know. Through his absolute and complete faith in God, he brought his son, his only son, Isaac, to the mountain to be sacrificed, but God gave him back. On this road opened by Abraham, our father in faith, Paul outlines the path for those who welcome Jesus as Lord.