Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”
Romans 15:7-9
The reason why the strong should help the weak and not simply please themselves comes from Christ’s example: he ‘did not please himself’ but bore our sins in his body and healed us by his wounds. Jesus died so that we should all ‘with one voice’ glorify God.
God is faithful to his promises and his mercy extends to all.
The teaching is very clear: we need to practice charity by having the same mind as Christ had, to the point of loving others as he loves them, excluding no one. Only by following his direction will we find ideals that are worthwhile. Love seeks union, identification with the beloved.
Catechism
The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights Romans 15:7 as a call to unity and mutual acceptance within the Church. It underscores that Christ’s unconditional acceptance of believers is the model for how Christians should treat one another, fostering harmony and glorifying God.
562
Christ’s disciples are to conform themselves to him until he is formed in them. “For this reason we, who have been made like to him, who have died with him and risen with him, are taken up into the mysteries of his life, until we reign together with him.
1879
The human person needs to live in society. Society is not for him an extraneous addition but a requirement of his nature. Through the exchange with others, mutual service and dialogue with his brethren, man develops his potential; he thus responds to his vocation.
1892
The human person … is and ought to be the principle, the subject, and the object of every social organization.