The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
Pray about the people in your life. The neighbors you drew close to because of your common needs, the ones you missed so much during the coronavirus pandemic and those you haven’t. Ask the Lord to guide you in sorting out where these people belong in your life—whether it is a neighbor you barely know, a co-worker you tolerate or a newcomer to a ministry where you serve.
One way you can approach your day is to name your battles. The tasks may seem impossible and they may well be—for you. God does the impossible—through you. Because he lives in your heart, every characteristic of his nature is available to your nature.
Circumstances turn on a dime, but what is your constant? What no-matter-what tool do you have? Praise — in all things.
Balance that list of looming battles by listing the characteristics of God you need to help you through today. Then praise him for each attribute. Many were bestowed at your Baptism, Confirmation, or in the sacrament of Matrimony. They increase with every Reconciliation and Eucharist.
During this pandemic, we’ve not been able to gather with many others. But whether we converse with our friends and family, neighbors and business associates from six feet away or on Zoom, are they so impressed with what we say and do that they want what we have? Perhaps they haven’t seen us recently and sense a change in our priorities, the delightful presence of something holy, a pervading peacefulness. They want to know the secret of our inner peace in a chaotic situation, our commitment to God and family when it’s inconvenient, and why we build our schedules around Mass and ministries. They may not recognize at first that they are seeking the same close relationship with Jesus that transforms all our relationships.
It seems to some of us that the coming election is critical for the survival of our country. It is almost as if we are headed into a civil war. There has been an ongoing battle between good and evil, God’s love and light and satan’s evils. Catholic Canon Law speaks about the option between two forces, choosing the lesser of two evils. We may not like many things on either side. Which one would provide the best way forward?
At the end of St. Paul’s Roman letter in chapter 13, he emphasizes love, the love that Jesus was all about in His gospel messages. This is what we owe to one another, sharing God’s love. Amen! This is what our family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers, others and the world long to hear and see in us, God’s love. One way you can do this is by sharing God’s transforming love in your life. Nancy Ward can show you how in her book, Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story: Tools, Tips, and Testimonies.
“St. Michael the Archangel, illustrious leader of the heavenly army, defend us in the battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of darkness and the spirits of wickedness in high places. Come to the rescue of mankind, whom God has made in His own image and likeness, and purchase from Satan’s tyranny at so great a price. Holy Church venerates you as her patron and guardian. The Lord has entrusted to you the task of leading the souls of the redeemed to heavenly blessedness. Entreat the Lord of peace to cast Satan down under our feet, so as to keep him from further holding humans captive and doing harm to God’s Church. Carry our prayers up to God’s throne, that the mercy of the Lord may quickly come and lay hold of the beast, the serpent of old, Satan and his demons, casting them in chains into the abyss, so that they can no longer seduce the nations.”
Today’s Matthew 16:18 has two interpretations. One is that Peter is the rock on which the church of Jesus was built. The other is that Jesus, Himself is the Rock of our salvation. Peter is the “little rock” next to Jesus. He was obviously a stabilizing factor within the early church and today. The Catholic papacy has been something of the eye of almost every religious hurricane in the course of Christian controversy.
