FEAST OF SAINT BIBIANA – 2nd DECEMBER
December 2, 2021
FEAST OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER – 3rd DECEMBER
December 3, 2021
2 December, 2021
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. – Ephesians 2:8-9
Gracious Father, we praise, and worship you for your incomprehensible benevolence and magnanimity. For by your mercy, we are redeemed, though we are unworthy of the receipt of your grace. Yet, you love, forgive, and save us not because of who we are or what we do, but because of the work of Christ. Our deeds, however great, can never be good enough to earn salvation, yet you declare us righteous for Christ’s sake, and we receive your grace through faith alone.
Your endless love for your creation was the reason for Christ willingly taking up the Cross, and becoming the sins of the whole world, nailed to the Cross for all time. His death released us from the bondage of death and eternal damnation and justified us, cleansed of all evil, our souls righteous and pure, to stand before your Presence and reside in peace, in heaven.
Lord, our faith in Christ’s redeeming act of salvation as a gift for the restoration of your glory, is unmerited. It is a free gift to all who are called and chosen to be among the elect, whether Jew or Gentile and who hear the word of God, listen and believe in Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. No works can justify us before you, but only the Blood of Christ, shed for our sakes, to reconcile us to an eternal relationship, in Jesus’ Name. Amen
