(Readings)
Early this morning, I
met my son-in-law, Bryant, at the gym for a workout before Mass. Another young man
came into the gym and the two began to talk.
The friend of Bryant’s
evangelized his young men’s group at the local mega Baptist
Church. Between sets at the bench press, he invited Bryant to come to the young men's group
meeting, stay for Sunday school, and the worship service.
Bryant said that we were
going to Church as a family; then, he introduced me. I introduced myself as the
Deacon of St. Lawrence Catholic Church.
My new friend said “I
was raised Catholic, went to Catholic Elementary School, and High School; but,
my wife is Baptist so I’m Baptist now.”
He continued to speak about his faith,
the young men’s group, and his friends. I enjoyed seeing a young man so on
fire.
I had to leave to get
ready for mass, so I excused myself; but, not before I asked one last question.
“Do you miss the Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist?”
He said, “We have
the Lord’s supper almost every month.” I looked him in the eye. He lowered his
head, “I know, it’s not the same.”
That was the best
evangelization my son-in-law could have heard.
As I left, I told him,
“You’ve invited Bryant to Church; I’m inviting you to come back to Mass. You’re
still Catholic.”
In the readings, Paul
writes, “For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the
Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.”
That’s great message for
those non-practicing and fallen away Catholics. People think they can’t come
back to the Church. Maybe it’s because they feel alone in their journey of
faith.
Maybe it’s because they
believe you are saved only by a personal relationship with Christ. It’s between
you and God only. But Paul’s message is clear. None
of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
Some have left the
Church because they feel that the Church has hurt them. It may have. A scandal,
teaching, or moral issue has hurt them.
Some left the Church
because they think they’ve done wrong. They can’t go back. The Church won’t
take them back. God doesn’t want them back.
We are equals among
equals. The Church is made of sinners. We are sinners. In sin we hurt each
other. In sin we hurt the Church. In sin we hurt God.
The solution, if you’ve
hurt someone, you have to say I’m sorry and ask for forgiveness. Peter asked Jesus, “Lord,
how often should I forgive someone? Seven times?”
Jesus says forgive not seven times but seventy-seven times. Jesus wants us to forgive more than
anyone can ever ask for forgiveness.
My young evangelist
friend said the thing he loved about the Catholic Church was starting each week
with a clean slate, forgiven. He was speaking of the grace and blessing in the
sacrament of reconciliation, asking for forgiveness.
The Lord forgives you.
God doesn’t count the times He forgives our sins. Christ died for our sins and
in that act He forgave us forever; just like we are to forgive.
Yall be good, yall be
holy and preach the gospel by the way you live and love. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment