Monday, November 17, 2014

Be Committed to the Truth of Who We Are

Dear Friends,

Kate and Will are coming across the pond in early December, for visits to New York and Washington. Regrettably, little George will stay home, but his time will come.  Americans are looking forward to having Will and Kate here. We like them as young persons, creating a life and a family together. Moreover, they are royalty, and royalty fascinates people worldwide.

A few years ago, a  study was done of the people of Norway, Belgium and England, countries where royalty are still the symbolic heads of state. It revealed that royalty conveyed to the people of these lands a certain regal pride in themselves. They participate in the aura of their rulers – need them to sense their own dignity.

That participation in royalty shows up liturgically next Sunday, when we celebrate the feast of Christ the King - not an ancient feast, but one established by Pope Pius XI, 1925. At that time, a wave of anti-church sentiment in the world was making Catholics feel less sure of  themselves, less confident of the potential in the Gospel and our own potential to live by it. This feast seemed to help a considerable number of Catholics through a difficult time. We participate in the power for good that is in Christ, as we give, receive, welcome, lift up, bless and encourage goodness in this world.. Over the years, we have had to work at seeing  this feast as valuable for ourselves.

This feast invites us to be committed to the truth of who we are. Jesus, throughout the Gospel is eloquent about the fact that he is who he is, and does not accept the images and aspirations others put on him. He is totally devoted to the reign of God breaking into human life. As individuals and as a community, we are responsible to shape ourselves as believers  creating the world as a place where God’s reign, God’s kingdom can happen.

A second invitation inherent in this feast is to be committed to the truth of who God is. The people of Jesus’ times wanted him to be messiah according to their design. They could not accept him as the companion of the outcast, the stranger, the prostitute, the ungracious and ungrateful. Our times also want to dictate to God what kind of God to be. We want to restrict God’s presence in human life – to locate God in some proper place, exclusively in our tabernacles, churches and holy places. We want God to serve our needs, to play it our way. When the answer to our prayer is no, or our life takes a bumpy turn, we are tempted to push God away. You are not the God I want!

This week, Let’s stretch ourselves toward this coming feast. It offers us an opportunity to renew our commitment to God’s truth and our own, and to celebrate our own dignity with Christ as our Sovereign.
Please join in a Fresh Wind  program on Wed., Nov. 19, 7 to 8.30 pm. at the SSJ Motherhouse
Psychiatrist Dr. Jack McIntyre will be our featured speaker, offering insight to our use of

The Internet: Its Gifts and Pitfalls.