Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The kingdom of God is at hand for each of us as, members of His one Body, we meet Christ as Redeemer in his Church.
” ‘Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying :”The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.” ‘(Mark 1:14-15) ‘To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth.’ (Lumen Gentium 3) Now the Father’s will is ‘to raise up men to share in his own divine life.’ (LG 2) He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, ‘on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom.’ (Lumen Gentium 5)” (CCC 541) The constant work, “leitourgos”, which Christ has ordained for the Church is the liturgy. This work makes the kingdom present for the renewal and conversion of Christians and of all mankind.
Within the Church Christ calls all men to conversion, as the unfolding and growth of baptismal grace. “Jesus calls to conversion. This call is an essential part of the proclamation of the kingdom (Mark 1:14-15). In the Church’s preaching this call is addressed first to those who do not yet know Christ and his Gospel. Also, Baptism is the principal place for the first and fundamental conversion. It is by faith in the Gospel and by Baptism (Acts 2:38) that one renounces evil and gains salvation, that is, the forgiveness of all sins and the gift of new life.” (CCC 1427)
Perhaps you have been asked, “Are you saved? Have you been born again?” For the Catholic who follows the fullness of the Gospel message the answer is a resounding “Yes!” In John 3:3 the Lord teaches that “unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The Greek word translated as “anew” or “again” has two meanings: “again and again and again” and “from above”. The Catholic Christian is called, then, to be born again each and every day by communion with the Savior in prayer, in the communio of the Church, by communion with the Savior in Confession and, in the liturgy, the proclamation of the Word and the Holy Eucharist. The purpose of the sacramental life in Christ is the purification and upbuilding of baptismal grace in each Christian and in the whole Church, “again and again”, each day, and “from above”, in the Holy Spirit who is from above.
“Christ’s call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, ‘clasping sinners to her bosom, [is] at once holy and always in need of purification, [and] follows constantly the path of penance and renewal.’ (Lumen Gentium 8, art.3) This endeavor of conversion is not just a human work. It is the movement of a ‘contrite heart,’ drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first. (Psalm 51:17; John 6:44; 12:32; 1 John 4:10)” (CCC 1428)
Rather than allowing the scandal of sin and the problem of evil to dishearten us, should these not rather impel us more urgently to attend to that personal conversion for which we join in the work of worship?
Jesus Christ, “the same yesterday, today and forever”, calls us to meet him where he may be found, in Word and Sacrament, so that in our conversion of heart we may have the perfect antidote to hopelessness, the “pearl of great price”: the kingdom within.
I look forward to meeting you here again next week as, together, we “meet Christ in the liturgy”, Father Cusick