I heard my three favorite words in combination yesterday. No, not those three! But as I reflected a little more on the mystery of Christ, and his goodness to us in the gospel, I realized that "I absolve you..." means the same thing as "I love you."
I think about the possibility of just going through the motions as a Catholic, and strangely, all I can do is laugh at the mercy of God. Once you understand the story of redemption, there is nothing mechanical about our sacramental system!
I think it means that the true work of evangelization is to teach the biblical story. Once people understand at a heart level what the basic message of the Bible is, everything the Catholic Church teaches and does makes too much sense. Just think: the age of the Church is by definition the outworking of the blessings of the New Covenant! They already know the rules, to some extent. They think they know what "Catholic guilt" is. Who forgot to teach them about Catholic love?
I've been participating in a Bible study on the prophets. When we got to Jeremiah, and the famous passage about the New Covenant in chapter 31, I felt a great warmth. The sacraments, and the grace they realize, are exactly what Israel hoped for, in the midst of the exile! Of course, we take them for granted, but step back and realize that God's love is so great, we are like children, unable to comprehend the goodness given to us. Instead of condemning ourselves and each other, let's help each other to understand and grow.
I think about the possibility of just going through the motions as a Catholic, and strangely, all I can do is laugh at the mercy of God. Once you understand the story of redemption, there is nothing mechanical about our sacramental system!
I think it means that the true work of evangelization is to teach the biblical story. Once people understand at a heart level what the basic message of the Bible is, everything the Catholic Church teaches and does makes too much sense. Just think: the age of the Church is by definition the outworking of the blessings of the New Covenant! They already know the rules, to some extent. They think they know what "Catholic guilt" is. Who forgot to teach them about Catholic love?
I've been participating in a Bible study on the prophets. When we got to Jeremiah, and the famous passage about the New Covenant in chapter 31, I felt a great warmth. The sacraments, and the grace they realize, are exactly what Israel hoped for, in the midst of the exile! Of course, we take them for granted, but step back and realize that God's love is so great, we are like children, unable to comprehend the goodness given to us. Instead of condemning ourselves and each other, let's help each other to understand and grow.
Comments
That is beautiful Jason!