INS 201 COURSEWORK

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the course

PAULINE ETHICS
for the degree Master of Science in Nursing – Adult Health

Submitted by:

Criscarlson C. Galendez
SPUP MSN 2020

Submitted to:

Mr. Moises Calucag

SPUP Graduate School Faculty

1st Trimester 2020

 INTRODUCTION

My name is Criscarlson C. Galendez, 31 years old, born on December 24, 1988 and raise
in the Northern Part of Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro City. My friends and fellow colleagues call
me “Cris”. Currently residing at Unit 3D Tower 2, Mallorca Building, Tres Palmas Residences,
Levi Mariano Avenue, Taguig City.

I am currently working as the Infection Control Committee – Nurse Supervisor of the

Allied Care Experts (ACE) Medical Center – Pateros. Prior to working here, I have worked in
Maria Reyna Xavier University Hospital for (1) year in my hometown. In that period of time, I
served as an Emergency – Trauma Nurse. I work also in government hospital in my hometown
as a senior nurse phlebotomist for two (2) years and a training officer in the department of
pathology. Other work experiences such as nuclear medicine staff nurse, occupational health
nurse and a part time clinical instructor.

For almost 5 years now, I have provided direct, one-on-one care to patients, this human
side of the medical profession, rather than the analytical or research-related aspects, is appealing
to many who choose to pursue a nursing career. I wanted to do something in my career
that is challenging, interesting, and makes a difference in people's lives daily. In
the nursing profession, you deal with many aspects of patient care, and I enjoy
the variety in the routine. Dealing with patients and their families and helping
them through what is often a difficult time for them is extremely satisfying for me.

I am ambitious, self-made, work alcoholic but a down to earth person. I like

to balance professional and family life. Professional life gives you exposure,
confidence and sense of achievement. I believe the fulfillment one gets from
one’s work is very important for wellbeing. I also participate in a family get-
together, functions, parties, etc.
 As Master of Science in Nursing, it helps me to gain advanced skills and
knowledge in specialized areas of nursing. Getting this degree is the equivalent of
adding a second story in the house of my nursing career that will be beneficial today
and for the next generation.
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

Name: Criscarlson C. Galendez Course: SPUP MSN 2020

REFLECT:
As a Paulinian what is the relevance of knowing the humble beginnings of my
beloved University?

For more than a century of existence, our university has proven its tradition of
excellence and untarnished reputation of providing quality, Catholic, Paulinian education. St.
Paul University Philippines, knowing its educational history, aimed at leading all to fullness of
life through quality education. I believe that by the example set by St. Paul, the university
proclaims that it is the heart that knows God who is the source of all wisdom.

Education is a lifelong process whereby persons grow and develop their full potential
in the pursuit of their God given mission of transforming all things in faith, service and
excellence. St. Paul University Philippines, as our university commits to the Christian
formation of Paulinian leaders who are imbued with Paulinian Spirituality and who live
simply to serve God and creation through quality education.
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

Name: Criscarlson C. Galendez Course: SPUP MSN 2020

A. Discuss the importance of the Paulinian Core values as Paulinian Identity in

relation to you respective profession.

The Paulinian shares in the unique and traditions of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres,
marked by a Christocentripaschal spirituality, commitment to mission, service to community
through one’s charism, urged on by Charity for God and to men. Thus, Paulinian education is
committed to the formation of self-directed men and women who find fulfillment in intelligent
fellowship and responsible leadership in meeting their responsibilities to God, country and
fellowmen. As registered nurse, this prepare me to become technically, socially aware,
appreciative of one’s culture and deeply committed to carry out professional and individual
responsibilities in accordance with Christian ideals.

B. How can I imbibe the Paulinian Core Values and respond to my calling as a
Paulinian for the world?

I feel honored to be called to a profession as humbling as nursing. Yes, we do the

dirty work, but what a joy to know that Jesus tells us “Just as you did it to one of the least of
these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt. 25:40). Caring for others brings
me satisfaction comes from God smiling down on my efforts to care for his creation. Our
work will often be behind the scenes, but we can always rejoice that God sees our efforts and
blesses us for them. We are given the gifts of ministry, the Greek word for ministry means
“service” and nursing is definitely a profession of service across the world.
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

Name: Criscarlson C. Galendez Course: SPUP MSN 2020

On the Paulinian Mission Song.

What is your mission in life?

As a Paulinian, my mission in life is to provide competent and compassionate care to

every patient and family member. I vow to remain educated and professional for the duration of
my career. I will continue to uplift the ethico – morale standards of care to my patients. Clearly
know how St. Paul transformed the whole world with his teachings and values.

As a registered nurse, my mission in life is to continuously seek professional growth and

culturally sensitive nurse whose professional practice encompasses legal and ethical decision
making. Building a meta-paradigm concepts and constructs of human being / person, health, and
environment as a unifying core of my profession.
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

Name: Criscarlson C. Galendez Course: SPUP MSN 2020

On the Story of Paul.

REFLECT:

Paul was a tireless, fearless and faithful worker of the Gospel of Jesus. His self-giving
love was like that of Jesus who gave his whole life for us.

How does the life of St. Paul appeal to you?

Do you also have the desire to follow him as he tells us: BE IMITATORS OF ME, AS I AM
OF CHRIST? How do you follow Christ who gave his whole life for you?

In the world where nurses are always taken for granted and thinking that they are just one
of those who help the doctors get their orders done is just not what actually defines a nurse. They
are more to that white uniform they get to wear every day. Everyone thinks that their job is
actually easy and can be done by just anyone. The truth is, it is not easy to be a nurse. You hold
in your hands to start a life. Life is a precious gift given to us and this usually depends in the
hands of nurses especially when you get to assist and actually witness how life starts. We all
know that once you enter a medical inclined profession, you have to be familiar with medical
terminologies. This is one of the challenges of being a nurse, because you have to be
knowledgeable of your field and what is in it. You have to be altruistic, this doesn’t mean that
you have to actually forget yourself, but you usually think of the patient first before anything
else.

St. Paul say to imitate him as he imitated Christ means, it is easier to imitate a physical
example than just reading about it, examples are seen and then imitated. A good impersonator
will be difficult to tell from the real person if the imitation is very good. And that’s how we
should be in relation to the way we imitate Jesus Christ. Examples are important and they can be
good or bad. So it was perhaps easier for the disciples of Paul’s day to imitate a physical
example of St. Paul than just reading or hearing about the great example of Jesus Christ, and that
is probably why St. Paul said to imitate him as he imitated Christ. To imitate means to get a close
to the original as possible. It indicates being skin-tight. To follow is a much looser term and
whilst it can be correct and necessary in many ways, the word “imitate” includes “following”
Christ, but it is much more all-encompassing. To imitate is to do everything Christ did and wants
us to do according to His example. So this is not striving after words but making sure that we
fully understand the difference and take to heart that the original meaning of the Greek word
“mimetes” is to be an imitator of Christ. And that is much more critical than just being a
follower.
Looking back at the Letters of Paul, see still attachment 3 for details of the letters, there are salient points in it.
Study the attached presentation on the salient Points in the letters of Paul.

Attachment number 5: SALIENT POINTS IN THE LETTERS OF PAUL

Study the attachment, then answer the following by accomplishing the following paper exercise.

First, choose one of the Letters of St. Paul. From it, cite an example, a passage, a verse that contains
both imperative and indicative verbs.

Second, identify the indicative and imperative verbs.

Third, explain the meaning of it as to how it should be interpreted as ethics/morals

Fourth, refer to the Pauline ethos, simply identify which of those Pauline Ethos is being addressed/ identified to
by the passage.

Note: Refer to Pauline Ethos. Attachment 6

You will see at the center the sources of Paul's Ethic which are from Christ, the Holy Spirit and through
Prayer which bears fruit on Self-Image, New Creation, Dying and rising with Christ. The words surrounding
them are actually pointing to the different themes in Paul's Ethics which is found in his writings.
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

Name: Criscarlson C. Galendez Course: SPUP MSN 2020

Cite a specific verse in your specific assignment that presents indicative and
imperative verbs.

THE FIRST LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE CORINTHNIANS

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of
this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God's
wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to
our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they
had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is
written, "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not
entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love him."

EXPLANATION:

The spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. The person without the
spirit does not accept the things that comes from the spirit of God but considers them
foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through
the Spirit. The person with spirit makes judgements about all things, but such person
is not subject to merely human judgement but we have the mind of Christ the source
of true wisdom.

Paul’s Ethos:

Judgement, Wisdom, Knowledge

Indicative Statement: Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature.

Imperative Statement: But we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden

wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory.
 1. Paul’s Main Teachings on Charity and Service for the
Building of the Mystical Body of Christ.

The Church is more than a religious society whose purpose is the worship of
God, more than a society different from all others because it was founded by God, more
than a depository of grace and revealed truth. The church herself is supernatural in her
nature and essence, since she is the Body of Christ, living with the life of Christ himself,
with a supernatural life. From the “fullness of Christ” all his members are filled, so that
Church herself is “the fullness of him who is wholly fulfilled in all.” Hence the mystery of
the Church is the very mystery of Christ Himself.

St. Paul’s teaching about charity for the building of the mystical body of Christ is
the highest form of love, signifying the reciprocal love between God and man that is
made manifest in unselfish love of one’s fellow men. “Charity is a virtue which, when our
affections are perfectly ordered, unites us to God, for by it we love him.” 

The Mystical Body of Christ is a scriptural image of the Church drawn from the
teachings of Christ and St. Paul that illustrates her unity in Christ, her relationship to
him, and the interdependence of her members. The image of the Church as the Body of
Christ is significant because it indicates that the Church is not simply a community of
members gather around Christ but that the Church is united in him, in his Body.
 2. Paul’s Main Teachings on Prayer

The church in Corinth, which struggled with so many issues, in particular stood in
need of instruction on the matter of spiritual gifts. Having brought into their attitude
towards the miraculous gifts which they possessed the same concepts they had held
when they were “carried away” by “dumb idols” (1 Cor. 12:2), Paul had to correct their
misconceptions. The Corinthians seem to have imagined that prayer could be some
type of ecstatic experience, as the pagans had advanced, in which the suppliant
communicated with a deity in unknown babblings.

Paul suggest:

...If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is

the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the
understanding... (1 Cor. 14:14,15, NKJV).

We notice in this text that Paul teaches two things directly and one indirectly.
Directly he teaches that prayer must involve both the spirit and the mind. While Paul
teaches that the Holy Spirit serves to clarify the unspoken need of the heart before God
(Rom. 8:26), the child of God must not imagine that communication with God involves
shutting off our minds. Nor should we think prayer in the spirit involves some unknown
“prayer language” (as our Charismatic friends would have us to believe). Indirectly,
however, he offers twice the subtle declaration of an intention that we almost miss in the
broader discussion about miraculous spiritual gifts. That is, the simple statement - “I will
pray...” As a servant of God who is committed to “walk in the Spirit” (Gal. 5:16) the
apostle Paul maintains a deliberate and consistent commitment to go to God in prayer.
3. Paul’s Love for Others

“It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart,
for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the
defense and confirmation of the gospel”.  Philippians 1:7–8

Not only does the gospel bring us into an eternal union with Christ, it also unites
us to other believers in Jesus, forming us into one body in which we are “members one
of another”. Practically speaking, this cannot help but create in us a deep affection for
other Christians. So real is this love for fellow believers that the apostles find it
inconceivable that we could ever love God without loving other disciples of Jesus. Both
direct commands that we love fellow believers and glimpses into the relationships
between the apostles and their churches seen in the epistles show how the gospel
forms love for Christian brothers and sisters in our hearts.

Paul’s correspondence with the Philippian church was not a communication born
of a mere duty he felt to write to a supporting congregation. On the contrary, writing to
the Philippians delighted the apostle, and he wanted them to know how sending the
epistle reflected his yearning for them.

The first fruit of the Spirit listed here is love. So it is plain that one crucial link
between our being loved by Christ and our loving others is the Holy Spirit. Love for
others is a fruit that grows in our lives by his doing. Somehow he makes it happen. It
won’t happen without him. And when it does happen, we don’t get the glory for it, God
does. The Christian life of love is a supernatural life. It is not produced by merely human
forces. It takes resources that we do not have. This is very crucial for us to admit. It is
humbling. Left to ourselves we cannot love. But this is very encouraging. Because what
it means is that, if you are sitting there and feeling: I am not by nature a loving person,
you are not at a disadvantage, because in fact, nobody is by nature a loving person. If
we were, love would not be a fruit of the Holy Spirit; it would be a fruit of our personality
or our upbringing or our chromosomes. In fact, you may be farther along than a person
who feels that love is a natural thing. 
 St. Paul University Philippines
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

FINAL REQUIREMENTS

INS 203: PAULINE ETHICS

1. On personal level, describe your own “Road to Damascus”

experience. (2-3 pages)

Road to Damascus experiences are those in which a person has a sudden insight
that radically changes their beliefs. Whilst originally used in a spiritual context, the
phrase also refers to other types of sudden conversion.

The original description comes from the Bible. Saul, who was to become the apostle
Paul, was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. Suddenly blinded by a
bright light, he heard the voice of Jesus.

Believing he was being addressed by a higher power, Saul was terrified. There are
several interpretations of what happened next, but these often mention the following
points.

Saul was told to travel onwards to Damascus. There he was healed by a Christian
and received the Holy Spirit. Adopting his Roman name of Paul, he then devoted his life
to spreading Christianity.

Different people have different kinds of Road to Damascus moments. Some act on
the insights they gain, some don’t. The task of profiling the average infection control
practitioner (ICP) is nearly impossible and certainly laborious. ICPs by nature
are not undistinguished people. Their duties are rarely atypical and their
workplace interests are not mainstream.

My typical day, no two days are the same and I often work remotely across other
department. However, when in the office I try to catch up on local meetings. Recently I
had a day where I was in the office for 7:15, worked till 10:30 before travelling to deliver
some mandatory specimens and back to the office for another meeting.

The variety of the role I can involve with some department and health agency wide
projects. An example is the COVID19 Orientation and Management Protocols for
Infection Prevention and Control by the Department of Health, reviews and updates on
Hospital Acquired Infections etc. This agenda involved the development and
introduction of patient’s standardized care and staff competency assessment.

As an Infection Control Nurse, the best of my job is working with my fellow

colleagues and other multi-disciplinary personnel’s across all roles to improve and
support practice and patient care. Hunting down health – care associated infections are
a big deal. HAIs are the most frequent adverse event in health care delivery system
worldwide. That is why the job of the infection preventionist is so vital. Don't get me
wrong, I truly love my job. Because I know that preventing infection is the true ETHICS
of healthcare. Everything else is just a fluff. 5 stars don't mean much if when your loved
one enters my facility, and I have a part in making them sicker than before they got
here. And we know clinicians that sometimes, our patients don't really "get it." But that
we usually do, even though we are tired, overworked, and over stressed humans. All
human systems easily fall apart. Whatever clinical role you are in, be resilient. As one
famous TV doctor once said, "There is no justice in this world, but there is mercy,
because we give that to each other."

Being an “infection prevention nurse,” however, was not even on my radar. In fact,
microbiology was one of my least favorite courses in nursing school, and I had no
particular interest in germs. One year, I remain amazed at the new challenges and
opportunities for professional and personal growth that each day brings. In the field of
infection prevention, you quickly realize that you are either moving ahead or falling
behind. There can be no standing still in this age of mandatory reporting, evolving
technology, and information overload.

There are many fun and rewarding aspects of working in infection prevention as a
nurse. You get to know and work with every single department of the hospital. From
nursing units to environmental services and plant operations you have a part. It is
awesome forming great relationships with all areas of the facility. As an IP, you also get
to celebrate the victories such as an intensive care unit going two years without a
CLABSI and a potential outbreak successfully avoided. You also get to participate in
non-nursey activities such as construction and renovation. Construction dust can harbor
mold spores and plumbing work can increase the risk of Legionella, so by default
construction in a hospital is a major infection prevention and control activity.

Although challenging and a job with a difficult learning curve, working as an Infection
Preventionist is always excited and rewarding. You never have the same day, and you
are constantly learning. Along with the rest of nursing, you will continue to say to
yourself “you can’t make this stuff up” and look to laughter alongside your colleagues.
You get to develop amazing relationships with personnel of the hospital you maybe
never even knew existed, and, above all else, get to make a huge impact on creating
positive outcomes for our patients. Infection prevention and control is an increasingly
important field, and the involvement of nurses will continue to be a great importance!

Lastly, I thank the Lord, for the gift of life and through his Holy Spirit, His abiding gifts
to us of love, charity, service, wisdom, knowledge and protection that he had given me
and my family. I continue praying for every problem that I might encounter every day
that the Lord will help me surpass all the trials and problems that comes my way.

“Ad Majorem dei Gloriam”

2. On the character of Paul, what did you discover about Paul
that you intend to imitate and apply to both your personal
and professional life? (2-3 pages)

“Be imitators of me, brothers and sisters, and watch carefully those who are living this
way, just as you have us an example. For many live, about whom I have often told you,
and now, with tears, I tell you that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction, their God is the belly, they exult in their shames, and they think
about earthly things.” (Philippians 3:17-19)

St. Paul’s values and goals as a disciple of Jesus are in stark contrast to those of
his unbelieving Jewish adversaries. Indeed, Paul’s values and goals as a Christian are
in stark contrast to his previous values and goals as a devout, but unbelieving, Jewish
Pharisee. St. Paul’s goal in life is to “know Christ” but what does this mean? How does
one come to know Christ in this life? Initially, one comes to know Christ through saving
faith, which Paul describes in verse 9. By faith, one is found in Christ, possessing His
righteousness which was gained by means of his faithfulness.

We ought to follow the good examples of the apostle Paul. We are to consider
that the apostle did not say this of himself from an ambitious spirit, from a desire of
being set up as a pattern, and eyed and imitated as an example to other Christians. His
writings are not of any private interpretation, but he spoke as he was moved by the Holy
Ghost. The Holy Ghost directed that the good examples of the apostle Paul should be
noticed by other Christians and imitated. We should follow him in his earnestness in
seeking his own salvation. He was not careless and indifferent in this matter; but the
kingdom of heaven suffered violence from him. He did not halt between two opinions, or
seek with a wavering, unsteady mind, but with the fullest determination and strong
resolution. He resolved, if it could by any means be possible, that he would attain to the
resurrection of the dead. He does not say that he was determined to attain it, if he
could, by means that were not very costly or difficult, or by laboring for it a little time, or
only now and them, or without any great degree of suffering, or without great loss in his
temporal interest. But if by any means he could do it, he would, let the means be easy
or difficult. Let it be a short labor and trial, or a long one; let the cross be light or heavy;
it was all one to his resolution. Let the requisite means be what they would, if it were
possible, he would obtain it. He did not hesitate at worldly losses, for he tells us that he
readily suffered the loss of all things, that he might win Christ, and be found in him, and
in his righteousness. 

As a nurse, this can be used in my career. Having a strong in faith. It may be

truly said of him that he lived by faith. Faith seemed to be even without the least
appearance of diffidence or doubt in his words or actions, but all seemed to proclaim,
that I had a God and Christ and the invisible world continually in view.
 3. Reflect on Paul’s ethical teachings. Draw their relevance in
today’s world and times. Include a discussion on Paul’s view
of sexuality. (Discuss extensively)

Paulinian Ethics is a Christ – centered education committed to transforming

individuals into becoming fully integrated, globally competent, and compassion in the
service of the Church and society.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are now facing with what might accurately
be called an educational crisis, especially in the field of affectivity and sexuality. In many
places, curricula are being planned and implemented which “allegedly convey a neutral
conception of the person and of life, yet in fact reflect an anthropology opposed to faith
and to right reason”. The disorientation regarding anthropology which is a widespread
feature of our cultural landscape has undoubtedly helped to destabilize the family as an
institution, bringing with it a tendency to cancel out the differences between men and
women, presenting them instead as merely the product of historical and cultural
conditioning.

In this cultural context, it is clear that sex and gender are no longer synonyms or
interchangeable concepts, since they are used to describe two different realities. Sex is
seen as defining which of the two biological categories (deriving from the original
feminine-masculine dyad) one belonged to. Gender, on the other hand, would be the
way in which the differences between the sexes are lived in each culture. The problem
here does not lie in the distinction between the two terms, which can be interpreted
correctly, but in the separation of sex from gender. This separation is at the root of the
distinctions proposed between various “sexual orientations” which are no longer defined
by the sexual difference between male and female, and can then assume other forms,
determined solely by the individual, who is seen as radically autonomous. Further, the
concept of gender is seen as dependent upon the subjective mindset of each person,
who can choose a gender not corresponding to his or her biological sex, and therefore
with the way others see that person (transgenderism).
In a growing contraposition between nature and culture, the propositions of gender
theory converge in the concept of ‘queer’, which refers to dimensions of sexuality that
are extremely fluid, flexible, and as it were, nomadic. This culminates in the assertion of
the complete emancipation of the individual from any a priori given sexual definition,
and the disappearance of classifications seen as overly rigid. This would create a new
range of nuances that vary in degree and intensity according to both sexual orientation
and the gender one has identified oneself with.

Pope Francis had encouraged many of them that the church was changing when
he memorably responded “Who am I to judge?” when asked in 2013 about a priest
working at the Vatican who was said to be gay. In 2016, Francis reported at a news
conference that he had met at the Vatican with a Spanish transgender man who had
undergone gender reassignment surgery and been ostracized by his priest.

“We must be attentive, not saying all are the same,” Francis said at the time,
adding that “people must be accompanied.”

But despite a small section warning against discrimination (“no one should suffer
bullying, violence, insults”) and a few sentences about accompanying young Catholic
school students in a way that “is discrete and confidential, capable of reaching out to
those who are experiencing complex and painful situations,” the new church document
immediately disappointed advocates who had hoped for greater acceptance.
 4. Love is the highest virtue according to Paul. Write a
journal reflection on these biblical exhortations on love: 1
Cor 13:1-13; and Rom 12:9-21.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

1 Corinthians 13, also referred to as "the hymn of love" is often noted for being the most
loved chapter in the entire New Testament (Barclay, 116).  1 Corinthians 13, following
12, reflects and adds to what Paul has just discussed in 1 Corinthians 12. Chapter 12
addresses individual's spiritual gifts and in chapter 13 he hopes to drown out the
Corinthians high level of competition they hold with one another. The Corinthian are
wondering whose spiritual gifts are greater and better than the others in order to
establish some sort of superiority, but Paul follows up their intentions and questions with
chapter 13, telling them that they need to love one another. Not only should they love
each other, but they should love everyone else as well because we are all children of
God. The Corinthians are wondering whose gifts are more important or considered
more spiritual. Paul is trying to tell them that all of their gifts are equally important, and
in exercising their gifts they should make sure that they are doing so with love seeping
through their every action.

Reflection:

It is also my personal belief that the word agape, meaning love, is often used in
the New Testament describing the intimate and close affections of God and Jesus for
people. This could also be described as being a word describing communal relationship,
and covenant between Christians and one another. This shows the reader that love is
something that continually lives and moves, it is not something easily described as just
one action, but rather many. Love is a display for these people that creates
distinguishable characteristics of followers of Christ.
Romans 12:9-21

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one
another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in
zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in
affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice
hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with
those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another.
Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be
conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes
of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with
everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is
written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: "If your
enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you
will hear burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.

Reflection:

Paul gives us quite a list of things to measure our witness for Christ. Eagerness,
respect, hard work, reverence, joy, patience, disciplined prayer, generosity, gracious
hospitality, openness, empathy, fairness and equality, humility, peacemaking, forgiving,
courage. "Hate what is evil!" How many of us really hate what is evil? Well, we don't like
it very much - I guess. But, "hate" is a very strong word. Do we not know that evil is
keeping us and our fellow Church members in the bondage of sin? Paul has every right
to not only urge us - but command us to detest that which is detestable to God:
Immorality, injustice, addictions, indifference. To hate what is evil means to struggle with
all our might against him who wants to keep us in sin and darkness. Love is not love
until you give it away. The only way to really keep that which is good is to give it away
freely and sincerely. When we cling to that which is good we open opportunities for
each other to use our God-given talents to the glory of God's work.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ferdinand Funk (2010) Romans 12, 9-12 Love must be sincere.

Retrieve from:
https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/113879-romans-129-21-love-must-be-sincere
Date Access: April 2020

Iva Goins – Green (2016) Talk: Biblical Studies / New Testament

Commentaries / 1 Corinthians / Chapter 13. Retrieve from:
https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Biblical_Studies/New_Testament_Commentaries/1_Corinth
ians/Chapter_13
Date Access: April 2020

Chris Dierkes (2016) Love is Patient, Love is kind: St. Paul’s

Advised for Complementary Esoteric Spirituality. Retrieve from:
https://www.metapsychosis.com/love-is-patient-love-is-kind/
Date Access: April 2020

Jason Horowitz and Elisabetta Povoledo (2019) Vatican Rejects

Notion that Gender Identity can be Flui. Retrieve from:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/10/world/europe/vatican-francis-gender-identity-
sexuality.html
Date Access: April 2020