Introduction

St. Paul was sent by Jesus Christ to bring the Good News of the Gospel beyond the borders of Israel. The Letter to the Romans was written by St. Paul around A.D. 57 in Greece. His epistle was written in advance of a planned trip to evangelize in Rome and beyond to Spain and to the western ends of the Roman Empire. The epistle is addressed to Christians of both Jewish and Gentile origin, and it aims to establish a common ground for all believers. St. Paul exhorts how the Gospel of love is the fulfillment of the law and that faith in Christ Jesus is the sole means of justification by which salvation will be secured for all peoples.

"Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God,… Through Him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of His name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ" (1. Romans 1:1,5,6)

May the power of the Word spoken through the writings of St. Paul build up our hearts and minds in the faith of Christ Jesus, in the hope of salvation He won for us on the cross, and in the love He has called us to live out among our Sisters and Brothers.

(c) Paul Buis, 2005