Our Church…Your Church…The Church
Pentecost (A)
2008-05-24
John 20:19-23Happy Birthday!
So…whose birthday is it? I can tell you it’s no ordinary birthday, not just another candle on the cake. No, it’s more, much more than that. Without this birthday, there would be no hope, literally, no hope for mankind. There would be no Bible, no Mass, no priests, no Sacraments, no grace…no hope.
So, whose birthday is it?
Now before you look down at your missalette to see what Sunday this is, I’ll tell you. I’m sure you already know this is Pentecost Sunday, but did you know that this is the Church’s birthday?
That’s right, we’re here today celebrating the birth of Holy Mother Church, the vehicle of our salvation, the fountain of all graces here on earth. And, it’s been so since Jesus built it upon the solid foundation of the apostles; and the Holy Spirit descended upon those same apostles on the day of Pentecost nearly 2000 years ago.
This is your Church…our Church…the Church.
It’s awesome, isn’t it? I mean, it’s got to be awesome being part of something so special. And how do we know it’s special?
Well, it’s right here in the Scriptures. Just listen again to today’s Gospel reading:
After saying this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
Get that? Jesus breathed on them – God breathed on them.
“So what’s the big deal?” you say. “So God breathed on them.” Ah, but did you know that only one other time in all of Sacred Scripture do we read that God breathed on man? I mean literally breathed on him.
We have to go all the way back to the first book of the Bible – to Genesis – to the Creation story, when God breathed life into the first man, Adam. And with that breath, God gave Adam a soul that would live for all eternity.
So, why did Jesus – God – breathe on the apostles in that locked upper room, just after the Resurrection? He did it to breathe life into the Church: a church that – just like the soul of man – would live forever.
That’s your Church…our Church…the Church.
Now, unfortunately for some, being Catholic has lost its luster. Everything has gotten to be routine. Mass is ho-hum. Worship has become passÈ. There’s no more fire.
Why is that? How can that be? Well, can it be that they’ve forgotten – that we’ve forgotten – who we are, what we are? Can we no longer recall who founded our Church – who breathed life into our Church?
We are Catholics, and Christ founded our Church 2000 years ago. No other Christian denomination can make this claim. Not one. Not even close.
Recently, I was invited to speak at a small Bible study at the Church of Christ just around the corner. While I was visiting with them, I learned of a movement within their Church they call the “restoration” – a movement to get back to the basics of worship. If only, they thought, if only they could worship more like the first century Christians. That’s were the truth lies, that’s where you’ll find Jesus.
They’re searching for the truth…a noble goal.
You know what I told them? I said, “Do you want to find the truth? Do you want to find the Church? Just walk out your front door, make two quick right turns, and go 200 yards down Park Avenue to Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Or, you can go to St. Louis, or St. Francis of Assisi, or The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. In fact, when you step through the doors of any Catholic Church, you’ve found the truth – the Church Jesus founded.”
And, just so you know…they were very intrigued by what we discussed that day. They even asked me to visit again, which I did. Who knows where the Spirit will lead them one day…but, I’d like to think that I have a pretty good idea.
So why am I telling you all this? Why the history lesson? Certainly not just to make you proud to be a Catholic. Do you think that’s what Jesus intended for us? To sit on our rear-ends and boast, “We’re number one!” No, we have to regain our Catholic heritage, to understand the gravity of universal worship, and to fully appreciate our membership in the Body of Christ, the Catholic Church. And, with that membership comes responsibility. We have to live our faith. We have to be Catholic.
So what do we do as Catholics?
Well, immediately we all agree that we must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, free the oppressed and give alms for the poor. So, I drop my money in the collection basket, and leave out the side door before Mass is ended. I’m a Catholic right?
Yes…and no. Yes in name, no in action.
There’s so much more to our faith, so much more to do. So much of the world is hurting, trapped in the lies of the evil one – pornography, materialism, abortion, contraception, homosexuality, slavery and child abuse are ever present, and in some cases becoming accepted in some cultures.
“But, what can I do about all that?” you ask. “I’m just one person, sitting in a pew, in a church on Park Avenue.”
Believe it or not, you just answered your own question. You said that you were in a church…
A Church of eternal hope for the world through baptism into the priesthood of Christ…
A Church of the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ…
A Church of reconciliation and healing for those who have strayed…
A Church of grace and love for all those who keep her precepts…
This is your Church…our Church…the Church.
And all you need to do…is live the faith of that Church: not just talk about it…live it.
Attend Holy Mass every Sunday and Holy Day…
Receive the Eucharist only while in a state of grace…
Take advantage of the grace of frequent Confession…
Participate fully and actively in the Church’s liturgies…
Be Catholic!
Not only will this help you grow spiritually, but, your life will shine for others as a beacon of Truth and holiness – for your spouse, your children, your friends, family and co-workers.
Live your faith. That’s what you can do.
Our Church, the Catholic Church, was the one, the original Church.
Jesus breathed life into it and promised it would last forever and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The apostles and their successors, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, carried the Church faithfully to the four corners of the earth, through 2 millennia.
And now that faith is laid here, at our feet. What are we to do with it?
Like those apostles, and the early Church at its birthday at Pentecost, we have the opportunity today, to receive that same Holy Spirit. We must open wide our nostrils, and fill our lungs with the breath of God that comes to us through the graces that flow from the Church.
Your Church…our Church…the Church.
So have a happy, and holy birthday.