Aug
18
Sermon on the Mount
August 18, 2007 | 1 Comment
Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Everyone knows someone-a spouse, a sister or brother, a co-worker, a neighbor, a college roommate. That someone may even be you.While active Catholics throughout the United States outnumber any other Christian denomination, the second largest group of baptized U.S. Christians, close to the number of any single Protestant denomination some say, is Catholics not regularly attending Mass.
Over 17 million Catholics have drifted away from the faith, according to Paulist Father John Hurley, director of the Office for Evangelization of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The reasons for their absence vary; among them may be a marriage outside of the Catholic Church, disagreement with the church on certain issues, relocating to a new area, worshipping with another denomination or simply being too busy or feeling there’s no need for religion in one’s life.
“Almost in every family there’s a relative no longer practicing,” said Archbishop-emeritus John F. Donoghue of Atlanta, Georga “… They miss things, like the Eucharist, but maybe don’t feel welcomed. I want to assure them that they are welcomed and want to help them get back.”
The CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH article 2177 states: The Sunday celebration of the Lord’s Day and his Eucharist is at the heart of the Church’s life. “Sunday is the day on which the paschal mystery is celebrated in light of the apostolic tradition and is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church.”
Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio, Texas said, ” Many Catholics who, although they go to Mass and fulfill other external requirements of the church, live their personal, family and public lives as if God did not exist.” God is precisely, God: the all-powerful being, creator of the world, creator of our own existence, the one who maintains life in us, the only being capable of giving us everything we need and granting us eternal happiness.”No object or person is comparable to God in greatness, goodness, power and love. It is therefore a logical conclusion, for anyone who claims to believe in God: that God not only must be the most important thing in our lives, but also the source from which all our actions spring.” “Anyone who believes in God knows that not only he or she owes God everything they have, but that God loves him or her as no one else is capable of loving them.” “That is why the Compendium of the Catechism explains that the words of the first commandment: “‘Adore the Lord your God and worship him alone’… mean to adore God as the Lord of everything that exists; to render to him the individual and community worship which is his due; to pray to him with sentiments of praise, of thanks, and of supplication; to offer him sacrifices, above all the spiritual sacrifice of one’s own life, united with the perfect sacrifice of Christ; and to keep the promises and vows made to him.” (Compendium, 443)
At a recent meeting of a Knights of Columbus Parish Council, the Lector lamented that membership totaled 139, but only 20 or 30 members ever attend meetings or participate in Council projects.
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