A Brief Letter to Someone in Need

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Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Giovanni Lanfranco

Dear Diocesan Friend,

God loves you. You matter to God. You having faith in God matters. Your eternal salvation matters. Faith matters. Keep the Faith!

Perspective

When the Mass is routinely celebrated without dignity and reverence, it is understandable that you could be tempted to stop attending Mass. Ask God for the grace to see past the problem or obstacle and focus on a solution.

Are you involved in helping with the Mass - as a server? a sacristan? a lector? a member of the parish council? It only takes one saint to turn around a parish.

Pray

Wherever you find yourself, ask the Holy Ghost to illuminate your life and guide you.

Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit and they shall be created;
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

  • Become the saint God wants you to be.
  • Examine your conscience; go to confession.
  • Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 96:9).

The Catholic Faith is that which has been handed on to us from the Apostles by their successors, the bishops.

  1. Creation: God loves us and has a plan for us.
  2. The Fall: Sin interferes.
  3. Redemption: God has a rescue mission: He sent Jesus to save us from our sins.
  4. Salvation: We enter into communion with God when we respond to His call to repent, to turn away from sin and be baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Read your Bible

The preceding points are referred to as the kerygma, the proclamation of the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. The following references are examples of the kerygma.

Acts 2:14-36 — Peter to the crowds gathered on Pentecost
Acts 3:12-26 — Peter to the crowds amazed at the healing of the paralyzed man
Acts 4:8-12 — Peter to the Jewish leaders at the healing of the paralyzed man
Acts 5:29-32 — Peter again the Jewish leaders who order the Apostles to be silent
Acts 10:34-43 — Peter to the household of Cornelius 
Acts 13:16-41 — Paul to the Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch
Acts 14:15-17 — Paul to the crowds in Derbe
Acts 17:22-31 — Paul at the Areopagus

Life as a Christian

  1. The Church is our home, our family, our nurturing mother. Mother and Teacher of all nations—such is the Catholic Church in the mind of her Founder, Jesus Christ; to hold the world in an embrace of love, that men, in every age, should find in her their own completeness in a higher order of living, and their ultimate salvation. She is "the pillar and ground of the truth." (Cf. 1 Tim. 3:15) To her was entrusted by her holy Founder the twofold task of giving life to her children and of teaching them and guiding them—both as individuals and as nations—with maternal care. Great is their dignity, a dignity which she has always guarded most zealously and held in the highest esteem. Christianity is the meeting-point of earth and heaven. It lays claim to the whole man, body and soul, intellect and will, inducing him to raise his mind above the changing conditions of this earthly existence and reach upwards for the eternal life of heaven, where one day he will find his unfailing happiness and peace (Mater et Magistra).
  2. We encounter Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, the Mass. He provides us His very life to form us, sustain us and transform us. In the Mass, we participate in the offering of the Son to the Father. In the Mass, we may genuinely state that we were present throughout the entirety of Jesus Christ's Passion. Therefore, every one of us can affirm, "I was gathered into the offering of the Son to the Father." (William Daniel)
  3. If we love Jesus, we will keep His commandments to love God and love neighbour (St John 14:15). That is the summary of the Law and the prophets. Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith:  Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. (St Matthew 7:12)
  4. We love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. We are called to love one another as Jesus loves us (St. John 13:34).
  5. There is meaning in suffering. Our wounds open in us a place for Jesus; Jesus' wounds open in God a place for us (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24)
  6. Invite others to pray with you. Invite others to pray for you, especially the saints. Pray for others, especially those in most need of God's mercy. Ask the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, to pray with and for you.
  7. Filled with joy, hope and love, we share with others the newness of life found in Jesus (St Matthew 5:14-16). The hospitality found in Jesus radiates in our lives for the good of others (1 Peter 3:15). Foster relationships with those in most need of God's mercy. Give time and/or alms to the materially and spiritually poor. Offer the friendship of Christ.

At times it may seem there is little to no incentive to believe - because the Mass you attend is reduced to a casual encounter among people who want to be entertained more than guided to love and serve God and to be loved by God. If you've done your best to foster reverence, beauty, truth and goodness, and the obstacles are too many and crushing, it might be time to bid peace to your fellow parishioners, shake the dust from your feet, and look for a healthier parish. Find a reverent Mass!

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FEATURED QUOTE

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