Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
September 6, 2021
Daily Reading from the USCCB: Colossians 1:24-2:3
Paul speaks further about his role in the proclamation of the cosmic Christ. He accepts the sufferings that his ministry requires–filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ. Not that Christ’s sufferings were inadequate, but that his followers must endure struggle for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom.
Next he recalls that he has been called to announce among the Gentiles “the mystery” hidden from ages past. “Mystery” here does not mean something that nobody understands, but God’s secret plan for his people’s destiny. It is constituted by Christ’s being in us, offering us hope of glory. Christ is the mystery of God that Paul has been called to proclaim. This mystery of salvation is now being made accessible to everybody, including us.
