... on its own.
Everything that we enjoy in this world, we enjoy because it points to God. So every loving relationship, great friendship, favorite song, beautiful sunset, uplifting liturgy, etc. that we experience and love is good to us because God is there.
Tonight at St. Vincent Seminary, one of the monks was ordained a deacon. This is sort of a step along the way to the priesthood. The deacon assists the priest at mass, can preach after the Gospel, and can also celebrate weddings and perform funeral rights. In the ordination ceremony, the local Bishop layed his hands on the monk and prayed over Him. It was a beautiful liturgy.
There were a few things that really affected me about the whole thing. First, how the whole thing would be meaningless without God. If the Church was just a human organization designed to make us all feel good about ourselves then it would all be an act. That is what is wrong with watering down the faith. God was present there tonight. Bishop Brandt, a successor to the Apostles who has been ordained a bishop through the laying on of hands that has been passed down all the way from St. Peter who recieved it from Jesus Himself, asked God to come and I am positive He did.
It is crazy to think that after a few prayers an ordinary man has been permanently changed by God - charged with a particular mission that comes from Heaven. We are all players in this drama. The kingdom of God is here now, and it is our duty, whether we are called to be married, single, or to live as priests or religious, to work for it. Without this reality, all of our religion would be a bunch of empty motions. Even for non-Catholics, if you do not believe that God is present and working in the world and His people, reading the Bible and going to church don't mean anything.
My favorite part of the whole ordination mass was when we chanted the Litany of the Saints, asking for the prayers of those who have already completed their mission. What better way to look at the whole of the Church? Our destiny is Heaven, but while we're here, God is with us and we have work to do.
1 comment:
I was raised Catholic and I have so many inner conflicts. I do believe in God - a higher being - strongly. But I can't be part of a faith that is against homosexuals. I am not gay, but I just can't comprehend a God that would create a gay person and then banish their acts? Can you? My mom is a ccd teacher and she agrees with me - which only amplifies the contradiction of this faith. What is your opinion?
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