This is the fifth installment in a series exploring St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans with the help of St. Thomas Aquinas.
8 Certainly, I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ, first for all of you, because your faith is being announced throughout the entire world.
9 For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit by the Gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I have kept a remembrance of you
10 always in my prayers, pleading that in some way, at some time, I may have a prosperous journey, within the will of God, to come to you.
11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you a certain spiritual grace to strengthen you,
12 specifically, to be consoled together with you through that which is mutual: your faith and mine.
13 But I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you, (though I have been hindered even to the present time) so that I might obtain some fruit among you also, just as also among the other Gentiles.
14 To the Greeks and to the uncivilized, to the wise and to the foolish, I am in debt.
15 So within me there is a prompting to evangelize to you also who are at Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation for all believers, the Jew first, and the Greek.
After finishing his greeting to the Christians in Rome, St. Paul begins the body of his letter. Yet before he launches into the great theological themes for which Romans is famous—sin, justification, grace, faith, salvation—Paul first allows us to see something of his heart.
He gives thanks for the Christians in Rome. He tells them that he remembers them constantly in prayer. He longs to visit them, not simply because he has something to teach them, but because he hopes that they will strengthen one another. He understands his apostolic mission as a debt owed to every kind of person, and he ends this section with one of the great declarations of the letter: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”
Before Paul teaches the Romans, he makes clear that he loves them.
That is important, because Romans 1:8–16 gives us more than an introduction to the letter. It gives us a picture of what Christian ministry should look like. It begins with gratitude, is sustained by prayer, seeks the spiritual good of others, remains humble enough to receive encouragement in return, recognizes the Gospel as an obligation, and refuses to be ashamed of Christ.
Paul begins with thanksgiving
Paul’s first act after greeting the Romans is to thank God for them. St. Thomas Aquinas sees something important in this order. Before Paul asks anything of God, teaches anything to the Romans, or speaks about the work he hopes to accomplish, he gives thanks.
Aquinas says that we should begin our undertakings with thanksgiving because every good thing ultimately comes from God. Gratitude recognizes the source of the gift and prevents us from receiving God’s blessings while forgetting the One who gave them. In his Commentary on Romans, Aquinas explains that because we need God’s help in everything we undertake, thanksgiving should come first (Commentary on Romans, §1:74–75).
There is a simple spiritual principle here: before we begin by telling God what is missing, we should remember what he has already given.
That does not mean pretending our problems are insignificant or forcing ourselves into an artificial optimism. Christian thanksgiving is not the denial of suffering. It is the recognition that suffering does not cancel God’s goodness or his providence. Gratitude teaches us to see our difficulties within the larger reality of what God has already done and continues to do.
“My God”
Paul does not simply say that he gives thanks to God. He says, “I give thanks to my God.”
God is, of course, the Creator and Lord of all people. Yet Aquinas sees a special significance in the way the saints can speak of him personally as “my God.”
First, there is a particular providence by which God cares for the just as his children. His providence extends to all creation, but those who live in friendship with him experience the filial relationship of those who have been adopted into his household.
Second, to call him “my God” expresses personal devotion. Paul is not claiming ownership over God as though God belonged to him. Rather, he is confessing that he belongs to God.
Finally, God himself is the reward of the saints. Christianity does not ultimately promise us merely things from God. The final gift is God himself. Eternal life reaches its fulfillment in communion with him.
So Paul is not addressing an abstract principle or an impersonal force. He is speaking to the God whom he loves, serves, and hopes to possess forever.
Thanksgiving through Jesus Christ
Paul says that he gives thanks to God “through Jesus Christ.”
This reflects the entire order of Christian life. God’s grace comes to us through Christ, and through Christ our prayer, worship, and thanksgiving return to the Father. Jesus is not simply one blessing among many. He is the mediator through whom we have access to the Father.
We see this most clearly in the Eucharist. The word Eucharist itself means thanksgiving. In the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Church gives thanks and praise to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit.
Christian thanksgiving is therefore never merely a vague sense of gratitude toward God. It is deeply Christ-centered. We come before the Father not by relying upon our own worthiness, but as members of Christ’s Body, united to the perfect prayer and sacrifice of the Son.
Everything comes from the Father through Christ, and through Christ everything is offered back to the Father.
Paul rejoices in the grace given to others
Paul gives thanks not for something that happened to him personally, but for the faith of the Christians in Rome.
That tells us something about charity. When we genuinely love someone, his good becomes a reason for our joy. Paul does not look at the faith of the Romans as something that competes with his own ministry. Their holiness does not diminish him. Because he loves them, what God is doing in them becomes something for which he can personally give thanks.
Aquinas explains that Paul could regard the graces given to the Romans almost as his own because of the bond of charity. This gives us a useful examination of conscience. How do we react when someone else grows in holiness, succeeds in ministry, receives recognition, or seems to possess spiritual gifts that we do not?
Envy grieves at another person’s good. Charity rejoices in it.
The communion of saints means that the holiness of another Christian is not a threat to us. The good of one member enriches the whole Body of Christ.
Their faith was known throughout the world
Paul rejoices because the faith of the Roman Christians was already being spoken of throughout the world.
Rome was not an insignificant city. It was the center of the empire, and what happened there could influence people far beyond the local Christian community. Their conversion therefore carried a particular weight.
Aquinas draws attention to the importance of example, especially among those who possess influence or responsibility. People often imitate those they respect. This places a serious responsibility upon parents, teachers, priests, public figures, and anyone whose life has the ability to shape others.
Christian witness is never entirely private. Most of us will never have our faith “announced throughout the entire world” in the way Paul describes the Romans, but our fidelity still affects other people. Children notice the faith of their parents. Friends notice whether Christianity changes how we live. Coworkers notice whether our beliefs disappear the moment they become inconvenient.
The example of the Romans mattered because other people were watching.
So does ours.
Paul can praise them without pretending they are perfect
Paul’s praise of the Romans does not mean that their faith had reached perfection.
Aquinas notes that there were still problems among them, including confusion introduced by those who believed that observance of the Mosaic ceremonial law had to be added to the Gospel as necessary for salvation. Paul therefore has real corrections to make later in the letter.
Yet he begins by acknowledging what God has already accomplished.
This is an important lesson in Christian encouragement. Praise and correction are not opposites. A good pastor does not flatter people by pretending their faults do not exist, but neither does he act as though those faults erase every good thing God is already doing in them.
Paul does not begin Romans by telling the Christians of Rome everything that is wrong with them. He first recognizes the grace already at work and then seeks to strengthen and purify it.
Christian formation should work in much the same way. We give thanks for what God has begun while remaining open to what he still wishes to change.
Paul calls God as his witness
Paul tells the Romans that God himself is his witness that he continually remembers them in prayer.
That naturally raises a question. Christ warned his disciples about swearing oaths, so why does Paul invoke God as his witness?
Aquinas explains that Scripture does not condemn every oath in every circumstance. Rather, it condemns unnecessary, careless, habitual, or dishonest swearing. An oath is serious precisely because it calls upon God’s truthfulness in confirmation of human speech (Commentary on Romans, §1:79–80).
Paul is not casually invoking God to make himself sound more convincing. His reason is connected to the spiritual good of the Romans. Since prayer is ordinarily hidden, they could not see for themselves that Paul was constantly praying for them. He therefore calls upon God as witness to the sincerity of his love.
Even so, the seriousness of an oath reminds us that the ordinary Christian way of speaking should be characterized by such honesty that constant assurances are unnecessary. Christ calls us to a kind of integrity in which our word can simply be trusted.
Serving God “in my spirit”
Paul describes God as the one whom he serves “in my spirit” through the Gospel of his Son.
Aquinas sees several dimensions in this statement. First, Paul’s ministry is fundamentally an act of worship. His apostolic labor is not primarily service to an institution, a personal brand, a political project, or even his own reputation. He is serving God.
Second, that service is interior before it is exterior. Paul’s preaching comes from an inward dedication of mind and heart. Christianity certainly includes external acts—spoken prayer, bodily gestures, liturgy, fasting, works of mercy—but these actions should express the interior worship of the soul.
Finally, Paul serves God through the particular mission entrusted to him: the Gospel of the Son. The Gospel is about Christ, was proclaimed by Christ, and has been entrusted by Christ to the apostles (Commentary on Romans, §1:79–80).
Paul’s apostolic vocation therefore becomes one of the ways he worships God.
The same principle applies to us. A parent can serve God through the faithful care of children. A priest serves through his priesthood. A student can serve God through serious study. A laborer can offer honest work to God. Our vocation is not something separate from the spiritual life. Properly lived, it becomes part of our worship.
What does it mean to pray without ceasing?
Paul says that he remembers the Romans continually in his prayers.
Obviously, this does not mean that Paul spent every waking moment verbally reciting prayers. Human beings still have to eat, sleep, travel, work, and carry out the duties of life. Aquinas therefore explains several ways in which prayer can be continual.
The first is through regular acts of prayer. A person who faithfully returns to God at appointed times throughout the day can rightly be said to live a life of continual prayer. Morning and evening prayer, the Rosary, the Liturgy of the Hours, meditation upon Scripture, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, and above all participation in the Mass give shape to a life that repeatedly turns back toward God.
This is important because a vague desire to be prayerful cannot replace actually praying.
Aquinas also explains that prayer can become continual when the whole of our life is directed toward God. Work, study, meals, recreation, suffering, and service can all be offered to God when they are performed according to his will and for his glory. Formal prayer does not become unnecessary; rather, formal prayer forms the intention by which ordinary life itself becomes an offering.
Finally, Aquinas notes that a person can also participate in continual prayer through the prayers of others. A person who gives alms, assists the poor, or performs works of mercy may continue to be remembered in the prayers of those whom he has helped.
Continual prayer, then, is not constant verbal activity. It is a life increasingly oriented toward God.
Paul prays because he loves
Paul’s constant prayer for the Romans reveals that his concern for them is more than rhetoric.
It is easy to tell someone that we care about him. Prayer takes that concern and carries it before God. Intercession is one of the quietest acts of charity because the person for whom we pray may never know that we have done it.
Paul prays for the Romans because their salvation matters to him.
There is a practical lesson here: if you want to love someone more deeply, begin praying for him. Pray for your family, the people entrusted to your care, those who are suffering, and even the people you struggle to love.
Prayer may not immediately change our emotions toward someone, but it gradually changes the way we see him. It teaches us to look at another person not merely through the lens of our frustration, resentment, affection, or expectations, but through the mercy of God.
Paul desires Rome, but only according to God’s will
Paul greatly wants to visit Rome, yet he repeatedly places that desire beneath the will of God.
Aquinas identifies several qualities in Paul’s desire. It is intense because Paul continually brings it to prayer. It is resourceful because he hopes that somehow a path will be opened for him. It is persevering because he has wanted this for a long time. Most importantly, however, it is properly ordered because he wants the journey only according to God’s will.
This is what distinguishes Christian desire from simple determination.
There is nothing wrong with making plans, pursuing goals, working hard, or persevering through difficulty. But Christians cannot simply assume that because we strongly desire something, God must therefore desire it in exactly the same way.
Paul wants to go to Rome, but he leaves the time and manner of his arrival to Providence.
And God would eventually answer that prayer in a way Paul may not have expected: Paul would reach Rome as a prisoner.
His prayer was answered, but through the Cross.
That reminds us that a “prosperous journey” according to Christian standards does not necessarily mean an easy one. A journey prospers when it fulfills the will of God and bears the fruit that he intends.
Paul wants to strengthen them
Paul longs to see the Romans because he wants to impart some spiritual gift that will strengthen them.
He does not imagine himself to be the source of grace. God alone is the source of supernatural life. Paul is a minister and steward of something that belongs to Christ.
Aquinas explains that spiritual gifts can be communicated through the sacraments, preaching, exhortation, instruction, and words that strengthen faith. Paul therefore wants his presence among the Romans to produce something real in their spiritual lives.
This is the proper purpose of Christian teaching. Theology is not meant merely to display knowledge or win arguments. Its proper end is to deepen faith, nourish charity, clarify truth, defend against error, and help Christians become more firmly rooted in Christ.
The teacher of the faith does not own the truth. He serves it.
Even Paul expects to receive something in return
Paul immediately adds something striking. He does not expect simply to strengthen the Romans. He expects to be strengthened by them as well.
For an apostle, this is a remarkable expression of humility.
Paul was personally called by the risen Christ. He possessed extraordinary spiritual gifts, endured great suffering for the Gospel, and had an authority the ordinary Christian did not possess. Yet he did not imagine that he had somehow outgrown the need for encouragement from other believers.
This is how the Body of Christ works.
A priest can be strengthened by the faith of his people. A parent can be encouraged by the simple trust of a child. A highly educated Christian can learn from the perseverance of someone who possesses very little formal education. Someone who is healthy can be deeply moved by the peaceful endurance of a person who is suffering.
No member of Christ’s Body possesses every gift.
We need one another not because Christ is insufficient, but because Christ has chosen to distribute his gifts throughout his Body.
Paul intends to give, but he is humble enough to receive.
Christian friendship is rooted in a common faith
The encouragement Paul hopes to share with the Romans is rooted in “your faith and mine.”
Christian friendship certainly can include ordinary human affection, shared interests, humor, hobbies, and companionship. Yet its deepest bond is something greater: a common life in Christ and a common desire for eternal life.
This is why Christian friendship can accomplish things that ordinary companionship cannot. Christians can pray together, speak honestly about the spiritual life, encourage one another through temptation, correct one another when necessary, bear burdens together, and remind one another of truths that are easily forgotten.
This is also why isolation can become spiritually dangerous. When we are alone with our own thoughts for too long, our weaknesses and self-deceptions can become difficult to see.
We need people whose faith reminds us of what is true when our own vision becomes clouded.
Mature Christianity does not make us independent of the Church. The closer we draw to Christ, the more clearly we recognize our need for the other members of his Body.
Good intentions can still be delayed
Paul tells the Romans that he has often intended to visit them but has repeatedly been prevented.
That alone is worth remembering. The fact that a good plan encounters resistance does not necessarily mean that the plan was wrong.
Aquinas suggests different possible sources of such hindrances. Some obstacles may come from the devil, who naturally opposes the preaching of the Gospel and the salvation of souls. Others may arise through divine providence because God intends another work to come first, another time to be more fruitful, or another path to accomplish a greater good.
This requires discernment. We should not treat every inconvenience as spiritual warfare, but neither should we assume that every obstacle means God has permanently closed the door.
Sometimes resistance must be overcome through perseverance. At other times it must be accepted as providential redirection.
Paul continues praying and planning, but he does not try to force Providence to conform to his schedule.
Paul wants spiritual fruit
Paul wants to come to Rome so that he may obtain fruit among the Christians there as he has among the other Gentiles.
This fruit can be understood first as the spiritual good produced through his ministry: conversion, growth in faith, holiness, perseverance, and a deeper life in Christ.
Yet their growth also becomes fruit for Paul himself. The laborer in the Gospel receives an eternal reward when, by grace and charity, his work contributes to the salvation of others.
This does not mean that Paul treats people as spiritual trophies. The reward comes precisely because he genuinely seeks their good.
It is also worth remembering that Christian fruitfulness cannot always be measured by numbers, popularity, visibility, or immediate results. Some ministry bears fruit that the person responsible for planting the seed never sees.
Faithfulness belongs to us. The increase belongs to God.
“I am a debtor”
Paul describes himself as a debtor to Greeks and to those outside Greek culture, to the wise and to the foolish.
He does not mean that these people first gave something to him which he must now repay. His debt comes from something God has given him.
The Gospel has been entrusted to Paul for the sake of others. Because he has received an apostolic mission, he now owes something to the people for whom that mission was given.
This gives us a powerful way of thinking about vocation.
The gifts God gives us are not simply private possessions. Knowledge, education, wealth, talents, spiritual gifts, authority, and opportunities all create responsibilities.
A gift received for the good of others becomes, in a certain sense, a debt of service.
Paul’s obligation extends across every social and intellectual division: the cultured and uncultured, the educated and uneducated, the socially respected and socially insignificant.
No one is too sophisticated for the Gospel, and no one is too simple for it.
Every person needs Christ.
Ready to preach in Rome
Because Paul sees himself as a debtor, he is eager to preach the Gospel in Rome.
Aquinas interprets Paul’s readiness to mean that, as far as Paul’s own will is concerned, he is prepared to go. If he remains delayed, it will not be because he lacks zeal, but because Providence has not yet opened the way (Commentary on Romans, §1:95–96).
That balance is important.
Christian surrender to Providence should never become an excuse for laziness. Paul plans, prays, prepares, and remains ready. Yet he does not pretend that the ultimate direction of his mission belongs to him.
This gives us a helpful principle for our own vocations: we should be completely willing to act while remaining completely willing for God to determine the circumstances.
Christian readiness says, “Lord, what would you have me do?” and then moves when the path becomes clear.
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel”
Paul now reaches the declaration that introduces one of the great themes of Romans: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”
From the perspective of the ancient world, there were plenty of reasons someone might have been tempted to feel ashamed.
Christians proclaimed a crucified Messiah. Crucifixion represented weakness, humiliation, criminality, and defeat. As St. Paul tells the Corinthians, the Cross was “a stumbling block” to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles (1 Corinthians 1:23).
Rome celebrated military strength, political authority, social status, and imperial glory. Paul came to that world proclaiming salvation through a Jewish man who had been publicly executed on a cross.
Yet Paul was not ashamed.
The Cross was not the failure of God’s power. It was the place where divine wisdom overturned the standards of the world. What appeared to be defeat became victory, and the death of Christ became the path to resurrection.
Aquinas notes that shame often prevents people from doing what they would otherwise be willing to do. Paul rejects that obstacle because the Gospel, however foolish it may appear to unbelievers, is truly the wisdom and power of God (Commentary on Romans, §1:95–96).
Why Christians still feel ashamed
The temptation Paul resisted has not disappeared.
Christians today can be afraid of appearing unintelligent, intolerant, strange, naïve, or backward. We may worry about losing friendships or professional opportunities. We may fear being mocked for Catholic moral teaching. Sometimes we hesitate because we know other Christians have behaved badly, and we do not want to be associated with them. Other times we remain silent simply because we are afraid someone will ask us a question we cannot answer.
Prudence certainly matters. Christianity does not require turning every conversation into an argument or speaking without regard for circumstances. Good witness should be marked by charity, humility, and wisdom.
But prudence is not cowardice.
There are moments when silence communicates something of its own. Sometimes refusing to speak about Christ becomes less an act of prudence and more an attempt to avoid being associated with him.
We should not be ashamed to admit when we do not know something. We can say that we do not know and then learn.
What we must resist is the deeper temptation to treat Christ himself as an embarrassment.
The Cross on the forehead
Aquinas makes a beautiful connection between Paul’s words and the Christian anointing upon the forehead.
He notes that Christians are marked with the sign of the Cross on the forehead, the part of the body traditionally associated with the outward expression of shame. The Christian is marked there precisely so that he will not be ashamed of the Gospel (Commentary on Romans, §1:95–96).
This symbolism is especially visible in Confirmation, where the Christian is sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit and strengthened for witness.
And the sign placed upon us is the Cross.
The Church does not promise that bearing witness to Christ will always bring social approval. Instead, she marks us with the very sign that the world once regarded as humiliation.
But the Cross is no longer simply the instrument of execution that Rome intended it to be. Christ has transformed it into the sign of victory.
To bear the Cross upon the forehead is therefore to say openly that we belong to him.
Christianity is not meant to remain hidden inside the mind as a set of private beliefs. It is meant to shape our words, choices, conduct, and public witness.
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation
Paul tells us why he is not ashamed: the Gospel is “the power of God unto salvation for all believers.”
The Gospel is not merely persuasive speech or an interesting philosophy. God works through it. Through the proclamation of Christ, sinners are called to faith, brought to Baptism, incorporated into Christ, and drawn into the life of the Church.
Its power does not depend upon the worldly importance of the person proclaiming it.
Paul can appear weak while carrying something infinitely stronger than himself.
This should give Christians confidence in evangelization. We do not create grace. We cannot force someone to believe, and we cannot manufacture conversion through clever arguments or personality.
Our task is to speak and live the truth faithfully, pray for those who hear it, and trust God to work.
The weakness of the messenger does not weaken the Gospel.
In fact, God often chooses weak instruments precisely so that the fruit will be recognized as his work rather than ours.
To the Jew first, and also to the Greek
Paul says that the Gospel is for everyone who believes, “the Jew first, and the Greek.”
The universality of the Gospel does not erase the history of salvation.
Christ came within Israel. The covenants, promises, prophets, worship, and messianic hope were first entrusted to the Jewish people. Christianity does not appear out of nowhere. The Gospel is the fulfillment of God’s work and promises within Israel.
At the same time, that fulfillment is not restricted to Israel. Through Israel’s Messiah, salvation is extended to the Gentiles and ultimately to every nation.
Both truths have to remain together. Christianity cannot be severed from God’s covenantal work with Israel, but the salvation accomplished by Christ is intended for the whole world.
The Gospel crosses every national and cultural boundary without forgetting the history through which God prepared the world to receive it.
Begin with gratitude and end without shame
Romans 1:8–16 gives us a remarkable glimpse into the inner life of St. Paul.
He begins with thanksgiving because he knows that every good gift comes from God. He prays continually because he genuinely loves the people entrusted to his care. He desires to visit Rome, but he places even that good desire beneath the will of Providence. He wants to strengthen the Romans while remaining humble enough to admit that their faith can strengthen him as well.
He sees his apostolic mission not merely as a privilege but as a debt. Because God has entrusted him with the Gospel, he now owes its proclamation to every kind of person.
And finally, he refuses to be ashamed.
That may be one of the most important connections in the entire passage. Paul can stand before Rome without shame because he knows what he possesses.
Rome has armies, roads, wealth, philosophy, law, political authority, and the power of the empire. But none of those things can free man from sin. None of them can conquer death. None of them can reconcile the sinner to God.
Paul possesses something Rome cannot give itself.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
And so he is grateful. He prays. He longs to serve. He remains ready.
And he is not ashamed.
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Principal source
St. Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans, chapter 1, lecture 5, §§74–96.
Disclaimer
This article was written with the assistance of Catholic AI and is based principally on St. Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans.