The joy of conversion, Christian community, and the Catholic faith
I’m part of the elder generation of faithful Christians who know the Truth and bring that Truth to the spiritual orphans of our secular culture. Vigorous and sturdy, we shall bear fruit among those whom no one else can evangelize but who can relate to us right here and now. We interact with the walking wounded at Walmart and can minister to the casualties of the culture of death.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Paul teaches us that as members of His Body, we are given specific gifts by the Holy Spirit for building the Body.
During the pandemic, I’ve grown more aware of the presence of Jesus in the corporate Body of Christ around me. The individual members of His Body just don’t look like Jesus, and most of their actions don’t measure up to what I need to console me.
Perhaps I’m looking for big signs – a billboard that reads, “God loves Nancy,” While I read an email message from someone expressing love in their appreciation of me.
I attended Mass with my family every week while being secretly bitter about being there. I would help in the Church where I could try to convince myself that this was where I needed to be. The biggest area of conflict for me was the Marian Dogmas and specifically the Assumption. I wrote against it, did podcasts decrying it, and said it was pagan. I read many books about it, except Catholic ones. One day on my Nook, an ad for the book “Behold Your Mother” by Tim Staples came up. I was intrigued. I bought it for the purpose of destroying it on the blogosphere.
What does Jesus continue to do all over the world each day? He changes a little bread and wine, as our daily best food. It is full of God-power to equip us to go forth into the world bringing the love of Jesus to others. What about all of those people all over the world who are caring for coronavirus victims? Aren’t they all reaching out with the hands of Jesus to heal and comfort? Receive and go forth to help heal the suffering.
I can detect his presence in the world around me. When I walk by the lake near our home, with no mask needed; he’s in the sunshine on my face and the wind at my back. When I turn the corner into my street, his voice resounds in the laughter of children playing, unafraid of germs and viruses. He sings to me in anointed music in my earbuds. I feel him most intimately where no social distancing or masks are needed — at home in the smiles and hugs of my husband. As reassuring as these realities of the presence of Jesus are, they don’t quite touch the explicit ache in the depths of my heart for the Eucharist.
When our churches reopen, we want to get frequently to Mass and receive the real presence of Jesus in his bread and wine, not just spiritually as now. Next, we pray more and ask the Holy Spirit to show us how and where we are to tell others about God’s loving plan for us. We want to know our ministry to make the lives around us more productive for God’s kingdom and to bring them his Good News. Amen!
We Christians are storytellers. Each day at daily Mass Liturgy, we are reading stories about Jesus and his wonderful care for us. Daily at this time of year before Lent, we are reading from the early chapters of St. Mark. What was Jesus doing in the first part of his public life? Jesus got countless people’s attention by healing them. The stories and different and wonderful. The love and care for people was awesome. The early followers of Jesus were empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to go forth to the whole world to bring the good news of Jesus to all peoples in power. They weren’t perfect but God used them to spread the news.
As we pray, we intensify Christ’s light/power in us and we burn or glow more brightly for God as we go about our daily life in the world. The more of us who “light up for Jesus,” the more we help set others alight for Christ. Amen! Let us light up the culture and world around us to get out of the darkness of the evils that surround us and shine with the life and love of Jesus Christ for all people.