April 9 - "Being Catholic Today: Second Theme"

Two weeks ago I began what will be a series of columns on Being Catholic Today:  Catholic Identity in an Age of Challenge, a Pastoral Letter that Cardinal Wuerl issued on May 24, 2015.  The Cardinal identified five key themes of being a Catholic today.  I want to devote this column to the second theme:  The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Good News of God’s kingdom.  This was entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles and their successors the Bishops.
Jesus came to call sinners.  If we are ever to be saved, we must admit our failures and seek the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness.  Though we sin, we cannot let our failures cloud the truth of Christ’s teaching.  We cannot let our sins form an excuse for rejecting the teaching and commands of God as being out of date, burdensome, or impossible to fulfill.  Remaining in the truth means seeking forgiveness and teaching right from wrong so that people can find genuine freedom in Christ.  His mission extends to the depths of our hearts, so that, trusting in the Lord’s mercy, we can admit our failures.  We move from sin to truth and freedom so that we can profess the Gospel.  We have received something in the Church that is not ours.  Indeed, the mission of the Church belongs to the Lord.  As the Lord’s faithful stewards, we are accountable to the Lord and not to contrary demands of the culture.  We need to remain connected to the true mission the Lord has entrusted to us.
The mission of the Church is not limited to houses of worship but extends into the world through the ministry of charity.  Charity, the love of God, is the public work of the Church, rooted in faith and manifest in the lives of all the faithful and through institutions.  This mission of charity is a building block of culture.  It is good to remember that Catholic schools began when our country did and that Catholic Charities is the largest private social service provider in Washington.  Through acts of charity the Church has strengthened the family, cared for children, built schools, universities, and hospitals.  The Church has contributed to social teaching that has addressed fair labor, markets and the environment. Christian charity differs from philanthropy in that the mission of Catholic institutions—and those who work for them—is to lead people to encounter Jesus.  Catholics bear the marks of God’s love.  We are called to manifest the kingdom of God—not merely within our church buildings but also in the world—building up the common good.  When we correspond to God’s grace, we are extending the kingdom, we are able to be the image of Christ to all those we encounter—in his love, in his truth, in his mercy, and in his justice, making a gift of ourselves in service to communion with God and one another.
One final thought for this week:  some years ago the late Cardinal James Hickey gathered a group of wealthy and influential Catholics to ask their support of a work that he wanted the Church to undertake.  One of those present at the meeting asked Cardinal Hickey why the Church would ever want to do this work because the people being served weren’t even Catholic.  Cardinal Hickey answered that we as Catholics didn’t serve those who were in need because they were Catholic.  Rather, we served others because we were Catholic.
Until next week,
Fr. John