Welcome to the Pauline Family's "Year of the Bible"! We've been reading the Bible clear through this year. We are finishing the New Testament, so read along with me. But first, let us pray:
Father,
When the fullness of time had come, you sent your Word in the One who said, “Whoever sees me, sees the Father.” No revelation can surpass this until Jesus comes again. By your gift, the Church continues to receive unfathomable riches from the inheritance handed on from the Apostles and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.
Let the Spirit who inspired the writing of today's pages "guide me in the truth and teach me" to follow Jesus ever more closely, until he calls me to follow him to the Kingdom where he lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
Today's chapters are Romans 10-12.
After developing his reflection on the role of Israel, Paul warns the Gentile converts against presumption: They have been "grafted" onto a choice olive tree, a privilege that should not be taken for granted. The God who showed mercy to the Gentiles by admitting them to the family of Abraham will again show mercy to his Chosen People. The steadfast fidelity of God is what Paul emphasizes here.
And what is to be our response, whether we come to the Lord from "the nations" or from the descendants of Abraham?
"Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your minds..."
As Chapter 12 continues, Paul introduces the image of the Body of Christ, with each baptized member a fully functioning and essential part of that living and real Body, as available to Christ today as his own hands and feet were to him during his earthly life. Paul develops the image even further with the Corinthians, a community that suffered division and rivalry, but here he highlights a few of the gifts the Holy Spirit gave the Church, noting that each person's qualities helped the Church as a whole to function as it should.
What are your gifts within and for the Body of Christ? Maybe today's reading can help you name (and release) them!
Start reading here.
N.T. Wright's Paul: A Biography is the book I would recommend to someone who wanted to read one (only one) book that combined the life and letters of St Paul. Written by a noted Scripture, this is a flowing narrative that is scripturally enlightening and historically sound. Wright gives the reader a way of following Paul through the Acts of the Apostles and the writing of his letters, making Paul the person that much more approachable, and the letters themselves more readable as a result of having a social and historical context. 
And now that we are beginning the longest of Paul's letters, you might also be interested in reading James Papandrea's historical novel, A Week in the Life of Rome. Papandrea is a Catholic theologian and Church historian, so this novel is not just a fun read: it is filled with historical context (and photos and archaeological sidebars) that can help you fill in the blanks when it comes to the culture and times of the Christian community of Rome. 
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