Brothers and sisters, God has so blessed us in the name of Christ that he has filled the earth with his children, adopted into his Kingdom, coheirs of his only begotten Son. He begot a single Son, but he did not wish him to remain the only one.... He made brothers and sisters for him, if not by generation, by adoption, which made them his co-heirs. He made his Son to share in our mortality so that we might believe that we can share in his divinity. (Augustine, EnPs 66[67], 9; PL 36, 811)

Rev. Joseph A. Komonchak, professor emeritus of the School of Theology and Religious Studies at the Catholic University of America, is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of New York.

Also by this author
© 2024 Commonweal Magazine. All rights reserved. Design by Point Five. Site by Deck Fifty.