Gain an insight into people’s shopping behavior. Stand beside the door of your local convenience store. Ask people why they have come here. Almost always the answer will be, “I just need this one item and I didn’t want to run down to the mall.”
What is a convenience store for anyway? Convenience!
Now, ask why the people want the Church. Do they want it because it provides meaningful rites of passage, i.e., “I got all my children their sacraments here,” or are they in touch with the powerful contribution the Church makes to our life and our salvation?
The Church, with its organization, its liturgies and its canon law, are the mere instrument to the purposes of God. It is to carry forth the mission of Jesus Christ, to bring all human beings to live and grow in the mercy and love of God. In simple words, the work of the Church is to nourish and bring forth transformation of life.
A Church of transformation is so different from the image some people have that the Church is to provide religious services.
In a Church of transformation, the first thing you observe is the hard work they put forth to know and incorporate the mind of Jesus into their lives. They take seriously all the teachings of Jesus, and also the hard teachings; and seek to make them a living part of their lives. They work toward being servants of God; to live as daughters and sons of God the Father. There is a personal relationship with the person and mission of Jesus.
A Church of transformation is a community of prayer. These are people who pray daily. They seek to be in living contact with the very life and heart of God’s Holy Spirit. There are many ways to pray but the first and foremost is spending time with the heart of God.
A Church of transformation knows that the closer you draw towards God, the closer you draw towards your fellow human being. These are people who recognize the poor who live right around them. They see the new poor in our nursing homes, who hunger for human friendship. They are people who bring the issue of homelessness before our government officials. Their concern for the ‘other’ is right up front on their sleeves.
Each Sunday, as they celebrate the holy Eucharist, they want to enter into the life, the sacrifice and the compassion of Jesus Christ. They actively make this a living participation in the life and salvation of Jesus Christ. And…. they take seriously the sending forth to be the living heart of Jesus Christ in the world.
Being a living, working part of the Church is a dynamic life. We cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s energy to transform us into the likeness of Christ. Something great is meant to happen within your life.
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