As sinners, we are God's enemies

Opening Prayer (Aug 5, 08)
Lord,
pardon the sins of your people.
May the prayers of Mary, the mother of your Son,
help to save us,
for by ourselves we cannot please you.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.


A snippet from the Magnificat - (Peter John Cameron writes what Father Fitzmyer summarizes as the chief effects of the Christ-Event.) RECONCILIATION: The starting point of Paul's stance before God is that human beings, as sinners, are God's enemies. Reconciliation is God's way of reuniting wayward people to himself. The initiative is fully God's; through Christ sinners are brought from a status of enmity to friendship. Thanks to the saving effect of reconciliation, we experience a change from anger, hostility, and alienation to love, friendship, and intimacy - that is, at-one-ment (see Rom 5:10-11).