We may wonder to read this hymn of gratitude of St Paul when he was precisely in prison, when everyone had abandoned him and he was in darkness and solitude. Nevertheless, this hymn is dictated by a deep feeling of faith, knowing that for the Christian pain is also "good news". And all this because God, our Lord, is not a cold and far away God, but a God who approaches us humans in history, as the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

The joy that overflows from the heart of Paul is because he thinks that we have been elected "sons and daughters" in Christ from all eternity. Our determination for holiness will always be needed, but the truly great and decisive factor is the action of God through Christ in us. The sanctity is not "ours" but it is "of Christ" (1 Cor. 1:30).

Let us contrast this generous attitude of St Paul with the one which the Gospel of Luke narrates today: The scribes think to honour the prophets assassinated making them beautiful sepulchres; but in reality and in their profound attitude, they are in communication with the assassins. They prefer to lead Jesus to death to be able to maintain their understanding of the Law. In St Paul his heart is Christ; in the Scribes their heart is the Law, themselves. Where is in reality our mind, our heart, our ideals?