As I’ve shared before, during college seminary I had the
great privilege of studying for a semester in the Eternal City of Rome. And
that semester included quite a few trips to St. Peter’s Basilica. In fact, even
before really getting our bearings, now my dear priest friend Fr. Matthew
Pfeiffer and I, went to St. Peter’s on our first day in Rome. Like countless
pilgrims before us, we made our way through the streets of Rome, into Piazza
San Pietro, the large piazza located directly in front of St. Peter’s Basillica,
surrounded by that iconic colonnade.
The Scripture readings on this 20th Sunday of
Ordinary Time have this theme of the universal embrace—the universal mission of
the Church—a mission to every race and culture. The Church is to be a home and
hospital and sign and instrument of communion for the entire human family.
The Lord Jesus died for the salvation of all peoples of all
places. And while his mission was to save all of humanity, he never traveled
outside of the Holy Land, to Rome or Spain or Athens or the Canary Islands or
to these shores of course. Rather those countries and the rest of the world
would come to know Christ’s salvation, through us, through the preaching and
teaching of His body, the Church.
The Church is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy in the
first reading: “my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.” In the Psalm, as well, we offer the prayer
of the people of God that one day, “all the nations of the earth” might praise
God, together. In the second Reading,
St. Paul explains how God's mercy is for all people--all of us are sinners, but Christ died for all, so that all people might be reconciled to God.
And then in our Gospel reading, we hear of this gentile
woman approaching Jesus for salvation for her daughter. And she wasn’t just any
Gentile, she was a Canaanite, one of the great historic enemies of the Jewish
people. And for coming to Jesus, begging salvation from him, Jesus praises her.
She receives praise that not one of Jesus’ disciples, not one of the apostles
receives. The Lord says to her, “great is your faith!” And her faith becomes a
conduit of healing and deliverance for her family.
Salvation, healing, deliverance, the joy of knowing Christ
in this life and in life everlasting. This is why we approach Jesus in faith,
this is why we take membership in his Church so seriously. And this is why we need
to take seriously our call to evangelize. Because God wants all peoples on
earth to know and love Jesus Christ and be saved. And that happens through our
witness—showing the world that being Catholic matters, and that it is vitally
important, eternally important.
Do you talk about the Church with love? With joy? Do your
children and grandchildren hear from your lips that the Mass matters, that
confession is a gift, that prayer is vital to you, that Jesus Christ has
changed your life? Do your neighbors and coworkers know that your faith is not
simply a private hobby, but the center of who you are?
Evangelization does not always begin with a theological
argument. Often it begins with a simple witness: “I go to Mass because I need
the Lord.” “I went to confession and found peace.” “I will pray for you.”
“Would you like to come to a church event with me?” “Our parish has been a
place of grace for my family.” These are not complicated words. But spoken with
sincerity, they can open a door.
And we should not underestimate the power of invitation.
Many people are waiting to be invited. Many people who have drifted from the
Church are not hostile; they are wounded, distracted, embarrassed, or unsure
how to return. A personal invitation from someone they trust may be the first
step of their journey home.
The Canaanite woman’s faith became a conduit of healing for her daughter. So
too, our faith can become a conduit of grace for others. Our prayer, our gentleness
and sincerity, our love for the Church, our willingness to speak of
Christ—these can become instruments by which the Lord brings healing and
deliverance to families, to parishes, and to souls.
This weekend, in the bulletin is a flyer for OCIA formerly
called RCIA—the program and process for Adults to become Catholic. Maybe some
of you here are not members of the Church. Please know you are welcome to find
out more about full membership in the Church, give me a call or shoot me an
email. For those of you who are already full members, that flyer can be given
to someone who isn’t. There’s likely someone in your life, who you can invite.
I recommend praying for them this week, and then making the invitation. Pray
for the openness to God. And pray for your own courage to make the invitation.
You can simply say, hi, I’ve been praying for you, when my pastor brought this
up at church, I thought of you, if you are interested, please know you are more
than welcome and I’d be willing to pray with you and answer any questions that
I can and find out answers to those I don’t know.” It’s a simple invitation
that will change peoples lives for the better.
It's an act of love to care about a soul enough to want them
to experience the fullness of life that is available to us as Catholics. For out
of love, Christ died for all. And out of love Christ sends us to gather all of
humanity into the arms of mother Church, to embrace and live his truth, to be
filled with his life and his grace, and thereby become the people God made us
to be, and to receive the gift of eternal life through faith for the glory of
God and the salvation of souls.
