Pastor's Spiritual Reflections

By Fr. Leo Schneider (1/27/2008)

Dear People of Holy Name,

Even non-Christians must admit that Jesus was an extraordinary human being whose personal spirituality has shaped the world as we know it today. Jesus’ words spoke to the heart and mind of humanity and found a resonance there that continues to give him credence today. Who can read of the life and words of Jesus and not find some part of him or herself saying yes, that’s good, that’s right.

As disciples of Jesus, the incarnate God, we believe it was the Holy Spirit who spoke through Jesus, and proceeds from the Father and the Son to us who are baptized into his life, death and resurrection. In that belief we recognize ourselves as the called, the ones to go out into the world spreading God’s truth and love.

As we unite ourselves with Christ we become his truth and love, and in that bring him into the world where he continues to be incarnated into human time, shaping our world into the kingdom of God. Such is our baptismal duty and call.

When today’s gospel is proclaimed, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men,” we must hear that as a reminder of our own call to discipleship, celebrated in baptism and lived and nourished in the life of the Church. Our call is to bring the God of peace, who is our source of healing and peace to the world, that all may live in love, experiencing with us the harmony of the Holy Trinity in all things.

To narrow is the interpretation of today’s gospel, to say it was directed to the apostles alone. In the early church there was no hierarchy, but a group of believers inspired by the Holy Spirit who spoke to the community through its members. Vatican II takes up this line of thought in several ways. One, it defines the Church as the People of God, and recognizes the call of all the baptized to give witness to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church community and the world.

A direct expression of the Church as the People of God is the collegiality called for in the documents of Vatican II to make such a belief real in the Church. Thus the Holy Father is a member of the Church he leads and is at the same time directed by the Holy Spirit that speaks through all her members. Discernment becomes the art of leadership, not dictation or proclamation of “truths” not affirmed by the community.

God is among us and our humble and honest seeking of the Lord in our hearts is the door through which God enters our world and our lives. Since he also comes to us through others, it is through our communal sharing of faith that we come to know the Lord who stands beyond our own individual fears and prejudices. We teach and admonish one a other, not out of control and self-righteousness, but in love. We stand open to correction and strive together to articulate a Truth that is universal and life giving to all. It is that truth that will bear fruit and validate itself in time.

We each have a profound call to live in the Lord. We must realize that because we have free will, the Lord has chosen to make redemption contingent on our participation. So if the Church and the world are going to be better places, it is because we give ourselves whole-heartedly to the Spirit of Jesus Christ who is always with us, and made known when we call on him together as the one body of Christ, united through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Recognizing that we are the called and the chosen of God is our first step in responding to today’s gospel. Hear the call over and over in your mind and in your heart, and know the Lord speaks to you as he speaks to the Church, to make God known and loved in our time.

May the Holy Spirit bless you and help you recognize and live in him who dwells in and among us.

In Christ's Peace, Fr. Leo