I prefer to read the Scriptures with the Church.

Ephesians 1:3-14 has been read during the liturgy for centuries. The reading appears seven times in The Roman Missal Lectionary for the Mass.

A heading prefixes the reading when a passage is given as a reading during the Mass. The headings show the connection between readings of the same Mass. They also bring out the central theme of the reading in a concise statement. They are Catholic bible study tools.

Take a look at this picture from the Lectionary:

It shows that this passage is the second reading for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B. Its heading is: “God Chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world.”

These are the headings for the same passage when it is read at other Masses:

• God chose us in Christ, before the foundation of the world (repeats verbatim the heading above).
• He destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ.
• God chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish before him in love.
• He chose us to be holy and without blemish before him.
• The Father chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish before him.
• For the praise of the glory of his grace.

This is how the Church and I, with her, understand this passage: God has revealed that he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, for the praise and glory of his grace, and to be holy and without blemish before him in love.

I am my mother’s son, and I take that very seriously. It sets an ever-present and very high standard that I live in terms of and that I act according to. I am her son and want to act accordingly.

God is infinitely greater than my mom. “Be holy and without blemish.” That is his standard. He gave me Christ, by whose grace I am made capable of meeting that standard (so if I don’t, the fault is mine, not his). If I am a son of God, I must act like a son of God.