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Now, We Can Begin

I walked to noon Mass with my mom. It's nice when we essentially live in the neighborhood. Fr. Todd Shepherd, of Wichita, KS, had a Mass of Thanksgiving here, having served as our Deacon this past year. Truthfully, I had forgotten this was taking place. It was just noon Mass to me.

I came in the door, and I happened upon the procession, about to begin. "Good morning, Jason," said the Monsignor. "Good morning, Monsignor," said I. [I don't think it was morning.--ed.] I had the same thought. But what Monsignor wants, Monsignor gets. He paused, and got a little twinkle in his eye. "I guess now we can begin!"

On the contrary; if Linus isn't there, we have a problem. In any case, Fr. Rubie--apparently loitering until his new assignment begins--had a chuckle. So did I, I must say.

There's a big fuss about evangelization. Rightly so, I suppose. But I have a bone to pick. It's not a thing that we do; it's something that we are. We are the good news, because Christ is transforming us.

And let's get it clear: we do use words, because they are usually necessary. But they are words that flow naturally from our lives, because His love flows "naturally" from our hearts.

"And after I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to myself." Christ continues to draw us to himself, even us who believe, because there is an endless depth to the mystery of communion with God. The forgiveness of sins is only the beginning, although He is glad to return with us to the beginning, as often as necessary. If we can internalize the fact that God loves us more than we do, then and only then, we can begin to impact others.
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