A reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans
He believed, hoping against hope,
that he would become âthe father of many nations,â
according to what was said,
âThus shall your descendants be.â
He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body
as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old)
and the dead womb of Sarah.
He did not doubt Godâs promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what he had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why âit was credited to him as righteousness.â
But it was not for him alone
that it was written that âit was credited to himâ;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who
raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.